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AMONG THE
ZULUS A'ST) AMATONGAS,
PHOTOGRAPHED BY T. ANNAN, GLASGOW; FROM AN ALTO-RELIEVO,
BY G. E. EWING, SCULPTOR.
Printed by the Woodbury Permanent Photogrnphic Company, 157, Great I'orlland St/
•eet, London, ]V
GLASGOW :
PRINTED BY WM. GILCHRIST,
HOWARD STREET.
INDEX
-xqL45
\%15
Preface — By the Hon. W. H. Drummond,
Obituary Notices, .....
Port Natal, .....
A Hunting and Tradino Expedition in South Africa,
A Zulu Foray, .....
Kaffir "Doctors," ....
A Trip into the Zulu, and a Visit to King Panda,
Wild Life in South Africa — .
I. — Mornmg in Soutk-Eastern Africa,
II.— A Day in Wild Life,
III. — A Zulu Mawriage,
IV.— A Zulu Story of a Haunted Wood,
v.— Ool Bottibo, ....
VL— A Night Round the Fire, .
VII. — A Runaway Match,
' VIIL— A Buflfaio Hunt in the Water,
IX. — A Few Odds and Ends about the Zulus,
X.— A Kaffir Hunter's Story, .
XL— Making the Most of It in "Wild Life,
Transvaal versus Zulu, ....
The Native Custom of Hlonipa,
The Tsetse Fly— .....
Remarks on Mr St. Vincent Erskine's Paper,
Answer to Mr Leslie*s Critique,
Kaffir Character and Customs,
The Labour Question,
Suggestions for Governing the Kaffirs,
Marriage Customs,
The Training of Children, .
The Kaffir Character,
Kaffir Etiquette, ....
Kaffir Cosmogony, . .
Vll
xiii
1
8
32
41
58
104
105
107
114
118
124
127 I
133
138
141 '
150
155
162
167
182
184
186
188
189
191
193
197
199
203
207
lvi57a76G
VI
INDEX.
The Zulu Word for "Life,"
Katal Scenery — Kaffir Music axd a TiCxEr Hunt,
A Border Eaid, ....
African Travel, Travellers, and their Books,
Among the Asiatonga, . . .
Taken by the Portuguese,
A Zulu Romance, ....
Letters to the Press —
Native Labour, ....
The Gun Trade with the Natives, .
Defence, ....
The Kaffir Rising in Natal, .
Natal and Ashantee,
The Native Rising in Natal,
The New African Gold Discoveries,
Is Dr Livingstone Dead ?
The Isle in the Eastern Sea: A Missionary Story
A Dublin "Boy," ....
Plimsoll's "Jack," . . .
Extracts from Hunting Journal—
Agreement for Imi^ortation of Native Labour,
Specimen of Savage King- Craft,
Names and Interpretations of JSIoons, in Kaffir,
Reflections of the Day, \ .
Statement of my Claim against the Portuguese
Government for Illegal Seizure, &c.,
210
218
221
229
242
260
275
285
294
301
303
304
310
317
322
325
375
382
392
393
394
396
411
APPENDIX.
The Delagoa Bay Arbitration —
Marshal MacMahon's Award, . . . 417
Leader in " Daily News " thereon, . 420
Leader in " Times " .... 425
Leader in " Morning Post " . . . 430
Leader in "Herald of Peace," . . . 434
Leader in "Newcastle Daily Chronicle," (Excerpt) 436
Sharp Practice with Spain ! — What about Portugal ? 436
PEEFACE.
In placing this book before the notice of the public, and, more
especially, before those who knew the author, the late Mr David
Leslie, it is necessary I should say a few words in explanation of the
objects aimed at in its publication ; and in which, it is hoped that
some measure of success has been attained.
These are, primarily, to make such a selection from his published
writings, as shall best recall him, as he lived amongst them, to the
recollection of his friends ; secondly, to preserve, in a compact form,
many of his contributions to literature, which might otherwise have
been lost ; and thirdly, to enable the general public to appreciate,
from his writings, the life of a man who, in an indirect yet practical
manner, has influenced the future of South- East Africa more than
almost any other of his contemporaries.
The Obituary Notices, to be found in another part of this Volume,
tell all that is necessary regarding his career ; and, to those who
knew him, it would be superfluous to say more ; but the general
public may reasonably expect to know what his qualifications were
for writing on the subject to which the greater proportion of these
pages is devoted, i. e., Life in South-East Africa ; and, as I spent
many of the best years of my life— years to which I now look back
with pleasure, which would be unmixed, had not Mr Leslie's death
precluded the possibility of their ever repeating themselves in the
future — alone with him, among the native tribes, and in the unin-
habited districts of the interior ; I will endeavour to afford the
desired information.
It would indeed be difficult to imagine a man more thoroughly fitted,
both by nature and education, for the life of a colonist ; or to be a
pioneer among savage tribes. His abilities and practical knowledge
were so great, that he left his mark upon every colonial question he
took up ; as several of the articles in this collection, especially those
on the much vexed questions of Labour and Polygamy, sufficiently
show ; while his shrewdness and capacity in business matters were
Vlll PREFACE.
such, as to render his success in life assured, had he only been
permitted to live a few years longer. It will be observed in the
Obituary Notices, that, after having spent almost his whole life in
the Colony of Natal, he came home in May, 1873, for the purpose
of joining his uncle in a business, than which nothing more dissimilar
to the wild-free -life, he had so long been accustomed to lead, could
well be imagined; and it says much both for his personal character,
and the versatility of his talents, that he at once and markedly
succeeded in the new sphere he had entered upon. His acquain-
tance with the languages, politics, customs, and feelings of the
natives of Natal, and of the important semi-independent States lying
between the British and Portuguese possessions on the East Coast,
was probably greater than that of any other man ; while the paper
read before the Natural History Association of Natal, on the native
custom of ^' Hlonipa,'' as well as the discussion on the Zulu word
for *' Life," and the remarks on the names and interpretations of the
native Months, and, indeed generally throughout his papers, show a
knowledge of his subject, as well as a power of grasping it, certainly
unsurpassed, and, in my opinion, unequalled, by that of even those
who have made it the study of their lives.
These qualifications, added to a temper which nothing could ruffle,
to powers of cheerfully undergoing fatigue and hardships of every
kind, which I have seldom seen fipproached : (I have seen him, after
walking and hunting in the blazing sun for fourteen or fifteen hours,
without having tasted food the whole day, insist upon his men divid-
ing among themselves, the small basket of boiled maize which the
villagers had brought for his personal consumption ! ) : and that
aptitude for turning his hand to the work of the moment, whether
it was digging his waggon out of some hole, or conducting a delicate
negotiation with a native potentate, without which no one can hope
to succeed in "wildlife," enabled him to control with complete
success the large number of natives who attended him in his expe-
ditions— a task, the difficulty of which is only known to those who
have experienced it ; and it may truthfully be said that in him the
country has lost one who was peculiarly suited for the post of leader
of any of those great exploring expeditions into the far interior,
which we may expect to be undertaken, from time to time, until the
whole of that continent has been thoroughly explored.
PREFACE. IX
I cannot pass from my subject, without saying a few words on the
personal character of a man, who was liked and respected by his
acquaintances, and loved by all his friends. His honesty, straight-
forwardness, and industry commanded respect ; while, as a pleasant
and intelligent companion, he possessed the happy knack of suiting
himself to any society into which he might be thrown. He was
equally popular with his fellow- colonists and among the great Chiefs
of the interior, numbering among his friends the late and present
Kings of the Zulus ; and, although somewhat cautious in forming a
friendship, having once made it, he never forgot it ! As a hunter
among the large game, with which his various expeditions made
him acquainted, he was brave without rashness, cool and self-reliant
in the midst of dangers, fertile in resources in emergencies, and
was physically endowed with such strength as enabled him to bear,
in favourable comparison to the natives, the tremendous fatigue such
sport entails. Kind-heartedness and good-nature were his special
characteristics, and many a poor white hunter or trader, beyond the
boundaries of the Colony, has cause to remember his name with
gratitude. Nor can I do less than repeat here, what I have already
stated in the preface to my book, The Large Game and Natural
History of South and South-East Africa, that " to his kindly placing
at my disposal, during my expeditions, the large number of hunters
and natives in his service, I owe many of my opportunities for obser-
vation ; " nay, I must add, that it is chiefly to his skill, attention,
and kindness in illness, and to his assistance in many of the dangers
and difficulties incident to travel and hunting among the natives in
the interior, that I attribute my having ultimately returned alive to
this country.
It would be an easy and pleasant task for me to dilate on this
subject, and to commit to paper some of the many characteristic
anecdotes which occur to me, as I think over the years we spent
together ; but enough has perhaps been already said to enable the
reader to form a just idea of the Author of these pages ; and, before
passing on to a few short remarks on their contents, I will only add
that, while to all of us who knew him, his loss is one that can never
be replaced, we have the comfort of knowing that throughout his
life, not less than in its closing scenes, he was ready for the great
change which has now overtaken him ; and that, whatever comfort
X PREFACE.
there is to be found in tlie knowledge of a life well and usefully spent,
and an end worthy of the life, his bereaved mother, relations, and
friends have that well-grounded consolation ; for he was, in the best
sense of the term, a Christian gentleman.
The original object in the selection and printing of this Volume
was to preserve to his friends the fugitive papers, " In Memoriam "
of the Author ; but, at the urgent solicitations of friends, who knew
the permanent value of these papers, it has been agreed to give them
to the public in a second edition, which will shortly be issued by
Messrs Edmonston & Douglas, Edinburgh. It will be observed that
every article which has been selected for publication has the date of
its original appearance attached to it. For some of them, this was,
no doubt, needless ; but in the case of such papers as " Port Natal,"
"Transvaal vei^sus Zulu," and others, circumstances are so altered
since they were written, that the point would have been lost, had
the date of their writing not been mentioned. As true pictures of
Zulu life and modes of expression, nothing could be more perfect
than "A Zulu Foray," "A Runaway Match," and "A Zulu
Romance." I leave the reader to judge of their literary merits for
himself, and I only offer the testimony, which my knowledge of the
Zulus themselves enables me to give, of their truthfulness. " Wild
Life " will have its own peculiar charm for those who have exper-
ienced it, as well as for the general reader ; and each of the
other papers has been selected as containing something charac-
teristic of the Author, or of interest to the reader ; but I cannot help
referring to the Extracts from his Hunting Journal, wherein the
"Reflections of the day" show the bent of his mind, these being
written in the wilds of Africa, after an exhausting day's hunting and
travelling, without the slightest expectation that they would ever
be seen and criticised by others. His gun and his books were his
inseparable companions in his expeditions; the one procuring his
physical sustenance — the other providing his mental pabulum.
It is unnecessary to say anything here regarding the Delagoa Bay
Dispute, and Mr Leslie's claim against the Portuguese Government,
which depended upon the late Arbitration Case. But if, by the
subject becoming more widely known through these pages, the
British Government is induced to make an arrangement with the
Portuguese, by which Delagoa Bay may return to its original owners,
PREFACE. XI
and the rampant Slavery of the East Coast be put down, the cause
will not have altogether failed, for which Mr Leslie fought so well,
and in which he lost so much, for even his death may, in a great
measure, be attributed to the fever he caught on that very expedi-
tion.
In conclusion, I must express my thanks to Mr Robert M 'Tear,
of Glasgow (the late Mr Leslie's uncle), for the assistance he has
afforded me in editing this Volume ; an assistance, indeed, so gTeat
and valuable — but a labour of love to him — that, although I would
most willingly have done it all out of respect for my late dear
friend, my share of the labour has been almost nominal ; and, while
apologising for any errors which may have been allowed, inad-
vertently, to creep in, or been passed over, I leave it in the hands
of the public, satisfied that, under the circumstances, they will be
generous in their judgment.
W. H. DRUMMONB.
London, Oct. 4th, 1875.
OBITUARY NOTICES OF THE LATE
MR DAVID LESLIE.
*' Our obituary to-day announces the death of Mr David Leslie,
whose career has been such, that it deserves some more extended
notice. Mr Leslie, who had only attained his 35th year, was born
at Taymount, Perthshire. His father was accidentally killed by
being thrown from his gig six months before the deceased was born,
80 that he was left to push his own way in the world. He went to Katal
when he Was only eleven years of age, and having become proficient
in the Zulu language, Was, at the early age^of fourteen, appointed
interpreter to the courts of law in Natal. Subsequently he became
one of the principal merchants in Natal, and for several years was a
member of the firm of Acutt & Leslie. Through a commercial
crisis, which occurred there about ten years ago, he was obliged to
abandon his mercantile connection, and from that time until his
return to this country, he was engaged trading and hunting in the
interior of Africa, having been a most ardent Nimrod and accom-
plished marksman. Mr Leslie was long on intimate terms with the
native chiefs of Natal. His knowledge of the country, and of the
habits and customs of the natives was extensive, and he delivered
frequent lectures on the subject, before the Natural History Society
of Natal. The local papers published numerous contributions of
great interest from his pen, and since his return to this country, Mr
Leslie has written a great deal of instructive matter, regarding
Africa and its inhabitants, in various newspapers and magazines.
One of his letters, which appeared in the Times, gave so truthful
and able a description of the country, that it attracted the attention
of Sir Bartle Frere, who took occasion to have an interview with
him during his late brief stay in Glasgow. Whilst on a hunting
expedition in his schooner, the ' William Shaw,' Mr Leslie and his
vessel were seized by the Portuguese authorities, in what were con-
sidered British waters. The question of the exact marine boundary
between the British and Portuguese was thus raised, and referred to
XIV OBITUARY NOTICES.
the arbitrament of the President of the French Republic, who has
been in no hurry to give his decision. Mr Leslie was consulted by
the Colonial Office in the matter of adjusting their claim, and his
individual claim for illegal seizure, against the Portuguese Govern-
ment was, of course, held in abeyance until that of the British
Government should be determined. After the seizure, and while
detained at Lorenzo Marques pending negotiations, Mr Leslie was
attacked by fever, which is believed to have seriously aflfected his
constitution. On recovering, he started for this country, arriving
about fourteen months ago, and since his return he has resided with
his uncle, Mr Robert M'Tear. For some time his health has been
indifferent ; but, a few weeks ago, he was seized with a severe affec-
tion of the lungs, to which he succumbed after much suffering.
Mr Leslie's relations on the maternal side are all in Natal, with the
exception of Mrs M 'Tear ; but his paternal relatives reside at Blair-
gowrie. The funeral of the deceased will, we believe, take place on
Friday, when his remains will be interred in the Necropolis. We
may add that Mr Leslie, since his arrival in Glasgow, had gained
the respect of many friends, who will sincerely mourn his loss." —
Glasgow Citizen, 13th May, 1874-
"Brief as is the time allowed us, we cannot permit the formal
obituary notice, in another column, to pass, without a word regard-
ing the late Mr David Leslie. Little more than twelve months
since he left Natal, his home from boyhood, to enter and eventually
take over the extensive and flourishing business in Glasgow of his
uncle, Mr Robert M'Tear. A mail or two ago, news were received
that he had been seized with inflammation of the lungs, but a later
telegram, via Brindisi, reported him to have somewhat rallied from
the attack, and stated that hopes were entertained of -his recovery.
By the mail just arrived, we learn that he sank on the 11th May, in
his 35th year.
"Mr Leslie arrived in the Colony in March, 1850, being then a
lad of about ten years of age, as one of the large party headed by our
veteran colonist, Mr John Forbes, his grandfather. For some
years he was engaged in business in Durban, but the best years of
his life were spent in hunting and trading among the native tribes to
the north, and many a graphic tale he had to tell of ' hair- breadth
OBITUARY NOTICES. XV
'scapes by flood and field.' His intimate acquaintance with the
politics, as well as the manners and modes of thought, of the Zulus
and other northern tribes enabled him, by means of a ready pen, to
contribute to the Natal Herald more than one able paper, which
attracted the notice and commendation of the Secretary for Native
Affairs ; and not the local journals only, but leading newspapers at
home — notably the Times, during these late troubles — gladly wel-
comed his contributions. He read at least two interesting and valu-
able papers, on Hlonipa and other native customs, before the Natural
History Association in Durban ; and, to this journal, prior to his
departure for his native country, he contributed an interesting series
of letters on native politics, and the gun trade.
" But we must close, however we may shrink from reverting to the
sudden ending of a life, which appeared to have just opened out a
new vista of hope and prosperity, to one endowed with many amiable
qualities, and much beloved. To the widowed mother, whose only
child he was, and who hoped soon to join him in Scotland, to the
venerable grand-parents, and to the rest of his bereaved relatives,
from whom he has thus suddenly been taken in the prime of his
days, we can only, in common with many attached friends in Natal,
offer the most heartfelt sympathy." — Natal Colonist, 7th July, 1874-
"We much regret to hear by this mail of the death of a former
fellow-townsman, who, though much absent from the colony of late,
occupied for many years an honourable position here. Mr Leslie
was noted here for his intelligence, public spirit, and enterprise.
The rapidity of his rise amongst us, as a commercial man, was entirely
due to his remarkable sagacity and shrewd sense, and his death will
be much lamented by many old friends. His bereaved mother and
her family, will have the warm sympathy of all, in their sad affliction.
It cannot be doubted that, had he lived, Mr Leslie would have
made no inconsiderable mark in the world ; and been of great service
to Africa, to whose interests he was devoted. We have only room in
this issue to give the following appreciative notice from the Glasgow
Citizen of 12th May last."( Vide ante). — Natal Mercury, 7th July, 1874.
XVI EXTRACT FROM PREFACE.
EXTRACT FROM PREFACE to the Hon. W. H. Drummond's
Work on "The Large Game and Natural History of
South and South-East Africa:" —
" It would be unjust to the memory of my late friend Mr Leslie,
were I to omit to mention that, to his great knowledge and
experience, I owe much of whatever may be of value in these pages ;
and that, to his kindly placing at my disposal, during my expedi-
tions, the large number of hunters and natives in his service, I owe
many of my opportunities for observation."
AMONG THE
ZULUS AISTD AMATONGAS.
PORT NATAL.
(Chambers' Journal, ilth June, 1859.)
A FEW facts concerning the Colony of Port Natal, which has
lately begun to attract a share of public attention as a new
field of emigration, may be interesting both to intending
emigrants and to readers generally. There are three things
currently believed throughout this country to be detrimental
to Natal — namely, the heat, the unhealthy climate, and the
very inadequate supply of labour.
Now, such remarks, which I have often heard made, only
show the great want of correct information which exists
regarding the colony. According to Government statistics,
the thermometer on the coast during winter averages 72
degrees, and in summer 80 degrees; further up and above
the capital (Pietermaritzburg), the climate is very much the
same as in Britain; at D'Urban, and along the coast, the
sea breezes cool the atmosphere.
Hot winds, as in Australia, are seldom felt; so much so,
that when one does come, people go about very much sur-
prised, informing one another that it is "actually a hot wind!"
When warm in Natal, it is always dry; few and far
between are those close, humid, sultry days, so much felt in
India, in which men go about as if the exertion of dragging
one leg after another was too much, and when the only
B
2 PORT NATAL.
comfcg^table position to be in, is up to your chin in cold
water; when to eat is a nuisance, and to drink is a necessity.
The rains in summer are constant; scarcely a day passes
without a shower, and when it rains there, it does rain — not
as it is in Britain, an unpleasant drizzle, but "an even down
pour." So much, however, is the earth parched by winter
droughts, and so great the evaporation, that no rain, however
heavy, lies on the surface more than three days; and, of
course, fever and all diseases arising from decayed vegetable
matter and stagnant water are unknown. Now, in what is
called the Amatonga country, about 250 miles from D'Urban,
the decayed vegetable matter and stagnant swamps are so
great, that it is death to any European to venture there.
Miles upon miles of flat country; in fact, one great rich
swamp, covered with game, is there inhabited by a people
civilized in comparison with their neighbours, the Zulus; but
where death or disease is sure to attack any white man who
enters. Great is the contrast Avithin so short a distance!
Tor Natal is a country without one virulent disease peculiar
to itself, where consumption and scrofula are unknown,
where health is, in fact, rampant, where the ladies are all in
despair about getting so stout and so strong, and where
many have saved their lives from the grasp of those fearful
diseases so prevalent in the old country.
The Colony of Natal contains a population of about
10,000 whites and 225,000 Blacks. Now, with this im-
mense number, the most credulous cannot believe the
assertion that labour is scarce; for, allowing one servant to
every white man, woman, and child, what an immense
number there remains for future emigrants ! It may be said
that the greater portion of the 225,000 are women and
children; but it is they who, at their own homes, labour
most. The women hoe, plant, and reap, carry water, cook.
NATIVE LABOUR IN NATAL. 3
and, in fact, do everything except build tlie huts, miik the
cows, and hunt. AVhere, also, would you get better pickers
of cotton than Kaffir children? Such is the increasing
fondness of the Kaffirs for money, and the articles which it
will procure, that they are fast overcoming the j>rejudice
about letting their women and children go out to work.
It is also plain that, as they begin to feel the advantages
and security of being under British government, the chances
of any outbreak are constantly lessening. I have heard
many people say — " Oh, but your natives are a very bad set
— are they not? — always warring and plundering;" but they
have been confounding the Kaffir war in the Cape Colony,
a place 700 miles away, with Natal. Every Kaffir in Natal
knows well that, were the white men gone from the colony,
the surrounding nations would at once make a clean sweej),
so envious have they become of their accumulations of cattle
and other riches; and at the same time the Europeans are
well aware that, should any of the surrounding nations
attempt anything against Natal, there are Kaffirs enough in
the colony, who, combined together under a European leader,
would "eat them up" altogether, as their own expression is.
The fact being so, then, and the price of labour so low —
ranging from 5s. to 10s. per month, according to the style of
servant, and about 7s. more to feed them — ^there need be no
fear about want of labour to carry out any kind of agri-
cultural operations whatever.*
Having endeavoured to explain away the prejudices con-
* Experientia docet. This was written in 1859, when hopes were
high and expectations were sanguine ; but time has told a different
tale ; and the disinclination of the natives for work, and the induce-
ments to lazinesss which polygamy offers, have forced the colonists to
introduce Coolies, at a great expense, to do what the Kaffirs ought
to do. — Ed.
4 PORT NATAL.
cerning the climate, and the scarcity of labour in Natal, the
next thing to be done is to give as fair a description, as my
limits will permit, of the general outline of the port and
harbour, the country, and the articles of commerce which it
produces.
Upon arriving in the outer anchorage, the emigrant is
struck by the quiet beauty of the bay — one broad sheet of
water — stretching up into the country about six miles, with
one or two islands towards the north-west side; on the left
a majestic bluff looks down upon i30or ocean fretting at its.
feet; to the right — a low sandy point, partially covered
with a peculiar creeper, and gradually rising as it recedes,
dips into the level flat upon which stands the town of
D'Urban; then rising again abruptly into the range of hills
called the Berea; stretching up ste-p by step, wall upon wall,
until it meets the grass-land upon the top, almost as level a&
the sea itself. Between the aforesaid point and the bluff is
the entrance to the bay, and rather outside of that the bar —
the much dreaded bar — whereon there is, at high-water and
spring-tides, generally from 12 to 18 feet of water, and
which, there is no doubt whatever, might be very much
improved by the expenditure of a little more money.
The present bar would not, in Great Britain, be suffered
to remain six months; and Natal is only waiting until, by
the introduction of more people and more capital, she is
enabled to make it a splendid harbour. A prospectus has
lately been issued for a railway from the landing-place to
the town, a distance of three miles, and all the shares have
been taken up within the colony itself As it is a dead-
level all the way along the beach, it is not expected to cost
more than £10,000. It is very much wanted, and no doubt
will pay, as all goods under the present system have to be
carted up to town at a great expense.
PRODUCTS OF NATAL. 5
The agricultural part of the colony is, as it were, in two
divisions. On the coast line of about 120 miles long by 20
broad, all tropical products, such as sugar, arrowroot, coffee,
indigo, cotton, &c., grow with great facility; and not as
in mere experimental gardening, but in such quantities as
to assure the people of Natal that they will all, ere long,
become staple articles of export.
Last season's crop of sugar was 750 tons; arrowroot forms
now a great part of the cargoes from Natal; the cultivatior
of indigo is being vigorously prosecuted by several wealth}
planters from Java; cotton grows wild throughout the lower
parts of the colony; the Natal coffee is considered equal to
that of Mocha — one planter sold his crop for home consump-
tion at 95 s. per cwt.; oil-nuts, flax, fibrous plants of every
description, and, indeed, the difficulty is to say what will mt
grow in Natal, and grow well too. The cocoa-nut is the only
exception that I know of. Of course, in sj^eaking of the
products of a country in a commercial point of view, it is not
usual to enumerate gooseberries, black currants, and such
small game, and it must be acknowledged that in these
Natal shows her weakness. But, as a compensation, she
produces, in the greatest luxuriance, pine apples, oranges,
bananas, peaches, and other fruits which here are considered
luxuries.
Land, which, eight or ten years ago, was sold for Is. per
.acre, now fetches 30s. ; and it may be assumed that a good
sugar farm may, at the present time, be purchased at about
the latter rate. Oxen — with which all ploughing is done at
Natal^may be got for £5. Ploughs, carts, &c., ought all
to be brought from Great Britain, as the emigrant will find
a considerable difference between Natal and British prices.
How very different the style of farming there is to what I have
seen in travelling through Britain. Here, every inch of land
6 PORT NATAL.
is cultivated up to the railway; in Xatal, a man in starting
takes, a look over 400 or 500 acres of land ; sees a piece
which he thinks will do; away he goes, breaks it up, ploughs
it over, banks and ditches it round, and there it is. Then
for another piece, half-a-mile away it may be. In fact, there
is so much rich land that he is difficult to please, and he
picks and chooses like an epicure.
Again, that part of the colony which is called, in colonial
parlance, "up the country" — that is, high table-lands
sprinkled with forests of yellow-wood, sneeze-wood, and
other timber indigenous to the colony — is best suited for
sheep, cattle, and horses.
Sheep have lately been introduced to a great extent, and
many Dutch farmers have emigrated from the Orange Eiver
Free State to Natal, preferring security under British
government to so-called independence under their own Ee-
publicj and the greatest part of the aborigirial white in-
habitants— ^that is, those who have been there ten or twelve
years — ^have been giving up cattle and horses; the former of
which constituted the principal merchandise of the people of
Natal before they turned their attention to sheep and sugar.
Natal is the country for the sportsman — from a blue buck
of nine inches to an elephant of twelve feet high, and, through
all the intermediate sizes there is game in especial abundance.
In the vicinity of the settlement it has been rather thinned
off; but within 100 miles of D-'Urban — the seaport town —
you may in one hour fill a bag which it would take fourteen
oxen to draw; and then think of the hairbreadth escapes,
the running, the dodging, the getting-up thorny trees, to tho
great detriment of your original and only pair of trousers,
with a buffalo or a rhinoceros grunting at your heels !
I do not wish to give the impression that people in
Natal are almost as barbarous as the natives, or without the
AMENITIES OF NATAL. 7
amusements of society. Such an idea would be extremely-
erroneous. Let any one look at the Natal papers; let him
see its advertisements of balls, pic-nics, concerts, botanical
and agricultural shows, &c., and he will allow that Natal is
one of the gayest little places in the world.
The society is equal to that in most towns in this country,
and superior in many respects; for there you .have all its
amenities, courtesies, and enjoyment, without its conven-
tionalities. Even the Dutch Boers, who are, generally
speaking, a heavy, respectable set of people, give their balls
and parties, and attend them with the greatest zest. Though
it does seem rather ridiculous to see a sixteen stone fellow
whirling about in a waltz with a partner as big as himself!
I have gone to a Dutch party, and on entering the room
been very much surprised to find a Kaffir, dressed in a white
shirt, standing in one corner of the room grinding away at a
barrel-organ, producing polkas and waltzes with as great an
indifference as if they had been pepper or coffee for domestic
consumption. But this is an exceptionally ludicrous case.
Natal, however, is not the place for a large emigration of
the poorer, classes to be directed to — that is, of agricultural
labourers and mechanics. The field is, no doubt, extensive,
and land plenty and fertile; but still a man must have some
thing to keep him while his crops are groAving.
The number of farmers who can afford to employ white
men, in the face of native labour being so cheap, is at present
very small. But every man who goes to Natal with a
capital of from £100 up to £20,000, it does not matter how
much, and has anything like energy and determination, is
almost sure to succeed.
A HUNTING AND TRADING EXPEDITION
IN SOUTH AFEICA.
(GLASGOW Hebald, 7th and 14th February, 1859.)
The foUowing most interesting and graphic description of a
hunting and trading expedition from Natal into the Zulu
country is from the pen of a young Perthshire gentleman,
aged 19, who, about nine or ten years ago, was a pupil in
the High School of Glasgow, It is a private journal, writ-
ten for friends in Glasgow, and not intended for publication;
but we believe it will be equally interesting to the general
reader, from the capital description it gives of the manner
in which an important branch of business in Natal is carried
out: —
On Monday the 16th of February, I crossed the Tugela,
the boundary of Natal and Zulu-land. It is not such a large
river as I thought it would be from the traders' description.
The water was up to my chin in fording it, and there were
plenty of alligators strewed about the banks.
All the way from the Tugela to Emtente's kraal, on this
side Enginginblovo, it rained, and consequently both I and
the goods were very wet. We got to Emtente's about half-
an-hour before dark, and after great difficulty I managed
to get one hut, with the promise that so many of the Kaffirs
as could not sleep with me, should sleep among the natives.
Now I wanted one side of the hut for myself, and when I
wished to go to sleep I turned out five of them, and had just
got to sleep when back they came, as they could not get in any-
where. There we were — nine Kaffirs, nine parcels, and myself
ACTING AS " MEDICO." 9
in one small hut, about eight feet in diameter. What with
heat, dirt, &c., I was almost smothered : my first night
in Zulu-land ! Next morning we started off without any-
thing to eat — passed Enginginblovo, one of Cetshwyo's (the
king's son) principal kraals, with about sixty-five huts in
it; and about mid-day had to stop at a kraal, both to get
something to eat and to dry the goods. The owner of the
kraal happening to have the stomach-ache from eating too
much beef, I gave him some castor oil. His gratitude was
so fervent that he gave me two huts, as much food as I
could eat — that is thick milk, whey, and sweet-milk — and
killed a small ox for myself and Kaffirs, so that I determined
on sleeping there, as I was rather comfortable in comparison
with the night before. I had a slight sort of feverish touch;
but I made a big fire in the hut till I perspired freely, and
then took two pills, and next morning felt all right. When
he was skinning the ox I asked if he would sell me the skin.
He said " Yes, for a rely" — about 2d. worth. Next morning
I started, and walked, I should think, about fifteen miles
from kraal to kraal. Such hills ! I never perspired so much
in- my life as when toiling up them, and my eyelashes were
fringed with drops. Some of the Zulus are excellent fellows;
they bring you food and anything you want, taking any-
thing you like to give them without a grumble. Others
again make the most exorbitant demands, and are imperti-
nent if you don't give it them.
In the evening I reached a kraal belonging to the brother
of Gaon an Induna, or Captain of Panda's (the king), and
there I did my first trade — a beast for two blankets, and
hard work I had to do it too. I heard that a Moloonga,
with a boy, had passed the day before. I think it is John
. Speaking to an old Zulu to-day about the fight at the
10 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
Tugela,he says: — "Wow! the police, they saved all Umbulazi's:
people that got away ! If it had not been for them we would
have finished them entirely, and," he said, "the police were
only a handful. How did they manage it 1 It was only by
about as much as my finger-nail that tve did not run, instead
of Umbulazi's people. And it was all through the police^
as they (Umbulazi's people) didn't fight at all." The place
where the fight took place is a succession of round green
knolls all the way to the Tugela.
To-day (the 18tli) has been the most fatiguing day we
have had as yet. We started in the morning from Jubana's
kraal, and walked about five miles to a kraal where I learned
that a Kaffir at another kraal, about three miles off", wanted
to sell a cow. Off I started, taking one Kaffir and his
bundle with me, telling the others to stop where they were,
as I would come back, and we would go on and sleep at
Gaon's kraal. However, when we got to the kraal, I found
the cow was up on the "gangalla" (highlands), and when I
got there we could not trade after all; and being near Gaon's,
and far from where I had left the Kaffirs, I decided upon
going there. We arrived about eight o'clock at night,
regularly done up. Gaon himself is a very good fellow ; he
gave us lots of food and a hut directly I asked for it ; but
next morning I had great difficulty in getting food for my
people. Gaon's finger-nails are at least two inches long, and
some of his people's are nearly as long. They seem to take
a pride in it. All the natives here are very "hlaugana-
peely" (wide-awake). They ask two blankets for a cow,
and some beads on the top of it. My Kaffirs grumbled
terribly about being left behind. They said they had no
hut and no "scoff" (food), they were "feely"(dead) entirely.
If the 18th was the most fatiguing day I have yet had,
A ZULU SHAM-FIGHT. 11
the 19th was the most bothersome. I rose in the morning,
and after getting something to eat for my hungry Kaffirs I
set to work to buy from the Induna. The first beast he
brought me was a small one. He began by asking two
blankets for it. I said No ! He brought up another, and
wanted seven bunches (about £1 worth of beads) for it. It
was a good cow, and I offered him 12s. worth. There we
were, bargaining and bargaining on into the afternoon, till
I was thoroughly disgusted. I never in my life had such
a day's talking, and all for nothing.
I left in the afternoon, and slej)t at a kraal about
four miles from Gaon's, on the road to the Norwegian
Mission House. Trade was very bad: the Kaffirs say
they never saw anything like it. From Gaon's kraal I saw
two parties draw up for a fight. The young fellows of one
kraal and those of another had a row about where their
separate cattle ought to graze, and they assembled in two
parties of about ten each to fight it out. They advanced
in Hne till within about ten yards of each other, when one
of them broke and ran as hard as they could, and were
pursued by the others, till they in turn were met by two
Indodu's men, who entirely dispersed them, so that the
encounter did not come off after all. On the 20th, it
rained in the morning, and one of the Kaffirs being sick, I
determined upon staying in the kraal where I was, as I had
rather good quarters. In the afternoon the Zulus said to
me, " Why don't you go out and shoot the buffalo — ' Eesa
Zotwa' (they only) — there in the 'hlauzen' (bush)?" So I
took the gun, one Zulu, Jacob, Numbona, and Emjeeba,
and off I went.
We had walked about two miles along the road, when the
Zulus said " Nausia Engapesliea," and there they were, a
12 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
regular drove. Down we went as quietly as possible; and
after a good deal of hiding and creeping, we got close upon
them. They seemed just like black cattle, if it had not
been for the horns. I had loaded the gun after my o"wti
principle — viz., 2^ drams fine powder. I sat down and
took a steady aim at the shoulder of the foremost cow. I
fired — crack! sounded the ball. I had just time to take
one look at her on the ground, when down came the whole
drove right on the top of us. I ran, and all the Kaffirs,
except Jacob. He saw that the buffaloes had not charged
us, but were only what he called " banye " (stupid). They
heard the shot, and just ran. They happened to run past
us. Jacob "ciba'd" them, and missed. The others did the
same, and all missed except the Zulu, and his assegai went
off mtli them. I ran forward to cut them off at the turn
of the hill, and just caught sight of them. I fired amongst
them, and missed. We followed the cow I had wounded,
and found a bull had gone off with her to help her. She
lay down and rose up three times, and at last both of them,
in attempting to go down a place like a precipice, so as to
cross the " Umklatuse," the cow, with her game leg, fell, and
rolled over and over down into the river. She picked
herself up and got across, the bull helping her all the
time, to another herd on the other side of the river. The
Kaffirs say they never saw such a place for buffaloes. We
saw three herds, forty-six in all. On Sunday, I think
the 21st, I was awoke by the cry of " nansia esinblovo " the
elephants ! Up I got, seized the gun, and called the Kaffirs;
and in case the Zulus, who by this time were running from
-all quarters, should give him the first stab, I ran just as I
was, in my flannel shirt and hat, no shoes or trousers. After
running for about two miles I found them in a little clump
A FIGHT ':fOR an ELEPHANT. 13
of bush, in the course of a burn, a famous place to shoot
them in. I ran down as they cried " they are coming out;"
and out they came, rather too far off, however, for shooting
at. The sight of them just then was quite enough for
me, so I ran back and gave "Potassa" the gun, and
told him to shoot them. He started after them, and
fired at one, and struck it in the belly. Just at the same
time Dideesa flung his assegai at the other, and hit it
in the rump, so that, by " hunter's law," they were both
secured to me if we killed them. The one went down the
burn, the other up. Potassa went after the one he fired at,
and gave it the other barrel, only he fired so far off, being
afraid, that the ball struck its shoulder, but did not seem to
hurt it a bit. The other Kaffirs were all saying to me,
" Oh ! Ponda [my Kaffir name], if you had only given me
the gun that elephant would not have gone so far." And
just then Potassa fired again, and missed it altogether.
So, getting rather savage, I ran down and took the gun
from him; and, as the enormous creature was standing
amongst some bushes, I crept up till about three yards from
him. I gave him just one shot : it went right to his brain,
and finished him. Then began the row. The Zulus said
they had hit him first, and that Potassa had missed him.
We managed to convince them, however, that it was ours,
and got possession of the tail. It had one tooth, and that
very small. Of course it was Potassa's elephant. One Zulu
I used rather forcible arguments with. He jamp on the
carcase, called me some name or other, and said the beast
was theirs. I also jumped up and knocked him off, heels-
overhead for his pains. After this elephant, I should
think I ran, not walked, five miles. The Zulus stopped by
the elephant, and I and Dideesa started after the other one.
14 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH ^iFRICA.
We saw a lot of people running, and ran too, and found
another lot of Zulus had turned him, and got him into a
patch of reeds. I had only four bullets, so I sent Aplain
back for more, and ran do"\vn with Dideesa to where he was.
I sent him ahead to tell the Zulus that it was our elephant,
and came myself just as he ran out after a dog, which he
caught and trampled to pieces. I fired at his head, but my
breath was gone, and I missed him. I fired again and
hit him in the ear, but rather too far back on liis neck, and
just at this moment a Zulu flung his assegai — it struck him
in the ear and stuck there, notwithstanding all his
endeavours to pull it out. The assegai was flung over my
head, and the beast made a dead set at me just as I was
loading. I had to run as fast as I could, but luckily the
hill was near; I ran up to it, and when he got to the foot he
stopped. I fired my other two bullets at him, with I don't
know what effect: they struck him, but did not seem to
damage him at the time. Then I had to sit down and wait
till Aplain came with the bullets. The Zulus were throwing
stones at him to get him out of the reeds, but he wouldn't
move; just then, after a great deal of tugging, he managed to
get the assegai out, and champed it to pieces -with his mouth.
At last the bullets came, and I determined to repeat my
former manoeuvre, so I told the Zulus to make a -row at the
other side, while I crept up to him in the reeds. I gave him
just one shot in the ear, and down he went. The upshot
was that I had some trophies in the shape of three teeth
and two tails, but, from running about till afternoon in
nothing but my shirt and trousers, I was burnt all over with
the sun, and felt very tender. When I came back to the kraal,
I found that Gaon had been there to call me to trade in
the morning, so that I hope to do some good with him.
AT THE MISSION STATION. 15
Time will show. I forgot to say that for the elephants I
loaded four drains of fine powder, and found it not a bit too
much. On the 22nd that old scoundrel Gaon did me
completely. I went as he called me, and found him just as
hard as ever. But I thought, well, I will give him what he
wants, and then I shall be able to buy the cattle cheaply
his people may bring, and I knew of about ten being about,
at different kraals, waiting till I had done buying from the
" umnennzaua " (headman). So for one cow, worth about
£2, I gave him 27s. 6d. worth of beads, and for another,
beads and a blanket to 20s. 6d. However, I found that,
instead of his people selling, they brought all their cattle
for him to sell to me, so that I was as badly off as ever,
and I therefore packed up and came away.
On the 23rd I reached the Missionary's, and had a
long talk with him. He says the report here in the
Zulu about Machian is that he fought two battles with
the Kaffirs Mr Shepstone sent against them, and beat
them, and that he was coming over the Buffalo with all
his cattle to be a subject of Panda's, but that the Zulus
would not receive him, being afraid of lung sickness, and
that then the white people got his cattle. The Missionary
has a very nice place; it is in a valley or amphitheatre
of about a mile in circumference. There are two white
people here — one married. It is just above the Choi Bush.
Mr Schraeder (the Missionary,) says that Cetshwyo's army
was at least 23,000 or 24,000 men, and Umbulazi's
(his rival) was not more than one-third. They both passed
by his place, and he had a good opportunity of judging. He
says he considers Cetshwyo a much superior sort of man
to Umbulazi — ^the latter behaved like a fool throughout.
He says the population of the Zulu country is over 200,000,
16 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
and out of that there are about 40,000 soldiers. He says
also that the Zulu country during the late war lost from
15,000 to 20,000 peoi^le — 5000 in one way or another killed,
and 10,000 or 15,000 over to Natal; and also about 20,000
cattle as well. He adds the loss was not so much felt in the
country, as the people who ought to have been fed by these
cattle went over to Natal.
On the 24th, in the morning, I left Mr S.'s. I did so
enjoy the tea, bed, and breakfast there, I had great difficulty
in tearing myself away. I descended such a hill — it was like
going down a ladder, or an angle of 60 degrees, for a mile.
I got to Maukle Silo's kraal, where I stayed till next
morning, it was so fearfully hot, about lOO"" in the shade.
Nothing worth mentioning occured there, except in the
morning, before leaving, I managed to buy a beast. On the
25th, I started again, and called at two or three kraals — no
trade. At the top of a hill we got to Zonklubo's kraal,
and had a tremendous thunderstorm in the evening, after
which it got cooler. Here I noticed a peculiarity amongst
the Zulus; they did not allow the spoon to stand upright in
the food, it must lie across the dish. They say that if it is.
allowed to stand up, the " scoff" will stick in your stomach
and not digest. In the evening, of course I went to sleep,
nothing very eventful having happened that day. On the
26 th, I bought some cattle at Zonklubo's, and after that,
hearing that some Kaffirs wanted blankets, a little way off, I
took two Kaffirs and their bundles, and set off on a small
tour. I was unsuccessful, that day; however, I heard that
there was to be a dance, or marriage, at a kraal a little way
off next day, and, as the owner promised there would be
cattle for sale then, I waited that day also at Zonklubo's.
At night all Zonklubo's Kaffirs gathered to try how they
A ZULU DANCE BY MOONLIGHT. 17
could dance — in fact to get their hands, or feet, in for next
day's work. The way they gathered put me in mind of
what Mr Schraeder said about Cetshwyo's army. He said
a quarter of an hour before they passed, there was not a
vestige of them to be seen, and then, as it were the sudden
rush of a volcano, they spread over the country. So at
Zonklubo's, before the dance I had only seen two or three
men, but when I heard the row outside, and went to look,
there they were, at least thirty — where they came from I
don't know. My Kaffirs were dancing with them, but in
my opinion could'nt come up to them at all ; they wanted
that disciplined regularity of movement the Zulus had, and
were altogether much more fantastic, and not so solemn and
dignified in their gestures. The dance coming off at night,
under a clouded moon, seemed under the influence of Casta
Diva to have a sort of dim veil thrown over it, giving it all
a much greater appearance of uniformity than it actually had,
— it seemed to me, as it were, in one piece. Well, that went
on till about ten o'clock, and then all was quiet; it made me
feel so excited that I too sang (not) "like a lint^e." On the
27th I got up and walked to a kraal about three miles off,
to try and buy some cattle, but couldn't, so came back and
started off. After walking till afternoon, I came in sight of
a river. I asked if it was the "Umblutuse." "Wow!" said
Potassa, "that's the Tugela, and there is the Slonquise"
(Natal). I felt — I don't know how I felt — a sort of yearning
to cross the river, and put my foot in Natal, if it was only
for half-an-hour; it revived all the home sickness I had
felt two or three days before, and of course I was quite
miserable. We were just opposite the " Entoongambele," a
thing like a man's head stuck on the end of a high table-
land. At night, the song "Sweet Home" came into my
C
18 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
head, I sang it, and, upon my honour, it nearly made me
"greet." I thought the Zulu country was very much
broken, but the Natal side from here looks quite as much, if
not more so. On the 28th, being Sunday, I determined
to stop when I was near Mashoban's. At night I was
terribly bitten with fleas — they were jumping about on
the floor, just as they were on the Berea, and, of course,
I didn't get much sleep.
All Sunday I lay still, and on the 29th, in the morning,
Mashoban brought a bull and wanted other skins ;
after a great deal of bargaining, I managed to get it for
three of them. After that I started off", and after walking
all day, I got to Debe Blango's kraal, where I stayed all
night. I had then, for the first time in the Zulu country,
great difiiculty in keeping the hut clear of girls. They
flocked in, a dozen at a time, to see the " Moolongo " (white
man). At last I got to sleep, and in the morning, being the
30th, I started and walked in by far the hottest day I had
yet felt; and, having started early in the morning, I had
not eaten anything, expecting to get something to eat at the
next kraal; however, in that I was disappointed, and got
nothing till evening, when I had some porridge, of
stamped mealies and water; however, it was the nicest
"pallitch" I ever tasted, by Jove ! During the day I stayed
at a kraal a few minutes, and there saw a boy about two
feet high "geaing" (dancing). The men were shouting to
encourage him, and they shouted " Bob e Ka Foges, Bob e
Ka Foges" (Bob of Forbes). The natives, in asking the
name of any person, always ask who was his father, who
did he belong to. Bob e Kaba? Bob e Ka Foges — the
native style of pronunciation. I asked how it was, and
they told me Bob had been there, and given him that name.
"AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER T' 19
On the 31st, I started for Lolioonga's (a chief), and there
saw a sort of human creature, whom I don't know how to
describe. He was about 2 J feet high; no arms, only hands
out from his shoulders; he managed with them, however,
very well, eating and snuffing, &c., cleverly. Lohoonga
himself is a famous fellow; and, to please him, I gave him
my knife. He was describing to me all the different battles
he had been in, from the time of Chaka downwards. He
came out of every one of them scatheless. He showed me
the place where he had killed Tobolongwan in a quarrel
they had. Now this Tobolongwan was his brother, and
upon my asking whether he had buried him, the only answer
I got was "Magwababa, magwababa, magwababa," — the
crows, the crows, the crows ! Rather a cool answer. He is
a great, tall, strong fellow, a great friend of Bob's, according
to his own account. I stayed there all the 1st of March,
buying cattle, or trying to do so; but trade was very bad. I
had a nasty attack of diarrhoea, but cured it by drinking
whey till I was nearly exploding. On the 2nd, in the
morning, I bought a beast at Lolioonga's, and in the after-
noon set out after buffaloes, but could not find any. In the
heart of the Eukauhla bush we found a lot of honey, and
had a jolly good blow-out; but it set my diarrhoea agoing
again, and bothered me. The Eukauhla bush is a most
extraordinary place. It is not a bush like the Berea, but a
succession of very steep hills, precipices some of them, and
in the bottoms and up the sides of some is all large
timber. The different hills seem to run up to a point
as if it had once been one gigantic mountain, and had by
some eruptive process or other been fluted down the sides.
Lohoonga's kraal is just at the bottom of the bush. The
Zulus showed me a place where they had driven seven
20 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
elephants over a precipice, and killed tliem all. I managed
to buy one elephant's tusk from Lohoonga. He said it was
wounded by Tozak (a hunter of Bob's), and one of his people
had found it after it died. I started from Lohoonga's, and
had a very long walk, without buying anything. Walking
along the side of a hill I noticed a peculiarity in the Kaffir
paths from which you might draw a very good moral for
every-day life. You may think that all the paths lead to
one goal, but if you do not take care to keep up you
insensibly slide away to the bottom, and you have a hard
pull to get up again, and the chances are that you wet your
feet at the bottom. We walked along, keeping up the
Ensuse, the finest water I had yet seen in the Zulu,
except at the Missionary's, until we got considerably above
Maxondo's, when we turned down towards the Tugela,
determined to follow it up.
Next day was Sunday, and I stayed all day at Maxondo's.
In the morning I started up the river — passing a place where
we heard sea-cows making a noise — determined, if we found
trade bad, to stop and have a shot. Looking at Entoongam-
bele from this side, it looks more like the figure of the Sphinx
than a man's head. I remained all day at the river, and blazed
away, but only managed to kill one sea-cow. Such a feast-
ing as we had ! I returned at night to Emfuleui's, leaving
the gun with Aplain; he wanted to shoot a buffalo, and
came back saying he had wounded one. In the morning
he went after it, and found it dead. I had to use strong
measures to get the Kaffirs away. At Emfuleui's I bought
30s. in money for 12s. worth of goods. The Tugela just
here, with the sea-cows in it, put me very much in niind of
Gordon Cumming's picture, in the Illustrated London News,
of " The River Limpopo, with a herd of sea-cows eating."
REFINEMENT OF CRUELTY. 21
There were the same large trees on the banks, and on the
river itself just such a sprinkling of rocks. The sea-cow I
killed had no teeth, which the Kaffirs said was very remark-
able. Everywhere I go the talk is about the fight at Endonda
Gosuka, and the Zulus say how well the police fought, and
what a great coward John Dunn was. They say that when
the O'Sato (Cetshwyo's Pootie) showed its front above the hill,
lie fired his revolver at them, rode away to the right, and
saw them coming up; to the left saw the same, and then
rode away as hard as he could. They all had instructions
— those with guns to shoot the horse — but they say he
never gave them the chance. All the people up the Tugela
were at it. The descriptions some of them gave of it are
most thrilling. Their language is not complete enough to
enable them to describe it as they would like; but what
they cannot do with their mouth, they make up with their
hands, and you can tell by their gestures what they mean,
almost as well as if they spoke. One fellow told me that
there was no " emkuba" (torture) that was not done at the
fight — the pursuing army played with their victims. Two
of them would catch hold of a man, and another would
stand in front and say, "Where shall I put the assegai inf
and then put it slowly in and cut him up, while he would
be "singing out" all the time. Others they cut the arms off
by the shoulders, and then let them go. "Just a stick,"
the fellow said who told me.
From Emfuleui's went to Godeed, from there to Banda-
manas, and from there to Umvoonielwa, and there slept.
Nothing particular to record, except that I shot a baboon.
From there we went on to Sofotca, and there we stayed as
it rained. The last few days have been very destitute of
adventure. The country all about Sofotca's is "gangalla*
22 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
(highland), with bush simnkled here and there. Plenty-
buffaloes here they tell me, so I shall go and have a shot. I
have noticed that all the Zulu country that I have yet seen
has been very stony, so much so that I doubt whether any
use could be made of it for agricultural purposes. After I
passed the Missionary's it was very much more stony than
before. On Saturday, as usual, it rained. We were still at
Sofotca's, so I went with several Zulus and Jacob to have a
shot at the buffaloes. I never saw so many in one place ;
they were like cattle over the country. We stood on a high
conical hill, and whichever way we looked we saAv game.
We started to stalk one herd, and on the way started three.
They were over the hill before I could get a shot. When
we got to the top of the hill we looked down into a sort of
ravine, and there saw one bull — and an old one he was too
— standing looking at us. We — Jacob and I and a Zulu —
went to one side of the valley, and we sent the Zulus in at
the other to drive them out. Luckily I had taken my
station near a tree, too large, however, to climb. Jacob
was beside me, and the Zulu rather behind. The Zulus
turned them out. Besides the bull, there were a cow and
calf lying down. They passed within ten yards of us. I
iired at the bull — he was last — he fell. I stepped out from
behind the tree ; he saw me, was up in a moment, and at
me. I had just time to step behind the tree ; but the poor
unfortunate Zulu seemed to have lost all presence of mind,
for he stood till the brute struck him right on the breast
with his forehead, one horn on one side, and one on the
other. He dashed almost all the breath out of his body,
and then passed on and died. I had shot him through the
lungs. We picked the poor fellow up, with the blood
running out of his mouth and nose, and carried him home.
"VAULTING AMBITION DOTH O'ERLEAP ITSELF !" 23
Next day (Sunday) he was better, and I think would do
well. I had a very narrow escape myself, and was very
much disgusted, as the Zulus were all on my top for letting
their brother be made "feely" (dead). The Zulus here
have a sort of fibrous root which they place on the top of
their huts, as a charm against lightning. They have some
peculiar customs : instead of the lover going to see his
mistress, she comes to him. While here one came from the
Tugela, a distance of twenty miles, to see a young gentle-
man here.
From there I started and had a long walk, first to
Fogoza's, and from there to Makupula's, on the Italia, where
the Boers and Zulus had a battle. It is on the Ensuse —
a valley surrounded by steep hills, with rocks on the face,
as if precipices had been trying to shove themselves through,
and had only managed it in one or two places.
While there I had a most peculiar dream — hona-fide. I
think it must have been suggested to me by a print I saw
at Jack's of the Christmas tree. I dreamt that we were all
walking along — the Kaffirs and I — and that in the 2:>ath we
came to a fig-tree, and that on it there were only two figs,
but they were such beauties that I determined to secure at
least one of them. One was at the top of the tree where
I should have to climb; but though the branches were easy
to climb, they were so shaken about by the wind that it
was rather dangerous, as they seemed to be sweeping about
in all directions, and you were very likely to get swept off".
The other was near the ground, within reach of your hand;
but to get to it you had to go through thorns and nettles
and a great many holes, and as, beside, the one at the top
looked by far the finest, I determined to try for it. By-the-
by, I had just noticed that I had ten Kaffirs instead of nine;
34 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
but I did not think much of it at the time, as he (the tenth)
might be a Zuhi. After a great deal of hard climbing and
scrapes, and nearly fallings-off, I thought I reached the top
and plucked the fig, and put it in my mouth; when, lo and
behold ! it turned to ashes. I descended very much disgusted,
and Avas telling the Kaffirs, when the tenth one seemed to
swell out most marvellously, and thundered out that I had
chosen the one that looked the fairest; that I had only thought
it fair because so far out of my reach; that had I chosen the
one near the ground the thorns would have vanished, the
holes would have filled up under my feet, and, when reached,
I would have found it sweet and good; that now, however,
it was too late — that I must just go on my way hungry.
I was very much dissatisfied with myself, as may be imagined.
From Makupula's I started, and reached Machian's. He is
a famous fellow — a tall, black "Kehla" (top-knotted). I
drank such a quantity of Kaffir "ionalla" (beer) that, as the
ladies say, I felt quite giddy. He professed to be a great
friend of mine, and sold me five head of cattle to prove it.
Here I saw kraals built of stone. They make good dykes,
better than I can recollect at home. They also, by some
means or other, manage to make an exact circle. At Maku-
pula's they had gone a little out, and were pulling it down
to make it exact, while I was there. All the country I
travelled over — bare of a single bush — burn cows' dung as
fuel. Altogether, however, it was a fine country. I never
felt better or more jolly than when travelling over it. From
Machian's I went to a Kaffir called " Bye-and-Bye ;" from
there to Uhlonte, and from there to Faku's.
On the road to Faku's, I was told that John had passed
by the day before on his way back. I don't know how it is,
I hear of people passing in front of me and past me, and yet
A SPEAKING ANIMAL 25
I buy; while the Zulus themselves say they only look at
them. I buy, I think, pretty well too. I have now 57
head of cattle, and have been five weeks in the Zulu, and
hope in another three weeks to turn homeward.
At Faku's the Zulus were what they called " Fetaing an
Ecalla," i.e., having a law case. They commenced talking in
the morning, and carried it on till sunset, and I don't know
whether they finished it even then. At night, while at Faku's,
we heard a great noise of men shouting and dogs barking.
Upon enquiring next day what it was about, I was told that
they were chasing an "Esedowan." I asked what it was, and,
to my great astonishment, was told that it was a beast about
the size of a wolf — rather larger — with a hole in its back
about the size of a Kaffir basket ; that it only lived upon
the brains of people, and the way it obtained them was this :
it would come to the hut-door at night, and say something ;
for instance, it would tell one of the men that the captain
wanted him, or ask for something in the hut; and the
instant he put his head out of the door it would whisk him
away into the hole in its back, and off to some stone, and
there dash his brains out ! I endeavoured to convince them
what nonsense it was ; but Aplain swore it was true, and
referred me to Makovella, who, lie said, had escaped from
one as it was carrying him off, by clinging to the branch of
a tree. He also told me to ask the Zulus — which I did at the
first kraal I came to; when they said one had been killed
some time before as it was carrying off a boy. It had got
him in the hole in its back, and was walking him off, when,
at the gate, it was met by a man, who happened to be
coming from a distance. He stabbed it, and roused the
other people, and between them they finished it. After
this circumstantial evidence, of course it was of no use
26 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
attempting to convince them what nonsense it was — a beast
speaking ! I expect it is some goblin story. At night,
while sleeping, Grout (a Kaffir) slept with me ; something
came to the door of the hut and tried to open it. We
got up, and, on looking through the door, saw an animal
which our fears at once magnified into an esedowan.
Grout got an assegai, and ran it through the door, when a
great howl convinced us of our mistake. Notwithstanding
I knew what nonsense it was, I confess I was rather
frightened. Next morning I started, and had a very hard
walk to Duabu's, and from there to a kraal on the White
Umvelose, where I saw a woman with a hole right through
her nose. A tiger had one night broken into the hut, killed
two people, and wounded three. She was one of the
wounded. At Duabu's I saw him thrash one of his people
with a knob-kerrie, and he very nearly killed him. The
country about Duabu's is fearfully stony — large masses of
rock piled together in all sorts of fantastic shapes; as
Aplain said: " Ponda, don't you see those stones, like a
kitchen? " He meant they w^ere in the form of a chimney.
Wolves were about in any quantity. There are a tre-
mendous quantity of traders in the country; I hear of
them on all sides of me, and I could not get clear of them,
whichever way I went. Next day I started, and crossed
the White Umvelose, and had a very long walk for nothing.
Not a beast did I buy that day. I saw a man afflicted with
lockjaw, or something like it, who lived on thick milk and
porridge, by rubbing it in with his hand. On my road I
also saw a troop of animals; the Kaffirs called them
Euhloselis. I could not make out what they were; they
were larger than hartebestes — at least I thought so. From
there I went to Chingwair, near Entabaenkulu (the " Great
PANORAMA OF THE ZULU. 27
Hill "). From there I struck away seawards ; and in the
afternoon I climbed a hill, and had the most splendid view
I ever witnessed. I sat with my face towards Nodwengo
(Panda's Palace) : in front of me was the Black Umvelose,
winding amongst hills and rocks — black with "hlangi"
(Mimosa bush) — with a hill the Kaffirs call the "Esehlalo'*
towering above all. To the right was a grazing country, flat,
and bare of a single tree, with the Black Umvelose, like a
thread of silver, running through it, Entabaenkulu shutting
out the view. To the left I saw the sea at a distance of at
least 70 miles, and the country in that direction was actually
black with bush everywhere I looked — all flat, except just at
the sea, where it seemed to rise. The Zulu country must be
very thinly populated, for the extent ; as, from the hill, I saw
at least fifty miles on every side, and on the seaward at
least seventy, and, within my view, I don't think there were
more than thirty kraals. At the Black Umvelose I saw
nothing but snakes ; in the morning, climbing a hill, I
stepped over one in the path, and Jacob, who was behind
me, tramped on it twice ; it was a little one, and got away.
About mid-day, while crossing a brook, Umsungulu tramped
on an Emfesi (water snake); he tramped on it near its head,
and broke its back: we killed it. In the afternoon, going
along over the Gangalla, I stepj^ed over a Mamba — a black
one, about a yard long. Umsungulu, who was behind,
tramped on it ; he sprung away, and alighted just where it
was going, and tramped on it again. I killed it with a
stick. In the evening, just as we were crossing the Umve-
lose, Potassa, who was before me, sung out suddenly —
" Mei Mame ! " He had tramped on a black Mamba, at
least ten feet long ; its tail was across the road, and its head
in a bush. He sprang away, and in doing so took the snake
28 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
witli him ; it had twisted its tail round his leg. He looked
round, and just saw it bringing its head out of the bush
to bite him ; he flung down his bundle and ran. It alighted
right on it, and while it was trying to get away, I killed it.
In the evening, just as we got to the kraal, we heard a
great noise, and all ran to see, and were just in time to kill
a Hlangi. All that in one day was pretty fair, I think.
After leaving Chingwair, I saw Nobeta, the fattest Umum-
zana I had yet seen in the Zulu country. He would not
buy, as he said his mother had just died. She had sent for
the Xyanga (doctor) to find the Tagati (witch). He said his
mother had started in the morning in good health from a
kraal, about a mile off, to see him, and that some people
coming along the road an hour or two after had found her
dead and rotten I Also, that a man that same morning had
gone out of the hut to let out the cattle, and a little while
after some of the people going out had found him within a
few yards of the kraal, dead and rotten! I don't know what
to make of it; but I suspect they must have been poisoned.
At night we slept at an Umumzana's with a most unpro-
nounceable name, "Cxraw." All Sunday I stayed there, and
did nothing but get a history of his battles from an old man
at the kraal. He had been one of Dingaan's army, when
fighting with Panda, and had gone away with Dingaan to
Hlatievolo, in the Umserazi. It seems Dingaan sent away
all his remaining army to carry his goods to where he
was, intending to start away northward and find another
country to settle in ; and while they were away the Umserazi
came on him and killed him, and all that were there.
The old fellow added that Dingaan just died because he was
an "Inkosi" (king): he had only one wound, a stab in the
leg. I noticed a custom the Zulus here have. A man com-
" BUT IT WAS A GLORIOUS VICTORY ! " 29
ing home kisses all his wives, a young man his sisters, and
so on.
Next day I started and reached the Squebes, a small
river with a great many alligators in it. It runs through a
very fine valley belonging to IJmniamana; he is captain of
the district. In the evening I slept at a kraal, the owner of
which was covered with scars gained in battles. He had a
shot in his thigh; it came out at his groin, struck his knee,
and fell to the ground; he had a scar across his head from
the butt-end of a gun; these he got from the Boers. His
shoulder was all scarred from an encounter with a lion. His
thigh was pierced by a buffalo. His knee was laid open by
an assegai in the battle between Panda and Dingaan. He
had a gash down his back, and another through his arm, and
last of all, he had his arm broken by a shot at Endona
Gosuku.
I am still on the Squebes. There is, I think, a fair
prospect of my goods being finished here. The people
buy pretty freely. I marched away up the river until I
came to a large bush the Zulus called the Engome; and
there, having reduced my stock to four blankets, I turned
homewards. I sent the Kaffirs back to pick up the cattle,
and took a turn round myself to finish up my goods. On
my road I saw at a distance what I thought were two white
people going naked, but on approaching close I found they
were white Zulus, the most horrible looking beings I ever
saw. They were as white as I am, and their bodies were
covered with red inflamed sores. They had white eyes and
white hair — one a girl and one a boy. Bege, king of a
people called the " Amagaons," lived just under the Engome
before Chaka conquered him — or rather Dingaan — as
although Chaka began, Dingaan finished him. The Zulus
30 HUNTING AND TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
shot him and his people and cattle in the bush, and starved
the lot. The Zulu country proper is on the ISTatal side of
the Umhlatuse; all the remainder of the now Zulu country
was occuj)ied by different kings till Chaka conquered them
all. On returning to Cxraw's I learned that two people had
been killed at his kraal while I was away. They were
accused of killing Nobeta's mother. Also, at a kraal a few
miles off, the Zulus had a fight amongst themselves, and
fourteen were killed, besides the two at Cxraw's. There
were eight others killed in different places, and all because
an old woman died. Nobeta himself must be at least sixty
years old. At Cxraw's Emjuba fell sick — a sort of fever —
and one of the cattle broke out of the kraal at night and fell
over a precipice; and as it was unable to proceed, I had to stop
five days there. The second day one of the Zulus in the
bush found a buck just killed by the tiger. He brought it
to the kraal. I took it back and set the gun for it. I had
not left half-an-hour before we heard the report, and on
going back to look we found master tiger stretched out
before the gun with a bullet through his head. I skinned
it, and took great pains, intending to send it home. Cxraw
gave me a small beast for killing it. On the Tuesday we
started from there — Emjuba still very sick — and crossed the
Black Umvelose on our Avay home. We slept at the hut
where they had killed one of the Tagati's, and learned that
ten of his relatives had fled a day or two ago for Natal.
Next day we came to the place where the Euhloseli's were.
I had only one shot left, which I kept religiously for them.
I tried to stalk one, and after getting within about one
hundred yards, had the satisfaction of seeing it whisk up its
tail and off like the wind. The Zulus tell me that Panda
now is killing a great many people — so many, that Cetsh-vvyo
FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE TRIP. 31
has remonstrated with him, saying that he will drive all the
people over to Natal.
I am now on my way home. This is my eighth Sunday in
the Zulu. I don't know what sort of trip I have made; I
am afraid not a very good one. I have 78 head of cattle
clear, after paying the Kaffirs, for £50 worth of goods. They
are all large cattle — ^most of them cows. Eeckoning the cows
at £2 each, I have about £120 worth over: if I get tliat I
shall be well satisfied; but I am afraid I have been very "green"
all throughout. I had bad goods — large beads, and not good
blankets — and trade was so very bad at the beginning that I
got frightened, and bought at very high prices; if I had
gone on to where I had finished my goods, I think I should
have had 100 head of cattle. To-day I noticed that one of
the cattle I bought at the Squebes coughed very much. I
asked the Kaffirs about it, and they said it had coughed in
that way from the first. They also said that they thought it
was "Nakau," a sickness that will finish off" a herd in no time.
Altogether they so frightened me that I determined on killing
it, which I did, and found it was ill with what they called
" Embela," not "Nakau." I asked the Zulus the symptoms of
"Nakau," and they told me that a beast with that disease
just pined away and died, but never coughed. I did pitch
into the Kaffirs for humbugging me ! I lost my pencil here.
I am very glad to get back to the store- again. — Yours truly,
David Leslie.
A ZULU FORAY.
(ilACMlLLAN'S MAGAZINE, October, 1861.)
True, 'tis pity ; pity 'tis, 'tis true.
" Imagine yourself, my dear Bob, after having toiled for
an hour up the sunny side of a South African hill, among
stones and sand, trees and rank undergrowth, holes and
ant-heaps, with the sun beating on your back until it almost
calcines your vertebrae and fries your spinal marrow, not
a breath of wind to cool the super-heated air, not a sound to-
disturb the stagnant atmosphere, except the laborious,
breathing of your Kaffir attendants, and now and then the
rustle of some snake or lizard hastening to hide itself from
man, the destroyer — imagine yourself, I say, arrived at the
summit at last. \\Tiat a glorious breeze ! ^Vhat a lovely
prospect ! How cool, how delicious ! You feel as if all
nature were re-animated.
" You look down before you and see a country covered
with black mimosa trees, appearing even more dark and
rugged because it lies in the deep shade of the lofty
mountain on which you stand. Beyond that again the land
rises on all sides ; the trees are scattered in picturesque
clumps ; and the same sun which you had felt to be an
unmitigated torture on the other side, now enhances the
beauty of the prospect, by enabling you to mark the strik-
ing difference between the bright and happy-looking country
AN UNREASONABLE INTERLOCUTOR. 33
behind, and the dark gloomy valley in front. On the
right you have hills and valleys, rivers and plains, kraals,
kloofs and trees, until the view is bounded by the Drack-
ensberg mountains. On the left you have the same
description of landscape, with the sea in the distance,
looking bright and ethereal, as if — as if "
" ' As if ! As if ! ' — So you have got out of your depth
at last, have you 1 Well, that's one comfort, at any rate.
I asked you what he said, and hmv he told it, and you bolt
off into a rambling, ranting description of country, that I
can neither make head nor tail of. Now, what did he tell
your'
** Well, confound it, I was just coming to that," said I,
by no means pleased with the interruption ; '* but, since
you're in such an unreasonable hurry, I'll give in to your
whim and tell you, without any more preface. I turned
to go down the hill, expecting to get some ' mealies ' and
milk at the next kraal."
" Did he say tJiaf ? "
" No, of course he didn't."
" Oh ! I beg your pardon — go on — "
" Come now, none of yo2i7' nonsense — no sarcasm, or no
story."
"As I was saying, I felt as if the slightest sensation
of dinner would not come amiss, and the smallest donation
in that way, even although it was only a few mealies, was
sure to be most thankfully received. So I made for a kraal
at a little distance off, intending to stay over night there,
but found, on reaching it, that there was no room, and
nothing wherewithal to refresh my inner man. This, al-
though at the moment very provoking, proved in the sequel
to be a very fortunate circumstance, as it compelled me to
D
34 A ZULU FORAY.
move farther on, and had thus the effect of bringing me
into contact with an old warrior, who gave me the best
description I have ever heard of a Zulu foray into the terri-
tory of a neighbouring potentate. Indeed, I quite despair
of being able to give it to you with anything like the effect
of the original delineator. You know too well the extraor-
dinary descriptive powers of the Kaffirs, their natural
eloquence and expressive action, to expect that. But, when
you consider the external circumstances — the mise en schne,
so to speak — ^you will at once perceive the impossibility of
my being able to give you anything but an outline of the
word-picture.
" Imagine the scetie — a Kaffir kraal, with the the dramatis
jpersonoe, consisting" of the old warrior, your humble servant,
and about a dozen of Zulus, congregate/! round a fire in the
open air — time, night ; the occasional growl of the tiger, and
howl of the hyena, speaking through the stillness, and the
fitful gleams of the fire lighting w]} the dark countenances
of the savages. Imagine, too, the effect on the wild, im-
pulsive natures of the native listeners, alternately swayed
by the different emotions of hope and fear, as the speaker
unfolded his ' strange eventful history.' You may perhaps
be disposed to smile, when I tell you that even I, usually so
cool, was, while I heard and looked, almost as excited as
they were ; that I felt every reverse of the Zulus almost as
a personal calamity ; and that when the narrator came to
the triumphant denouement, my feelings were so acute and
raised to such a pitch, that I almost started up from the
ground and shouted for joy, in spnpathy with the stalwart
warriors around me ! It would, of course, be absurd in me
to hope, for a moment, that my recital at second-hand, and
under circumstances so comparatively tame, can produce a
A ZULU "MARK ANTONY." 35
like impression. No matter ; I shall endeavour to give you
the story as I heard it, and, making due allowances for the
want of scenic effect and the imperfections of translation,
I trust it may still be interesting to you. Thus, then,
the veteran began : —
" A great many years ago, just after Dingaan became our
king, our captain, Umniamana, called his head men toge-
ther ; and, after we were full of meat and angry with beer,
he said, ' My father was a great chief, and I am a great
chief ; are you not all my children, and ought I not to feed
you and kill oxen, so that all the Zulu may say, Umniamana
is a king ; every day he kills his cattle, and gives to his
people — we will go and join him ; he alone in this land is a
great captain — he is a lion ! he is the man tliat is black ?
" We admitted it.
" ' But how can I give you meat, if I have no oxen ?
How can my young men and girls get milk, if I have no
cows 1 We are at peace ; we are becoming women. Sur-
rounding nations will say that we are no longer warriors,
but women : we fight no more, but dig the ground ; our
assegais have become hoes, our men have no hearts ! Is it
to be so 1 Shall the Umswazi herd their cattle in our sight,
and we Zulus not take them ? Say ! Answer me ! are we
to hide our heads for the strength that is gone, or shall we
cross the river and show to our enemy that we are Zulus,
not men (cravens) f
" My ears are old, and many sounds have entered them
since then; but the shout of mingled rage and defiance,
that answered our chief's words, still rings in my ears.
When I think of the great warriors and the wise men that
were there assembled, and the deeds that they afterwards
did ; I say, when the thought of these things comes in my
36 A ZULU FORAY.
mind — if it were not that the tears of a man are far away —
I could weep to think that I am the last of them. I have
lived too long, because I have lived to see the degeneracy
of my race.
" The chief's speech had kindled the war spirit in our
warriors' minds ; and, after all had agreed to take the cattle
of the Umswazi, the evening passed away in rejoicings,
caused by the knowledge that the young men would have
the opportunity of proving themselves heroes worthy to be
subjects of our great king — our lion !
" The intended expedition was kept secret from the
nation, as it was the wish of Umniamana that ours alone
should be the risk, and ours alone the glory ; and accord-
ingly, on the appointed day, his own people assembled in
the valley, and on counting them it was found that we
numbered only three regiments ; whereupon some of the
old men wished to get help from Segetwaio, our neighbour-
ing chief. Umniamand rose ; Umniamand spoke ; and his
words were like the firebrand api^lied to dry grass in winter.
* Were the Umswazi more than one nation, and were not
we three regiments 1 And who among us was afraid of
encountering a whole nation with one Zulu regiment ?
How many men did it take to drive a herd of cattle 1 The
Umswazi were dogs that should be made to eat the offal of
the Zulus ! ' He was a great man, our captain ; as he
wished, so we did ; as he motioned, so we went ; if he
commanded, then we died !
" We marched towards the enemy's country ; we thirsted,
yet we marched ; we hungered, yet we marched. On and
on we went, determined to quench our thirst with Umswazi
water, and satisfy our hunger with Umswazi cattle.
" I need not tell you how they fled at our approach ;
THE DREAM OF KING DINGAAN. 37
how the name of Zuhi caused their hearts to die ; how the
name of Umniamana caused their women to weep ! We
gathered their cattle like stones off the ground ; and the
«moke of their kraals obscured the land !
" Onwards and onwards we went ; oftentimes hearing
the lowing of their oxen far beneath us ; they had retreated
to their holes in the earth, like wolves as they were, and
had taken their cattle with them.*
" One night we had encamped on a hill, with our sjDoils
in the midst, when there came a runner from our great
father, our king, who ever thinks of the welfare of his
children, and he said, ' Listen to the words of the Lion
of the Zulus ! — I have heard that some of my people have
gone to war without my knowledge ; I have heard that a great
captain of mine has led them ; but I forgive both them and
him, because I have dreamed a dream, and my great bro-
ther— he that is dead — appeared to me ; and his words
were partly good and partly evil. He said, " It is I that
have kindled the war-flame amongst your warriors on the
Pongola; it is I that have induced Umniamand, to lead
them j and now I conie to warn you of their danger. The
Umswazi have found that their number is small, and the
nation is roused to attack them. Quick, then, send them
word, or the cattle that would be yours will return to their
€aves; and the women of the Zulus will hoe mealies in vain,
for there Avill be no one to eat them."
^' These were the words of Cliaka, my brother ; and mine
to you are, ' Be watchful, be wary ; sleep not, till you come
back — return victorious, or return not at all ! '
* There are many caves in the Umswazi country, and among
them one so large, that the whole nation with their cattle took
refuge in it during a great raid of the Zulus into their country.
38 A ZULU FOKAY.
" The message of the king was ended. Those who were
to watch took their posts, and those who could sleep lay
down with anxious hearts, wishing the dawn would come,
so that they might go their way. The words of our father
troubled the chief, and he slept not at all.
" At the break of day we sprang up, and, behold, it was
true what the king had dreamed ! Danger was before us
— danger in ten thousand, thousand shapes ! * The hill on
which we slept sloped gently down towards a deep brook,
and on the other side was a large grassy plain, which was
black with people. The Umswazi were there ; they were
more in number than the grass — they covered it.
" I have said before that we were three regiments, each
about one thousand people ; two of these were boys, but
the one I belonged to were warriors indeed — Umniamana's
own regiment. All of us had wounds to show, and all on
our breasts. The two younger he posted, one at each
ford of the brook, and his own he kept on the hill as a
reserve.
" The enemy crossed the river ; they attacked the young
men ; they came like a cloud of locusts in summer, and our
regiments were like to be eaten up by the swann. Nearer
and nearer they came, still fighting, still struggling. What
deeds of valour were done 1 AYith what determination
they fought ! The Umswazi slipped and fell in their own
blood, and he who slipped died. Still up the hill they came
— our brave young men contending every inch of the way —
and, still as they came, we sat and sharpened our assegais,
and said not a word ; not a face moved, not a limb faltered.
* The Zulus have no number to express so many ; but I have
translated in this way some figurative expression relating to
an extraordinary quantity.
THE TURN OF THE BATTLE. 39
" Then up spoke Umniamana and said, ' My children !
you see how this is ; you see our enemy coming nearer and
nearer ; my young men cannot stop them. You know that,
in coming here for cattle, we came without the sanction
of the king. You remember our father's message, " Eeturn
victorious, or return not at all." But in this attempt I alone
have led you. I alone induced you to come. Go, there-
fore, while there is yet time ; cross the hill, and dej^art ;
mine alone will be the blame with the king. Go, then, my
children; escape death; but, as for me, I will stay here!*
And he folded his arms and sat down. We sprang up
(the old savage gasped with excitement) — we sprang up as
one man, we clashed our shields together, we shook our
assegais in the air, and we shouted from the bottom of our
hearts, ' Stay, chief, stay ! we will not go ; we will bear
you company. If we are to die, let us die together ; but
never shall it be said that a Zulu army turned before Um-
swazi's while one man remained to show front ! '
" And we sat down, calm and black, like the thunder-
cloud before it bursts. Our chief replied —
" ' That is well with such warriors. How can we die 1 '
" Still the Umswazi came up the hill ; nearer and nearer
came the mixed throng of warriors, their path black with
bodies, and red with blood, until they came so close that we
could distinguish their faces. Then ! then ! upon them
we went, thundering down the hill ! The cloud had burst,
and they saw the lightning flash, which next moment anni-
hilated them. Friend and foe, foe and friend, in one
indiscriminate mass of struggling, shrieking fiends we drove
them before us ; we carried them on our assegais, we
brained them with the poles of our shields, we walked over
the brook on their bodies ! A panic had seized them ;
40 A ZULU FORAY.
and the plain, which in the morning was black with living
people, two days after was white with their bones.
" Slowly we returned, glad for our victory, but sorrowing
for the friends who were slain ; and, leaving the crows to
bury the dead, we commenced our homeward march with
the spoil.
" We crossed the boundary, and everywhere were met
by the rejoicings of the people. No moaning for dead men
was there ; they had died in their duty ; they had died for
their king, who liberally gave to his people the cattle we
had brought, which were so great in number that no ten
men could stop them at a ford.
" On arrival at the king's kraal, our father killed cattle
for us, gave us beer to drink, and gave us permission to
marry, as we had earned it by our deeds. The day we
spent in dancing and feasting, and in the evening we fought
our battles over again, as I have now been doing to you."
Note. — The Zulu style of speaking is very sententious : they
bring out their remarks in jerks ; such as, " Our king is great " —
** Our king is black " — " Terrible to look at " — "Great in war," &c.
KAFFIR "DOCTORS."
SOUTH AFRICAN SPIRITUALISM.
(Glasgow Herald, May, 1S62.)
A GOOD grievance has become a necessary to an Englishman's
existence ; and " John GrimiHe " may therefore be looked
upon as a representative man. This phase of character
shows itself in a thousand ways ; but as this paper is not
intended to be an essay on that subject, I shall be excused
from entering into it, further than to refer to one exemj^li-
fication of it, which, to a certain extent, has been the
impelling cause of my writing the following paper. We
have all of us either personally experienced, or heard our
friends complain, of " the most miserable day in my life,
which I spent in Wales," or " that horribly wretched day
in the Highlands," when in a lonely country inn, with a
howling wind and a pouring rain, without society, and with
nothing to read but an old Almanac, a " Ready-Reckoner,"
a Times^ Supplement a week old, and one of those lively
and entertaining tracts, which seem always to be dropping
from the clouds, where and when nobody wants them.
Well, I admit that this sort of thing must be very wretched
to any man of a suicidal turn of mind. But in order to
fully comprehend the idea of utter loneliness, let your
grumbler transport himself to South Africa, and in a
waggon, hundreds of miles away from civilisation, with next
to nothing to read, and none but savages as companions,
and ten to one but we should hear nothing more of his
42 KAFFIR DOCTORS.
petty grievances. In such a position did I find myself in
the Zuhi country not very long ago. I had, unfortunately,
mislaid or lost my books, and was reduced to a few numbers
of " All the Year Eound," containing a portion of Bulwer
Lytton's " Strange Story," and as it was very incomplete,
having neither beginning nor end, I had a fine opportunity
opened up to me for exercising my imagination in filling up
the hiatus, which, I must confess, afforded me considerable
amusement. I wondered whether Fenwick would, as usual,
wake up and find it was all a dream, or whether by some
steady, practical adaptation of electro-biology, animal
magnetism, or what not, it will be all explained at last ;
and, giving imagination and conjecture full play, with the
Jielp of the smoke from my pipe, I built quite a beautiful
" castle in the air," which, like many other " things of
beauty," ended in smoke !
But this, on Mrs Nickleby's " association of ideas " prin-
cij^le, set me to thinking on some things, bordering on the
supernatural, which have come under my own observation
in this land of utter savagedom y'clept '' the Zulu ; " and I
set them down to wile away the weary hours, without,
however, having the vanity to suppose that, strange and
unaccountable as my narrative may be, it can, like the
literary " Icenhse," imperatively draw the reader to its
perusal. But I would ask him to apply some of Jules
Fabre's practical philosophy to the solution of the various
wonders, juggles, or facts of my " strange story." I feel a
considerable amount of timidity in beginning this narration,
because I am fully aware of the feeling of incredulity, and
even contempt, with which such subjects are received by a
very large body of readers who make broad their literary
and intellectual phylacteries, pride themselves on their
AN AP0L0C4Y AND A VINDICATION. 45
superior intelligence, and laugh to scorn such " old wives'
fables," as they are pleased to term them. Whatever may
be thought of it by the reader, I conscientiously declare
that it is written in sober earnest — no romance ; no mere
foundation only on fact, with an imaginary superstructure ;
no attempt to foist " travellers' tales " on a credulous
public ; but a plain, straightforsvard declaration of facts
which occurred within my own knowledge and experience.
If it wants that easy flow of language which adds so much
grace to the writings of our popular litterateurs; if it be not
embellished by gems of learning or deep thought ; if it do
not sparkle with racy narrative or witty dialogue ; if I can-
not fill out this short story with philosophical treatises,
vivid descrijjtions, and startling sensational incidents — yet^
because I shall " a plain, unvarnished tale deliver," and
shall " tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth," I confidently ask for it a candid perusal and a gen-
erous consideration from those who are not afraid of the
truth, however plainly it may be told, and however strange
it may seem, even in these days of wonders and surprises ;
and let my Lord Hamlet's sage dictum be kept in mind,
" There are stranger things in nature than are dream't of in
our philosophy ! "
Amongst the Kaffirs of South Africa there are certain indi-
viduals known colloquially as " Doctors," but whose powers,
whether really possessed or merely attributed, vary very
greatly — from the curing of a cut finger to the concocting
of a love philter or a deadly 2)oison — and who also pretend
to the attributes of the pythoness, the old Highland spae-
wife, and all that " clamjamphray " who profess to tell,
with exact precision, what will happen to-morrow, next day,
or the day after, and who always make the generally vain
44 KAFFIR DOCTORS.
request that the ** anxious inquirer " make his arrangements
accordingly.
The first time I heard 'anything of the power which these
Kaffir " Doctors " exercise over the native mind, was when
one of my Kaffir servants had^the sum of ten shilHngs stolen
from him, while in my service. Of course, as may be ima-
gined, the hullaballoo was something awful. " Oh ! master,
I'm dead ; my heart is dead ; my strength is gone ; that
for which I have expended my life has been taken from
me ;" and other ejaculations he kept giving vent to contin-
ually. In plain English, somebody had prigged his month's
wages.
In answer to his wailing appeal to me, I told him to go
down to the Magistrate and have the matter investigated,
which he did, more to please me, however, than from any
faith he had in the result, and after being assured that he
is in no danger, and will have nothing to pay — an important
consideration with Kaffirs. In two or three hours he
comes back very disconsolate, accompanied by a Kaffir
policeman, who has been despatched by his superior officer
to make the necessary inquiries, and who does so with a
perfectly careless air and demeanour, as one who considers
his mission altogether useless, speaking and looking as if he
thought it "served him right" for not taking better care
of his money, rather than as an officer deputed to protect
the lives and property of her Majesty's lieges in the colony
of Natal from depredations, losses, "hame-sucken" or raid.
The sufferer himself seems as if devoid of hope, stricken
helpless and hopeless, by the, to him, great loss : for the
Kaffirs are a very avaricious lot.
Then a white policeman comes, a stolid, respectable friend
of mine; which places the victim in a worse condition, as he
A KAFFIR POLICEMAN. 45
is deprived of the "sweet sorrow" of relating and talking-
over the particulars of his misfortune — whether it was white
or red money that he had lost; whether it was tied round his-
neck or his waist ; who he got it from ; how long he had
possessed it ; and what he intended doing with it. He is
perfectly impervious to the well-meant but ill-understood or
appreciated consolations of the " Bobby," which generally
run to the effect that it is, or will be, " all right ; " and he
is quite sceptical as to any great detective powers in our
friend, whom he only recognises by having seen him on
Saturday afternoons at the Volunteer band performance,,
wearing a tiger skin in front, and beating the big drum.
After all this, I must beg that your readers consider
themselves served by an awfully hypochondriacal Kaffir for
a couple of days — one who might well say with Burns, so.
keenly does he feel it —
" Oppressed with grief, oppressed with care,
A burden more than 1 can bear,
I sit me down and sigh ! "
Until at last you get so disgusted with the fellow that you
feel inclined either to make him a present of the ten shil-
lings, or give him a jolly good kicking, and send him about
his business.
About six o'clock of the morning after the event I called
out "Caesar!" Caesar, from the next room, answers
" Swae 1 " (Sir.) " My bath ready 1 " " All light, Swae !"
I then get up, shove on my " continuations," or entre nous,
perhaps do without them, as the neighbourhood is not by
any means thickly inhabited, and off I go for my " wallow."
As I am luxuriating in cold water, it strikes me suddenly
that something has come over Csesar, for he is actually
46 KAFFIR DOCTORS.
chirping like a black nightingale, with alternate grunts, as
of a prize pig — which, allow me to inform you, is the very
perfection of Kaffir melody — and, of course, I immediately
conclude that he has found his "life's blood," his "heart's
darling," or in plain words, his ten shillings — that he is
now, figuratively, killing his fatted calf over his prodigal
" tin ; " and, if you are a stranger in the land, and still in
your bath, thereby being prevented from seeing Caesar's opera-
tions, you may conclude, from an occasional squeal in his
song, that the custom is the same amongst the natives here
as it was in Israel of old, only the animals differ — the
Kaffir's calf being a j^iff-
Being amused at the sudden change in Caesar's spirits, I
ask him, " Caesar, what's the matter 1 " He answers,
" Nutting, Swae." I ejaculate, " Oh ! " and then the dia-
logue ends. But, notwithstanding his pro forma denial of
anything having happened to him, I find on after inquiry
that some friend of his has been kind enough to lend him
a shilling, and with that amount of currency he is going to
the " Doctor," from whom he expects to learn, without the
slightest doubt on his part, what has become of his missing
treasure.
Hereupon ensues argui^ient and expostulation, and a few
observations as to the value of information derived from
such a source ; but nothing shakes him in his belief that he
is now in the right road, and will certainly recover his
money ; and so you let him go.
In the evening Caesar's voice is again heard in the kitchen,
and inquiry as to his success immediately follows ; and he
then recounts to you a long rigmarole of what the " Doctor "
said to him : — " You come from a house on a hill." " Your
master is a young man." " You come to inquire about
DANGEROUS POWER OF THE KAFFIR DOCTORS. 47
some money of yours which has been stolen," &c., &c., all of
which, however, may very easily have been known, in the
ordinary way, to the " Doctor," as the theft has been the
talk of the Hack neighbourhood ever since its occurrence.
But the result of it all is that the Kaffir is quite confident
he will have his money again in a few days.
I must request your readers to remember that all this talk
and argument has not been confined to two or three people,
but has been the topic of the day, and night too, amongst all
the Kaffirs within visiting distance.
Two days after, Caesar brings his recovered treasure to
show me, in a state of great triumph and jubilation, stating
that he had found it at his feet on awaking that morning !
This shows, in a two-fold manner, the great power over
the native mind possessed by these " Doctors." Eminently
pernicious is this power, and eminently dangerous are these
so-called " Doctors," who claim, and to whom is attributed,
without question, by the superstitious Kaffirs, the power of
bringing to light, and home to the criminal, T)y supernatural
means, any theft, murder, robbery, &c. And not only this,
but they also claim to be able to prophesy things to come ;
to commune with the spirits of departed friends of natives
applying to them ; and they are constantly telling their
dupes that the sickness with which they may be afflicted ;
the non-success they have met with in hunting ; or, in
short, any ill with which they are, or imagine themselves to
be afflicted, is caused by the restlessness of their father,
their mother, or their uncle, who requires an ox to be
slaughtered ere his or her restless sj)irit can lie quiet in the
^ave. All this, of course, involves a Doctor's fee.
By the way, I may mention that the Kaffirs believe that
after death their spirits turn into a snake, which they call
48 KAITIR DOCTORS.
" Ehlos6," and that every living man has two of these
familiar spirits — a good and a bad. When everything they
undertake goes wrong with them, such as hunting, cattle-
breeding, &c., they say they know that it is their enemies
who are annoying them, and that they are only to be
appeased by sacrificing an animal ; but when everything
prospers, they ascribe it to their good Elilos6 being in the
ascendant.
Now, can any of your readers . find any analogy in this
creed, so far as it goes, to any other 1 I fancy there would
be little difficulty in such an investigation.
The Kaffir Doctors also profess to be able to tell what
any person at a distance is doing at the moment of
inquiry, and also the precise spot where he may be at the
time ; and really some of their performances in that way
are positively marvellous, and would put to the blush the
Davenports and Homes, who have been astonishing the
enlightened white man for so long. I shall subsequently
endeavour to show this wonderful power of theirs in two
cases, selected from many equally astonishing, which I
might have quoted. But by far the most pernicious attri-
bute claimed by the Doctors, and universally believed in
and admitted by the natives, is that of detecting witches
and witchcraft. This, like Sir Peter Laurie with suicide,
has been " put dowm " by the British Government in the
colony ; but when I inform your readers that under inde-
pendent chiefs it is in full sw^ay, and that in savage and
independent tribes, such as the Zulu, no person is ever
believed to have died a natural death, unless in battle or in
a row, and not always even then, but must have been " done
to death " by witchcraft, which these Doctors are employed
to ferret out; it will easily be perceived w^hat an immense
DISCOMFORTS OF TRAVELLING IN THE ZULi:. 49
power for evil they exercise. I have seen all this and
deeply regretted it, as everyone must do when they become
acquainted with the results. But, nevertheless, I have seen
so many instances of the occult powers or sagacity of these
extraordinary men, that I have sometimes half-fancied that
they had a familiar spirit — a Puck or a Robin Goodfellow
— ^which kept them ate courant of matters hidden from mortal
ken, and brought to them intelligence of everything which
had happened, or was going to happen, within a radius of
hundreds of miles. And, as an apology for a vindication of
this weakness of mine, I proceed to give some more serious
experiences than the first I have submitted to your readers.
Some years ago I had occasion to travel beyond the
boundary of the colony of Natal, in a country where the
Kaffirs' savage nature and the Kaffirs' savage king ruled
rampant. When, so far from being able to "take mine
ease in mine inn," I considered myself fortunate if by
chance I arrived at a kraal (or Kaffir village), where the
usual concomitants of Kaffir domesticity only allowed you
to take your uneasy rest in a private house, or rather hut,
and where even these equivocal havens of rest were so few*
and far between, and the country so infested with wild
animals, that I was glad to pay almost any price, and
submit to almost any amount of inconvenience, for the
privilege of shelter.
I had arrived at a kraal just as it was growing dark ;
and from the top of the hill I noticed that there was an
unusual commotion — many fires and many people passing to
and fro. Being rather anxious about my accommodation
for the night I pressed on, and on arriving at my destina-
tion was surprised at finding that, instead of the usual
greetings and boisterous welcome, no one spoke to me or
E
50 KAFFIR DOCTORS.
noticed me in any way. I need not say that I felt annoyed
at this cool reception, it was so unusual, as at a Zulu kraal
you are always welcomed with hearty salutations ; hut if,
like the auld Hielan wife, " She disna mak' ony sliarge "
for the hospitality, it is expected, and you generally have
to "pay for your whistle" in the shape of a handsome present
at parting.
At last, on becoming urgent for lodging and something
to eat, I was told that I could not be attended to or allowed
sleeping room, as a great " Doctress " from Natal, with all
her suite, was there staying for the night, en route to King
Panda, by whom she had been summoned to prescribe for
him in some trifling illness, and to counteract the spells of
his enemies, to which, of course, he ascribed his illness.
One part of the duty which she was expected to perform
rather amused me, although it was related with all imagin-
able gravity.
The Zulus in the north-east had been very greatly
annoyed by lions, which had during that season appeared in
great numbers, killing the people and the cattle ; and, as I
stated before, nothing of this kind, or death by sickness, is
ever allowed to arise from natural causes. It had been told
the king that certain poAverful Doctors amongst the Ama-
tongas — the tribe bordering on the north-east — had cast
spells over the lions, and despatched them into Zululand to
destroy the people and cattle of the king.
This the Natal Doctress, being of great repute — a black
" Dr Mary Walker " in fact — was expected to counteract —
exorcise the bad Ehlose of the Amatongas, remove the spell
Avhich caused the king's sickness, and send the lions back to
their original habitat. Both of these objects, I afterwards
heard, were effected ; although the most probable way of
PORTRAIT OF A KAFFIR AVITCH-EXORCLST. 51
accounting for it was that, the approach of summer causing
the game to go inland for "pastures green," the lions
" followed suit " as a matter of course, while the inability
to eat and drink — in fact, a little wholesome starvation —
had restored the king's appetite and health.
I decided at last on appealing to this great lady for a hut
for the night ; and, knowing that she would be all-powerful,
I took my measures accordingly. To my surprise, however,
she needed no bribing, but received me, metaj)horically, with
open arms, and said that " as we were fellow-subjects of
<3ueen Victoria, she would procure me the usual hospitality."
I have never in my life seen such a horrible-looking being
«as this woman was. In height she was about the middle
size, and very fat. From her ankles to the calf of the leg
was wrapped round with the entrails of a cow, or some animal
of the kind, filled with fat and blood. Then came the
usual petticoat, made of hide, secured and embroidered with
lions' and tigers' teeth, snakes' bones, beads, round bulb-
looking things, little buck horns, and such-like savage
bijouterie ; round the loins was one mass of entrails, snake
skeletons, medicine bags, roots, human and other teeth,
brass buttons, and wire. The body was tattooed all over,
iind smeared with red and black earth ; round the neck was
a repetition of the above " ornaments." The hair was long
and smeared with all sorts of abominations, with a stuffed
snake round the forehead by way of decoration ; a tiger
skin hung down her back, with the grinning physog. showing
over her head, and the head of the snake peering, with a
startling lifelikeness, out of its mouth. And, "oh! ye gods
and little fishes," didn't she sm — 1 — ahem !
Keeping at a respectful distance — which was necessary
under the circumstances — I entered into a conversati( n with
52 KAFFIR DOCTORS.
my lady friend, and I confess with sorrow that I was so
unpoHte, or impoHtic rather, as to commence " chaffing ""
her about the powers she claimed. The argument lasted a
long time, and at last she promised me that I should have
instances of her j)ower ere long, which would completely
convince me. She would not condescend on particulars,
but simply said that I would recognise her hand in the
matter, as I should go out of the country uithout a coinimnion
or a hoof of cattle ! This I laughed at, saying she might
bribe or frighten my companions (my Kaffir servants) away,
and might induce them or others to steal my cattle. But I
had soon cause to wish that I had never seen or spoken to
her, as, by a coincidence as strange as it was unpleasant,
her words came true.
r give these experiences as instances of the power which
these Doctors possess over the native mind. No arguments
will have the slightest effect in counteracting the wildest
speech or threat; and everything which haj^pens afterwards,
which is at all out of the common, is at once twisted and
turned so as to be evidence in favour of the Nyanga's
(doctor's) power.
We were very hospitably treated that night — coffee and
wine were amongst our protectress' stores — and I j^arted
from her in the morning with a laughing reminder of her
promise of the night before. The only answer I got was in
English, "All right!"
We had scarcely travelled five miles when one of my men
pointed out a herd of buffalo a little way off the road, and
it was immediately decided that we should try and kill one.
Leaving two natives with the cattle, we started. We could
see two of the animals standing in a capital position, just
below a clump of thick bush, which afforded us cover to
KAFFIRS KILLED BY BUFFALO AND ALLIGATOR. ,53
creep round. I told one of my people to go one way and
stand by a tree, about three or four feet from the chmip,
but hidden from the buffalo, while I went in the other
"direction and took the first shot. Thus far all went well.
I got pretty close, fired, and dropped one. Directly I fired
the rest of the herd started out of the clump in all direc-
tions, and one of them charged right out at the man at the
tree and " pinned " him before he could look round or
make the slightest effort to escape. I was terribly shocked
at this fatal termination to our day's sport ; but never for
one moment did the prophecy of the Doctress cross my
mind. Not so with my Kaffirs, however, for they looked
j^articularly queer, although such "trifles" don't usually
disturb their equanimity; and while they said nothing to
me, I could perceive that they discussed the occurrence long
iind seriously among themselves.
All went well again after that for a couple of days, with
the exception that the cattle took the hoof sickness, and could
only travel very slowly, and with long intervals of rest.
On the third day we had to cross a river famed for alliga-
tors. The water was a little high, up to our waists, and
flowing rapidly over slippery stones. The drift, or ford,
was pretty good, but just below there was a deep pool. In
crossing, one of the cattle turned down the river drinking,
when one of the Kaffirs took two or three rapid steps to
turn it, but, imfortunately, missed his footing, and in a
second was shouting for help and S2:)lashing in the deep pool
below. He was not more than three yards from us, and I
was reaching out a stick to him, when suddenly his arms
were thrown up with a yell, there was a swirl in the water,
something like a log appeared for a moment, and — the poor
fellow was gone !
54 KAFFIR DOCTORS.
We remained staring at one another for two or three-
seconds, then ont we went, helter-skelter, as best we could.
Not a word was spoken by the Kaffirs for several hours ;
and when I tried to break through their taciturnity, wdiich
made me feel rather miserable, I could elicit no response.
At last, without any preface, one of them got up and
said, " Let us go home." " Yes," I said, " that is just
what I want — let us go." Still, I never thought of the
Doctress ; but the Kaffirs did, and it appeared that when
they said, " Let us go home," they meant to go without
the cattle, and leave me alone ; and they excused themselves
by saying that it was of no use fighting against the predic-
tion, and, if they remained, they would only be killed like
the others, or else die. Threats, arguments, and promises
were all in vain ; I might kill them if I liked — it was the
end they expected ; I knew nothing — how indeed could I T
— of the powers of their Doctors. What was the use of
plenty of money to them, when, if they accepted it, they
would die or be killed on the road 1 and so the end of it
w^as that they w^ent off in a body, and I was left in a,
precious quandary.
Certainly I was in a pretty predicament. Drive the
cattle without assistance I could not, for there were about
a hundred, footsore and inclined to straggle as they were;
and I was compelled to leave them at the first kraal, with a
l^romise of liberal joayment if they were taken care of until
I could proceed to Natal and get other Kaffirs.
And thus it happened that / left the country without a
companion or a hoof of cattle !
The coincidence struck me as " passing strange," and it
annoyed me excessively as I saw at once that nothing would
now shake the belief of the natives who had been with me^
INTERVIEW WITH A KAFFIR DOCTOR. 55
who would to a certainty inoculate a large circle of their
friends with the virus. But as all I suffered at that time
was only a little inconvenience, I did not mind it so much.
I went into Natal and procured other Kaffirs; but, alas! on
my return I found that the lung-sickness had broken out at
the kraal, where I had left my cattle, and all I brought back
with me was seven head out of a hundred ! Surely "a heavy
blow and sore discouragement " enough for my unbelief in
the supernatural powers of the " Nyanga." Certes, I never
again meddled with Kaffir notions of their Doctors. I
had got "the redder's lick!"
Some time afterwards I was obliged to proceed again to
the Zulu country to meet my Kaffir elephant hunters, the
time for their return having arrived. They were hunting
in a very unhealthy country, and I had agreed to wait for
them on the N.E. border, the nearest point I could go to
with safety. I reached the appointed rendezvous, but could
not gain the slightest intelligence about my people, at the
kraal.
After waiting some time, and becoming very uneasy about
them, one of my servants recommended me to go to the
Doctor, and at last, out of curiosity and pour passer les temps,
I did go. I stated what I wanted — information about my
hunters — and I was met by a stern refusal. " I cannot tell
anything about white men," said he, " and I know nothing
of their ways." However, after some persuasion and
promise of liberal payment, impressing upon him the fact
that it was not white men but Kaffirs I wanted to know
about, he at last consented, saying " he would open the
gate of distance, and would travel through it, even although
his body should lie before me."
His first proceeding was to ask me the number and names
56 KAFFIR DOCTORS.
of my liunters. To this I demurred, telling him that if he
obtained that information from me he might easily substi-
tute some news which he may have heard from others,
instead of " the spiritual telegraphic news " which I ex-
pected him to get from his " familiar." To this he answered,
" I told you I did not understand white men's ways ; but
if I am to do anything for you it must be done in my
way — not in yours." On receiving this fillip I felt inclined
to give it up, as I thought I might receive some rambling
statement with a considerable dash of truth — it being easy
for anyone who knew anything of hunting to give a tolerably
correct idea of their motions. However, I conceded this
point also, and otherwise satisfied him.
The Doctor then mad^ eight little fires — that being the
number of my hunters ; on each he cast some roots, which
emitted a curious sickly odour and thick smoke ; into each
he cast a small stone, shouting as he did so, the name to
which the fire was dedicated ; then he ate some " medicine,"
and fell over in what appeared to be a trance for about ten
minutes, during all Avhicli time his limbs kept moving.
Then he seemed to wake, went to one of the fires, raked
the ashes about, looked at the stone attentively, described
the man faithfully, and said, " This man has died of the
fever, and your gun is lost." To the next fire as before,
" Tliis man (correctly described) has killed four elephants,/
and then he described the tusks. The next, " This man
(again describing him) has been killed by an elephant, but
your gun is coming home ; " and so on through the whole,
the men being minutely and correctly described ; their
success or non-success equally so. I was told where the
survivors were and what they were doing, and that in three
months they would come out, but as they would not expect
KAFFIR DIABLERIE. 57
to find me waiting on them there so long after the time
appointed, they would not pass that way. I took a par-
ticular note of all this information at the time, and to my
utter amazement it turned out cmred in every jmrtimlarl
It was scarcely within the bounds of possibility that this
man could have had ordinary intelligence of the hunters.
They were scattered about in a country two hundred miles
away ; and, further than that, he could not have had the
slightest idea of my intended visit to him, and prepared
himself for it, as I called upon him within an hour of its
being suggested to me.
I could give many more instances of this " power,"
" diablerie," or whatever it may be called, but this last
related was the most remarkable ; and I must acknowledge
that I have no theory to urge or explanation to offer re-
garding it, for I have in vain puzzled my own brains, and
those of some of the shrewdest men in the colony, for some
sort of elucidation of the mystery.
I am afraid I may tire your readers with these crude
anecdotes ; but if you and they think otherwise, I shall be
happy to send you some other papers on Kaffir matters,
which will show to those " who stay at home at ease "
something antipodical to English civilisation, but which will
still, I hope, tend to prove that Kaffirs, like a gentleman
who shall be nameless, are " not so black as they are
sometimes painted."
A TRIP INTO THE ZULU, AND A VISIT TO
KING PANDA.
(Glasgow Her alp, February and March, 1868.)
My trip was from that " brightest jewel in the British
crown," Natal, in South Africa, into a neighbouring terri-
tory belonging to the Zulus ; and I took with me a waggon,
twelve oxen to draw it, six Kaffir servants, and an omnium
gatherum of goods for the purposes of trade.
I am inclined to think that a description of my cavalcade
may not be uninteresting, and therefore subjoin a pen-and-
ink photograph of it.
Those who have seen the model of the South African
waggon in the Exhibition of 1862, or "the genuine article"
in poor Gordon Cummin g's Museum, may recollect the
shape and make of it ; but unless they have travelled
in one over such a country as this — for I cannot say
roads unless on the hccus a nan lucendo j^rinciple — they
can have no conception of its capabilities and wonderful
adaptability to its purposes. A machine on four wheels,
about fourteen feet long, loosely, yet strongly, put together,
the joints and bolts working all ways, so that one wheel
may be buried in a hole, and the front or hind j^art of the
waggon sunk with it, and yet the other wheel will be per-
fectly straight and upright ! It is well covered with canvas,
which makes it so far comfortable. To see this "ship
of the desert" coming sailing over ground full of stones
and holes, is something wonderful; it twists and wriggles
IN APPRECIATION OF COLENSO. 5^
about in the most incomprehensible, yet safe, manner,
and jolts frightfully. Nine of the oxen were steady
old stagers, but three of them were young, undergoing the
process of " breaking-in," which consists in tying them
between two old oxen until the yoke is on, then thrashing
them until they kick and pull, and then thrashing them
until they are quiet and steady again ! After undergoing
this ordeal a few times they are generally quite as quiet
and tractable as Craiser after his Rarey-fied course of
treatment.
Such being the waggon and oxen, we now come to
the noble Zulus. They are a very decent lot; but, "oh I
ye gods ! " must I confess it ? — not one of them ever heard
of Colenso. When I spoke to them of the benefits
they have received by being brought by him before
the notice of the generous Christianising and civilising
British public — when I pointed out to them the churches
and schools whicli are, no doubt, spread over the land by
his means and with the sums raised by him from generous
Christian philanthropists for the benefit of his diocese, and
reminded them of the care and anxiety he has always
taken in and shown towards them, in order to render them
cognisant and worthy of the blessing they enjoy in living-
under a civilised government, and in the care of such a
bishop ; and which they may have in richer abundance by
turning from their own ways, which, of course, must be
evil, to those of a Christian people, which, of course, must
be good — upon my word, wonderful as it may appear, they
are so blind that they positively do not or will not see it !
Then, again, when determined to add my mite to the
Bishop's Imidahle endeavours for the benefit of his flock,
I took the trouble to read to them — ^translating as I went
60 A TRIP INTO THPJ ZULU.
Along into the purest Zulu — liis " First Book on the Penta-
teuch," which I happened to have with me, omitting none
of the algebraic or mathematical signs, but giving every-
thing— such is the perverseness or stupidity of this people
that they didn't seem to be any the better for it ; so,
€oming to the conclusion that they must be utterly irre-
claimable— " Anathema Maranatha " — I just did what the
Bishop does — let them alone I
But to return. In describing my Kaffirs, I shall begin
with " Jacob," a very " grave and reverend signior,"
highly impressed with the dignity of his position, middling
honest, very obliging, rather lazy, and has been in my
service (off and on) for ten years.
" Sequata," the leader, a boy very much given to tears,
■dirt, and food — especially food — a new hand.
" Entabin," the hunter, has been in my service since he
was a boy — twelve or fourteen years ago — a good shot and
very handy for looking after the guns, loading cartridges,
•&C. — cleanly in his person — conceited, but faithful.
" Jacob," the carrier, came to me at the same time as
Entabin— can drive and shoot a little, but cannot be consi-
dered very accomplished in either — "cheeky," and swears by
his "Boss."
" Salt," the cook, ^Y^^gol\-maid^ laund?'e55, and house-
keeper ; has been in my employ many years — a very good
fellow^ — cleanly in his habits, and prides himself upon his
English. Being asked (in Kaffir) what he is looking for
<amongst the grass, he disdains to answer in his own langu-
age, or even to use the " Pigeon English " word " Moote,"
but says " Medditsin," and to " Where is it ? " replies,
^' Heel he is."
" Sam," another carrier — the butt of the rest ; a good
61
fellow enough, however — spends all his money on clothes,
and rum, and goes into debt for the same laudable purposes,
.so that he is, in a manner, compelled to stick by me, being
afraid to go home to Natal and face his creditors. He does
very well in Zulu-land, however, where there is neither rum
to be got nor money to borrow.
With this cavalcade, and the waggon well loaded, I left
my home, about forty miles on the Natal side of the boun-
dary, on the 17th October, "Anno Domini" 1866.
We passed through a very pretty country, partly dotted
over with clumps of mimosa trees and partly covered with
denser bush, with here and there cultivation so luxuriant
as to afford satisfactory evidence of what can be accom-
plished. We crossed three or four small rivers, and then,
last of all and most important, the Tugela, the boundary of
the colony of Natal and Zulu-land. We had to take the
waggon to pieces and boat it over ; but after a good deal of
bother and an outlay of two pounds, Zulu-land opened its
arms to us. Me it received most vmmistakeably; for, in
leaping from the boat, I pitched out head foremost and left a
cast of my physiognomy in the sand. But, barring this little
accident, all went well ; and we had tlie proud consciousness
that we had now only ourselves to depend upon in the
midst of a savage and warlike people, and yet we feared
nothing ! We carried no " British ^gis " with us ; bo-
cause, to tell the honest truth, the Zulus hadn't the slightest
idea of what it is — ^yet we felt no timidity. So, after a
good supper, we determined to go up to the King's, and, as
it were, " beard the very lion in his den." Of course, we
knew very well that nobody would annoy us, Imt then it is
en regie to indulge in a little " tall talk " on such an
occasion, as it tickles the ears of the uninitiated.
62 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
We travelled on -for several days through a A^ery broken
country, but constantly mountmg. to the first plateau — a
tract of high level land, running north and south, about
thirty miles from the sea, finely timbered hi some parts,
and covered with small game — bucks and birds.
Towards the north end of this level lies Eundi, the head
kraal of the King's son Cetchwyo, who, although not
exactly King, reigns nearly absolutely.
While I was there, word came from the King, granting
permission to the regiment of which Cetchwyo is Colonel
to " Toonja," that is, that they were of age to marry, and
might put upon their heads the ring — the sign of manhood.
On receiving this gracious message, he sent for all the men
within a distance of thirty miles to come up in their various
regiments to his kraal, and have a feast and dance in honour
of the King's condescension.
About four in the afternoon he started his runners off,
like Roderick Dhu with the cross of fire, with instructions
that all the people were to be there next morning by day-
light. All those who lived furthest off were up to time, but
^bout five hundred who lived pretty near at hand, thinking,
I have no doubt, that they had plenty of time, were about
half-an-hour late — "Nearest the kirk, furthest frae grace."
Cetchwyo saw them coming in the distance, and instructed
about a thousand men to go outside the gate, make a lane
for them to pass through, and when they were in to close
the entrance. Up they came, very unsuspiciously, shouting
and clashing their shields and assegais in honour of the
Prince ; but directly they got within the gate it was closed,
and one of the captains coming forward simply said, " Why
are you late? Beat them!" Immediately all the others
who were in the kraal fell upon them and did beat them
ZULU CODE OF PUNISHMENT. 63
with a vengeance. The poor fellows made no resistance, but
only guarded themselves as well as they could, and tried in
every way to escape. The noise. and clatter of sticks — they
did not use their assegais — was tremendous, and broken heads
were going freely. At last they managed to get out, and
they were chased all over the country — " they scattered like
a herd of wilde-beeste when a lion makes his sudden appear-
<ance in their midst," as a Zulu described the stampede.
One fellow was chasing another, who suddenly stopped,
when one of the assegais which his pursuer carried in his
left hand accidentally run him through and killed him : but
that Avas the only fatal result of this fray.
While at Cetchwyo's I could not help admiring how
thoroughly he had made himself acquainted with his people
from all parts of the country. I should think that in nine
days, at least two hundred different head-men came on all
sorts of business, each one of whom he greeted by his name,
and inquired into their special circumstances ; and they
left him evidently highly satisfied with his urbanity and
condescension.
He has decreed that in future no one except witches shall
be killed in the Zulu country. AVliat have hitherto been
capital crimes are now punishable with the loss of one or
both eyes, and for this purpose a knife and fork have been
provided — the one to cut the nerves, the other to pick out the eye !
Cetchwyo is a stoutly built black Kaffir ; and of him I
shall have more, to say anon.
We left the Eundi, and travelled until we came to the
brink of the Umhlatusi "Hlanzi," a valley of about twenty
miles in width, between tile first and main plateaus of the
country, covered with mimosa trees, and through which
winds the river "Umhlatusi." This is a very beautiful
64 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
district. From the lofty hills on the south side you look
down on an extensive plain, about six hundred or seven
hundred feet beneath you. Overlooking it thus, you can
distinguish all the patches of green grass between the clumps
of mimosa, here large and there small; and at that lofty
elevation you are not aware that what looks so short and
green is a tangled net-work of strong coarse grass as high as.
your waist. Near the centre rises a conical hill called
" Mandowee," and on the slopes of that eminence we saw
some herds of buffalo and koodoo, w^hich added life to, and
enhanced the beauty of the landscape.
Directly we out-spanned, I sent one of the Kaffirs with a
gun to kill a buffalo for our larder. He took two other natives
with him, and I sat upon the brink of the plateau and watched
the whole proceeding through a capital binocular. For a
long time everything was quiet, but suddenly there was a
rush of buffalo galloping off in every direction, a faint sound
reached the ear, a slight curl of smoke was seen hovering
over a clump of bush, and a black spot dotted the ground !
In about an hour the Kaffirs came marching up the hill,
singing the hunter's death-song. This is always sung when
they have been successful, and goes to a strange wild air.
I do not know the composer of either the words or the music,
but it has a very exciting effect — even on myself, who am
rather a cool customer — when sung by a number of people.
It goes on in this Avay : —
"The assegai of England {i.e., the gnn),
There it is disappearing. (In the bush is meant)
Do you hear ?
It explodes ! "
Some variations, almost untranslatable, and then repeat
da capo.
A KAFFIR SHIBBOLETH. 65
I may here mention that the natives have regular
" nyangas " (doctors), whose business it is to compose
songs, set them to music, and teach them to the people ;
and I can assure you that some of their effusions are well
worthy of praise, and create as great a sensation among the
Kaffirs here as a new opera by Yerdi or Gounod would with
you at home.
We crossed the plain, and ascended the hills on the
opposite or north side in one day. We reached the level
plains on their summit — for recollect they are table moun-
tains— through a deep gorge, only remarkable, however, for
the name of a round-topped hill, by which you wind, and
which guards the head of the pass. To spell it is, I am afraid,
impossible ; to pronounce it, equally so ; but I will do my
endeavour to enlighten the reader — " Nxockqwin ! " You
sound the " N " first. The " x " is pronounced by press-
ing the tongue against the roof of the mouth, and letting it
go suddenly with a click on the " ock " as in clock. You
manage the " q " by clearing with a loud noise that part
of your throat just under your right ear at the same time
as you pronounce the last syllable " win." But, remember,
you must do all this continuously in one word, and not spit
out all these sounds as if they were so many distinct ones.
This suggests to my mind the anecdote of the singing pupil,
whose master, after keeping him at the scales for five years,
dismissed him as fit to sing anything. But I know many
Europeans who are good Kaffir speakers, and have been in
the colony a dozen years in the constant practice of the
language, and yet have not, and seemingly never will,
overcome this Kaffir shibboleth.
The next day we arrived, without any adventurous inci-
dent, at one of the King's kraals or country seats, where we
F
66 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
were detained four days by rain. We were unquestionably
(as we should have been in the shadow of the King's palace)
under the influence of " the raining pours ! "
It is, for even the most Mark Tapleyish person, slightly
dreary being detained in one spot by wet weather, especi-
ally if you are travelling in Zulu-land and in a waggon.
Doctor Marigold says truly that a waggon in such circum-
stances does find out the holes in one's temper awfully !
You are either obliged to stick to the very limited compass
of the waggon, or else seek society in the huts of the natives,
of which experience I assure you that " a little goes a long
way." Not that one cannot obtain any fun out of it, if
you know the language well, and choose to indulge in
telling extraordinary tales of the white man's doing-s to the
old women and the men, and listening to their decidedly
original remarks, which, from their naiveU, are often ex-
tremely amusing. But then you cannot vary the subjects
much, as, besides your own Munchausenisms, cattle, food,
and marriages, with any little floating gossip, are the whole
and sole staple of the conversation of the natives. And
then, again, it is not pleasant to be cooped up in a round
hut like a Brobdignagian bee-hive, about ten feet in dia-
meter, with a fifteen-inch rat-hole of a door, which serves
for window and chimney besides, as there is no other outlet
for the smoke ; and consequently your eyes are smarting
and watering all the time, which makes you feel envious of
the smoke-proof optics of the Zulus.
My principal consolations when it rains are my pipe and
my books. I have one volume especially — a two hundred-
year-old edition of Titus Livy's History of Eome — which I
find a famous stand-by in all weathers and at all times. Fre-
quently, with an empty larder, have I dined sumptuously
A PLAGUE OF WOLVES. 67
off the delights of Capua, and assisted digestion by reading
of the hardships endured by the Faventines and the Sagun-
tines. There's "a deal of battles" in that history !
Again, to lie in your waggon listening to the pattering of
the rain within a couple of feet of your nose, watching the
curl of the smoke as it emerges and rises from your meer-
schaum, and building castles in the air, is decidedly luxurious,
and a very jolly way of enjoying the dolce far niente.
At last we were able to start again, and after a week's
travelling without any remarkable adventures, except some
narrow escapes from capsizing the waggon, we came within
a day's journey of the King's kraal, and there we remained
trading for nearly a fortnight. The head man of the kraal
was a very decent old fellow, " fat and scant o' breath,"
and " happy as a king." The only plague of his life was
the wolves. We could hear them at night howling all
round the kraal, and I frequently had a pop at them to
frighten them off. The old man told me that they fre-
quently carried off sheep, goats, and calves out of the very-
house, that some of them were common wolves, but that
others belonged to "Takati's" (witches); and when I asked
him how he could tell that, he answered that he had seen
mealies in their droppings, and where could they get
mealies except from their masters 1
I may mention incidentally that this " Tri]^ " was written
under difficulties, many of them trifling in themselves, but
still very annoying, and some of them of a rather formi-
dable character. There was no room in the waggon to write
there at night, while in the day-time we were never free
from pests, in the shape of girls, boys, and young men
chattering, whistling, laughing, and jumping all about the
waggon. The natives are just children with the strength
68 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
and passions of men; they climb everywhere, handling-
everything, and asking questions on all subjects within their
ken, or which may be suggested by what they see and hear.
When you don't answer their interrogations, one will take
upon himself to give information to the others, and some of
their ideas about the uses of things are most laughable.
They themselves know of no other use to which anything
can be applied than hunting, fighting, making their dresses,
working with cattle, or cooking food ; it can, therefore, be
easily understood that the endeavour to apply to those
jnirposes all the multitudinous articles which a white man
carries in his waggon, and which he considers necessaries,
often elicits the most ludicrous comments and remarks.
But, withal, the Kaffirs are a happy race, kindly disposi-
tioned, and generous according to their means, but terrible
thieves nevertheless. Their wants are very few, and are
supplied without nmch labour. Their cattle give them
milk, and their land corn in plenty. Their huts they can
build, of wattles and thatch, in a day. Such amusements
as they have, seem to be sufficient for them, and, as usual,
"the old, old story" — love-making — is a favourite pastime
with them. They go to sleep with the fowls and rise with
the lark. Their lives pass away in an unclouded round —
here and there, perhaps, a shadow comes over them in the
shape of the displeasure of the King or their Chief, which,
as the case may be, they may have incurred, unwittingly or
otherwise ; but it is usually only sufficient to vary the
monotony a little. It is very seldom, indeed, that their
head men allow their offences to be punished with death,
or, what to the Kaffir is even worse than death, the taking
of his cattle ; and an occasional thrashing with heavy
sticks they seem to mind no more than we would the-
tickling of a fly on one's nose.
"THE camels'- HAIR-TEXTS OF KURDISTAN!" 69
I remember reading some time ago about '' The Camels'-
liair-tents of Kurdistan " — a good-sounding, mouth-filling
phrase, and one which smacks of the romantic. Hearing
their habitations called by a name like this, completely
does away with all the notions one might otherwise have
of their discomforts. But, sitting one night in a Kaffir hut,
it just struck me that the compound of sour milk, calves,
goats, and dirt was exactly like the contents of — I must
say it again — "The Camels'-hair-tents of Kurdistan;" and
barring the historical recollections, I might as well be in
Eastern Siberia as in Southern Africa, there is so little real
<lifFerence between savage peoples.
I have said before that it is seldom their offences are
punished with death, yet it must be borne in mind that
death is always hovering over thenij but, although they
know this to be the case, they think no more of their end
by order of their chiefs, or by violence, than most of our-
selves do of "shuffling off this mortal coil" in the quietude
of our beds and through natural causes.
Umcallan, the old head-man I have just mentioned, had
arrived from the King's a few days before I reached his
kraal, and he told me an incident which happened there
which shows the uncertain tenure by which life is held in
this country.
A regiment of soldiers were going through some evolu-
tions before Panda. One of them happened to wear his
hair a little longer than ordinary, which the King having
noticed, he flew into a violent rage, and ordered the man
out, and had him killed immediately. The only comment
he made on this was "it was perfectly right: what were the
people for, unless to be killed when the King chose r' It is
the old story resuscitated, on the other side of the globe, of
70 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
the Highland clansman, "Come oot Tonald, come oot, man,
an' be hangit, an' pleesure the laird ! " — proving that human
nature is human nature all the world over.
After a pleasant and profitable stay at Umcallan's, we left,
and travelled about half-a-day's journey towards the capital
to one of his Majesty's large military kraals, the "Escepene.""
The head man in this kraal is, as Paddy would say, a
loomany one of Panda's mothers, i.e., one of his father
" Ensensengakona's " wives ; and a remarkably jolly old
lady she is.
Langasana is the biggest woman I ever saw, weighing^
at least twenty-five stone. She never moves out of the hut,
but lolls away day after day on a mat inside, "keeping the
corporation up" on Kaffir beer and beef.
She rules over a large tract of country, and, consequently,,
has her hands full of cases to decide every day.
The old woman is governor, but the kraal belongs to the-
King, and it has, therefore, a " Sgohlo " — like the inner
apartment of the Sultan's palace — sacred to Langasana her-
self and about forty girls, " the pecooliar wanity " and
p'operty of King Panda. It is a great honour to be
admitted into the Sgohlo, and at night it is jealously
watched by the Kaffir Janissaries. The girls are allowed
no social intercourse with the other sex. They grow up-
separated and apart from every one until the day they are
bestowed upon those " whom the King delighteth to
honour." This kind of reward is something akin to the
King of Siam's white elephant, as, in return for the present
of a cava sposa, the individual thus honoured is expected, in
order to show his gratitude, to send to his Majesty a gift of
about ten times the value of an ordinary wife in the regular-
market.
DISCORD AMONG THE VILLAGE BELLES. 71
The district all round the capital — a square of about
twenty miles, in the heart of the country — is called " Mah-
labati," which ordinarily means " earth," but in this case
it means earth par excellence, the King's earth ! and all the
kraals on it belong to the King.
Each regiment has a large kraal as head-quarters, but
they are collectively called " Mahlabati." For instance,
Escepene is the head-quarters of the Escepe or Nonkenke
regiment, and in it I counted three hundred and thirty-
eight huts, eighteen of which are in the Sgohlo.
The huts are planted in a large circle, which the natives
seem to have an especial faculty for drawing ; even the
children, in playing at making kraals in the sand, will draw
one as correctly as if they had used a compass. A square
they cannot manage by any means ; even Kaffirs who have
worked for whites, and understand the use of a line, will
infallibly go askew.
In each and &,11 of the kraals there is a posy of girls, and,
sometimes, as in more civilised regions, the belles of one
kraal will have a quarrel with those of another, and then
they meet and fight it out, as happened here at the Escepene
the other day.
It appears that some girls who lived close by were carry-
ing beer to the King's, and were met by three or four of
those belonging to the Escepene, who asked them how they
came to cover up the King's beer with nasty rags. It is
dangerous work jesting with Panda's name, and an accusa-
tion of this sort might, if not rebutted, become a very
serious matter ; so by way of confutation they set to work
and severely beat the jesters ; but on their return they were
met by the whole force of the Escepene, and had the
compliment returned with interest.
72 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
Next day all Dugusa's girls turned out, encamped about
two hundred yards from the waggon, and sent two heralds
with a challenge to the Escepene. I was there when the
challenge came, and the commotion was tremendous. The
young men were all out hoeing, so the girls got hold of
their small shields and sticks and out they went. Langasana
sent a lot of men after them to turn them, which they did,
and chased them back into the kraal. However, "they
that will to Cupar maun to Cupar," and so answer the
challenge they would; and directly the guards were with-
drawn, out they went again. The old lady, seeing it was
useless to oppose them longer, said " Let them go ! " and I
followed to see the fun.
Both sides were armed alike with sticks, knobkerries,
and shields, but Dugusa's girls numbered only twenty, while
Langasana's were double that number.
The opposing forces met just at the back of the kraal at
which my waggon was " outspanned," and, without any
preliminary " feints or dodges," at it they went at once,
and with a will.
The noise, clatter of sticks, and shouts were most
startling. Every minute one or two w^ould roll over with
a broken head, and, meeting an opponent on the ground
in the like predicament, would have a pas de deux of
biting, scratching, and kicking. They kept at it with
intense energy, vociferation, and gesticulation, for about
ten minutes, and then the lesser number turned and fled.
The victors then returned, covered with blood, shouting,
and boasting of their deeds in the fray, and of their
"glorious victory!"
The men, of whom there were a considerable number
present, looked on very composedly, philosophically re-
A ZULU VENUS. 73
marking that " when girls quarrel they will fight, so it's of
no use attempting to separate them ! "
The leaders on the Escepene side were three daughters
of King Panda ; one of them the handsomest girl, whether
black or white, I have ever seen. Ah ! siveet Nomanxewa,
how shall I describe thee 1 A little over the middle size —
a splendid bust, but not over-developed, as in most Kaffir
women — a waist like Titania's, limbs like the Venus de
Milo ; she has escaped, too, the bane of thick lips and a flat
nose, and rejoices in what, without stretching, may be called
aquiline features ; head small, and set on a neck like a
classic column, well-rounded arms, small hands and feet ; in
manners neither bold nor forward, but an indescribable
easy gracefulness of motion pervading the whole. A fine
clever girl to talk to — a little bit of a vixen and a good deal
of the coquette — but, oh, dear ! what spoils the whole, like
the garlic in the Olla Fodrida — so aivfully odorifermis /
And then, again, you may easily imagine how the charm
would be broken if you were conversing with a pretty,
clever, ladylike girl, and she were, disdaining even the
2Kipier mouclioir of the Japanese, to blow her nose with her
fingers, or spit against the wall and rub it dry with this
Eve's pattern of a handkerchief! Pah ! there's no sentiment
and no romance where there's no soap/
We have all heard and read a good deal about the
soldiers' stocks — much against, but precious little in favour
of them. One of the most original ideas on the subject
was advanced by one of my Kaffirs the other day. He was
describing to Langasana the great power and resources of the
British ; and amongst other things declared that they could
cover the country with red-coats ; soldiers who never run
away — in fact, it was impossible that they could, as they
74 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
were peesella'd* round the neck with a piece of iron, so that
they could not " t^mi and flee ! " Could there be any better
argument against that absurdity than this one given by a
savage in its f aimer, as he thought 1 The Kaffirs are quick
enough to discern the true uses of things when they come
into frequent contact with them, but the soldier's stock is a
mystery, a puzzle, " a thing which no black fellah can
make out."
It is early morning. The day is just breaking, and soon it
is heralded in with a variety of sounds, some of which defy
description. A profound stillness prevails ; yet, as it were
through the silence, is heard the wailing departure of day's
enemy. And as Aurora gradually presses night back to the
west, all nature, animate and inanimate, seems breathlessly
to watch the contest.
Presently comes morn's auxiliary, the breeze ; and, as if
assured by it that their friend the day is conqueror, the
birds strike up their notes of welcome to the dawn, and of
triumph over their foe, fast receding from its advancing light.
Then begin the sounds connected with human life. A
voice is heard, a dog barks, the cattle low ; " shrill chanti-
cleer proclaims the approach of morn," and with the rays —
the heralds of day's general the sun — a burst around hails
another day begun !
The day having fairly set in, the first operation is the
toilet. This scene is unique, and, had I the graphic pencil
* To lieesella is to make a hole. They apply it principally to
burning the hole for the iron in the end of the assegai-shaft ; but it
also in Kaffir " slang" means to settle or fix a thing as firmly as it
is possible to do. When they say " such a thing, or so and so, is
peesdla'd," it amounts to our phrase " I've cooked that goose at
anyrate."
MYSTERIES OF THE TOILET. 75
of a John Leech, I should like to sketch it for you ; but I
must content myself with doing my best in the uwd-painting
way.
It must be borne in mind that we have here in Zulu-land
a " Eegent " in Cetchwayo ; and as bad habits are very
recuperative, and are apt to repeat themselves in very
curious ways, we have here gone back to the manners of
"the Eegency." AVe make our toilet in public! It is the
custom of the country; (but pray don't suppose for a single
moment that I "go the entire animal," for I always keep up
a decent reserve in the shape of "pants"), and like every-
thing else amongst the natives is delightful from the absence
of starch ; and yet there is nothing at all immodest in the
custom amongst themselves, because of their entire ignorance
of anything like obscenity or grossness. In this respect
"the benighted heathen" in this quarter of the globe, are
"a caution" to many of your "enlightened" Pharisees.
The first wonder is the soap. " Where does all that froth
come from ? " " Doesn't it burn you 1 " says one. " Burn
him ! " quoth another, " No ! how can it burn him ] "
" Why, it's boiling," rejoins the first interrogator. Then a
little pas de hallet round the waggon, and much laughter at
the ignoramus. " What's that for % what's it made of ] "
inquires a Zulu belle, to which I answer " That's for clean-
ing my nails, and it is made of pigs' hair." " But why do
you cut your nails 1 Why don't you let them grow like
that % " pointing to her own fingers with nails an inch-and-
a-half long, which you must bear in mind is a mark of
distinction in Zulu-land, as showing that the owner has no
necessity to soil her hands with labour. I reply that " I
must work, and if I tried to do it with nails like that I
should always have them broken or dirty."
76 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
Here one of my Kaffirs strikes in. He has seen " how
are the mighty fallen" in the estimation of the bystanders
by my inadvertent confession that / must tcorh, and he
hastens to explain that I must not be thought any the less
of on that account, as all white men, from the highest to
the lowest, had to work in some way ; and, on being asked
" why the big men don't do the same as their brethren of
Zulu — sit still all day, drink beer, eat beef, and hear the
news 1 " simply answers "It is the way they were ' torn
out.' "*
Then come the most free and easy remarks about my
personal appearance — the colour of my skin, the cut of my
phiz, &c. The general summing-up is not flattering to my
amor proprice, but it is admitted that if I were only black I
might pass in a crowd !
Every stage of my simple toilet is narrowly watched and
criticised, and when I have given myself "the finishing
touch " there is a general clapping of hands, dancing and
shouting, and I am coolly requested to repeat the whole
operations de novo for the benefit of some who had just
arrived !
At Langasana's I was shown a willow-pattern j^late — a
genuine old Spode — and was asked what was the meaning'
of all those blue marks upon it. They were particularly
delighted when, like old Hamlet's ghost, I proceeded to
unfold the tale (illustrated with ]plates !). It was " the old,
old story," which they could well understand. The two
* This is an idiomatical expression, meaning ' ' it has been their
•custom from the time they were first a people." Their idea is that
the Zuhis were " torn ont" of the reeds — I supjjose from the pecu-
har murmuring-like noise they make when "shaken hj the wind;"
or may it not be some faint tradition of the Deluge ?
" THE OLD, OLD STORY, A LA CIIINOIS. 77
fond lovers, the hard-hearted father, the broken-hearted girl
shut up, and the ultimate bolting with the jewels, came
home to their bosoms as an everyday incident in Zulu-land.
I had to go over it again and again ; and after I had pointed
out the young man in the boat, told them that the girl was
immured in the house, and the obdurate father asleep in the
arbour, and then shown them the three running figures on
the bridge, one would get hold of the plate, turn it upside
down and twirl it round and round, and then gravely expound
it to the others in the most ridiculous manner. Tired at last
with their endless questions — descending to even the third
and fourth generations of the runaways — I got rid of the
subject by seriously telling the old lady that the plate was
of such a material that if much handled the colours would
fade away, and then it would all fall in pieces, which so
frightened them that not one of them would touch it, and I
had myself to i^ut the plate back in its place for my pains.
Having completed my business at Langasana's, we moved
to the King's, to whom I made a present of three blankets,
and received from him, as a quid pro quo, an ox to kill for
food. I would rather have taken it home to Natal with
me than have eaten it, but the etiquette of the country
forbade such an economical course.
Panda is the King de jure, but his son Cetchwayo is de
facto the ruler. Panda is a fat old fellow of about sixty
years of age, with peculiar white rings round the pupils of
his eyes; very kindly, and fond of gossip. He inquired
about all the doings and wonders of the white man; and,
after about half-an-hour's talk, gradually dozed off to sleep,
when I left him to enjoy his siesta.
The day after I arrived he sent his chamberlain to inquire
if I liked beer, and, upon my answering that it was very
78 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
good, he was "graciously pleased" to invite me to a drink-
ing bout. Kaffir beer is, in substance and taste, something
like butter-milk, and about as intoxicating as thin gruel
would be if made with sauteme and water. It is also a
primary article of food, as most of the great people live
nearly entirely upon it, with the occasional addition of a
little beef.
On my arrival in the Eoyal presence, a bowl holding
about a gallon was set down before me, and I, as in duty
bound, addressed myself most loyally to the work. About
a fourth had disappeared when I began to feel " an inward
satisfaction," and, like the fat boy in Pickwick, as if "I
was a wisibly fattening under the operation," and con-
sequently felt disinclined for more extensive experiments
on my internal capacity; but the King was inexorable.
*' Drink, white man, drink! you said you liked beer, and
yet you leave it." I reply, sotta wee, "True, oh King! but
I have drank enough, and am unworthy to drink with the
great King."
Now, in Zulu-land, if the King were to tell any one to
eat an ox, the gastronomic feat must be performed. Thus
my answer was an utter infringement of all Zulu notions of
etiquette. Being made aware of this, I again "strove
mightily and prevailed;" and, having thus made amends
for my gaucherie, I returned to the waggon feeling like a
boa after swallowing a calf, with the sensation of my skin
being too small for me; but yet with a mind just so
"elevated" as to make light of all these discomforts.
When I saw the King again I explained to him that,
never having been in his country before, my stomach was
not adapted for stowing away the large quantities of beer
which it was so easy for his people to do; but, as I intended
KING PANDA — ZULU KOO-TOOING. 79
to remain some time, I should no doubt, by practising
diligently, train my interior economy to receive the proper
amount of Kaffir pahilum. And with this assurance I
hoped he would not press me to drink, but leave me to my
own exertions, which he might rest assured would be
unremitting. After pitying my neglected education, he
j^romised that I should be left to myself, and benignantly
hoped that a blessing might attend upon my laudable
exertions !
The old King is wheeled about in a little waggon. He
never walks, although I am inclined to think he might do
&o] but I should not like to "lay the odds" on his ability,
as, from his enormous obesity, it would be rather a difficult
matter at the best to carry "the Habeas Cm'^us Act" into
operation with him. "It is a lesson to him who would be
admonished" to see him drawn out into the centre of the
kraal, the people running in front removing every little bit
of stick, grass, or stone which might impede tl:e waggon,
however slightly — no one daring to stand up, but all
creeping about him on their hands and knees, shouting
^'Bayete! Bayete!" (or "King of Kings"), "You who are
black," "Zulu," "Lion," "King of the world," &c., &c.; and
when he speaks, all stretching forward in the attitude of
intense attention, their eyes bent on the ground, and at
4jvery pause crying "Vooma" (we agree), "Yes, Father,"
"You say it," "Hear to him," &c., &c.; and then, when he
orders them to do anything, they fly like lightning — an
example which it were well that our civilized white servants
would follow! If any one displeases him, he says "Beat
him," or "Take him away" (meaning "kill him"), as the
case may be, and instantly fifty ready fellows dart out, only
too happy to execute his commands. Yet, as I said before,
80 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
for all this lie has no regal power in the country. Cetch-
wayo is the actual king, although all the outward semblance
is allowed to his father. The power to kill a few people
whenever the freak seizes him is simply considered nothing
— merely a toy given to please him.
Cetchwayo came here to-day with a large following to
see his father, and show him the new ring on his head. He
slept last night at a kraal about three miles off, and about
ten o'clock this morning we noticed him leave it on his way
hither. I determined to witness the meeting; so, when
the King was wheeled out, I went up, paid my respects,
and took my place, which, by right of accident of colour,
was alongside his little waggon amongst his chiefs. Ho
waited about half-an-hour, and then the whole band, with
the "child" (the literal translation of his Zulu title) at
their head, made their appearance at the gate of the kraal,
about two hundred yards off, and immediately commenced
shouting "Bayete, Bayete," &c. There were about three
hundred men, all of his own regiment, with him, and as
they approached nearer they bent lower and lower, until,
when within about thirty yards, they were about to go
down on their hands and knees as usual, when a gracious
command to the contrary prevented them, and up they
stood for inspection.
After a dead silence of perhaps five minutes, a voice from
the waggon said, "Good morning, Cetchwayo," when imme-
diately every tongue was loosed, and he was greeted with a
perfect storm of " Bayete " and " Yebo Baba."
I may mention, parenthetically, that it is the rule when
you arrive at a kraal to take your seat and say nothing.
No one will address you for a few minutes, but all the while
you will be subjected to a most minute inspection. The
CETCHWAYO. 81
greater the man the longer the silence. At last the head
man m presence will bid you "Good morning." He will
say, '' Ge sa koo bona" (I see you). You will answer "Yebo"
(yes); or, if an old man, "Yebo baba, ge bona nena" (Yes j
father, I see you).
Those with Cetchwayo were the sons of the greatest men
in the country. Their fathers had shared Panda's good and
bad fortune; and as the old King called them one by one to
stand out and show themselves, and recognised the family
vraisemblance to his old companions, I could see that he was
very much affected, yet proud at the same time; and proud
he might well be, for three hundred handsomer specimens of
humanity it would be difficult to bring together anywhere.
Each of them would have made a model for a sculptor.
After the reception ceremonial was over, I went and had
some conversation with Cetchwayo. He is evidently
*' native and to the manner born," as a first-rate ruler of the
Zulus, and they thoroughly understand and appreciate these
qualities in him. But beyond a fondness for guns, of which
he knows the power, he seems to have no wish to improve,
or, in other words, to learn anything from the whites. It
is, however, pride perhaps which i:>revents him; his invari-
able answer to any suggestion of this nature being, "It is
not our custom — we are Kings of the Zulu" ("Zulu" in
native parlance means "the heavens"). Any attempt,
therefore, to improve upon this "heavenly" state, he thinks
a work of supererogation. He is kind to the whites, both
from his natural disposition, and because he is acute enough
to see that any quarrel with them would be niinous to him.
In person, he is a good-looking, tall, powerful man, but he
is developing the characteristic of all Ensensengakona's
jirogeny — terrible fatness — especially about the hips and
82 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
legs; and he has, hi common with all Panda's children,
small hands and feet — the mark of good birth. He
remained at the capital but one night, and then he left for
the headquarters of his own regiment, "Toolwan."
It is amusing to see the natives doing what they call
woi'h The other day the King wanted some wattles for a
hut; and immediately, instructions were sent round all the
kraals in the Mahlabate, to the Amakanda (heads) as they
are called. The whole of the young men turned out to the
bush, each cut a wattle (or branch), leaving the leafy head
upon it, and returned marching up the hill, looking as if
"Birnam wood had come to Dunsinane." When they
came into the kraal each man threw down his wattle with
the air of one who had done some great deed; then they
had a dance, and each "went his several way," entirely
satisfied with the great day's icork which he had done.
Nodwengo, the capital, lies in the northern end of an
amphitheatre about eight miles in diameter. The surround-
ing hills are very beautiful — partly green and partly covered
with mimosa trees, and broken up here and there into
precipices. The White Umvelose river runs through the
centre, and smaller streams intersect the area in all direc-
tions. The consequence is, that from its situation it is very
hot in summer, while from the plenteousness of water it is
very cold in winter. The kraal itself contains, I should
think, about five hundred huts. I have not counted them,
but judge by comparison with the Escepene.
Over the hills to the north is a large Hlanzi called the
Ewela, from which I have just returned after two days'
unsuccessful buff'alo shooting.
The heat — it is the middle of summer — was something
frightful; it must have been 140° in the sun. Not a
DELIGHTS OF BUFFALO HUNTING. . 83
breath of air can penetrate the dense mimosa clumj)s. The
country is very broken, and stones are strewn thickly
amongst the grass, which reaches up to your thighs, render-
ing walking extremely difficult and exhausting.
Then at night, after a hard day's work, to come home
and take "a feed" of roasted beef half-raw, some sour
milk and mealies, and go to sleep in one of the native huts
on a hard clay floor, is not, by any means, either luxurious
or refreshing.
I should not have spoken of buffalo shooting at all, but
that my experience of it bears out a free-and-easy description
which I once heard, viz., — "Buffalo hunting is devilish hard
work, but then, by Jove, it's glorious fun!" This is true.
The rising in the morning before the dawn, the walk to the
ground while you are fresh, the taking your stand upon
some high point to watch for the game, and the noting, as
light increases, the gradual unfolding of peak after peak,
valley after valley — the chiar-oscuro, the light and the shade,
with here and there a nebulcB of mist hiding some spot on
which you feel assured there must be buffalo — is positively
delightful.
You forget for a time the object of your excursion in
admiring the beauties of the landscape, and the exquisite
and ever-varying Turneresque atmospheric effects, until at
last you are recalled to the work in hand by a sudden cry
of "Nanzya!" (there they are) from the native at your side,
who has no artistic or ideal sympathies, but whose whole
soul has been concentrated on buffalo beef all this time.
Then comes a consultation as to how the game may be
best approached, and the direction of the wind has to be
ascertained and considered. They are travelling towards
the bush for shade and rest, and the lay of the land has to be
84 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
noted. When all is settled the start is made, and then comes
the hard work. The jDurity of the atmosphere is such that
distance is almost annihilated, and what seems close at hand
is, in reality, miles away; therefore you have generally a long-
and weary tramp before you strike the trail. The word
is passed, "Steady now, no talking, they are in that bush,
look outl" and away we go. Eyes roving in all directions,
foot-falls as if on velvet, and the nostrils of the natives —
and doubtless my own, too — expanded with excitement.
Presently we come to the dense part of the bush, where
they lie during the heat of the day, and creejnng is the
word — moving like mice as regards noise, like the tortoise
as regards speed. Suddenly the boy in front of me halts,
and I creep up to his side; no words are necessary. I
gently move aside a leafy screen, and there they are. And
noble fellows they are too ! Some standing, some lying down,
some snoring away, and one old bull looking out in our direc-
tion, evidently susj^icious, yet not sufficiently so as to induce
him to alarm his fellows. He is within about ten yards; so,
as gingerly as possible, I come into something like Hythe
position, and in a second the woods ring with the report
which accompanied the bullet as it entered his brain.
There is a snort and a heavy fall, a rush like thunder
through the thick tangled bush, and amidst the smoke I
deliver the second barrel at a glancing black object, and,
above the reverberation of retiring hoofs, a "Ba — a — a — a''
is heard, which assures us that that shot has also been
successful. This is all. One minute of intense excitement
in the day, with your life on the hazard; but it is enough,
and repays all the toil and risk, as there is not only the
pride of killing such nol)le game — accounted the most
dangerous in South Africa — l)ut there is also the pleasure
A KAFFIR STORY-TELLER. 85
of supplying the natives with meat, which they seldom get
by any other means, and whose imichant for it is in the
inverse ratio to its scarcity.
I need scarcely say after this ei)isode that I am fond of
shooting, and that I consider the sport here worth following;
but as for those books indited by " mighty Nimrods," I'd as
lief read a season's game-book in England as their lucubra-
tions, for, like your "Alpine Club" adventures, if not "toast
and waterish," there is generally too strong an infusion of
" bosh and bunkum," and pervading self-glorification.
I heard a story the other day which, if the power of
writing fiction were possessed by me, I might have worked
up into a first-class sensational novel.
It was at night, while we were all sitting round the fire
at the waggon. The fitful light was thrown on the narrator,
who being right opposite to me, I had a full view of his
gestures and the action of his body, without which, I greatly
fear, my description will lose half its interest. I fancy that
not even the Eastern story-tellers can come up to the Kaffir
in power of pictorial narration; their language is not very
copious, but, notwithstanding, by the combined effects of
oratory and expressive pantomine, they can bring circum-
stances, time, and place most vividly before you.
When any person is accused of witchcraft, it is generally
one who has a good stock of cattle, so that his destruction
may be profitable to the King. If he is found guilty —
which, by the way, is always a foregone conclusion — " an
army," small or large, according to the size of his kraal, is
sent against him. The proceedings are kej^t a profound
secret, and the first notice he has of the trouble he has got
into is the shout of " the avengers" surrounding the kraal.
86 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
It was a case of this kind which the Kaffir described. It
appears that some years ago one of Panda's wives was taken
ill. The " doctor" was sent for, and, having made his
diagnosis, pronounced that she was bewitched — a convenient
method, by the way, of covering his ignorance — whereupon
he was ordered to discover the culprit; and, after a little
fugleing, he "smelt out" a petty chief who lived high-up on
the Tugela. It was necessary to be particularly careful in
dealing with this man, as he lived so near to the border
that, if he had the slightest inkling of what was intended,
he could easily slip over into Natal. Everything, however,
was well managed, and at night the kraal was surrounded.*
The kraals, as I have said elsewhere, are built in a circle,
and where they are anyways near the bush they are encircled
on the outside with a thorn fence about the height of a man,
besides the inner fence, which forms the cattle stand; and
between the two are ranged the huts.
The modus operandi is first silently to surround the outer
fence, then open the gate, which is made of branches, enter,
and surround the huts. When all is complete, they set uj)
a shout and call on the unhappy inmates to come forth and
be killed, which they generally do without any fuss or noise,
both from their sense of the uselessness of struggling against
their opponents, and from the fatalism which runs in all
their natures. They say it is their Ehlose, i.e., fate, and
"who can prevent it?" But in this case it happened that
the chief was a powerful, active, daring young fellow, who,
besides the natural love of life, had another incentive to
* The practice is, if one of the people is condemned to be executed
for witchcraft, to kill the whole kraal, even the very dogs and fowls
do not escape. They then set fire to the huts, and so ends tlie
dismal tragedy. The cattle, of course, are driven off to the King.
AN ARTFUL DODGE. 87
escape in the shape of his intended, who was on a visit to
him, and in his hut.*
The people, aroused from sleep by the yells of the King's
messengers, knew at once what their fate would be, and
without any ado submitted to it. But the chief determined
to make a dash for it, and, at all events, try to save the
girl.
Together they rolled up a mat, fastened a shield and some
assegais on the top as if held by a man, and thrust it
suddenly out into the midst of those guarding the door.
Immediately they closed on to it, stabbing and striking it in
the dark. Before they had discovered their mistake the
man had got out of the little door — the most difficult part —
and, placing his back against the outer fence, was able to
defend himself for a few moments. As the attacking force
drew off to assail him, the girl got out, and, seizing the
" dummy," threw it over the outer fence amongst those who
were guarding round the kraal, where the same scene was
repeated. Those inside, seeing another suddenly appear,
and fearing that there might be more, halted, puzzled for a
moment; then the two, seizing the opportunity, sprang
clear through or over the fence, and got away, stabbing two
of their opponents who " stopped the way." Now, the
escape of any one under such circumstances is supposed to
show such bravery and acuteness that it is always reckoned
a condonation of past offences; and the successful is sure to
arrive at high honour in the Zulu country. They infer that
he cannot be a witch if he is such a brave man. Therefore
the chief and his bride might with perfect safety have
appeared at the King's kraal — if they could have escaped
* The Kaffirs have no notion that there is any immodesty in tho
two sexes occupying the same hut at night.
88 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
pursuit — and, once there, would have been respected highly,
and, in all probability, have his cattle returned to him.
But this chief's " heart was red," and, having " a large
liver" (great bravery), he determined first to avenge the
slaughter of his friends, and then cross over to Natal. No
one in the Zulu country would molest him except those sent
by the King for the purpose.
This party, after completing the destruction of the kraal,
drove off the cattle to the King's, having first despatched
six men and an officer on the trail of the fugitives.
The Kaffir's ideal description of the runaways was in-
imitable. He employed few words, but the action of his
body, head, and arms brought vividly before your eyes the
fugitives — ^the stumbling over stones and into holes, the
hard breathing, the wiping away the perspiration, and at
last the halt, when a tolerably safe distance had been
reached; the sitting on the ground in despair — nothing said,
but constant mutual exclamations of grief and anger escap-
ing from them, the start from the ground to flee " at the
turning of a leaf," the re-seating themselves, and the gradual
return to " mitigated grief;" the conversation between them
as to future prospects and ^proceedings, and the decision at
last that the girl should hide and the man return to see the
results of the fray, and, if possible, avenge the destruction
which he felt too certain had overtaken his people.
The parting — " Ah ! my child, take care. Walk as the
snake goes through the grass. Strike as it does and dis-
appear. Remember that though I remain here, the assegai
that strikes you is my death. But go; you are a man. In
after days we shall talk over this matter in Natal, and with
the more pleasure that you will have appeased the Ehlose
of your friends who are gone."
A ZULU HERO. 89
The girl was hid away in a hole in the side of a rocky-
hill. The man rolled a large stone to the mouth of the
recess; and, to prevent it from falling away, stayed it round
with smaller ones. Ah ! too fatal precaution !
The remainder of the tragedy is brief but sorrowful.
After a smart but short walk, the chief saw the pursuing
party advancing up the side of the hill by a path which at
the top passed between two high banks. He posted him-
self under cover of a bush in their front and waited for
them.
Expecting nothing less than that he would come of his
own accord to meet them and deliver himself up, the seven
men were hurrying carelessly up. As they passed the bush
the chief sprang out, and with two short sharp stabs
despatched two men, and had effected his escape before they
recovered from their surprise.
It was not long, however, before, with shouts and yells,
the remainder plunged into the bush after him; and in the
confusion they, mistaking one another for their intended
victim, fought amongst themselves, and the result was the
loss of two more. The other three, when they saw how
their numbers were reduced, determined to return home and
give up the pursuit. For this purpose they proceeded up
the path, but on one of the high banks at the top the vin-
dictive and. undaunted avenger was awaiting them, and,
hurling a huge boulder from his coign of vantage, dashed
out the brains of the officer as he came beneath him. Seeing
his enemies reduced to two, he considered it beneath his
manhood to use strategy, and he therefore descended to
engage them hand-to-hand. Ah! rash adventurer — forget-
ful lover ! Why will he forget the warning of his affianced,
that the assegai which reached him equally wounded her?
90 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
Many days passed and went, and at Nodwengo the people
began to wonder that there was no appearance of the party
sent in pursuit of the chief, and another corps was des-
patched to endeavour to obtain some tidings of them. They
arrived at the ruins of the kraal, and there took up the
trail. First they found the skeletons — picked by the wolves
— of the four who had been slain at and in the bush; then
those of the three at the top. They marvelled greatly at
the prowess of the chief, and wondered what had become
of him. One of them, however, struck his trail, and the
party following it soon came to the cavity where the girl
had been hid. In front of it lay the bones of the chief, and,
directed by the effluvia, they rolled away the stone, and
there discovered the corpse of the unfortunate girl !
Her figurative words had come, in effect, literally true.
The wounds which her lover had received in the fight had
just left him strength sufficient to creep to the hiding place
of his intended, but not enough to remove the stone ; and
he had fastened it in such a manner that she from the inside
could not free herself! There they both died — he, most
likely, quickly, owing to his wounds; but she slowly,
lingeringly, the agonising death of famine !
Who shall paint the heart-rending scene ? — the bleeding
lover on the outside ; his feeble and ineffectual attempts to
release her ; the blood welling-out afresh at every abortive
effort; at last the despairing conversation as the awful
reality of their hopeless position stares them in the face;
the agonising cries of the poor girl immured in her living
tomb as the voice of her lover gradually faded away in
death ; thsn the loving aj^peals of the girl meet no response;
and, at length, the conviction steals over her that no more
shall she hear the voice of her beloved — no more shall she
A ZULU TRAGEDY. 91
see his dear form ; and she Draw the curtain ! Their
agonies are past ; but while they lasted, ah ! who shall
paint their bitterness 1 It is a sad, mournful story, which
has deeply touched even the native heart, callous as it is to
scenes of rapine and slaughter.
It is a custom in the Zulu country that every year, just
as the Indian com is filled, but yet still milky and soft, the
people repair to the King at Nodwengo, and there hold " a
feast of first-fruits," when the King has a grand review of all
his troops, big and little, old and young, male and female —
all who are able to go up, like the Jews to the Passover ;
and, after the King has eaten of the green food, and put his
army "through their facings," they all disperse again as-
rapidly as they collected together. This they call " Hlala^
bkos;" literally, "Playing to the King!" The feast will
begin in about ten days, and, from all I have heard, and
what I have seen of the smaller one, I am sure it will be
worth witnessing and describing.
The lesser one was celebrated about a fortnight ago, when
about three thousand men came up to the kraal, caught the^
bull, and danced the " Ingoma."
The natives call the smaller feasts the " Niatella," or the
"Treader on heels;" and at it every year a bull is turned
out, which a i:>articular regiment — this year " Tool wan " — is
ordered to kill. They must not use assegais or sticks, but
must break its neck or choke it with their bare hands. It
is then burned, and the strength of the bull is supposed to
enter into the King, thereby prolonging his health and
strength.
The bull — which on this occasion was a fine three-year-
old — is turned out, and the men throw themselves upon it
92 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
like ants. It accepted their embraces quietly for a while,
until finding that something more than a joke was intended,
it commenced to kick and plunge furiously. Three or four
got kicked and gored ; but it was of no use, for despite of
its tremendous exertions, they at last fairly choked it,
shouldered it off to the kraal, and then burned it.
Then they danced the " Ingoma." This is the national
song of the Zulus, and has as great an effect on them as our
national anthem has on us. It is a very old song, but
became all of a sudden famous in Chaka's time, who made
it his war song, and to this African " Lullibullero" conquered
all of what is now the Zulu-land and Natal as well ; and
€ver since then it has become a sort of combination of the
''Queen's Anthem" and "Scots wha ha'e" among the people.
When the soldiers commenced the cantata, in front of the
King, they had it all to themselves for a few minutes, but
gradually the patriotic feeling got roused, and all the
bystanders — old women and children, the chiefs, and the
Koyal attendants, and at last the old King himself — ^joined
in the loyal chorus, and the air became full of " J6, J6, J6 —
J^, J6, Je," accompanied by regular stamps on the ground,
steadily increasing in intensity until everything rattled
again. Then leaving off the chorus they struck up —
speaking of the Zulus —
' * They cut them to pieces,
They put them to rights; (ironically)
By the way, you are not one of them.
We are braves, that fear the King ;
By the way, you are not one of ug.
Je, Je, Je, (stamp) Je, Je, Je," (stamp).
The words will not seem to express or even suggest much
to an Englishman, and would not appear at all striking even
THE ZULU NATIONAL ANTHEM. 93
if I could convey the idioms ; but to Zulus, accompanied as
they are with glorious remembrances, they are sufl&cient
thoroughly to arouse their savage blood ; and, therefore,
when the " Ingoma " is sung, an extra number of captains
are always spread about, as a sort of special constables, as a
necessary measure of precaution, in order to quell any
attempt at tumult which may arise. And, I may add, that
tumults always do arise. A wry word or a crooked look
sets the whole in a blaze like a spark among powder ; and
then the captains immediately commence to hammer away
with heavy sticks or " knob-kerries " till they cry " hold,
enough ! " The stick is the great disciplinarian and
" argumentarium " in the Zulu. The young men have a
saying, "We never can hear, unless we first feel the stick!"
The whole of the kraals on the Mahlabate are filling fast ;
the people are trooping in from all directions, each party
with its household goods and a package of Indian corn for
their support ; for, although the King will kill a number of
cattle for them, there will be only a tit-bit for each, so they
must attend to their own commissariat.
It is the custom for all the young men in the country to
spend a few months every year " Konsaing," i.e., laying
their respects at Court ; but " not to put too fine a point
upon it," this means in fad that they have to hoe the King's
corn, and at the same time find themselves in provant.
Those who live close at hand are pretty well off, but those
who come from a distance have generally veiy short
commons. They, however, can stand starvation wonder-
fully. They will travel or work for days on nothing but
an occasional drink of water ; but then, on the other hand,
when they have the chance they can eat enormously and
continuously.
54 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
This is a time when all the Zulus are full of old recollec-
tions, always speaking and boasting of old deeds and glories;
consequently, I have the history of the rise and progress of
Zulu greatness continually dinned into my ears; and, having
been overdosed with this sort of thing, I have determined
to dispense a modicum of it to the readers of my " Trip."
This cannot be grumbled at, however, seeing that I have
^iven fair warning ; so that, if Zulu history possesses no
charms, it may be skipped; but as forty-two years of
" strange eventful history " will only occupy as many lines,
I think I may anticipate having a few readers among
" anxious enquirers " into that most romantic of all
romances — history.
About the year 1820 Ensensengakona "died in his bed"
peaceably. He was, like all his ancestors, merely a petty
chief of a country extending over the now " Mahlabati,"
the then MUtat of the Zulus. " Chaka," his son, succeeded
him, and reigned peaceably enough for two years.
Then a tribe called the " Endwandwe," who lived at the
extreme northern end of what is now the Zulu country,
began to aim at " universal dominion," and, with that end
in view, under their chief " Zweete "■ — a would-be South
African Caesar — conquered all the tribes around them up to
the Zulu.
Chaka felt uneasy, but did not know how to oppose them,
his tribe being so small. Just then, however, as the fates
would have it, a tribe called " Zoongoo," abutting on the
Zulus, quarrelled amongst themselves "for the throne!'''
One party craved the assistance of the Endwandwe, and
the other asked the armed intervention of Chaka. This
was the beginning of Chaka's wars. In the first campaign,
however, he and his Zoongoo allies were beaten, and driven
HISTORY OF THE ZULUS. 95
<lown to the Tugela or southern boundary of what is now
Zulu, where they again, being in fighting trim, conquered,
and drove out the Amaquabe tribe, the remainder of whom
now consider themselves Zulus. Zweete, not satisfied with
his former victory, determined to " wipe out " the Zulus,
^nd, having pursued them, was thoroughly beaten, and his
people '' Konza'd " (made their allegiance) to Chaka, who,
having now tasted blood, and becoming gradually more
powerful, carried on his wars until he conquered and brought
under subjection ten tribes which then occupied Zulu, a
country about two hundred miles square. He then turned
his attention to the countries around, completely subjugating
what is now Natal, and even sent out armies as far as the
Amaponda and Mosilekatse, the latter a thousand miles
•distant.
He improved the discipline, and altered the arms of his
people. Formerly they used to go to battle in one dis-
orderly crowd; he formed them into companies and
regiments. It was their custom to carry a bundle of
assegais, which they used both to throw and to stab with ;
he took them all away but one large one, so that they were
less hampered, and were compelled to adopt hand-to-hand
fighting.
If any one lost his assegai — he was killed. If any one-
showed the least symptom of fear — he was killed.
The Zulus admire him intensely — as a sort of black
Napoleon I — but yet they acknowledge that he was a blood-
thirsty tyrant. At his mother's death he was with the
greatest difficulty dissuaded from killing all the mothers in
the country, saying that now, since he had no mother,
neither should any one else have one. As it was, he killed
about seven thousand people at the mourning feast, " so
that the tears of the survivors should run plentifully."
96 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
Chaka was killed by his brothers Dingaan aud Umhlan-
gana — the former of whom killed the latter, and reigned
alone until the arrival of the Dutch, by whom he was, beaten
and driven away, when Panda, a younger brother, reigned
in his stead.
Panda departed from the custom of his two predecessors
by marrying, having children, and allowing them to grow
up ; and to this the Zulus ascribe his milder sway.
When his children were very young he named the present
heir-presumptive, Cetchwayo, as his successor; but after-
wards, about twelve years ago (1855), he changed his mind,
and appointed another son, Umbulazi, as " Crown Prince."
This occasioned a civil war, in which the latter was.
defeated and slain, so that the former is now rehabihtated
by force of arms, and is the acknowledged future King. But
in Zulu-land " Amurath an Amurath succeeds," and all the
other sons of the King are well aware that, on Cetchwayo's
succession, he will take the earliest opportunity of killing
them, and no doubt they will endeavour to " turn the
tables" on him, if they can. The peojile are quite well
aware of all this, and si)eak of it freely as if it were a mere
matter of course. They say that he will most likely spare
those who were bom of the same mother with himself; but
even they, if they don't behave themselves very circum-
spectly, need expect no mercy at his hands.
The King knows it, and, in common with his great chiefs,
has had his sons taught the use of the gun, so that in future
troubles the jjenple shall not be slaughtered, and he would
" let those who make the quarrels be the only men to
fight ! " but the princes may shoot away at and amongst
themselves until the one who is fated to be supreme is, like
"the last rose of summer, left blooming alone." Thus,
nothing is certain until one stands alone. Cetchwayo^
ROYAL IMPEDIMENTA. 97
however, has by far the best chance, having command of
the army. The King's other sons stay on, simj^ly saying
that their time has not yet come, and meanwhile all is
coiileur de rose, and it is very pleasant in Zulu-land,
We have just returned from a week's dissij^ation at the
head kraal during the celebration of "Unikos." It is
Christmas time, and a description of how I spent it may
not be unacceptable.
I was staying at a kraal about five miles from Nodwengo,
the proprietrix of which is Panda's sister Baleka. The old
lady is very much afflicted with gout, and consequently
unable to walk. She asked me to take her down in the
waggon, and I consented. On the 30th December we took
everything belonging to myself out of the waggon, and
received Baleka's household goods, family, and servants.
First came some girls with mats, wooden pillows, blankets,
baskets of beer, pots of fat, dresses, beads, spoons, and a
miscellaneous assortment of greasy, odoriferous articles.
Then came the old lady herself, and, after a tremendous
struggle and much groaning, her people managed to hoist
the twenty-stone of her into the waggon. When she was
comfortably laid down, two men stationed themselves — one
at her feet and the other at her head — to render any assist-
ance she might require.
After this came two daughters, and a host of slave girls,
her servants ; then, with the waggon filled with a heap of
chattering, screaming, laughing black-humanity, we made
a start, two men going in front to look out for holes and
stones, and away we went.
I have said before that African waggons jolt frightfully,
so, notwithstanding all our care, the ups and downs which
Baleka had to submit to, rather disordered her nerves and
H
98 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
temper, not to mention the gout. At every jolt we had a
grunt from lier ladyship and screams from the girls.
Twenty times a mile we had to halt to allow her to recover
breath and arrange herself. All this was comparatively
tolerable, but a steep hill which we had to descend was
fated to tiy her metal to the uttermost. As for the girls,
they were just the same prettily-frightened, timid dears
they are all the world over.
When we came to the hill we had a consultation as to our
mode of procedure, and decided not to say anything to her
about the difficulties of the descent. The Latin proverb
says that it is easy to descend to Avernus, but, as Zulu
means " heaven," we found the obverse hold good, for it
was something positively frightful. But as there was no
possibility of avoiding it — there being no choice of roads,
and if we attempted to argue the point we should likely
have to remain all day, and then have to do it after all —
we at once set oft'. I sat on the box in front, told her
that it was a little steep and rough, and suggested that
she had better hold on to something; then down we
went !
The scene was indescribable. In addition to the steep-
ness, the road was full of stones ; the oxen could not hold
the waggon back, so we went jolting over everything, in
more senses than one, at a rattling rate. Screams and
broken exclamations; everything and everybody shaken
down into a heap in the front part of the waggon, and on
the top of poor old Baleka. But for all that, we could hear
her voice, broken with jolts, gasping forth entreaties to keep
quiet, and not to be afraid, it was perfectly safe, and she
knew all about it ! Did you ever see a lot of eels twisting
together about in a box ? Well, just thus looked the con-
ZULU warriors; fete. 99
geries of struggling, screaming humanity in the bottom of
the waggon.
At hxst we got to the bottom, put everything to rights,
iind reached Nodwengo without further adventure — the
young men at the kraal evidently highly envious of my
Jiappiness in travelling with such a bevy of Zulu belles.
When Baleka came to the King he ordered an ox to be
killed for her, of which I was fortunate enough to get a leg
as payment of the " freight and passage money," and next
day I was presented with an entire animal by the King
himself.
The whole country-side was full of people, and the noise,
day and night, was incessant — chattering at night and dan-
cing during the day. At night the fires on the hill, and the
figures of the natives passing the light, imparted a weird-
like character to the scene which would have made a famous
study for a Gatti or a Van Schendal.
During the day the troops dancing in full war dress,
showed one the maximum of native ideas of greatness and
splendour. It was actually impossible to distinguish one
chief from another, so covered were they with skins and
feathers — a kilt of monkey and cat skins round their waist,
their breast and back covered with white ox tails, on their
head a sort of cap with lappets of monkey skins, and as
many ostrich and crane feathers as they could manage to
stick in.
Each regiment danced separately, then filed before the
King for his inspection, so that he could judge which danced
best, and also have a closer view of their persons. As they
passed, every man shouted at the top of his voice, and
with the most fierce and warlike look he could put on,
expressions of what he would, could, and was ready to do
100 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
for the King, sucli as '' Here is Tool wan ! " " These ai'e
soldiers 1" "Tell us to do something!" "Send us anywhere!"
"Even the 'Moloon-KAvana' (a contemptuous diminutive
of * white man') are afraid of Tool wan ! " "Send us to
Natal!" <^c., &c. The last day all together had a great
dancing match. All their songs go to the tune of Zulu
greatness. For instance the burden of two — " The world
has no people of any account " (except the Zulus, is, of
course, understood), and "We stopped-u]) the Amaswazi,^
we forayed the Amaponda, and every nation cries out to us
when we come in sight, ' Put down your shields, the cattle
are waiting for you at the kraal !'"
The whole scene was well Avortli seeing, but a little
description goes a long way; there was such a sameness
about the manoeuvres — it was dancing, eating, and drink-
ing— drinking, eating, and dancing; nothing more. After
remaining for a dance or two, and listening to the King's
speech, which he regularly made to each regiment, I used
to betake myself to the Sgohlo, to the hut of the head
" child," amongst the girls, where I would sit me down and
talk and argue and answer the multitudinous questions they
put to me. Generally there were only Matonieel and five or
six of her sisters present, all handsome, well-fed girls, whose
only occupation is (to use an Irishism) to lie still, drink
beer, eat beef, and hear the news ; but towards afternoon
the great chiefs never failed to call and pay their respects,
so that I had a good view of, and opportunity for making
acquaintance with, the most famous men in the Zulu country,
all of whom are interesting to a Natal man.
Tliey run to caves -vvlien invaded ; and tJie Zulus on one occasion
stopped-up a cave in which the x\maswazi liad taken refuge, and the
hundreds who crowde<l it were suffocated.
ZULU IDEAS OF LUXURY. 101
I have come to tlie conclusion that Queen Ehzabeth's
maids of honour were not at all so badly off with their
iillowance of beef and beer. I have had some experience of
late in living on these comestibles; but I do hope that they
had something else to do than eat the former and drink the
latter all day long, as Baleka's maids of honour do. Panda's
princesses, with their ladies in waiting, generally finish the
day in a happy state of ignorance of, and indifference to,
"all those ills which flesh is heir to." Eat, drink, and sleep,
forms the daily routine and summum honum of their lives.
After five days* experience of this style of living, we
returned, I feeling very bilious and out of sorts ; and yet I
was highly complimented on my personal appearance,
having, as I said, grown positively fat — a Falstafiian habit
of body, " with good fat capon lined," being looked upon as
'' a thing of beauty and a joy for ever" by the natives. But,
alas! beauty evanishes too quickly, for two hot toilsome
days in the Hlanzi soon dissipated it, and, as " the too solid
Hesh melted and resolved itself into a dew," I proportionately
fell in the estimation of my previous admirers.
Before concluding, a few hints as to what to do, and how
things are done, in the Zulu, may be found useful for the
^guidance of any of my readers Avho may think of taking
" a vacation ramble" to that interesting, beautiful, and
healthy quarter of the globe : —
Ist, — Swear by the King and chiefs; just as you might
say in England, " Victoria, what I say is true !" or " Glad-
stone," or "Derby, it is correct!"
2d, — You must never spit at meals; but you may hloiv
your nose as much as you like — pocket handkerchiefs are in
the form of the finger and the thumb.
102 A TRIP INTO THE ZULU.
3(1, — A wife must never speak to her husband's male
relations, but must hide, or a])iJear to do so, whenever she
sees them. The husband must not S2:>eak to, look at, or eat
with his mother-in-law. And neither husband, nor wife
must utter their relations' names. This is called "Hlonipa.""
4tli, — If any one complains of a headache, and says it arises-
from an old wound, they shave the hair from the spot, cut
into the bone, scraj^e well for about five minutes, and during
the operation have water constantly squirted from the
mouth into the gash. Tlds is a certain cure fm' headache !
5 th, — If you sprain your thumb, get some one to pile
about a couple of inches of sand over your hand, which you
have resting on the ground ; make a fire over it until the
thumb is half-roasted, then cut about twenty slits above the
joint, and — the spmn is cured/
I might add numerous other hints, social, political, and
medicinal, but these will suffice for the present. I may,
however, on a future occasion devote a j)ai:)er to these
" curios" of South African life and manners.
Ah, me ! my days in Zulu-land come to an end. " Home-
ward bound" is now the mot d'ordre. Isiotwithstanding the
pervading roughness, and occasional annoyances and dis-
comforts, I have thoroughly enjoyed the open air, the free,
happy life, and the novel and interesting circumstances by
which I was surrounded. When I reached the Tugela on
my return, I felt inclined to parody Juliet, and exclaim —
" All ! Tugela, Tugela, wherefore art tliou Tugela?
Why aren't you the other boundary?"
But then, again, I think of home and the comforts and
delights of civilised life, for which, e7itre iious, I have still
HOME AGAIN. 103
an arriere pemee, and I come to the conclusion tliat " my
lines have fallen in pleasant places" after all, seeing that I
shall have — in a verse from "Cymbeline," altered to suit
the circumstances —
'* No more to brave the summer's sun,
Nor yet the furious buffalo's rages ;
My work iu Zulu-land all done,
Home I go to get my ivages!"
WILD LIFE IN SOUTH AFRICA.
(Stab, February and JSIarch, 1870).
Ah, Wild life ! — Wild life ! what a charm there is about it.
I used to wonder, and have often laughed at the rhapsodies
— as I then thought them — indulged in by Mayne Reid
regarding his prairie days; but never, never more shall I
be guilty of such silly incredulity, for have I not had similar
experience? And while writing this paper exactly the same
feelings come over me — ^my heart throbs; my blood boils;
my frame tingles; and I long to be at the old game again.
I have given it up — I am afraid for ever; but am still
subject to ever-recurring attacks of the prairie-fever, which,
doubtless, is the same in its symptoms and effects in South-
Eastern Africa as in AVestern America.
No one who has not lived such a Wild life can know the
fascination which after-thoughts of it exert. It is not so
much felt at the time, but when one has at last settled down
in the midst of civilisation, the mind reverts to the old scenes
with a vividness, a fondness, and an excitement, which must
be experienced to be appreciated.
The glorious freedom of Wild life — free from every fetter
except what you yourself may choose to wear; free from the
constantly irritating contacts and annoyances to which you
are subject in an old country; free to come; free to go; free
to halt; free — and often necessitated — to experience the
extremes of hunger and satiety, heat and cold, wet and dry;
plenty of adventure to season your food; tale-tellers equal
MORNING IN S.E. AFRICA. 105
to the Eastern ones to amuse your leisure hours ; and the
study of the habits, customs, and pecuHarities of the wild
races amongst which you may be thrown — constitute a life
delightful to experience, and pleasant to look back upon.
These thoughts — or rhapsodies if you like — came crowding
upon me, after reading over some sketches in a journal of
old times — for, although not many years ago, it looks an
age — and it struck me that a few of them might not be un-
interesting, even in these days when everybody must relate
his experiences to everybody else, whether he may travel to
Aldgate Pump or to Timbuctoo, or whether he may scale
Primrose Hill or the Matterhorn, or whether he may make
a voyage in the Eob Eoy or the Great Eastern.
I have no pretensions to be considered a litterateur^ so
that my reminiscences of Wild life, while wanting in dash
and polish, may be pardoned on the ground that they are a
faithful record of scenes I have mixed in, stories I have
heard, and of some peculiarities of the natives I have
observed. It is Zulu-land I write about, and the Sketches
are taken at random.
I. — Morning in South-Eastern Africa.
Nothing, in South-Eastern Africa, can be so charming to
my mind as a fine morning after the first rain of the season.
For months a dull, dry haze, called by the natives
"■ Lofusseemba," has covered the face of the country, causing
i'ven the nearest hills to loom as if in the far distance. The
atmosphere has been dry and close ; your beard frizzles and
your skin crumples up from the want of moisture. Hunting
is most unpleasant, from the dust and black ashes — the
remnants of the grass fires — which you raise at every step.
106 WILD LIFE — MORNING IN S.E. AFRICA.
The feet of the natives get cut up by constant trampHng on
the sharp stems of grass, left by the same cause; and
altogether you feel as if the greatest luxury in life would be
to "paidle in the burn" the live-long day; but, unfortunately,
owing to the long drought, there isn't the tiniest pool to
be seen.
The rains come at last, and with a vengeance too ! For
three days you have to endure the stifling atmosphere of a
native hut — a sort of exaggerated beehive — and as the grass
of which it is constructed has contracted during the long
spell of dry weather, you may say you have a covering, but
no shelter. However, that doesn't matter much — all your
care is for the guns and ammunition ; as for yourself, you
won't melt, nor take harm by exposure in this fine cHmate,
and it isn't the first time you have slept in the wet.
Towards morning one of the natives looks out of the door
and exclaims "Le^Balele" (it shines — it is fair). You also
rise at last from your damp couch and go out; when
immediately you forget all the previous discomfort in the
exquisite charm of the lovely morning. The country lies
dark, yet distinctly defined, before you; the relief is magical,
and would have enraptured Turner. No glimmering haze
to pain the eye — no blur in the landscape — but all the out-
lines and details clearly majoped out before you. The sheen
of the river is seen below, its heretofore dry bed now filled
with a tumultuous flood ; and here and there amongst the
peaks, and dotting the flat-land, lie white, soft, fleecy nebulae
of mist. The freshness and balminess of the air is delicious;
the breeze — the handmaid of the morn — rises so pleasantly,
dispelling the misty spots and Avi^eaths ; and then Aurora,
on the wings of the morning, bursts upon us, bathing the
whole face of tJie country in a flood of light; and all nature.
INTENSE HEAT IN THE PONGOLO VALLEY. 107
animate and inanimate, seems to liail the advent of morning
in a chorus of joy ! Such a morning is worth seeing, and
worth writing about, and I only regret that I am so in-
capable of doing it justice.
II. — A Day in AVild Life.
The waggon has been "out-spanned" u2)on a hill over-
looking miles upon miles of Hlanzi (o^^en bush), dark and
sombre-looking at this winter time in all parts. Here and
there are small peaked and table hills, which, however, but
slightly diversify the landscape. Beyond rise the high bare
hills of Amaswazi* and the Bombof. Through the middle
of the fiat runs the river Pongolo. The uniformity of colour
imparts a dull yet grand aspect to the river. You feel, in
descending to the habitat of the game, as if you could realise
Dante's famous inscription on the gate of the Inferno.
Although there may be a cool breeze blowing in the hills you
have left, directly you reach the flat, and are fairly amongst
the mimosa trees, it ceases. The sun beats down on your
head in such a manner — so directly and with such persever-
ance— that you are half inclined to believe in the ancient
mythology, and ascribe the infliction to some offence un-
wittingly given to Phoebus. Occasionally the chirrup of a
bird is heard, but otherwise all is hot, silent, and lonely.
When, however, you are once fairly in the Hlanzi the sense
of oppression ceases in the excitement of hunting. Game
is abundant and sufficiently wild to give zest to success.
First, most probably, the graceful Pallah will be seen in
troops, gazing with evident wonder and terror in your
* Amaswazi, the tribe on the N. and N.W. of Zulu.
+ See "Bombo," Sketch No. 4.
108 WILD LIFE — A DAY IN WILD LIFE.
direction. As you draw nearer and nearer a little movement
Avill be seen — one or two will change their places, then
suddenly the whole herd, without any further preliminary
motion, will start away, each leaping high as they go. The
effect is very pretty, for as they leap the red of their backs
and sides, and the white of their bellies, alternately appear
and disappear, producing a glittering zoetropic effect on a
magnificent scale.
Next your attention is drawn to the other side by a loud
sneeze, and on looking thither you behold a troop of Gnu
and Quagga mixed. They, on the other hand, are in constant
motion — gnu and quagga passing and repassing each other
without pause. A single gnu will every moment plunge
out, whisk his tail, give a sneeze, and then back again to
the ranks ; but the head quagga stops any impudent mani-
festation of this kind by laying his ears back and biting any
forward youngster which attempts to pass him. When this
herd considers you are near enough for any agreeable pur-
pose, away it goes, kicking and plunging with such an
evident " catch me if you can" expression that you feel very
much inclined to send a bullet among them to give them a
lesson of respect to the genus homo ; but we are after "metal
more attractive" and therefore leave them alone. It is very
interesting to notice the discipline kept uj) in gnu families.
Any laggard amongst the youngsters is immediately taken
to task by its mother or by a bull, and well switched with
their horse-tails to make it keep up. From this circumstance
the natives say that a gnu's tail is "medicine," and that,
however tired you may be, if you bnish your legs with it the
.sense of fatigue passes away. Of course, one hair of faith is
more effectual than all the hairs on the tail in producing
this result.
GAME AND THORNS IN THE HLANZI. 1()1>
A little further on a troop of the noble-looking bull Koodoos
i;;; geeu — thc most wary buck I know — with their spiral
liorns and large ears laid Imck, glancing between the
mimosas ; when, if you manage to get within range, a bullet
either arrests the flight of one, or hastens the stampede of
the whole.
Again you march on, when with a crash out rushes a noble
Wild Boar from the thicket in which he has been lying.
AVith head up and tail on end away he goes at a short,
quick gallop, and, as he breaks through the long grass and
thick, tangled underwood, a flock of Guinea-fowl and Phea-
sants are roused, and, flying hither and thither, the air is
filled with their discordant notes, and also with a shower of
sticks which the natives shy at them with some success. To
this noise and confusion is added the cry of a species of
Caurie, which attracted by the din, perches on a tree close
by, and reiterates "go away" as plainly as an angry child
of four or five years of age would do, and with something
like the same eff'ect on your nerves.
Again on the tramp towards the thickest part of the
Hlanzi — the deepest gloom of this Tartarus — where larger
trees of the mimosa species prevail — where the creeper, the
"wait-a-bit" thorn (called by the natives " catch-tiger" and
"come-and-I'll-kiss-you"), a long-spiked thorny bush (called
by the natives "the cheeky"), the cactus-thorn of three
inches long, the nettle, and all sorts of such abominations
most do abound ; and on entering there, in sternest silence
as regards speech and footfall, the business of the day com-
mences.
With a very black, lithe, active native in front, whose
most prominent features are the whites of his eyes, and
whose name, " Bah-pa," deserves to be recorded, away we
110 WILD LIFE — A DAY IN WILD LIFE/
go, to be met by a Black Eliinoceros, who, having smelt
our wind, is coming to see who has ventured to intrude
into his habitat and disturb his mid-day siesta. He is the
only wild animal I know who, deliberately and without
provocation, will set himself to hunt down man on the
slightest intimation of his presence. He comes! The
thunder of his gallop and the sounds of his displeasure are
only too audible. It is stand fast, or up a tree like a squirrel,
for there is no running away from such an antagonist in such
a thicket. Fortunately, however, his sight is not very good,
and a very slight screen suffices to save you; and, as he
furiously plunges past, a shot through the lungs brings his
career to a termination; but even his dying scream is indi-
cative of pain and anger, not of fear. Certainly he deserved
to live for his pluck, but is bound to die from his vicious
disposition, for there is no quarter in the battle with such
as him. The sound of the shot seems to vivify the bush
around, and crash, crash ! on all sides is heard, caused by the
hurried flight of the startled game. Never mind ! they leave
tracks by which we can easily follow and find them through
the wood. On emerging from the thicket we come across a
White Rhinoceros, much larger than his sable cousin, but not
at all vicious. Our sudden apj^earance startles him into a
trot, which presently breaks into a gallop, especially if he has
a dog at his heels. His trot and gallop are exactly like
those of a well-bred horse. He is a heavy animal, but what
splendid action he shows ! He keeps his head well'up, and
lifts his feet cleverly from the ground, and goes at a pace
which few horses can equal. What a sensation a Bhinoceros
race would create among your Dundrearys and Verisophts
at^^Epsom! When he has "gone from our gaze" we follow
buffalo tracks which evidently lead to another thicket, and
FIGHT BETWEEN A LION AND A BUFFALO. Ill
on approaching it we hear sounds of wild-animal warfare
— grunting, bellowing, and roaring, and roaring, bellow-
ing, and grunting, as Tennyson would jingle it; but the
Kaffirs call it "belching." Cautiously Bah-pa whispers
''Lion, Lion'" and warily we draw near to the scene
•of the commotion. In a clear space are a Lion and a
Buffalo cow fighting; and a Buffalo calf lying dead, sufficiently
•explains the casus belli. The lion springs — immediately the
cow rushes through the thick bush and wipes him off, turning
instantly and pounding away at him on the ground; the lion
wriggles free after tearing the nose and face of the buffalo ;
^nd the same process is repeated, all so quickly and in such
a whirl of motion, that you can only'see the result and guess
how it has been effected. The last time the lion is brushed
off, he evidently gives up the game, as we can hear the
buffalo tearing after him through the bush. Two or three
of my fellows creep forward and quickly draw away the
calf; the cow returns, smells about for a little, and finding
her lui inachree gone, dashes off, more furious than before,
after the lion again, and we can hear the renewal of the
conflict, gradually dying away in the distance.
On, on again; this time towards the river. We have
rhinoceros and buffalo beef for lunch; ^^but although
ravenously hungry, we are too thirsty to eat or even to
talk, and in silence therefore we make our w^ay towards the
water. On our road we put up a herd of " Peeva" (water-
buck). One goes down; the remainder dash to the river —
their haven of refuge — we following close on their heels.
As we use the last little incline, before coming in sight of
the Pongolo, the natives, with eyes and fingers on the stretch,
point to the other side, where a file of Elephants are slowly
making their way down to the drift or ford, and, forgetting
112 WILT) LIFE — A DAY IN WILD LIFE.
hunger and thirst, we creep carefully to the edge, and fonn
an ambuscade for their reception on crossing. They enter
the river ; on their way over, one halts for an instant and
looks back, then goes on again, but he appears to be dragging
a weight at his leg; and when he comes into the shallows
on our side, we observe an Alligator holding on to his knee.
AVithout much ado the elephant drags him out on to the
bank and utters a peculiar shriek, when immediately anothei-
turns round, and, seizing the alligator between his trunk and
his teeth, carries him to a stiff-forked thorny tree, and ther(^
deposits him with a smash — hung in chains one may say —
and before long his bones would be all that remained of the
A'oracious brute — causing some curious speculations in the
mind of some future hunter as to how the animal found its
Avay there.
During our wandering observations we have allowed the
elephants to go. Never mind, we can follow after lunch, or
even mid-day, as we know where they were heading for.
Then the tramp home — coffee and biscuits, and biscuits
and beef, round the fire, and consumed wdth such an appetite I
The recapitulation by the natives of the whole day's sporty
in animated language and appropriate gesture — one story
leading to another till far on in the night — then the last pipe
and cup of coffee, and to bed with a healthy frame and a
clear conscience.
Such is a day you may spend in Wild life; and ah! tell
me, if you can, what is there to equal it?
Or it may be a quieter day, yet full of its own beauty and
excitement. I wish I had the pencil of a John Leech, who
delighted so much in, and depicted so well, sporting scenes;
as a sketch of " waiting for dinner" in wild life would have
been a first-rate subject.
PANORAMIC DISSOLVING VIEW. 113
It is the day of a great hunt. The whole country-side for
many miles around has been warned; and, literally, ''a
thousand men have turned out to hunt the deer with hound
and horn." It is arranged that those with guns are to take
their places at the fords of the river, and wait there for the
game crossing. Early in the morning we start — not because
it is necessarj^ seeing that it will be hours before anything
in the shape of game makes its aj^pearance at the water; but
when everybody else is off, what is the use of us staying at
home. In the bustle and stir, breakfast has been forgotten
— but never mind, we'll enjoy an early dinner all the better
— so away we saunter in the cool fresh air of the morning.
We mark the changing hues of the landscajDe, as here the
sun makes brilliant a patch of springing green, and there a
cloud throws a dark shade on what had a moment before
been bright and beautiful; and, as the breeze springs up,
the view becomes quite panoramic — here a peak coming
suddenly into distinct outline, there as suddenly darkening
as the shadows envelope it — and in that half-hour every
charm which sun, clouds, wind, atmosphere, hills, flats,
verdure, trees, and flowers — all of their brightest and best —
can develope, pass in ever-changing and rapidly-dissolving
view before your delighted vision !
Or, on to the river, through and past game in hundreds,
and we there take up our post and " wait for dinner." We
are seated on the high bank of the river, snugly hidden
behind a bush quietly smoking a pipe, and watching, as only
hungry hunters can or will watch, for a chance of a shot.
But let me tell you that by this time the poetical aspects of
the scene have, so far as we know or care, pretty well
evanished, and the practical question of dinner is the great
so that it is after having satiated the cravings of
I
114 WILD LIFE — A DAY IN WILD LIFE.
the inner man you think over and thoroughly enjoy the
scene which has all this time been displayed before you.
Up and down are the windings of the river, here silent and
deep, flowing between reedy banks; there, swift and
tumultuous, tearing over its stony bed ; cranes and ducks
flying and wheeling about ; and on the flat stones and sand
banks alligators " waiting for tJieir dinners " also. There
wait, and yet longer wait, till a low " hist " from one of the
watchful natives sends your eyes from mooning over the
flowing waters below you, over to the opposite side; and
there, amongst the mimosas, you see, glancing along, the first
head of the day. It proves to be a female Koodoo — a sign
of good luck ! — and graceful and " wide awake " she appears
as she comes out on the open ; many a look thrown behind
— many a one before ; her large ears moving quickly from
side to side ; a step as light as Venus when she danced with
Adonis ; a halt for a moment, and then a dash to the river,
there to meet her fate. After that began to be heard the
shouts of the natives, and thick and fast came the game.
For half-an-hour the sounds of battle — for battle it is — wake
the echoes around ; then a silence while we count our
trophies; and then . . . Ah! then, we take that "one
step," and subside to dinner! There is nothing but fire, beef,
and water; but I agree with Hawkeye in "The Prairie,"
"there's nothing to beat it if you're healthy and hungry!"
III. — A Zulu Marriage.
Among the Zulus marriage is a very elaborate ceremony,
and etiquette is as strictly observed among them as at those
fashionable affairs enacted at St. George's, Hanover Square.
I have seen all classes of them married, and the forms and
ceremonies are in all cases the same, the only diff'erence
ZULU MARRIAGE PRELIMINARIES. 115
being, as at home, more people, more food, and finer dresses,
according to the rank of the parties. And, as the marriage
question is occupying an unusual amount of attention at
home, a description of a marriage ceremony abroad may not
be uninteresting even to Belgravian mammas.
First, then, when the preliminaries have been agreed upon
— i.e., the number of cattle to be given in exchange for the
bride, being settled — and that young lady's consent having
been obtained, although, as in some civilised communities,
that is generally a mere form, an ox is slaughtered, and a
brewst of beer is prepared — the relations of the bride are
invited to the feast, of which, however, she does not j)artake.
The bride's dress is got ready, and it depends upon the
wealth of her people the quantity of beads and extent of
coloured worsted and other finery with which she is de-
corated. She also receives in presents her household
utensils, such as pots, gourds, spoons, mats, &c., and, if the
father can afford it, a blanket. When all is ready the party
sets out ; it consists of the bride, a head man to *' Endeesa"
her (to have her married), young men — the number of whom
depends upon the rank of the parties — and young girls,
under the same conditions. They set out, frequently on a
two or three days' walk — hospitality in a case of this kind
never being refused, nor ever, as is sometimes the case with
chance travellers, grudgingly given. When they arrive near
the bridegroom's Kraal they halt, as it is against all etiquette
for the bride and party (called Emteemha) to enter the bride-
groom's home in the daytime.* When all are supposed to
* "And at midnight there was a cry made, Behokl, the bridegroom
Cometh !" (Matt. xxv. 6.) I have been tokl that in old times the
custom in Zuhi was thus : — The bridegroom went to the bride's
Kraal, and took her away; but now it is reversed — much war having
altered the position of women, and doubtless led to the change.
116 WILD LIFE — A ZULU MARRIAGE.
be asleep tliey enter the Kraal, singing and dancing, no one
daring to look out of doors. The huts for their occupation
are empty, and in them they rest. Early in the morning,
before any of the others are astir, they all go down to the
nearest brook, where they remain — washing, dressing, and
eating the food sent do^vn to them, until about eleven
o'clock, by which time the bridegroom and his party
have taken their places beside the spot appointed for
the dance. When all is ready, the young men of the
bride's party come singing and dancing up, pass in pro-
cession twice or thrice round the bridegroom and hii^
party, then tliey halt, and the spokesman begins a long-^
story. For instance, he will say, " We are a party of
Amaswazi, who are travelling through the country, and ha^^e
just called to see how you are — ^you are a good-looking
fellow;" and away they go. Presently back they come with
the old man at their head, who says, " The young man you
saw just now lied — we are an * Emteemba,' and have come
from so and so, who has sent his daughter to be married to
you. She is a verj^ good and clever girl, and her father
hopes you will treat her well, and give her plenty of food,"
&c., &c., and whatever else he may have been told to say
by her relations. Then away they go. After a short time
the whole lot come singing uj) with the bride hidden in the
middle, so that no one can see her. They stand fronting
the bridegroom for a little; then the bride starts a song,
which they all join in. When that is done they break away
suddenly, and the bride is discovered standing in the middle,,
with a fringe of worsted or beads round her brow and
covering her face. The men then lay aside their shields and
assegais, and the dancing of the bride's party commences;
the bridegroom and his party sitting still all the while.
They have no particular song which they sing on an occasion
ZULU MARRIAGE FESTIVITIES. 117
of this kind, except one at the end, in Avhich everyone joins,
«and which they call " Esehlabello," and in which they all
clap their hands in correct time to the tun^. The words
generally have no signification, and vary very much. During
the " Emteemba's" dancing, the bridegroom, and here and
there a young man of his party " Geea,'' that is they spring
out, jump about, and, to show their strength and agility, go
through a number of antics — a sort of Kaffir '' Houlaghan,"
but tameness itself compared with the classic "Eumenides"
or the Parisian "Carmagnoles;" and another part of the
ceremony is that two or three old women run up and down
between the parties, wailing and shouting, and every now
^nd then coming up to the bridegroom and swearing at him,
calling him all the annoying names they can think of, and
disking him how it is that such a stupid, ugly fool as he has
managed to secure such a good-looking girl !
When the " Emteemba" has finished dancing, the bride-
groom and his party begin their part in the dance, and it is
:a great matter of emulation as to which dances the best.
The proceedings close towards evening, generally with a fight.
I omitted to mention that the bride, when the dancing of
her party is drawing to a close, creeps up to the wives (if he
has any) or mother of the bridegroom, and says she has come
to stay, and hopes they will be good to her, &c., &c., other-
wise she will go back to the father, mother, and reflations
^vho were so loath to part with her. They reply that they
do not know — they are not sure — they will see how she
behaves herself, and so on. She then makes a simulated
^it tempt to run away, when she is at once laid hold of and
biought back by one of the bridegroom's female relatives,
who is watching for the opportunity.
In the evening, the bride, with her face unveiled, runs
118 WILD LIFE — A ZULU MARRIAGE.
about the Kraal with a following of girls crying after her.
She is siij^posed to be running back to her old home, and tlie
girls are supposed to be preventing her !
Next day the bridegroom kills an ox, and there is a
general eating and drinking match. The bride " Hlo7ii]^a\s"
(hides) from the male sex ; but, in the afternoon, she comes
out into the cattle kraal with some girls, and commences the
ceremony of ^' Illambeesa," literally, "washing." The nearest
relatives of the bridegroom sit down, the bride takes some
beads and water in a large gourd-spoon, and, coming singing
up, throws it about the male relative ; she then goes back
and breaks the assegai which she carries in lier hand. (No
widow re-marrying breaks the assegai!) She then repeats
the bead and water ceremony with the female relative,
striking her at the same time Avith a stick, as a symbol that
she takes authority as a wife from that time. No sooner is.
this done than she makes a bolt for the gate of the kraal,,
which is supposed to be a last attempt to return home, when
one of the young men cuts off her retreat, and she then gives,
in. There have been cases, however, where the bride got
out of the gate, which was a terrible disgrace to the young
man who had been appointed to stop her, to the husband,
and to all concerned; besides the expense, seeing that the
whole ceremony had to be gone through again.
lY. — A Zulu Story of a Haunted Wood.
"Don't go into that wood." "Why not?" "Oh! be-
cause," &c., &c., and here came out a whole chapter of native
superstition, which was altogether new to me, and may not
be uninteresting to others.
To give the story literally as I heard it is well nigh im-
possible, from the difficulty of translating the innumerable
SOMETHING LIKE A KING. 119
idiomatic phrases in the Zuhi hmguage ; but, as near as I can,
I mil give the narrator's experience, premising that, however
much the narrative may resemble the ghost stories and fairy
tales of other lands, it is essentially Zulu.
"Many years ago a tribe called ' Endwandive' lived here-
abouts, a numerous and powerful tribe. There was no
^ Nakau' * then, and all those hills which you see were
covered by their cattle. All the chiefs in the country, even
the Zulu, paid homage to the Endwandive ' Zweeti,' who
was loved by his people, and respected everywhere his name
penetrated — and where did it not 1 At last came the bad
time, when the country went wrong — when all the tribes
fought against themselves till the rivers ran red, and evt^n
the corn took a redder tinge. The end of that was, that
the Endwandive were scattered, their chief killed, and Chaka
with his Zulus became king over all.
"While Zweeti lived he did everything like a king. When
he wanted to kill any of his wives or girls he always had
them taken to the same place, the pool below the ftills on
the Umkool. When any of his captives or the common
people were to be the sacrificial victim, the wood over the
hill there, was where they had to submit to the will of their
chief; and his own relations were conducted to the wood
before us on such occasions ; and he himself was * flung in '
there after his death, and there he keeps his state now."
" What do you mean," I interrupted, " by a dead man keep-
ing his state ; are there people living in the wood 1" He
replied, " Of course, Zweeti and all his people ; only they
are not quite people you know, they are Esemkofu." I asked,
* "Nakau," a fatal disease amongst cattle, which of late years
has spread greatly in Zulu. It is supposed by many to be caused by
the Tsetse fly.
120 WILD LIFE — A HAUNTED WOOD.
" What are Esemkofu ?" '' An Esemkofu is a person who
has been dead, and has been raised again by witches, who
cut off his tongue, and so j^revent him from talking and
telling secrets ; he can only utter a wailing noise — ' Maieh !
maieh!' and whenever any one hears that sound, if outside,
he runs away ; or, if in his hut, he eats medicine. Yes ! very
few people have been bewitched by the Esemkofu, because
they don't like their duty, and always give notice with their
warning cry." " What do you mean," I exclaimed, " by
talking such nonsense to me? Do you think — " "Wait a
moment, don't be in a hurry, listen to what I have got to
say, first; remember you asked me to tell you the storj\
The Esemkofu is a very different thing from a man who has
been dead, and is sent back by the Mahlose." " Are there,
then, two kinds of people raised from the dead?" "Of
course, there are people who have died and come back again
in the proper way. My brother was one, and it was through
him I went into that wood and saw what I was going to tell
you about." " But tell me first about the Mahlose; what or
who are they, and where are they?" "They are all the
people who have died, whose breath has gone out of them.
I don't know exactly what they are, or where they are, biit
they revisit the kraals that belonged to them, in the form of
a snake; and whenever we see it, we sacrifice a beast; or, if
we are sick in the kraal, or unfortunate in hunting, we know
that our Ehlose (or familiar spirit) is angry, and we sacrifice
to it, when all comes right again ! My brother died and
was ' flung away' in the usual manner. W^e dug a hole and
sat him up in it, put in his blanket, his dress, his sticks,
assegais and mat, beside him, covered him up, and left him.
Next day we saw him walking up to the kraal. Of course
we knew he had been sent back by the Mahlose, and bade
A ZULU PURGATORIA. 121
liim welcome. He told us that he had been m a fine country,
where the corn and sugar-cane grew thick and tall, and the
cattle were as fat as fat could be; and that he met a cousin
of his, who had died a long time before, who told him to go
back immediately, that instant, ' because,' said he, ' you will
meet some one else just now if you don't, who will give you
food, and then you must remain an Ehlose for ever.' ' I
remembered nothing more,' my brother said, ' till I found
myself lying on that hill. I looked at my legs and arms,
said ^'ivotof" and came home, thinking all the way, ah ! what
a delightful country I have been in.' " "Then why didn't he
stay there*?" I asked. "He couldn't, you know, after the
Ehlose of one of his relatives had told him to go back."
"And suppose he had met the Ehlose of a stranger, what
would have been the consequence?" " Why, of course, just
what his cousin told him; he would have given him food, he
would have taken it, and he would then have been obliged
to remain. And that accounts, you see, for so few coming
back, for if you think of the number of people who have
died, and then think how small the chance is that the first
man you meet should be a relative." "Ah! I see," cried I,
*' well, go on with your story."
"My brother went about the kraal, but he seemed con-
tinually to mourn for the good things he had left; would
speak to no one, and wandered about as if he did not belong
to us. At last it began to be Avhispered that he must be an
Esemkofu, as he never spoke, but constantly wailed; and
the question was mooted whether he ought not to be killed.
I objected to this on the grounds that it was well known to
])e impossible to kill an Esemkofu, and, therefore, if we put
my brother to death it would be but a poor satisfaction to
lind that, after all, he was a real man. At last, it was
122 WILD LIFE — ^A HAUNTED WOOD.
agreed that I should take him to that wood — ^the Emagoodo
— ^which was known to be haunted, and, if he fraternised
with the others, it would set the matter at rest, and wo
should get rid of him from the kraal. To avoid giving cause
for suspicion, I told my brother to get axes to cut wood ;
without saying anything he did so, and away we went — I,
with fear and trembling ; he seeming to care for nothing.
I had heard that the wood was full of Zweeti's people,
and that the ^ JBayete' ('King of Kings' — the greeting to
majesty), was often heard mysteriously soughing through
the trees ; but I was determined to do what I could for my
brother, and so if there was danger in the attempt, I must
run the risk at all hazards.
"We entered the wood. AVlien we had gone about ten
paces, a sound, as if the wind was rising and moaning
amongst the trees, began to be heard. Yet it was not
altogether like wind, but dull and heavy, as if you could
almost feel it. I looked towards my brother, but he seemed
unconscious of anything peculiar. I cut a wattle. Immedi-
ately the sound increased in density — came nearer us, round
us, over us, under us, and, I may say, in us ; and amidst it
I seemed to hear half-broken ejaculations of the human voice.
I looked towards my brother; he seemed wakening up, more
life was visible in his face. Cheered by this I cut another
wattle. No sooner had my axe struck the wood than
immediately were heard on all sides exclamations of surprise
and anger; the sound increased in loudness, and a heavy
pressure seemed to be upon me. I could scarcely breathe,
and felt as if something was fingering my axe and assegais.
I looked towards my brother ; he evidently was now alive
to his situation ; terror was in his countenance, and he
looked beseechingly towards me. Con\dnced now that he
ANGRY SPIRITS. 12^
was no Esemkofii, I shouted aloud for joy, and struck one
more blow at a tree. With the blow there came a rushing,
irresistible force — like a great river after mighty rains — and
from the midst we heard the angry exclamation — 'Wow,
wow! who comes here? Do they dare us?' Eesistance
was impossible — we never thought of it; something we could
not see, but almost felt, twitched the axes and assegais out
of our hands ; there came at us, propelled by some unseen
but powerful agency, showers of stones and branches of trees ;
but not one struck us. We were swept out of the Avood in
less time than I take to tell it, and when we reached the
open country the angry spirits became reconciled, their
furious attack ended, and even the faintest sound was
inaudible.
"My brother was, of course, rehabilitated in his tribe — the
ordeal being held to be perfectly complete and satisfactory,
his humanity being held to be proved to a demonstration.
But my brother took me severely to task for having been so
foolhardy as to dare to enter such a place, which I must
have known was full of Esemkofu. I ansAvered him nothing,
although I might easily have vindicated myself by telling
him that thereby I had saved his life; but I wished to avoid
raising unpleasant feelings in his mind against those who
were now his friends. Ever after he was his old self again ;
but both of us have carefully avoided going near 'the
haunted wood' again, or indeed speaking of it to each
other."
It is scarcely necessary to say that I entered the wood,
that I cut wattles there, and that I saw or heard nothing of
all their wonders. But that did not shake his belief in them
in the slightest degree, and he merely remarked that the
inhabitants, knowing me for a white man who cared nothing
124 WILD LIFE — OOL BOMBO.
for these things, did not trouble themselves about me. The
legend, I may state, is implicitly believed in by the natives
to this day. The pity is that belief in such fables is not
<?onfined to the Zulus !
Y. — OOL BOMBO.
The most remarkable feature of this country is the range
of mountains known as the Bombo — a spur of the Drachens-
berg, running as nearly as possible due north and south.
They are not particularly lofty, being at no part, I should
say, more than 1200 feet above the level of the sea. But
the whole range on the west side rises abruptly out of the
great plains of the Amatonga country. It is like a huge
wall ninning across a plain. On the east side the ridges roll
from the top, surge upon surge, down to a level with the
country at its foot.
The climate is magnificent, always pleasantly hot or
cool ; even the north-east wind, which blows so hot and dry,
on the top is soft and refreshing, as, from the quantity of
timber, there is always a certain amount of moisture per-
meating the atmosphere, through the action of the sun on
its leafy storehouse. The natives themselves declare that
there is never any winter in the Bombo country, and I my-
self have seen the grass green and succulent in what was the
middle of the winter season, although there had been no rain
for several months, and there was nothing unusual or
peculiar in the weather. Hlatihoolo (the forest) is the largest
in those parts : its name signifies this — Illati (bush), Ikoolo
(large). It spreads over the broken country, constituting
the top of the Bombo for many miles, and contains splendid
timber. There is a romance connected with it of a Zulu
AN OPENING FOR A MISSIONARY. 125
King and all his army having been destroyed there; and who
shall say that the Zulus may not have their legends, as well
as the Teutons in their Hartz Mountains and Black Forests t
The people — as if by climatic influence — are a much softer
race than the Zulus, of whom they are mightily afraid, being
constantly subjected to "harrying" on the slightest pretence,
or on no pretence at all, by their warlike and rather un-
scrupulous neighbours.
I believe that, if the Zulus would permit it, the natives (I
Avas almost calling them "Bombo-zines !") would be very glad
to have a missionary settled amongst them. They fancy it
would be — and they are quite right — a sort of protection ta
them; and a finer field for missionary enterprise I do not
know. It is a sort of neutral territory; the peojile call
themselves, and are called by the Zulus, Makenkani (nobody's
people). On the east and north there is the whole Ama-
tonga nation ; and on the west and north there is the
Amaswazi — none of wliom are so wedded to old habits and
customs as the Zulu. They have no old glories to look back
to — nothing to confirm the impression upon their minds, as
with the 'Zulus, that the customs under which they con-
quered every one around them must be the best possible,
and that therefore Christianity would be of no advantage to
them. Another sign of greater civilisation is that the men
take their share in cultivating the ground, and the women
are held in much greater respect than with the Zulus and
Kaftirs generally.
These people obtam cattle, the riches of the South African,
from the Zulus, in exchange for the produce of their labour,
principally tobacco. Famine is unknown among them,
whereas it is frequent in the Zulu, where only the women
and girls hoe, the men thinking it mfra dig. to do it, except,
126 WILD LIFE — OOL BOMBO.
under compulsion, to the King. In short, the Zulus are the
Spartans of this Greece. War they delight in, hardship they
boast of, and they have reduced the neighbouring tribes to
the condition of Helots, whose superiority in the peaceful
arts and the production of food, they point to as only
deserving of ridicule and contempt. The only blot upon
the former is their extreme bloodthirstiness; but even for
that I can scarcely blame them, for it is the custom of the
country, and they know no better.
The view is magnificent. For many miles on either side
stretch plains covered with mimosa trees. On the east the
river Pongolo is seen winding away northwards, and, in the
morning sun, it glistens like a silver ribbon, while the mist
hanging on either side constitutes the fringe. In the far
distance are seen the low sand-hills on the beach, and
beyond, to the horizon, the peculiar haze which marks the
Indian ocean. To the north and west, at a distance of
about thirty miles, begin the lofty broken hills marking the
conformation of the Zulu and Amaswazi countries; and
again the Pongolo, coming from the westward, winding its
way towards the break in the Bombo, through which it
turns to the north.
The people also are of kindly disposition — a common form
•of expression with them being " sneenesaJcakoJco" (friend of
my grandfather). It is a courteous phrase, without very
much in it, but sufiicient to mark character.
Another peculiar custom among them is that the neiohew
always succeeds to the chieftainship. On asking the reason
why, they give no other answer than that " it is the way of
the people." Their conversation is about cultivation, trading,
•&C. — ;padfic; that of the Zulus of deeds of arms, hardships
bravely endured, and glory attained — icarlike. The dis-
A NIGHT ROUND THE FIRE — TOM'S STORY. 127
tinctioii is plain and evident between the conquerors and
the conquered. These work at their homes — those disdain
it; and yet get the Zulu into Natal and regularly harnessed,
-nnd he is worth two of the other.
VI.— A Night Round the Fire.
The scene round the fire, which I have before spoken of,
is unique. Nowhere else than in " Wild life " could you hear,
with anything like the same zest, the stories and adventures
which companionship of the kind bring forth. Fancy six or
eight young fellows, brimful of life and energy, underneath
a bush, gipsy fashion, a bright fire, a brilliant starlit sky, a
gentle, warm, balmy breeze blow^ing, each one "hungry as a
hunter," and all about to satisfy their vulgar appetites ;
fancy that operation comj^leted, and each "blowing a cloud"
of the Virginian weed, grown in South Africa. Then the
"jawing" commences; old scenes and recollections are
brought up and talked over, and adventures of all sorts
recounted ; and, where there is so much reality in this way,
it is unnecessary to draw on the imagination, for, besides,
"truth is stranger than fiction" in "AVild life" in South
Africa. Thus the night wears away, and wdien a halt is
called, we are all surprised when we find it so long past
bed-time.
"I say, Dick, how long have you been out?" "About
seven years." " And you, Bob V " Eight." "Ah ! I beat
you both ; I've been nine years at it. You've been at it as
long as I have though, Tom." "Who, me'? Well, yes,
something the same, I think. Who'd have thought it, when
I left England, that I'd have been all these years among
these blessed niggers." "I propose Tom gives us the history
128 WILD LIFE — A NIGHT ROUND THE FIRE.
of his life," cries one, and there is a chorus of " hear, hear,""
and cheers, from the others. " Well, boys, I've no objec-
tion, only I won't begin at the beginning, Tristram Shandy
fashion ; for, as the Irishman said, although I was present
when I was born, I can't recollect a circumstance about it,
and it's of no use bothering you with how I got over my
teething and "the distemper," so you must be content with
a start from the time I left old Trinity." " Were you at
Trinity*?" "Yes, of course; I'm telling you so." "What
year?" "185 — ." "Well, I was close to you, at Jesu&
College." " By Jove ! were you ? Do you remember ."
A chorus of malcontents interj^osed here, and requested a
truce to these college reminiscences till the story was finished.
" All serene ! here goes for an opening. My father, gentle-
men, who was a clergyman — ." " We could easily tell that
by the life you lead." " Give that fellow some coffee, Dick,
for he's never quiet unless he's gourmandising." "Well,
my governor told me, when I came from college, that I was
big enough and ugly enough to do something for myself;
and I elected to see the colonies. I needn't tell you that
one learns precious little at college which he finds of much
use to him when he has to fight his way in the world.
Latin, Greek, and mathematics are excellent things in their
way, no doubt ; but when you get adrift in the world, and
bring your college training into the market, ten to one but
you find some son of a Scotch ploughman or weaver beating
you out of the field with these very weapons, sharpened
at some village school, the name of which is not even in
your geography. The fact is, laying prejudices aside — and
they are deucedly strong — the Scotch understand what is-
meant by education far better than we English. Excuse
me, gentlemen, for this divergence; but the truth is, I always.
AMATEUR FARMING. 129
get funky when I get on this track. AVell, as I was saying,
I fixed on having a look at the colonies, and at last I chose
ISTatal. It struck me that, as we were both young, we might
pull better together. I needn't tell you about the passage
and landing, and that sort of bosh ; and I suppose you will
believe me when I inform you that I at last arrived at my
destination, and no sooner had I landed and it was known
that I had a little ' tin,' and meant farming, than I had to
hold a regular levee to meet those who had land for sale.
It is a curious thing in Natal, but so I was solemnly assured
by all these most disinterested gentlemen, that all the land
is good, and all the situations accessible and pretty ; and
when a fellow has ever so many acres offered to him in free-
hold at a sovereign or so per acre, and thinks what a grand
thing it is to be a landed proprietor, he is not quite so
particular as he ought to be — at least I wasn't." (Omnes —
"We agree with you, old fellow, we've sailed in the same
boat.") " Well, I bought some land — so much, indeed, that
I barely left myself cash enough to build a house, buy oxen,
cart, and plough, and had nothing to keep me till the crop
was gathered. Never mind, I thought, I'll plough and I'll
plant, and live on tick in the meantime. Well, I ploughed
and I planted, but, my friends, allow me to assure you that — "
" You never reaped, I suppose." " Just so, you've hit my
case exactly. It's no use going over a long story, but I got
into debt, and had to sell off. Then I found that the fine
land and beautiful situation I had paid so much for would
not fetch half what I paid for it, unless I could catch some
fiat like myself and take him in and do for him ; but I was
too hard-up to wait for that. So away it all went, and after
paying my debts I was left with a few pounds, which I soon
spent in that pretty colonial occupation 'looking about me.' "
K
130 WILD LIFE — A NIGHT ROUND THE FIRE.
*^ Did you come into the Zulu then V " No, no ; hold on a
bit and I'll tell you how at last I got to that refuge for the
destitute." " No names, if you please, Tom ; for it is the
most gentlemanly and independent calling going, is hunting
and trading in Zulu-land, and ' Wild life' there, is always
pure life." " All right, old fellow ; but don't interrupt me, if
you please. Well, at last I found that I had ' looked about
me' to very little purpose, and was left without a rap. I
didn't like to write home and tell them that I had made
such a mess of it so very soon ; so I asked a few fellows, 1
had got to know a little, if they could put me up to how and
where I might get something to do. They could tell me of
nothing but a baker's ; and, although you may guess it wasn't
much in my line, I determined to give it a try and do my
best. I got the berth, with £4 a month and board and lodgii^.
I worked away at it for about six months, kneading flour,
making fires, sweeping the place out, and doing any odd job
that came to hand. I wasn't very particular, and although it
might seem scarcely the thing for a swell from old Trinity,
I did my duty honestly and manfully. I was always writing
to the governor that I was doing remarkably well, but had
determined to learn baking, as it was a most useful ac-
complishment in a new country ! The good old fellow
believed it all, and I hadn't to ask him for money. However,
I got tired at last ; it was such devilish hot work, with the
thermometer up to anything ; and, hearing of a situation at
a farm, I determined to apply, principally for the purpose of
seeing if other people were any more successful than I had
been. I got the place, and spent six months there, digging
drains and that sort of rough work, and going into Maritz-
burg to have the ploughs mended. We used to dig splendid
drains, then plough over them, and plant crops, which the
LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION. 131
locusts consumed. The M.'s gave it up at last as a bad job ;
4ind, as I had saved a trifle, I bought a few goods and came
into the Zulu. You know all about me ever since, and there
is one thing which, if you don't know, I'll tell you — Fve never
regretted the step f" " Hear, hear ! I vote Tom a testimonial
in the shape of a cup of coffee." " Bother ! there's none in
tlie kettle." " Throw something at that Kaffir and waken
liim up to cook some more." " Ah ! Tom's case was nearly
mine," says Dick, " only letters of introduction did for me."
'' How was that V *' Why, my friends made themselves so busy,
and got me such a lot when I left, that I found myself in clover
when I arrived here — at least as long as the money lasted.
I had so many people who 'took an interest' in me, advised
me against this and against that; this was doubtful and that
was not sure; that I hung about idling till the tin went done,
^and at last found out that my truest friend was old AY
— to whom I had no letters, by-the-bye— for he gave me tick
for a lot of goods, and it was thus that I came into the Zulu.
You know old W surely ?" " What ! he that had the
bet with B as to wJio umdd sing the most songs .?" "That's
him." "Which won," asks Bob, "Neither; they kept it
up for three nights and two days, and then made a drawn
battle of it." " Oh ! nonsense." " It's a fact, though ; ask
Max there." " Yes," says Max, " it's quite true ; another
time too he made a bet with another queer stick as to who
should sleep the longest; but when old W. went off he looked
so death-like that the others got frightened and wakened him
up, for which he refused to pay the bet." " And quite right
too." Well, I am not so clear about that, for you see it was
done for his benefit and by his friends to save his life, as
they thought." Chorus of " Oh 1 " Turning to one of the
party who is recovering from a touch of fever, and is lying
132 WILD LIFE — A NIGHT ROUND THE FIRE.
alongside the fire wraj^ped in a blanket : " How are you
now, old fellow." "Middling." "I think," says one, "Fred
ought to turn a little pail this round, considering how often h(v
has been reported to have 'kicked the bucket!'" "Yes,'"
says the invalid, " I expect they will have me done for this
time also ; they seem determined not to believe that I'm
alive." "No, I'm jolly sure they wont; but what are you
to do when you return to your friends T " Well, I suppose
I must tell them that Fve heen 'hern' again/" " That's not a
bad Natal joke, and its evident you're getting better, my fine
fellow."
A howl better known than liked is heard. " Hallo,
there's a wolf, throw him a bone." " Yes, and put some
arsenic on it first; you have some, haven't you, MaxT'
"All right, there's some in the waggon chest; take care
though, as it isn't very well tied." " Look here," says the
fellow who has mounted the waggon, " Max evidently means
to poison us instead of the wolf; did you ever see such a
careless beggar?" and he brings out a crumpled piece of
paper, and displays it in approved Dr. Marigold style, " Here's
what the arsenic or strychnine ivas in, but noiv it is mixed
with the dishes, knives, forks, spoons, biscuits, beef, &c. ; in
fact, our pantry and store-room are worse than a score of
Pritchard's." Grand chorus, reprobatory of Max, who takes
it very coolly, and says he daresays Dick has just spilt it,
" his fingers being all thumbs," but never to mind, as he
won't use any of the things till he has cleaned out the chest.
The wolf, however, has the bone thrown to him, and the
conversation is just recommencing when " rumble, inimble,
rumble," is heard above the clatter. " There goes a lion —
hang him ! do you mind when they cleared out my oxen at
Puganyonil" "Ah! and what a go we had at them with
LIONS IN THE WAY. 133
the Zulus." " Yes, that was a day." " What was it?" asks
Bob. " Why, at the kraal the waggon was at, they were
terribly troubled with lions; one night they broke in and
killed six people and some goats. After that the niggers
kept watch, having a fire on each side; notwithstanding
that, they were daring enough to kill a lot of my oxen, which
were tied up to the yokes. Next day the Zulus asked me
to shoot them, to which I cheerfully agreed, especially as 1
was to be paid an ox for each lion shot. We went out, a
regular army of us, and found the lions on the other side of a
canal-like river. I fired and wounded one, who instantly
charged, but the Zulus finished him in the water. It's no
use going over the whole affair in detail to you fellows, who
know all about that sort of thing, but we had famous sport."
'' Didn't you give him another shotV " We had no time;
those weren't the days of double-barrelled breech-loaders;
and if you didn't do the business the first shot, you had to
take your chance of a charge, and sometimes dodge, or cut
and run." And so the conversation goes on, and thus the
night wears away. I have been able to give but a faint
representation of "A Night round the fire" — the fun and
bye-play I cannot picture; indeed, most of the jokes would
look very poor upon paper, and I daresay were not very
bright, but we laughed at them from pure, healthy happi-
ness of heart, in such a manner as would have delighted the
big-wigs of Punch, had the jokes been theirs.
VII. — A Runaway Match.
There are several "Gretna Greens" for the Zulus. Those
nearest the Tugela fly to Natal ; those high up also get into
Natal, across the Buffalo river ; and those near the north,
134 WILD LIFE— A RUNAWAY MATCH.
cross the Pongolo to the Bombo and Amaswazi countries.
In no instance, however, do they fly to the north-east to
Tonga land, the natives of which they hold in utter contempt,
and describe as " dirty old women and witches." I may b(>
excused for interpolating an instance of this. The Tongas
are sj^lit up under a great many small chieftains, who all of
them "put their hands" (pay homage or fealty) to the Zulus
— some paying tribute to one chief and some to another.
Not long ago a Zulu chief got permission to kill a small
Tonga chief and his people, who had bewitched one of his-
own Tongas to death. He sent a small army, but when they
arrived they found the whole district deserted, the Tongas
having by some means got information of what was coming,
and fled. Thus disappointed, the Zulus were returning
home, when they stayed for a night at another Tonga's
called Mangaleesa, who paid tribute to Masipula, another
great Zulu chief By some means the cry got up that
Mangaleesa had given information of their coming to the-
other tribe, and during the night the Zulus set to work and
killed the chief and most of his people. When I heard of
this I asked if Masipula would not be very angry at having
this source of revenue destroyed. " Yes," I was answered.
" Would he not fight with Mapeeta *?" " No 1 do you think
the King would allow a dead Tonga to make work between
two big people of the Zulu V And that was all his regret !
To return to my story, from which I am a " runaway ""
myself Angry and pursuing fathers, and danger of broken
limbs from overturning coaches, driven recklessly by drunken
postboys, were the principal risks incurred in " the good old
times " by an attempt to get " o'er the borders and awa' wi*"
Jock o' Hazeldean," or somebody else, to get Hymen's chain
rivetted by the blacksmith of " Gretna Green." In these
A ZULU "GRETNA GREEN." 135
degenerate times of railways, telegraphs, and reform bills, I
don't know how they manage these things at home, never
having ventured on a trial; but here in the Zulu a " Gretna
Green" journey is attended with hardships and dangers
sufficient to damp the courage of the most devoted lovers.
In the first place, if caught, the man is killed to a dead
certainty ; but even should they escape from their pursuers,
they both run a good chance of death in a flight to the
North.
One night, while lying on one side of the hut, with about
a dozen Zulus on the other side, who had come to Ott-e-hanhla
— a figurative expression, meaning literally to " heat them-
selves at the fire" — I being considered to be the fire, dispensing
light and warmth around ! — all chattering away, my attention
was attracted by one fellow who had found an acquaintance
in one of my hunters, and was describing to him how he had
won his wife. I have inadvertently called them Zulus, but
they were Bombo people — this one, however, was a Zulu,
who had fled with his sweetheart and settled there. He
described it capitally, and, one by one, the others became
silent and listened to the story, so congenial to their nature.
Runaway matches, when they do happen in Zulu, come
Avith a rush. So long as the young man has his girl to
himself he is content ; but, when a regiment has permission
to marry, it takes all the supply in the country, of marriage-
able girls, to meet the demand of the dusky warrior Coelebs'
in search of wives, and thus the other young fellows are
deprived of their sweethearts, and have consequently to wait
till others grow up, unless they adopt active measures to
overcome the difficulty by " a runaway match." The fol-
lowing is the little episode : —
" I had had two sweethearts, and both were taken away
136 WILD LIFE — A RUNAWAY MATCH.
by ' Toolwan ' (the name of a regiment) : so when I got the
third I determined not to lose her. After a good deal of
persuasion on my part, she agreed to run away with me,
and there only remained to be arranged the way it was to
be managed, and whither we were to go. We spoke of
Natal, but the great extent of Zulu to be traversed frightened
us ; consequently, although we had friends there, we agreed
that it would be better to strike north for the Bombo, the
distance being so much less, and the country more thinly
peopled. It was decided that we should meet at a ^rook
about ten miles from my kraal, and there make a start
together. I got up in the morning and wanted to take my
blanket, but my mother asked me where I was going to. I
told her that I intended to visit some friends in the opposite
direction. * Why then,' she said, ' don't trouble yourself
with your blanket, or people will say you're afraid of the
cold, for young Zulus don't carry their blankets about with
them when they go visiting.' To avoid suspicion I had to
leave it, but I caught up a bit of girls'-cloth that was in the
hut, and ran off with it laughing. On the road I had to pass
some kraals where there were friends of mine, one of whom
met me at the gate and insisted that I should go in and drink
beer with him; and, as that is an invitation which no one
thinks of refusing, I was obliged to go in, although very
anxious, as you may suppose, to proceed to the place of
meeting. While in the hut they asked where I was going
to ; I told them to a kraal where there were friends of mine.
'Why,' said they, 'this is not the road.' I answered, 'No,
but I'm carrying this cloth to a girl.' They wanted me to
stay all night, but I refused, and went away as rapidly as I
could. I think, however, they knew what I was about,
they ' chaffed ' me so slyly.
"PUIRTITH CAULD !" 137
" I at last arrived at the place of assignation, and found my
girl, true to her promise, anxiously waiting for me, but very
much frightened at my long delay. I however soon soothed
her by explaining the cause of the delay, and then, leaving
the usual path, we started across the country.
" Night fell before we arrived at the last kraal ere you enter
the long stretch of uninhabited country running to the
Bombo. We were very hungry, I having had nothing that
day but the drink of beer, and my poor girl nothing what-
ever; so we determined to try for some food. We dared not
ask for it, because, as you know, they would have seized tht^
girl and taken possession of her, whilst they would have
killed me.*
" So I hid her, and went to see whether there was a chance
of stealing any. The kraal, fortunately, was not very well
fenced, which enabled me to creep quietly in and go upon
my hands and knees, feeling for a pot with some mealies in
it, as I knew there must be some about at that time. I could
hear the people talking in the huts as I crawled past, and I
was in momentary fear that the dogs would discover me,
but fortunately they did not. At last I found what I was
in search of, and took them to my girl, when, after having
satisfied our ravenous appetites, w^e started again on our
journey, carrying the remainder with us. You know the
kraals I speak of. They are situated on a high hill, from
which you descend to the wooded flats of the Bombo. Well,
when we had got about half way down, my heart suddenly
told me not to go further, and I said to the girl, ' Let us go
back a little and stay till morning.' She replied, * No ; let
us get far away before morning ;' but I refused, and went
* Such is tlie law, and it is rigidly carried into practice, as a girl
is a very valuable "chattel" in the marriage market.
138 WILD LIFE — A RUNAWAY MATCH.
back. The influence of my Ehlose was strong that night.
We had not gone up again but a few steps when a lion com-
menced roaring within a few yards of where we had stood —
quite close, as close as that door — and answering him, others-
at the foot of the hill made up a pretty chorus. * Wow !' said
I to the girl, 'get up this tree.' I heljied her up ; then took
post at the bottom with my shield and assegais. It was sl-
pitch-dark night, and I could hear the lions snuffling and
growling all round about me, and a more unpleasant night I
never spent. Morning came at last, when we ate the mealies-
in sight of the kraal we had stolen them from, and then
marched off" merrily for the Bombo ; for our hearts were full
of happiness, because we had escaped not only from the
Zulus, but also from the lions ; and we felt that our diffi-
culties and dangers were now near an end. When we arrived
near our destination, Lamban, the Bombo chief, married us,
and gave my wife a pick, and an axe, and a hut to live in ;
and here we are settled as Makekani for the rest of our days.'"
The last words were given with a half sigh, as if, amid all
his happiness in the land of his adoption, a feeling of home-
sickness would steal over him, and induce him to regret that
even "a Runaway match " should have been the cause of his.
expatriation from his beloved Zulu-land.
VIII. — A Buffalo Hunt in the Water.
There is one red day in my calendar, which will never
fade from my recollection — a day upon which we started
with quite a small army of natives with a firm resolution to
'' do or die !" For years afterwards the Zulus spoke of it as-
an era in their hunting life, and I myself often look back
upon it as a day worth any fifty in a town.
BUFFALO IN THE RIVER. 13^
We were all marching along in single file, "and the
boldest held his breath for a time," for there was not a word
spoken; when, suddenly, to our right was heard the thunder-
ing noise and vibration, and was seen the dust raised by the
stampede of a herd of buffaloes. It was a call to skirmish,,
and was answered with much greater promptitude than that
of the bugle. In a moment the Hlangi"* was alive with
people, running in all directions, some toward the sound,
some ahead, some behind, and in five minutes' time my
hunters' guns spoke out, and two fine animals " bit the dust.'"
In the confusion I got separated from my hunters, having
followed another herd on my own account, with a tail of about
twenty Zulus. After walking about two miles we lost the
track, or rather gave in, as we had passed all the thick
clumps of bush, in which the natives expected the buffaloes
to have taken refuge. " It's of no use going further," said
they, " for they have crossed the Pongolo." This made me
look towards the river, and there they were, sure enough,
on the sand in the bed of the stream; but nearly on the
other side of it. The river is about seventy yards wide,
with high reedy banks, principally shallow, but with deep
pools here and there. At the ford, from constant crossing
of game, the banks were very much broken down ; and, for
a distance of several hundred yards, this was the only place
where large game, like buffaloes, could get out.
I ran down, under shelter of the reeds, and fired at a
s{)lendid bull which stood nearest the bank on the other
side; the commotion was instantaneous and tremendous.
" Ba-a-a-al" cried the poor animal as he fell; those behind
pressed forward, those in front wheeled round, thinking the
Khot came from the bank nearest them, and at last the whole
* Country covered, but not very thickly, with minosa bush.
140 WILD LIFE— A BUFFALO HUNT IN THE WATER.
herd of about three hundred plunged into the deep water
below the ford, and tried in vain to ascend the steep banks
on either side. The natives dashed' across the river further
down and guarded the other bank, and the noise of my firing
having brought my hunters to my assistance, there we had
them fairly dominated in a sort of pond, some parts of which
were shallow enough to allow them to get a footing.
We soon fired away all our bullets, and then we took to
the assegai, and engaged them at close quarters in the water.
The scene which ensued baffles description — the excitement
and shouts of the natives, the bellowing and madness of the
game, the whole pond being in one whirl of constant motion
— the buifaloes being bad hands at the water. You would
see one old bull facing defiantly three or four enemies who
were pegging away at him, up to their shoulders in water,
while another would gently swim up in the deep water
behind, and send his spear home to a vital part, then round
goes the bull and down goes the native ; the bull swims
about a little, then gets his depth again to have the same
process repeated, till, being utterly exhausted and mortally
wounded, he becomes an easy prey to the spoiler. Once,
when about a dozen of them were swimming up under the
the reeds, one fellow tried to lean over the bank and stab
one en passant, but the earth gave way and down he plunge<l
amongst them head foremost with such a yell ; in a few
moments he reappeared, much to our amusement, careering
on bufi'alo-back down the river, doubtful about holding on,
but fearing to let go, and roaring as if he were being carried
off by a water kelpie. Another, drawing cautiously near to
the reeds, was suddenly met vis-a-vis by an old bull, which
had somehow managed to struggle up the bank, and, as he
turned to run ignominiously, he received such an impetus
BUFFALO HUNT — HLONIPA. 141
from the infuriated animal as sent him clean over into the
deep water, fortunately none the worse for the plunge, if we
except the dreadful fright he got. These slight sketches of
a few of the incidents of the day may helj^ the reader to
imagine something of the extraordinary and exciting scene,
but it is impossible to paint or describe it. At last, how-
ever, we stood upon a sandbank, thoroughly exhausted, and,
because we really couldn't help it, allowed the remainder of
the herd to go. They struggled up, one here, one there,
completely blown ; and in a quarter of an hour all was again
silent on the river, and, except for our trophies, there was
nothing to indicate that there had so recently been "a buffalo
liunt in the water."
IX. — A Few Odds and Ends about the Zulus.
If any of the cattle paid for a wife die during the year^
they must be replaced. If the wife should die during that
period, the cattle can be reclaimed ; but that is generally
arranged by a sister being sent — as expressed in tlieir own
figurative language — " to raise up the house of her that is
dead."
Intimately connected with, and in fact arising out of,
marriage amongst the Zulus, is the custom of " Hlonipa.""
AVhen a mother in-law meets her son-in-law, she will not
speak to him — she will hide her head and breasts that
suckled his wife. If she meets him on the road where she
cannot turn away, and she have no covering, she will tie a
piece of grass round her head as a sign that she Hlonipa's.
All correspondence has to be carried on through third
parties. A wife will not mention the name of any of her
husband's male relations ; she will not even say the name of
142 WILD LIFE — ODDS AND ENDS ABOUT THE ZULUS.
her husband's father if you ask her ; and any word in which
the sound of her father-in-law's name occurs, she will alter i
And so also will a whole tribe alter any word in which the
name of their dead chief occurs ; for instance, one of the
King's (Panda) wives will not say "Enzani" (what are
jou doing 1), but " Enkani," because Panda's father was
" Enzenzengakona," and they rather injure the sense than
risk the euphony. One chief's people will not say "Manzi"
(water), but " Mata," because their chief's father's name was
" Manzini." The higher the rank the more strictly is the
•etiquette observed, and in consequence the language is ever
altering, as they are continually manufacturing new terms,
And puzzling the most learned pundits in the Kaffii-
language.
Another matter I would touch upon is polygamy. I am
not quite sure whether it may be considered out of place in
sketches of this kind ; but as it is a matter of the most vital
importance to the colony, and as I have had peculiar
advantages and opportunities for gaining a thorough
Acquaintance with Kaffir habits and feelings, I am inclined
to think that I shall be excused for not keeping my light
hid under a bushel.
Much has been said and written, especially in the colony,
-on this subject ; and one portion of the press has, without
regard to time and place, constantly advocated its abolition.
It is scarcely necessary to say that I agree with it, in so far
that jpolygamy is an evil ; but in abolishing a long-rooted
custom you must take the same care as in transplanting a
long-rooted tree. Do it roughly and inconsiderately by the
strong hand in the one case, and the tree fades and dies; in
the other the people fight and die. The simile holds good
still further, for in the one case you seek to remove, for the
POLYGAJIY AND " FORCED MARRIAGES." 14S
purposes of improvement, use, and ornament; in the other-
<)ase the alteration would improve and render more useful;
and I fancy that there can be no greater ornament to a
•country than a savage people civilised and Christianised—
mark, not vice versa — by those who have come over the sea
to make it their home. Why, then, in the name of common-
sense, take a course which would kill the tree and extermi-
nate the people, and during the process would produce
incalculable misery to all? Whenever an instance happens
■of a girl being compelled to marry a man she doesn't like, it
is blazoned forth with all pomp and circumstance; every
item of cruelty described in heart-rending language and most
sensational manner, and the whole wound up by an in-
dignant protest against, and an imperative demand for, the
-abolition of polygamy, as if, forsooth, there were nothing of
the kind ever heard of in civilised England, and that
" forced marriages" were peculiar to South Africa. There
is a distinction without a difference in the nwdus operandi —
the one people using the stick, pure and simple; the other,
cruelties more refined and subtle, but none the less cruel for
all that. The Zulu girl is spoken of by rabid anti-poly-
gamists as a mere chattel with no will of her own, and liable
to be sold to the highest bidder. It is the same in Zulu as
in England — the greatest fortune stands the best chance;
but amongst the middle classes, if the girl refuses an offer,
her parents, with few exceptions, do not attempt compulsory
measures.
Supposing that an attempt were made to abolish polygamy
and the purchasing of wives, there would be three distinct
-classes of opponents amongst the natives to be met with and
disposed of. The young men would say " Yes, abolish the
practice of payment, and let us take as many wives as we
144 WILD fiFE — ODDS AND ENDS ABOUT THE ZULUS.
like; but what would be the use of one wife only ? Sup-
posing she falls sick, what a pretty fix we would be in, for
who could do the work"?" The old men would say, "No!
our wealth consists in our daughters; we paid for other
men's, why then prevent us from getting cattle for our's?
Our position in society depends upon the number of our
wives; why then prevent us from obtaining as many as we
can pay for? Is there any harm to you, in plenty of wives for
us?" The women would be the bitterest opponents of all;
they would say, " I will not marry a poor man, who will
only have one wife. Why should II when I can marry so
and so, who has twenty; besides, one wife makes hunger in
a kraal." Looking at the question in its whole bearings,
carefully and candidly, without prejudice one way or the
other, and being thoroughly acquainted with the symptoms
and effects of this disease of the body-politic, I prescribe as
follows : — Tax each wife beyond the first, but not so heavily
as to raise a spirit of resistance; the proceeds of this tax to
be applied by Government to establishing good schools
throughout the country, where the native children would be
taught trades, as well as letters; and I am satisfied that the
natives would offer little or no objection to the tax, if the
purposes to which it was to be applied were explained to
them. As Paramount Chief, the Governor has a right, by
native law, to claim what children he requires for his
servants. Let the Government then, acting on this law,
which the natives will not object to, exercise a gentle
despotism, and compel as many children as can be taught to
be sent to these schools; let them even pay each j^upil a
trifle, which would be well laid out, and have the children
bound for a term of years. Let civilization be the great
thing aimed at in their teaching, and let the lesson be
CIVILIZE THEN EVANGELISE! 145
sharply and unmistakably taught; thoroughly impress upon
them how completely inferior they are to us; and, when the
conceit is well taken out of them — for, while they are proud,
they are very sharp — then " train them up in the way they
should go." Avoid by every means "humanity-mongering,"
and that pernicious sentimentalism which teaches and
preaches that all men are brothers, and on an equality;
but "Educate, educate, educate!" — not "Agitate, agitate,
agitate!" — for the gradual abolition of polygamy. Mis-
sionary work is all very well, and no doubt good fruits
have been produced occasionally through the efforts of
judicious missionaries; but it must be obvious that an
educated native is much more likely to perceive the truths,
and appreciate the beauties of Christianity, than the un-
tutored savage; and yet the system goes on, like a useless
salve, which glozes over without healing the sore, so
apparently indeed, that "Missionary Kaffirs" have become
a byword and a reproach, and are considered the greatest
rascals in the colony !
The Kaffirs are very epigrammatic in their speech, which
arises no doubt from the meagreness of their language. I
will quote one instance which struck me particularly when I
heard it. We were coming home after a ten days' walk;
the last morning we started without anything to eat, and,
while tramping along, one fellow made the remark that he
was hungry, and it was a long way to the kraal we were
bound for; then we had silence for a little, when suddenly
another turned and spoke — "Bah-pa, yes; travelling is belly."
"Yes," says the other fellow, "belly!" and no more was
said; but what more was required *? I couldn't help laugh-
ing at the quaintness and completeness of the little dialogue;
but the poor fellows didn't see the fun of it.
L
146 WILD LIFE — ODDS AND ENDS ABOUT THE ZULUS.
The whole Zulu nation, as at present constituted, is
liroken up into little tribes ; the remnants of those conquered
by Chaka. Each tribe has its "Esebongo," or name of
thanks; for instance, one tribe is called Emtetwa, or scolders;
another Niaow, or foot; another Zungu, or weariness;
and when the chief makes a present of anything to one of
his people, they will say, "Yes, father; yes, Zungu;" or
" Yes, Emtetwa," as the case may be. Each of these tribes
has its peculiar habits and customs ; for instance, one,
*' Mat-e-enja" (dog's spittle), will not eat goat-flesh, because
they always leave a goat on the grave of their dead. When
any one dies they bury him, and over his grave they spread
out his mat, blankets, &c., and on the latter they place a
goat, then go away and leave it. They say the goat never
deserts the spot, but grazes about, and on the fourth day
dies. If they eat any part of a goat unawares, they are
seized with epilepsy and die. Even the young children in
the kraal, who are too young to know anything of this,
when a piece of goat-flesh is given to them, will not eat it,
but carry it in their hands for a little, and then throw it
away; and, be it remembered, that meat is their greatest
dainty !
The greatest difficulty in writing about native superstitions
and customs is, that although you may describe the peculiar
custom or superstition itself, yet you cannot give any satis-
factory reason for it. If you ask a Kaffir why he does so
and so, he will answer — " How can I tell 1 It has always
been done by our forefathers." They have a custom which
was at one time prevalent in Scotland — viz., piling cairns of
stones at certain spots as mementos of particular events. I
remember, on one occasion, travelling along with the waggon,
when the leader of the oxen picked up a stone, spat upon it,
SUPERSTITIONS. 147
iind then threw it upon a heap of others ; then the driver got
down and did the same. A few yards further on there was
another heap, where the same process was repeated. I in-
quired why they did it, when I got the answer quoted above.
I asked if it was not because some witch had been killed
there 1 The reply was — *' Very likely, but we don't know ;
only, wherever a heap like that is seen, we must add a stone
to it, otherwise something unpleasant is sure to happen."
Another peculiar custom is, that when any big man marries
his daughter off, he always sends one or more handmaids
wdth her, according to rank, who are called " Umshanells"
(broom). The husband may marry them too, if he pleases,
but the offspring of this "morganatic marriage" does not
take the same rank as the others.
Their superstitions are legion. I desjDair of enumerating
them. In hunting, if on starting they meet a female of any
kind, they consider themselves certain of success ; but if it
should be a male, they are just as certain of having bad luck.
Certain kinds of animals and birds crossing their path are
lucky, and others the reverse. When they kill game of any
kind, they immediately tie a knot on the tail, in order to
prevent the meat from giving them the stomach ache ! If,
when hunting, they fire twice or thrice without killing, they
mil turn back, saying their Elilose, or familiar spirit, is bad
that day, and therefore it is of no use wasting powder and
.shot. If they sneeze, they don't say exactly "God bless
you," but something very like it, such as "Yes, father; may
my way be clear, and my path smooth," or something of
that sort. Dreams they are devout believers in, and tliey
will curiously turn and twist any event of the day, so as to
make it coincide with the vision of the night. In one tribe,
whenever a mother leaves her child for a few moments, she
148 WILD LIFE — ODDS AND ENDS ABOUT THE ZULUS.
will squeeze a few drops of milk over its head, breast, and
back ; in another, she will spit on its hands ; in a third, she
will put a piece of clay on its head — each of which is con-
sidered by the operator as an effectual charm and protection
while " The baby was sleeping " in its mother's absence.
AVhen in battle two men are fighting, their snakes.
(Mahloze) are poetically said to be twisting and biting each
other overhead. One "softens" and goes down, and the
man, whose attendant it is, goes down with it. Everything
is ascribed to Ehlose. If he fails in anything, his Ehlose is-
bad ; if successful, it is good — a very convenient doctrine,
which I recommend to Dr. Manning's attention, as in na
case is blame attached to, or acknowledged by, the man. It
is this Thing which is the inducing cause of everything. In
fact, nothing in Zulu is admitted to arise from natural
causes ; everything is ascribed to witchcraft or the Ehlose.
Their system of government is peculiar. The king is
presumed to be proprietor of everything — people, land, and
cattle — all being at his disposal for gift, for life, or for
death; and this is actually the practice, under certain
recognised rules or laws. No one can be killed but for some
offence, although, of course, if the King wishes to kill him,
the offence is usually not difficult to find. The cattle of any
one killed become the proj)erty of the king, but there are
certain recognised portions which go to his captains, and
from them again to their people. If the king wishes to
make war, he is su2:>posed to do so of his OAvn accord, yet the
consent of his captains is required. He is despotic, but his
despotism must not traffigress known laws; in fact, as it
has been well said by the Rev. Mr. Shaw in his " Story of
my Mission," " The chief or king is all powerful to preserve
things as they are, but not to alter ; as the king governs-
I
ORIGIN OF THE ZULUS — THP^ LOST TRIBES. 149
the nation, so does each chief his people, and each head man
his kraal."
All the tribes in South Eastern Africa seem to have had
one common origin, and it would be interesting, as far as
possible, to trace their descent. The data are neither positive
nor extensive ; but the more I see of their habits and
customs, the more strongly do I incline to the opinion, that
they originally, and, comparatively speaking, at no very
distant period, migrated from the Xorthernmost parts of
^ Africa, and I would even go as far as Asia for their origin.
The question of the lost ten tribes of Israel is too abstruse
and dark a one for me to enter into, and besides, it would
far exceed the limits of these Sketches, to give such a minute
description of their little ways and peculiarities, which
would be utterly uninteresting, excej^t for the purpose of
supporting such an ethnological hypothesis, and I therefore,
in the meantime, merely suggest the idea, and leave to a
future and more appropriate occasion the elucidation of it.
The natives have absolutely no traditions as to religion
or origin, except the Ehlose, and one confused idea about
Inkulumkulu, which may be translated "the big one of
all." The first man, who they say " tore them out of the
reeds;" Uhlanga, literally "reed," they use for "custom."
For instance, any peculiarity in a tribe they account for by
.saying it is our "reed" or custom. They never try to arrive
at the causes of things ; even the names of their kraals or
their chiefs, or the king's kraals, they can seldom give you
an interpretation of. They say "it is a name." "But what
is the meaning of the name V "How should we know? it
is just a name." You ask again " What do you think the
fiun isf "Oh, it is just the sun." "Yes, but what do
you think it is V " How should we know, the sun is the
150 WILD LIFE — A KAFFIR HUNTERS STORY.
sun, and the moon is the moon — they shme." One fellow,
however, said he heard there was a great fire somewhere
in the sea, where the sun and the moon rise from; and
that a spark sprang from the fire, stuck in the sky, grew
and grew till mid-day, and afterwards faded away, and that
was the sun ! The moon they thought was a hole in the
heavens. What the firmament was they could not com-
prehend.
X. — A Kaffir Hunter's Story.
To " Wild life," with all its freedom and enjoyment, there
is, not unfrequently, a tragic side, caused in many cases by
quarrels between Kaffir hunters. When a batch of them are
sent away from their masters with guns and ammunition,
many a tragic scene is enacted. No cognisance can be taken
of them by any court of justice, the quarrels and crimes
usually taking place out of the colony, consequently they
establish rough courts amongst themselves, and administer
a sort of Lynch law ; the only two punishments recognised
by which being a thrashing, and what is called the last
penalty of the law. No one who is not intimately acquainted
with the ways and habits of the Kaffir hunter, and who has
not frequently mixed with and lived among them in " Wild
life," can know anything of these incidents ; for when, on
returning to the colony, inquiry is made about any missing
man it is the simplest thing in the world to place the blame
on the broad shoulders of an elephant or a buffalo, and no
more is said about it. I speak now, be it understood, of an
earlier period of the history of the colony than the present,
when the whites were few and far between, and Kaffir lives,
owing to the feeling induced by recent wars, were thought
MYSTERIES OF WILD LIFE. 151
of small consequence ; and besides, as lives of both blacks
and whites were risked every day in many ways, the loss of
one was an incident merely, and nothing more.
Those unused to "Wildlife" are very apt to consider
stories of this kind exaggerated ; and more than probably I
may get the credit of exaggeration ; but, as such has been
the fate of even the greatest of those who have gone before
me, in describing savage countries and "Wild life," I am con-
tent to take my chance in such goodly company, merely premis-
ing that what I describe in these Sketches I have either seen
with my own eyes, or have every reason to believe in their
truth.
Many times have I heard the hunters, in talking to one
another, say that so and so was dead ; and, on being asked
what he died of, the answer would invariably be " I don't
know," but said in such a peculiar manner that the questioner
would immediately respond with an appreciative " Ah !"
long drawn out. I had noticed this several times, and never
could manage to get any explanation, until at last I prevailed
upon one who had been in my service for several years, and
the result of his confidence was the following story : —
" There were fifteen of us crossed the Tugela together, and
Dugusa was our captain. We were bound for the Um-
suto, the river near Delagoa Bay, where we had heard
elephants were in plenty, while nearer at hand they were
scarce and wild, having been so much shot. You must
know that the Amatongas, the people down there, are a very
cowardly lot; for, whatever may be the case now, in those
days they would submit to anything from the hunters, who
would take their girls for wives, and eat up the food in their
kraals, and for payment would thrash or shoot them. The
consequence was that when the hunters came to the kraals
152 WILD LIFE — A KAFFIR HUNTER'S STORY.
the inmates used to run away, so that at last they could get
no one to assist them in carrying the ivory out.
" Our master when we left, seeing this difficulty, gave us
some beads and knives, and warned us to behave properly
to the people, pay for what we could with meat, and when
we failed to kill any animals, to use the goods he had given
us; and he wound up by saying that he would hold Dugusa
responsible, and that he would be sure to find out if we did
anything wrong, as he would be down in the country him-
self in the winter.
'* On the road we began talking about our instructions,
and all agreed to follow them out, except one fellow, who
had been down there before. He said he meant to be
comfortable, and would take some wives when he arrived
there. Dugusa told him he should do no such thing. ' "Wlio
will prevent me?' 'I will.' 'Then I'll go off by myself
and leave you.' ' You shall go without your gun, then.'
And this was the beginning of ill-feeling between them,
which was occasionally breaking out all the way to the
Umsuto. None of us liked the man, and several of us
warned Dugusa to be cautious, and keep a good watch on
the fellow; but he only laughed, and said, ' Wait till he
really does something, and then you will see if I don't put
him to rights.' Poor fellow ! when that something was
done, it was too late.
" We reached the Umsuto and built our hut, which was
no sooner done than it began to rain. The captain of a lot
of hunters is only captain while they are hunting, or in
giving directions about the district to shoot in, and how to
hunt it. After the hunt, and in the kraal, his authority
depends very much upon the kind of man he is, and the
amount of deference which the others may be inclined to
A DEADLY QUARREL. 153
pay liim. It may be said of him that he has only a voice,
albeit a potent one, in all matters except hunting; but in
that, as representing the master, he is all powerful. While
in our hut, of course, we were all thrown together like cattle
in a kraal, and with just about as much comfort. It is at
these times that bad blood is engendered and aggravated,
which, in the excitement of a hunt, with the deadly materials
in one's hands, frequently breaks out with tragical results;
and so was it in this case. The two I have spoken of
quarrelled and scolded day after day, so much so that we all
predicted that something serious wovdd be the result. At
last the weather cleared up, and we were all started off to
try the bush, which was close by. Our instructions from
Dugusa were that two were to remain with him, and the
others were to go right round the bush, dropping two at
regular intervals, until it was surrounded, and then all were
to enter simultaneously. Just as the last two were getting
to their place, we all heard a shot, and immediately the
trumpeting and crashing of elephants. They broke out in a
troop, not having been separated, and got away with only a
flying shot or two sent after them. Dugusa immediately
came running round, angrily inquiring, 'Who did this V and
soon found out that it was Umgona, the fellow I have been
speaking of, when he at once felled him, and the others
having closed in on him and taken his gun from him, he
was prevented from doing further mischief. He rose up
bleeding and muttering vengeance, and walked off to the
hut, we following close at his heels, expecting to see the
ijuarrel renewed when he arrived there. But, no ! he had
washed his face and seemed very penitent, asking for his
gun back, and promising to behave better for the future.
Dugusa gave it to him, saying. ' Ah ! I thought I would
154 WILD LIFE — A KAFFIR HUNTERS STORY.
mend him.' But we all had our doubts about it, although
we said nothing.
" It came on to rain again, and the river rose very high.
We were all crowded together in the hut, cold, wet, and
hungry, and by no means good tempered, when one of us,
happening to go out, saw a file of elephants making for the
river, with the evident intention of crossing. He came back
instantly with the news, and Umgona said he would go and
watch them. Dugusa agreed, but told him to leave his gun.
' No,* replied he ; ' no one walks without his stick, so I will
take it with me, but will be careful not to frighten them.'
All agreed, warning him to be cautious, which he promised
to be. After he went away the others began to get their
guns and ammunition in order, when, just as they were
preparing to start, they heard a shot. ' Umgona again,*
cried Dugusa, and rushed out, we following at some little
distance. We saw Dugusa run up to Umgona in a
threatening manner; we saw Umgona raise his gun and
fire ; we saw Dugusa fall, and we heard the bullet whistling
past us. We arrived in time to prevent Umgona from
throwing Dugusa into the river, to which he was dragging
him, not having seen us coming up. Dugusa was dead 1
What was to be done 1 We first tied the murderer, who
maintained a dogged silence ; and we counselled with one
another as to what should be done. Some proposed to take
him to Natal; others objected, on the reasonable grounds
that we could not take him through the Zulu country as a
prisoner, and that, if we once let him go, we should never
see him again ; others, again, proposed that he should be
handed over to Dugusa's relations, who were with us, to do
as they liked with him. This was objected to by some,
because, they said, it was throwing the duty of his punish-
A FEARFUL PUNISHMENT. 155
ment on a few, which they were all bound to execute. At
last, after a great deal of talk, it was agreed that we should
do nothing that night, but tie him up and watch him till
the morning, when we should again deliberate what to do.
" Next morning, before the sun had risen from its bed in
the sea, we had resumed the discussion; and, after long and
anxious deliberation, it was resolved that the culprit should
be given up to the friends of Dugiisa, and that they should
carry out the sentence of death, to which we unanimously
condemned him. They therefore took possession of the
prisoner, and, after a short consultation amongst themselves,
they proceeded to carry the sentence into effect in a manner
which, to us, accustomed to see many a dreadful death,
seemed the very refinement of cruelty. The living murderer
was taken and bound to his dead victim, face touching face,
and hand tied in hand, and then slowly, and in solemn
silence, the dead and the living, clasped in this horriblt>
embrace, were carried to the bank of the river. We heard
one fearsome cry, and the swollen waters closed over, and
buried the victims of this double tragedy!"
XL — Making the Most of it in "Wild Life."
Among all the benefactors of humanity, I reckon Charles
Dickens one of the chiefest; and among his many delightful
characters who really " point a moral and adorn a tale,"
Mark Tapley is one of my special favourites, because over
and over again, when, in "Wild life" — aye, even in civilised
life — I have been beset by apparently inextricable dangers
and difficulties, Mark's philosophy of common sense, self-
reliance, and good nature has come to the rescue, and carried
me through it all victoriously.
156 WILD LIFE — MAKING THE MOST OF IT.
It is really wonderful how comfortably one can get through
the world, and how little is positively necessary for enjoy-
ment, if a fellow lays his mind to " make the most of it,"
and, like Mark Tapley, resolves to be "jolly under any
circumstances." In " Wild life" I find unfailing solace, in
wet weather, in my books and my pipe, and " many a time
and oft" have I (in my Livy), albeit as hungry as a hawk,
made a sumptuous repast off the delights of Capua, and the
hardships of the Saguntines and Tarentines have induced me
to endure my own miseries with more equanimity. It affords
great fun, too, to stand up in the waggon and, book in hand,
gravely spout Shakespeare to the natives. If you keep your
countenance well, they will take it very seriously, and when
you have finished they will, like your learned critic at home,
sagely nod their heads, look wise, and say, " It is good, very
good, only — is he a missionary?" One line my Kaffirs have
got hold of, which they seem to enjoy exceedingly, because,
I suppose, " it feels grand," as poor Artemus Ward said.
" What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba T' They seem to
have a glimmering of the meaning of it, and they lug it in
on every opportunity, with studied dramatic effect, especially
to the Zulus, who generally appreciate it, and say, " Yes, it
is very nice;" and then my fellows are quite proud at being
able to disi^lay such very superior knowledge. The query
has frequently suggested itself to my mind on such occasions :
*' Is there not a good deal of this ignorant pride and show
otherwheres than in Zulu-land?" I wot there is; and as I
*' cram" my Kaffirs, so are others " crammed" by the banks
of the Cam and the Isis, and elsewhere; and with very
similar results too !
Then, when the raining powers are omnipotent, you
esconce yourself under the awning of your waggon, and pull
"CASTLES IN THE AIR!" 157
away at your favourite meerschaum, watching the smoke as
your imagination shapes it into all manner of eccentricities,
and commence to " build castles in the air." Now, this sort
of thing I consider to be decidedly luxurious, and a very
jolly way of enjoying the dolce far niente ; and I cannot help
saying commend me to " Castles in the Air," for I look upon
the privilege of building them as a great, glorious, and free
institution. For instance, now, while in the position de-
scribed, I think over these Sketches — something noteworthy
I have that day seen, and am turning over in my mind how
it may be best described. From one thing, I am insensibly
led on to another ; from composing these Sketches to tran-
scribing them ; from transcribing to posting them ; and to
their reception by the editor, and there my fancy runs away
with me entirely. I picture to myself a liberal cheque,
pleasant thanks and profuse praise ; the fame of a Dickens
or a Bulwer ; people wondering who wrote that first-rate
thing " Wild Life," and myself walking through the throng,
proudly conscious of being " the great unknown ;" and, for
an hour or two, " Lord bless you," as Tommy Traddles says,
" I'm just as happy as if I had them !"
I don't think either that these imaginary building specula-
tions are in any way hurtful to anybody ; for my part, I
always find that the waking to reality — and, mind, you must
wake to it some time or other — spurs me on to try and
realise the pleasant dream. Therefore, I'll never, without
protest, hear a word against Chateaux en Espagne; and, if any-
one will give me such a property in reality — I'll — I'll — why,
I'll send some one to look after it, and remit me the rents,
Avhilst I indulge in "Wild life" in the Zulu, and otherwise,
as it seemeth good to me. But if I can't be a landed
proprietor in the country of " pronunciamentas," of active
158 WILD LIFE — MAKING THE MOST OF IT.
revolutions and passive debt, of bigoted religionists and ex-
emplary queens; then, with the " Castles in the Air" which,
with the help of my pipe, I can build in my waggon, and
the stern realities of this work-a-day world, I shall learn to
be content.
In " Wild life" everything is free and easy, and the absence
of starch is something perfectly delightful. In your inter-
course with the natives, only a simulating prude would
pretend to be shocked; but "to the pure all things are
pure !" and, although ajJjJearances msiy he against them, there
is nothing immodest about the natives, because of their entire
ignorance of anything like obscenity or grossness.
I feel impelled to say a word or two en passant about
Starch. Possibly it may be the effect of the climate, but I
don't like starch. I dislike it on Dr. Johnson's principle ; I
can't say I liate it, but I don't like it. I dislike it particularly
in my clothes ; it seems to give a false position to everything
it touches, whether it be a man, or a lady's dress. For instance,
there is Mr. Meff. Istoffyles, yellow's the white of his eye,
he has a down look, a flat nose. He is known to stick at
nothing to effect his purpose, lies and swears to it, falsifies
statements, makes use of his own power and that of those
whom he can influence, to oppress any one who may have the
honesty and courage to expose his dishonest nature. Yet,
by sheer force of " starch," this man is not only tolerated in
society, but is even looked up to as a sort of moral Turvey-
drop ! A starched beard and hair, ditto coat, waistcoat,
continuations, and demeanour, cover present rottenness and
scurvy antecedents. But, bother starch, and all its votaries,
for they are " always crossing my path !"
It is no doubt a perfectly gratuitous assertion on my part
to say that printing has been of immense benefit to mankind.
"THE LARGEST CIRCULATION IN THE WORLD!" 159
Of course it is needless to attempt to prove such a self-evident
]>roposition; but I wish, nevertheless, to record my own
personal gratitude to the inventors, for it is impossible for
those who travel in a savage country, far away from the
haunts of men, to prevent this feeling from frequently
recurring to their minds. I don't speak of books merely, or
of popular works, but of every, or any printed thing, for in
'*Wild life" the merest trifle is often a God-send, and is
valued accordingly.
It is not so very long since that, while travelling far in the
interior, with absolutely nothing in the shape of a book, or
even a missionary magazine to read, I was so fortunate as to
have a piece of beef sent to me wrapped in a Daily Telegraph
newspaper. It was really food for both mind and body,
and "I speak the words of truth and soberness" when I say
that I devoured the paper with even more relish than the
meat which it enclosed, although, sooth to say, my larder
was reduced to its last extremity at the time.
"The great pennyworth," had rather too much of the
amleur de rose in some places, as may naturally be supposed,
from the purpose to which it had been applied, but was
rather the better of that than otherwise, because it rendeied
the task of deciphering more difficult, and thus protracted
the pleasant occupation ; and as, for this reason, I could not
bolt the savoury morsel, I was compelled to " read, learn,
and inwardly digest " it the more leisurely ; and, looking
out for a shady nook, I set to work to enjoy the intellectual
feast, and commenced operations in a .systematic manner.
Starting from " the Telegraph dial," I went straight on
through the theatre advertisements, enjoying " in my mind's
•eye" the syren notes of the pirtia donna, and took a peep
into the somewhat grotesque mirror which is professed to be
160 WILD LIFE — MAKING THE MOST OF IT.
held up to Nature on the stage, and in which it would be
somewhat difficult to " see oursel's as ithers see us." I dis-
cussed the editor's politics, and was astonished at his descend-
ing to such Billingsgate in his abuse of Mr Disraeli, and
" concluded" that the Asian mystery was past the compre-
hension of even the clever editor of the Telegraph. I then
proceeded on and on till I ariived at the impimahcr, and
again and again returned to my feast ; sjieculating, as I went
along, over the various advertisements, picking out the estates
I should like to buy, the furniture with which I should
plenish "that desirable mansion," and the pictures and vertu
with which I should decorate it ; the books I should like to-
read, and the tours I should like to take ; and, in imagination,.
I seemed to enjoy them all. I wondered at the various
notices in Chancery, and whether, under another name, there
might not be a prototype of " Jarndyce v. Jarndyce." The
law and police courts induced me to philosophise upon the
comparative advantages and disadvantages of savagedom
and civilization, and I came to the sage conclusion that "much
could be said on both sides !" The "wind-bags" of Parlia-
ment, and the " spouters" at that institution for letting off
the steam — the public meeting — ^made me think that if less
notice, or none at all in many cases, were taken by the papers
of your bore with the cacoethes loquendi, we would be less
bothered with them; for it is unquestionable that the vanity
of knowing that " a chiel's amang them takin' notes, an' feth
he'll prent them," is the inducing cause of more than a half
of the speechifying with which this age is afflicted. The
letter of the Paris correspondent amused me exceedingly,
with its self-complacent egotism, so pleasant withal ; and the
ubiquitous Sala too, playing with words and phrases as a
Japanese juggler does with his magic tojDS and butterflies I
"WHERE IS SPIKINSl" 161
Before the day was half over I feared I had exhausted the
sheet ; but it happened that I noticed a corner turned down,
and flying at it greedily, my anxiety was rewarded with
this one line : —
' ' Where is Spikins ? "
This rather curt advertisement, which if the proverb holds
good must be ivitty, afforded me employment for the rest of
the afternoon. " Methought," as the Spectator used to say,
that "Where is Spikins" might cover a multitude of feelings;
and that, under this simple query, what a tragedy, what
sorrow, what love-lorn plaint might be hid; or it might be
some comedy or broad farce. However it might be, I
managed to construct a very nice little romance, a la Wilkie
Collins, abounding in the most improbable and astounding
sensational situations, but which, although quite satisfactory
to myself, I fear would be " laughed at consumedly" by your
readers; so in the exercise of a wise discretion I shall neither
trouble them, nor risk my reputation, by giving even an out-
line of the "Wild life" I led Spikins. Moreover, Dickens is.
the only man I know, who can make a readable story with
characters having the most ridiculous names.
I now conclude, trusting that these rough Sketches may
give some idea of what we see, what we do, and how we-
enjoy ourselves in " Wild life" in South Eastern Africa.
M
TEANSVAAL VERSUS ZULU.
(Leader in Xatal Hekald, October, 1SG9.)
In the issue of the Mercunj of the 23rd October appeared a
communication from their Utrecht correspondent, giving the
Transvaal version of the present embrogho with the Zulus
regarding the boundary question. Now, as the Zulus have
no " Own Correspondents" of any public print, residing
amongst them, it is but just that their side of the story
should be laid before the colonists and the mother country,
as, in consequence of Boer misgovernment, and that inor-
dinate lust of land by which they are actuated — especially
when it is in the possession of black races — trouble will, we
are afraid, ensue on our north-eastern frontier, and we may
be drawn in, as we w^ere with the Basutos; in fact, we shall
be compelled to interfere, to prevent the results of the quarrel
spreading into our own colony. The information we now
lay before our readers we have taken considerable pains to
procure, and we think it may be depended upon as correct.
It has been obtained from those, whose occupations have
detained them for some considerable time at the head-
quarters of the Zulu Government, who know the language
and the ways of the people, and who have often had occasion
to admire and appreciate the friendly feeling displayed and
felt towards the British, and to note the utter contempt
and dislike of everything Boer, which are the characteristics
of the present generation of Zulus, and of their ruler
Cetchwayo.
LAND TENURE IN THE ZULU. IQ^
In considering this matter, wv. should remember tliat,
^dtlioiigh Panda is nominally King, yet for many years (to
;i great extent before, but altogether since, the battle of the
Tugela in 1856) Cetchwayo has been virtually so, and by what
is considered a legal title in the Zulu. He is the Prime Minis-
ter of his lather, or, perhaps more correctly speaking. Grand
Vizier. What he says is law, as if the King had said it.
He is an acknowledged power in Zulu, and, sjjeaking apart
from his legal status, he has such power that, although he
has, with rare policy and self-command for a savage chief,
continued to accord to his father all the outward tokens of
Koyalty, he could at any moment, and in any way he chose,
remove him and reign in his place. Again, we must consider
the conditions of property in land to the Zulu. The land
belongs to the nation and the King is trustee. Xo man can
hold it as his own and dispose of it at his pleasure ; — he may
squat, but that is all, and is liable to be removed for mis-
behaviour. The King, properly speaking, cannot allot any
land without the consent of the tribe in Council, though in
some small matters he may do so — say to a single family—
without thinking it necessary to consult his people, and
without their thinking it worth while to go against him.
The Zulus have no idea of selling land away from their con-
trol. When they speak of so-and-so having bought a piece
of land from the King, they invariaT>ly consider that it is
only the right to live on it during good behaviour, which has
been sold, and they never say, so-and-so has purchased the
land, but "a place to build on;" this of course only applies
to the whites, who are the only buyers. Now, bearing
this in mind, let us give a little history of the transaction.
The Utrecht Correspondent of our contemporary says
that it was a regular purchase and sale, that cattle were
164 TRANSVAAL I'. ZULU.
given in payment, and the deed of transfer signed by Panda
iind all his Indunas, that " Koobooloo " (Kebiila) was sent to
deliver up the land, and that boundaries were pointed out
and beacons set up. But what was the true state of the
case? About 1858 (the date mentioned) the lung-sickness
was sweeping off the cattle in the Zulu country. Panda sent
a message to the Boers, saying that he was hungry, his cattle
were all dead, and he had nothing to eat. This is a common
thing amongst the natives, and is a token of friendship : a
return would become necessary, if ever the donor asked for
anything in the same way, — it is what is called " gupana."
The Boers, in answer to his message, sent him fifty head of
cattle and some sheep, saying " here is a mouthful of beef
for you." {Emta was the word used, which is a piece cut
off a roasted strip, of sufficient size to put in the mouth).
These cattle were put with those belonging to one of his
head kraals (" Um-dumoezuln " — the thunder of Heaven,
and, by implication, of the Zulus), and they very shortly
after died of the lung-sickness. Not long afterwj^rds there
comes a message from the Boers — " We also are hungry
— we are hungry for land — we have no place to live on
— we are too crowded — allow our people to live on your
land" (not sell us land), "the Blood Eiver, the U-bivana,
and the U-pongolo." On the principle of " gn^ana" the
King could not refuse, and besides, as the upper districts
are comparatively thinly populated, he thought there would
be no harm in allowing them to squat. He accordingly
sent some Indunas to tell them so — Kebiila very likely
amongst them, but Si-ry-o (Assegaio) was the head one.
The Boers immediately said to Si-ry-o, " Show us our
beacons." Eeply: "I do not understand you." " Show us
where we are to live." Reply: "Oh, wherever you like
DISPUTE ABOUT LAND. 165
about here." "Make an 'uicwadV" Eeply: "No, that I
oan't do, I had no instructions from the King." Notwith-
standing this they took Si-ry-o's hands, forcibly placed a
stick in them, and made him make a mark! They then
proceeded to drive in stakes for beacons, and marked off
^ibout one-third of the Zulu country as belonging to them !
When Cetchwayo heard of this high-handed proceeding, he
immediately sent a party, who drove the Boers away and
tore up their beacons — but those few who chose to squat
peaceably in the Zulu and near the borders, in terms of
his father's permission, he did not meddle with, and there
they are to this day.
Ever since then, the Boers have been demanding this land,
xmd Cetchwayo and the Zulus, as well as Panda, refusing to
^ive it, alleging that it was a cheat from beginning to end,
and that they cannot part with the land on any terms.
" But," say the Boers, " you have got our cattle ;" and the
-Zulus answer that they got permission to squat, but not to
43rect an independent state within ten miles of the " Mahla-
ImH," the original nest of the Zulus, sacred to the King and
his military kraals. " But here," say the Boers, " we have
a paper showing that the King and his Indunas agreed to
the sale of this land." " We know nothing about your
papers," reply the Zulus, " nor their contents. We never
meant to sell the land ; we never said we would do so, and
we won't do so now," and so the parties separated for the
time. Still, however, there is this constant irritating mes-
sage-carrying about the land, and at last the Zulus gather
together to hold council as to what is to be done. The first
-cry is for war, and they hold a council of war and decide
how it is to be carried on should it break out ; let us hope,
however, that this may be averted. They then decide that
166 TRANSVAAL V. ZULU.
tliey will first of all make a fair offer to tlie Boers. They
say, ''This affair seems to have been a misunderstanding-
altogether ; the King thought he was only asking you for a
hit of beef when he was hungry. You thought you were
buying a tract of country. To end this matter we will jjay
you back. You gave the King fifty head of cattle and some
sheep in 1858 : they all died, but that is not your fault ; they
might have bred with you. We will therefore give you back
1,050 head, the odd thousand for their produce, and we trust
you will accept this and end the matter — if not, we suppose
we must fight, and we are quite ready."
Thus at present stands the affair. The Zulus have re-
])oi*ted tlie proceedings to our Government regularly (they
consider themselves tributary, or rather, under our guidance^
as regards all their foreign relations), and we trust they
will make sufficiently strong representations, to prevent the
Transvaal meddling Avith the Zulus, whose only wish is to
live on veiy good terms with us, and to be at peace with all
white men.
We shall never be free from trouble of this kind until
Britain agrees to extend her authority over the whole of
South Africa. The Boers are no more fit to govern the
native races than they are — what shall we say"? well — to
govern themselves !
THE NATIVE CUSTOM OF " HLONIPA."
Kead by the Author before the Natural History Association of Natal.
(Reprinted from the Natal Mercury.)
When last in Durban, Mr Sanderson requested me to
prepare a paper on " Hlonipa," to be read before this Asso-
ciation. I promised to do so, and have now come before
you for the purpose of fulfilling my promise, to the best of
my ability.
It was a difficult matter for me, being utterly without
experience in this sort of thing, to judge how to render the
subject most interesting, and most in accordance with the
customary style of papers read to an Institution of this kind.
Ikit I decided that I had better do it in my own way, and
trust to the interest of the matter itself, and to your leniency
for any shortcomings there might be in my treatment of it.
The study of Kaffir habits and customs is a very curious
one. To my mind, it would take a lifetime of close applica-
tion to make one thoroughly acquainted with their modes of
thought, their peculiarities of speech, their untranslateablo
idioms, and their superstitions— the last of which are legion.
Were I to endeavour even to number them to you, I am
afraid I should occupy more time than you would be inclined
to spare me; but in a paper of this kind, though supposed
to be only on one subject, I may be excused if I merely
indicate a few of the subjects I refer to.
There are two diiferent kinds of superstitions — those con-
nected with witchcraft, and simple omens, lucky or unlucky.
168 NATIVE CUSTOM OF HLONIPA. ^
The former are the most deeply rooted, because (besides
being actually afraid of the consequences to themselves of
witches living amongst them) they have the motive of interest
to support their belief. The plunder of a dead sorcerer is
always shared — in different proportions, however — amongst
his slayers; and no one in the country (conscious of his own
freedom from witchcraft) ever fancies, until his fate comes
upon him, that he himself stands a chance of being put to
death for a witch. They allow, however, that sometimes
people are "smelt out" who are not witches; but in this case
they consider that the doctors only act as a necessary engine
of state, and each one who talks to you is free from any idea
that he may fall under the envy or displeasure of the King.
He lives and goes on his way without fear, believing (by the
way, a thoroughly Kaffir idea) that "whatever is, is right!"
There are also the omens connected with every occurrence
in life — hunting; starting on a journey; eating; marrying;
or even simply moving about the kraal — there is always a
something, from which the natives infer whether they will
be successful or not in their journey or their hunt, or whether
something evil or good is going to happen. In a hunt,
various birds or animals crossing their path, or even seen,
are ominous of success or failure. On a journey it is the
same, but especially as to whether they will be lucky in
procuring food at their destination; and at kraals, rats, cats,
dogs, and even things inanimate, are supposed to influence
their destinies, or at all events to bring about pleasure or
pain.
Dreams especially they are devout believers in, and many
a hunter will leave his work and hasten home — perhaps 150
miles away — to ascertain whether some bad dream was
founded in fact or not. If he does not go so far as this, he
BELIEF IN DREAMS AND SACRIFICES. 160
will, at all events, spend some time and money in a visit to
the diviner, whose interpretation is always satisfactory for
the time.
Again; I have often noticed a good hunter who has been
unsuccessful for some days appear one morning quite radiant,
announcing that he is certain to kill that day, as he had
dreamt it; and — he does so! It is curious, and shows how
deeply-rooted the belief is, that the fact of having dreamed,
gives him the confidence necessary to be successful.
It is also curious to observe how a first-class hunter — a
brave man and a good shot — will, after having missed, or
failed to kill, for two or three shots, go on in an unbroken
course of failure for weeks, until at last he goes to the
*' doctor," who tells him the cause — nearly always that
some spiritual relation of his is dissatisfied; whom, having
appeased by sacrifice, his hunting succeeds as before. Or
else he goes to some known medicine man, who prescribes
for his gun, so as to relieve it from the spell which some
evil-disposed person has cast, or caused to be cast, upon it.
Everything in nature is under the power of '' isinvanga " —
rain, storms, sunshine, earthquakes, and all else, which we
ascribe to natural causes, are brought about or retarded by
various people to whom this power is ascribed. Every rain
that comes is spoken of as belonging to somebody, and in a
drought they say that the owners of the rain are at variance
amongst themselves : and, of course, if they can find out the
one who stops the way, they kill him !
There are many idiomatical expressions which, literally
translated into English, sound ridiculous; but one who
understands their language cannot help admiring how ex-
pressive the phrase or the word is. For instance, ^^unesisila;'
you have dirt or are dirty — but it means that you have
170 NATIVE CUSTOM OF HLONIPA.
done or said something, or somebody else has done so,,
which has bespattered you with metaphorical dirt — in the
Scriptural sense, has defiled you. It is nearly the same as
our expression "his hands are not clean," but only it is
stronger ; as, in saying so, we but refer to some failing of
the man, but they, when they say so, mean that he is
radically bad.
I have spoken, too, of their peculiarities of speech, and
may mention one or two instances to show what I mean.
Fat, in English, is fat, whatever it may be on. We say a
fat man or a fat cow. It would not be correct to say so in
Kaffir. A fat cow is oionile ; cow fat is amanoni, but only
whilst it is eatable ; afterwards it becomes amafuta. A man
is kuhqMle if in good condition ; if very fat he is said to be
zimuUli, which latter I take to be a word related to hlonipa^
as they will sometimes say of cattle also, that they are
kiiliqjde (though they will never use the other word, nomlt\
to a man), and are ashamed to use the same word in
speaking of their chief (fat is always a sign of j^osition), as
they do in the case of their ox.
Again ; speaking in English, we would say young grass, or
last year's grass ; and, if older than that, it would require a
sentence to describe it. But, in Kaffir, young grass would
simply be ihlungu, old grass isikofa or umlalane. The first, I
take it, is derived from the appearance of the ground, the
black ashes seen through the young grass looking like isi-
hlungu — snake medicine, or medicine to give deadliness to a
man's hand or weapon ; and, as it purges the cattle, they
call it ihlungu.
The second means literally " it is licking," and I fancy is
derived from the peculiar motion of the cattle when eating
succulent, well-grown grass. They gather it with their
DOMESTIC RELATIONS. 171
tongue and throw their mouths forward as if licking the
ground. The interpretation of the last I am not quite so
sure about, but I think it comes from lala, to sleep, and a^
the Kaffirs use it, means that it has missed, or slept over,
the regular grass-burning.
The Kaffir language I consider much more copious and
minute, as well as concise, than our own, in terms relating
to things material — which they can see with their eyes — but
is not fitted for sustaining a 2)hilosophical or metaphysical
argument, and that naturally so.
Again ; there are all the customs connected with the con-
<luct of children to parents, and of parents to children; the
law of inheritance as regards cattle, goods, daughters, and
wives ; the apportioning of his cattle by a man, who has
children beginning to grow towards manhood, so that each
hut or wife has its cattle, and which the children of that
wife look upon as the " cattle of their house," enkomus
t'kivaho ; though they, of course, belong to the father.
The man himself has also cattle, but when he marries he
perhaps draws upon these apportioned cattle; and in the
case of a man of large property, where the one wife's por-
tion is sufficient, the new one becomes umlohokasi okwaho
— belongs to that house, she and all her children. In the
case of a poor man, where he has to take cattle from various
houses, the umlohokasi — i.e., the one just lohola'd, or married
— goes into the house of her from whom he took the first
cattle.
Then there are all the customs connected with marriage
and childbirth, and the ceremonies which are observed; the
conduct of the bride after marriage; the laws regarding
buying and selling, and the putting out of cattle to graze ;
the proper forms of politeness observed amongst themselves.
172 NATIVE CUSTOM OF HLONIPA.
both to strangers and relatives; and much more which I
dare say might, in proper hands, be interesting, but which 1
refrain from speaking of to-night for three reasons: — 1.
Because I doubt my o^vn powers to make them so; 2.
Because they would require a paper of no ordinary length
to themselves; and, 3. Because I wish to get on to the
principal thing I intend to speak about to-night, which is
the custom of Hlonipa.
The name is derived from the word enhloni (shame), and
means that they are ashamed, or are too polite, to use the
names of great people, or such others as they pay respect to,
in the common speech of every day.
There are three kinds of Hlonipa — the family, the tribal,
4ind, in the case of the Zulus, the national. The first is
confined to the women, as far as speech is concerned. They
will not mention the name of their father-in-law, and they
hide, or appear to hide, whenever they come in contact with
their son-in-law. She says it is not right he should see the
breasts which suckled his wife, and she will not call him by
his name, but by the title of Urnkweniana — equivalent to
son-in-law; or, more generally, relation by marriage. If
she meets her son-in-law in the road, where she has nothing
to cover herself with, and no means of getting it, she will
break off a piece of grass and tie it round her head, as a sign
that she ^' Hlonipa' s;" and if a son-in-law comes suddenly
upon his mothers-in-law, he is expected to give notice that
he is there so as to enable them to cover themselves up. It
would be a sign of great want of respect or of politeness
should he come suddenly into their society when uncovered,
without giving notice.
All the females in any way related to the girl's family will
call her husband Urnkweniana, but never by his name ; and
ROYAL ETIQUETTE. 17^
when he has children grown up they will call him father of
so-and-so. They think it not respectful to call him by his.
name, and this is the case also with all young persons to old
ones. The son-in-law too will not call his mother-in-law by
her name, but simply mother, and the wife is generally called
so-and-so of so-and-so, child of her father.
Also, all those who are in any way related to the husband
will not drink milk at any kraal connected with the wife,
and the same of the wife's relations as regards those of the
husband.
This custom I think very likely to have been established
to prevent the relatives, to whom food could not be refused,
eating up the contents of the calabashes, and so leaving those
of the kraal without any of the food which they are fondest
of, and which is their stand-bye in times of hunger.
The higher the rank of the parties the more strictly is the-
etiquette observed. At the King's kraal it is sometimes,
difficult to understand his wives, as they Hlonipa even the
very sound of the name of the King's fathers, his and their
brothers back for generations. They will not say ivenzani
(what are you doing?), but wenkani, because the sound
of the z comes in Enzenzengakona (Senzangako7ia) — Panda's
father. The same with water — amanzi. They call it aman-
dambi, and the wives of the King's sons, for instance, will
never call me by my Kaffir name vJLpondo because part of
the sound is in Panda, but Utshibo, which is Hlonipa for
horn. This is also the case with Mhldnkulu, the girls whom
the King has gathered together at his kraals. They are
only liable to be the King's wives, but they IIloni;pa even in
consequence of that liability.
Speaking of the King's wives and Hlonijpa, puts me in
mind of something I wished to say, arising from a paper read
174 NATIVE CUSTOM OF HLONIPA.
before this society. Some time ago, when in the Zuhi
<30untry, I got a Mercury containing a notice of Mr Wynd-
ham's address on the game birds of Natal. He there enu-
merated four different kinds of partridges which I knew, but
said there was a fiftli which the Kaffirs called " mahope,"
-and which he remembered having shot in the Zulu countr}-.
I did not know of this variety, and made many and strict
^'uquiries about it. At last I found that Ehope is the
Hlonipa for the generic name of " i//*///M "-pigeon ; Mahope
is, of course, the plural; they ^'Hlonipa" Somajuha, a
brother of Panda's.
So deeply rooted, and so strictly observed, is the custom
"' Hlonipa" that the worst oath they can address to a woman
■or girl — it is only applicable to females — is ^'O'mha ninazala"
which means that she does or will bear children to her
father-in-law. The woman to whom this is applied imme-
<liately throws off her blanket, or cloth, and takes no care
4ibout Hlonipa, because, as she argues, if this is said to me
of him of whom I am so afraid, or pay such respect to — i.e.,
Hlonipa so strictly — what is the use of my continuing to do
so. She will tell all her female relations, and they will
gather together and go to the man's kraal, or if they cannot
do that, to any kraal, and kill a beast ; the liability and
wrong lies at the door of him who has sworn at them. This
ox or cow will be eaten by old women or little children,
but by none of a marriageable age : — men are always mar-
riageable, so there is no necessity to except them. It has
the " insila," which has now gone off the woman who was
sworn at. If you remember what I said about the phrase
'• U-nesisila" a few minutes ago, you will see that this is
smother illustration of its meaning. The women take the
<$all and squeeze it over themselves, and then the affair is at
A TRUTH-'raSTER. 175
iin end, so far as they are concerned. If the women cannot
get at any cattle readily, as is often the case in the bush-
country, they will go into the hut of the offender, or if he
lives far away and has escaped into anyone's hut, break the
dishes, throw his clothing away, after pulling it to pieces,
overthrow his hut, and all this without risk to themselves,
as the offender has to make good the damage.
If a husband addresses this name to his wife, or, in fact,
to anyone, no matter how close the relationship, it is always
cleared away by the sacrifice of a beast.
On the other hand, if a woman swears by "Afamemla," you
may always believe her. She says, " so surely as I shall
not do this thing is what I tell you truth." If she speaks
falsely the opposite jmrty would then without risk say, " Oh
then you do this. You are nesisila" And if you say to a
woman, don't do such a thing, and she persists, then say
that is, or will be, equivalent to Onyokozalo, and she will
desist at once. But it is dangerous to play with this, as if
she is doing what is evidently right, although you may not
wish her to do it, she will at once say you have sworn at her
because you have spoken so strongly without reason.
I may here explain that Mamemla, Unyolco Zdlo, and
O'mkaninazala, mean the same thing, but only different
persons. They are /, thou, and they take their mother-in-
law's place.
Again ; if a man or a woman in quarrelling with a woman
turns aside, and looks disgusted, and Tshaka, i.e., spits
through their teeth (from this came " Tshaka,^' the Zulu
king's name), it amounts to the same thing as if they had
said the words — as this being a sign of the utmost disgust,
the person doing so is supposed to have reason for what he
does — I mean that he considers her ninazala. There was a
176 NATIVE CUSTOM OF HLONIPA.
case of this the other day which I cannot do better than
mention, as it illustrates the strength of the custom. Some-
of the girls belonging to one of the King's kraals were
washing in a river. A stranger woman was there, with
whom they had high words. In the course of the quarrel
she turned aside and spat through her teeth. Immediately
the girls left the water and went to the King's cattle. They
picked out a fine ox and killed it. Nothing was said,,
except that the husband of the woman had to make it good,
whereas in another case the penalty for killing the King's
cattle would have been death.
The Tribal Hlonijpa is a much simpler affair. It is merely
that no individual of any of the tribes which now constitute
Zulu, will use the name of their chief or his progenitors, as
far as they remember, in the common parlance of every day.
As, for instance, the Zungu tribe say mata for manzi (water),
and Inkosta for Tshanti (grass), and emUgatdu for umlcondo
(assegai), and inyatugo for enhlela (path), because their present
chief is Umfan-o inhlela — his father was Manzini, his grand-
father Imkondo, and one before him Tsliani; the national
Illonipa is all the tribes omitting the King's name, as also
Cetchwayo's, whom they now also Hlonipa. For instance,
the root of a tree they call nxabo — whereas the true name is
impando. Also the hill now known as EntabanJculu, was
Emjpandwene. - Neither do they now use the word Amacebo
(lies or slander), because of Cetchwayo, but Amahwata^ which
is equivalent in Hlonipa. They do not, however, carry it so
far as the women, as regards omitting the very slightest
similarity in sound.
And now comes the question of whether or not there are-
any rules by which they are guided in Hlonvpa, and how it
arose in the country.
"WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT!" 177
It is always a very difficult matter to get at the reason
for, or cause of, a thing, from a Kaffir. They say so-and-so
is so. And if you ask how it is that it is so, the general
answer is simply " because !" And if you press them hard,
they take refuge in saying that "it is the custom of the
country." If you ask questions, they will agree to anything,
and in such a manner, that I have often been deceived,
thinking that I had at last arrived at the truth. Therefore,
I say that one without a personal knowledge of Kaffir ways
will reaUy never get at the truth of their habits, laws, and
customs, as you are obliged, in a manner, to depend greatly
on your own experience, in putting together what you hear,
and so arriving at a true result; and, generally, as regards
the derivation of words, you have to decide for yourself
altogether, as the Kaffirs have no idea of, and take no
interest in, any such thing. A name is a name, and, if you
ask for an explanation, they tell you that it is a name, and
that is all they know about it.
With this preface, then, I now, after many years' know-
ledge of them, and one or two years' enquiry as to this
particular custom, say to you that they have no rules to
guide them in Hlo7ii2)a, and I claim that the practice is one
of great antiquity, as the language, at this present time,
almost presents the phenomenon of a double one. There is
scarcely a word in it applicable to a proper name — at least
as far as I have enquired — which has not its corresponding
Hlonijpa; and in a case in which it might happen so — I have
never heard of on& which did — those interested should
gather together and decide what they were to say.
As one of Panda's sisters, who is an old woman, and well
versed in the etiquette, described to me — some might pro-
pose one name, the others might object, saying that it was
N
178 NATIVE CUSTOM OF HLONIPA.
not a nice one, for no other reason that I can discover, and
at last they would agree to call him so and so.
If they could, they would find a word as near as possible
to the meaning of that which they had laid aside, but not
even that of necessity. As for example, impise (a wolf), they
call engadule, because he is a great traveller — to gadula
means to wander — or umdela 'Monga, one who despises
sleep, because of his nocturnal habits; utshani (grass), they
call inJcota, as being near to the name of a particular age of
grass, isikota, which I have explained before. Idtsbe, a
stone, they call egaio, which may be translated "the grinder,"
because they grind their corn on stones. But on the other
hand they call imJilisio, the heart, inkeddamu. Inhleldy a
path, inyatugOj inJcomo, a cattle beast. Emai, intshumpa
and emetshe — manzi (water), mandamhi, mahta, macubane.
In all these latter Hlonipa names, I can discover no connec-
tion at all with the real ones. And a greater proof, and one
which to my mind is incontestible, is that all the different
tribes in Zululand have different Hlonipa terms for the
same words. Thus mandamhi is the King's kraal Illonijpa
for water, because of the same sound as in manzi being in
Ensenzangakona, the name of Panda's father. Malida is the
Ziangu Hlonipa for water, because of Manzini the father of
their present chief. There is no difference in dialect in what
is now Zulu, nor has there been for the last forty years —
perhaps longer, for what I know. The only difference at all
is the tefula, the using the Y for the L confined to the
Xumalu or Endwandwe and the Emzansi or Emtetwa tribes ;
therefore if they had rules to guide them in Hlonijpa the
different tribes such as Emtetwa^ Ubtelesi, Endwandwe,
Mambatij Zungu, Zidu, &c., &c., &c., having been mixed so
long under one authority, would all use the same term —
SEPARATE RULES FOR EACH TRIBE. 179
whereas they do not do so : and that has caused the
language to be not only a double one, as I have said, but,
in the case of multitudes of words, they have three or four
to express the same meaning, which, by the admixture of
tribes, are known all over Zululand. Or, say that the living
under the same authority, and the mixture of tribes, has
nothing at all to do with it — I mean the fact of there being
separate rules, for each tribe may be so in spite of that —
I think it still incredible that so many small tribes, all
speaking the same language, not differing in dialect like the
Amaswazi and the Amatonga, and living close together,
should have different rules for Hloni^a.
I will give yet another proof, and that is the Hlonijpa word
for inhomo (cattle beast) amongst the Amambati. Onhomo
was the chief of that division before their present one
Diekana. About the time he was killed by the Emtetwa
chief Dingiswayo, was the time when whites began first to
be heard of, or rather known. The great thing amongst
whites is well-known by the natives to be money, and no
doubt it was so at the time of his death, as cattle are valueil
correspondingly amongst them — are in fact their ^'mali."
They now call them invariably by that name — Hlonipa-imj
their dead chief Onkomo.
It is well known that there is a fashion in Hlonipa, as in
everything else amongst whites and blacks ; and there are
those who set it. If a certain kind of bead or colour of
blanket is adopted by the King, or his sons and daughters,
it is immediately in request all over the country by those
who are of rank and importance enough to risk the wearing
them. So it is with Hlonipa — and as an instance I may give
Cetchwayo. It began amongst his female relations and
Ikulonkulu girls at his own kraal, and then spread to the
180 NATIVE CUSTOM OF HLONIPA.
King's kraals, and so as the natives put it, it began to be
known all over the country that he was HlonijjoJd. One man
in talking to another would innocently use the word Amaceho;
the other would stop him saying "Don't you know they
Hlo7iipa him now ?" "No," the other would reply, "what
do they say?" "They ssij Amahwata." And thus though
there are other Hloni^a words for Amacebo (slander), which^
in the case of another, they would use without scruple, yet,
as it is the King, they enquire about it, and thus it gradually
spreads, till all use the same word.
I don't know whether what I have said j^roves my argu-
ment, viz., that Hlonipa is a very ancient custom among
them ; that it is very strictly observed ; and that they have
no rules for their guidance, as to the adoption of a word in
the place of the one ordinarily in use. If it be not so, I
must beg you to remember another thing I have touched
upon in this paper, viz., that there is much, which one who-
is well acquainted with Kaffirs and their ways knows, but
yet is unable to write about, much which, if I may so put it,
he knows intuitively, but yet is unable to offer proof of;
and I would beg of you to believe that I would have stated
nothing here unless I was tolerably sure, in my own mind^
that it was correct.
I have made this paper as short and as concise as I could,,
being afraid that, if uninteresting when brief, had I
lengthened it by an infusion of words, simply for the sake
of occupying a little more time in its delivery, I would have-
rendered it weaker than it is even now. And, for what
want of interest there is, pray consider that it arises from
my manner of treatment, not from the matter itself, which
is by no means uninteresting to a Natal audience.
I have another reason for making this a short j)aj)er, and
REASON FOR BREVITY OF ESSAY. 181
that is because, although I have written all that I know on
the subject, yet, amongst those who hear me, there will no
doubt be many who understand the custom, and will wish for
further information which I may have forgotten, or perhaps
am unable to give; therefore I have left time, without
running it too late, to answer any questions I can, and to
avow my ignorance as to those which I cannot elucidate.
THE TSETSE FLY.
[The following is published, as an Appendix to the Essay on "The Tsetse Fly'
(Glosinia Morsitans), by St. Vincent W. Erskine, Explorer of the Limpopo
Hiver, South Eastern Africa, which was read before the Natural History Associa-
tion of Natal, August 8, 1870.]
Since writing this essay, I have been favoured with
further remarks from Mr Leslie, as undernoted : —
" December 16, 1870.
" I am not at all satisfied with the commonly-received idea as to-
the deadlmess of the Tsetse Fly, neither am I, as I daresay you have
seen, satisfied with your explanation of the causes of death to cattle
in countries infested by the fly. I heard yesterday that Capt. Elton,
on his journey from the Tati to Delagoa, had four pack-oxen, and
they have escaped.
" My theory, that the fly is deadly, but goes in droves, and so
cattle driven a short distance through bush may escape, by not falling
in with any of these droves, I thought a good one ; but this long
journey of Elton's, if truly reported, upsets that.
"It appears to me — and it is a common Kaflir saying — that the
fly afi"ects those places most where the zebras are plentiful. I know
places in the Zulu country where cattle are sure to die if kept there
any time — say a few days ; but they can be safely driven through,
even although they eat on the way. I know another place, which
I knew to be bad, where I lost an ox this time, although they were
never outspanned and never halted. In the former district, there
are no zebras ; in the latter, there are plenty.
"Elton, I believe, says he saw the fly settle in hundreds on his
oxen, and there were no ill eflects. I am puzzled what to think of it.
"It is very easy to upset any other person's explanation of the
cause of death of cattle in these districts, but it is very difficult to
construct a theory ; and more so to give a decided opinion that will
hold water."
THE BANE AND THE ANTIDOTE TO THE TSETSE. 183
*« December 20, 1870.
" Perhaps you are aware that if the Tsetse settles upon your hand,
although it leaves no mark and you do not feel it at the time, yet it
will cause a sore, itchy feeling ; and a slight scratch will leave a
mark.
"The symptoms of Tsetse are not always the same. Cattle will
sometimes die, fat, in a few days. At other times they will linger
for months, getting thinner and thinner, and never appearing to get
a bellyful, though they eat voraciously to the last — even when they
cannot get up from weakness, they will eat all round where they
lie. It may be that the former are badly bitten, or in some way
have absorbed more of the poison — the latter not so badly.
" Certain roots which the Kaffirs know — of the nature of febrifuge
— are very bitter, are good for this disease, whatever it is. So is
salt. But nothing, that I have heard of, is a certain cure. Some-
times, however, they recover, especially if they are not subjected to
wet, cold weather, in their weak state.
*' There is no doubt whatever about what I told you, as to the
'Unakane,' ie.. Tsetse fly, having spread in the Zulu country,
driving out cattle from places, where they had thriven from time
immemorial.
"I think I have now told you all I know about the Tsetse.
** Yours truly,
"David Leslie."
Note. — I publish these remarks so that readers at a dis-
tance may understand the arguments likely to be used in
combating any theory as to the death of cattle from other
causes than that of the bite of the Tsetse fly, in spots
unhealthy for cattle.
Individually, I have no theory as to the cause of death,
but suggest the greater probability of it proceeding from
some exceptional poison in the vegetation or atmosphere
prevailing in those spots.
184 THE TSETSE FLY.
Tlie theory appears to have originated with the original
Zulus, and is only known amongst their offshoots — the
Amaswazi, the Mahlamene or Umzeila's people, and the
Matabele. Dr. Livingstone mentions that neither the
Portuguese nor other inhabitants of Africa, to the north of
these tribes, have any such theory as to this extraordinary
cause of death in cattle, and he appears to have adopted it
from them. I have reason to believe, from experiments made
upon dogs, that the disease will yield to the administration
of quinine and purgatives.
St. Vincent Erskine.
Remarks on Mr St. Vincent Erskine's Paper on the
Tsetse Fly.
Read by Mr Leslie before the Natural History Association at Durban on
Monday evening, 8th August, 1870.
With great courtesy Mr Erskine put me in possession of
his paper on the above subject, in which I see he combats
the received idea that the bite of the fly is fatal to the ox,
the horse, and the dog.
I, unfortunately, know something of the Tsetse, and
although I have never studied or examined the subject
scientifically, yet there are some parts of Mr Erskine's
paper with which I cannot agree.
Page 19 : — ** Then comes the other side of the question : But
where cattle lived at one time there is now the fly and there are no
cattle ? because, I will answer, the smiling picture which was made
out of a dismal wilderness, was suddenly changed, destroyed at one
fell swoop, by some reckless and blood-thirsty tyrant, the cattle were
swept away, the men killed, the women taken captive, the huts burn^
leaving *not a wrack behind,' and the wilderness is again restored
"A RECKLESS AND BLOOD-THIRSTY TYRANT." 185
to its primitive and undisturbed quiet. The buffalo returns to bis
liaunts, and the giraffe and again appears upon
the scene the Tsetse fly !"
For some years after Panda became King of the Zulus,
the country, between and about the junction of the black
xind white Umvolosi, was thickly populated and full of
cattle.
There have been no wars whatever in Zulu-land since his
accession, exeept the battle of the Tugela. But Mr Erskine's
" client" has been the " reckless and blood-thirsty tyrant "
that, gradually creeping up from the northward and east-
ward, swept away the cattle and " left not a wrack behind."
And, more than that, during the last three years there has
been a great prevalence of easterly and northerly winds in
the Zulu country, and the consequence has been, that where
no unakane (Zulu name for the Tsetse) was before, i.e., up
on the grass lands, for ten or twelve miles from the borders
of the bush country, no cattle can now live.
Page 26 and 27 : — "At present certain Kaffirs are willing, for a
moderate consideration, to take their cattle through the fly country,
and, they state, that they seldom lose any, in consequence of their
giving them medicine (or muti). This medicine, containing a number
of Tsetse mashed up. Of course,* the fly has nothing to do with the
•curative properties of the muti, which is probably
Here I might mention that it is said • districts infested by the Tsetse
can be safely passed through in the night. ' . . . . The natives
have introduced cattle to spots which were several days distant from
healthy country "
* Why, "of course V I am aware that natives do run
■cattle through infected districts. But I also know from
them that it is a lottery — sometimes they escape, and some-
times they die — and I account for this, by the fact of the fly
186 THE TSETSE FLY.
attaching itself to game in swarms. It is not spread all
over the country, like the house fly — some on every tree and
bush — but keeps together in droves. The natives' cattle,
sometimes, do not come across any of these swarms and
escape. When they do meet them, they die.
I do not say that Mr. Erskine is wrong in his conclusions,
but I should like to hear his ideas on the above few facts.
David Leslie.
Answer to Mr Leslie's Critique on Mr Erskine's
Paper on the Tsetse Fly.
1. Mr Leslie, from the very precision with which he points
out the spread of the fly, namely from the northward and
eastward, would seem to demonstrate most strongly that the
cause of death is not a fly, which ought to spread itself
promiscuously in all directions, together with the game to
which it attaches itself.
Why should the fly extend only northward and eastward?
Does the game extend only in this manner? Would not
this particular spread of unhealthy country, perhaps, be
more likely to occur from spread of certain vegetation,
favoured by the special climatic influences mentioned?
Would not the spread of vegetation, in the slow and circum-
scribed direction, defined by Mr Leslie, be more probable
than that of an insect, constantly referred to in works of
travel, as well as by Mr Leslie in query 2, as migratonj ?
2. Dr. Livingstone expressly states that the limits of the
Tsetse fly are sometimes sharply defined, and, as I said, the
Kaffirs being willing, for a moderate consideration, to allow
their cattle to be bitten by the fly, it is proved that the
MIGRATORY HABITS OF THE TSETSE ELY. 187
medicine cures the disease under discussion; any part of it
being composed of fly, mashed u]^, it is shown that fly infests
the country; therefore, Mr Leslie's statement, that the cattle
do not come across the fly, is not in " point." Abrupt
cessation of suitable soil, or " exposure," might explain the
limit of the vegetation, in the latter; and partial poverty of
soil, and limited vegetation, in the former. Under favourable
conditions (perhaps "easterly and northerly winds") the weed
might be able to propagate to its extraordinary bounds, and
geological faults, or "thinnings out" of formations, might
define its ordinary limits.
Prevalence of particular winds might be the cause of an
unusual amount of miasma or epidemic.
St. Vincent W. Erskine.
September 1st, 1870.
KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
Read by the Author before the Natural History Association of Natal,
20th April, 1871.
Some months ago I had the pleasure of endeavouring to
interest the members of this Association in a peculiar Kaffir
custom, which I had reason to believe was not known to
many. And in writing of that Institution — for such it is —
I mentioned en imssant the laws, habits, and modes of
thought and speech of the Kaffirs. To-night I will try, as
best I can, to explain some of these to you; and it is my
wish, if possible, to combine with this explanation something
which may be useful to masters and mistresses in their
treatment of their native servants.
There can be no doubt about it, that, if you understand a
man, it is easier to deal with him, and this applies equally
to your friend or your labourer. It is with the latter class
I have to-night mostly to deal, though I think it perfectly
possible to have a friend amongst the natives. There are
many of them as thorough gentlemen in their way, as we
are in ours.
I do not know that I can do better than refer you to my
former paper on " Hlonipa," and request you, when you hear
this one, to bear in mind what I have there spoken of. I
said that I thought it would take a lifetime to make one
thoroughly acquainted with their modes of thought, their
peculiarities of speech, their untranslatable idioms, and their
superstitions, and I also mentioned the customs connected
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 18^
with the conduct of children to parents, and of parents ta
children — the laws of inheritance as regarded cattle, goods,
daughters, wives, &c. — the proper forms of politeness ob-
served amongst themselves, both to strangers and relatives
— ^the rules by which they went in marrying and paying for
their wives, and much more, that it is impossible to com-
l)ass in one paper, but as much of which, as I can, I shall
endeavour to make plain to you as I go on.
The Labour Question.
We continually hear the cry of "want of labour;" and
there is no doubt whatever that this same want has a bale-
ful influence upon the progress of the Colony. But we must
remember that these people, amongst whom we live, are
independent of us; they are our peasantry, not our serfs.
It is not an absolute necessity that they should work. At
home this would be hailed as a healthful sign, and wages
increased accordingly. Here, by some reason or other, it
is decided that because there are 17,000 whites who require
labour, and cannot afford to pay more than a certain sum,
the 250,000 blacks ought nolentes wienies to furnish it !
Many people say that it is a shame to see so many
thousands of able-bodied blacks amongst us so lightly taxed,
that they can afford to work a very little, and rest a great
deal, whereas we are fainting for want of the labour which
they can supply; that after they have bought a wife, they
can sit down for the rest of their lives, and live on the pro-
duce of that wife's labour; and their only remedy for this
anomalous state of things seems to be — double or treble the
hut tax, and compel them to come out.
I agree that it is sad to see this state of things, but it
190 KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
cannot be altered in a day. We must either take their
children and educate them, so that the next generation shall
have some idea of the principles regulating labour and
taxation, and so imbue the natives with new habits and
knowledge — and this can be done, if gradually and carefully
done by Government — or we must carry things with a high
hand, force them into civilization, and be prepared for the
preliminary war which will infallibly break out. The natives
might pay something more — grumble and pay — and we
might for a time be a little easier as to labour. But as the
cultivation of our land increases, the lack would surely come
again, because the Kaffir will only work until his own simple
wants, and his requirements for paying his taxes, are satisfied;
then go to his kraal as before. To rectify this, we should
have again to put on more taxation, and the ignorant unin-
structed savage would look upon us as the horse-leech's
daughter, whose constant cry was — "Give, give!" It is not
generally known, but I think I may say, without exagger-
^ition, that hundreds of heads of families are at this time
going back into the Zulu country, rather than submit to the
restraints and taxation now imposed upon them. These
people are out of our control ; are disaffected towards us,
nnd leaven the tribes around with their disaffection; and
herein lies an increasing danger, which must be carefully
watched and guarded against, for it is a serious one ; and we
must be careful not to ignore it and "live in a fools'-paradise"
by shutting our eyes to it.
A Kaffir, although fond of money, and perfectly well
aware of the power and luxuries that money brings him,
will not sacrifice all his old habits for the sake of the 10s. or
12s. a month he gets from his master. In time those habits
and traditions may be cast aside, but that will only result
SUGGESTIONS FOR GOVERNING THE KAFFIRS. 191
from education, and from a careful, "steady," honourable
policy towards them. It must be the dropping water which
will wear away this rock. A strong current will only cause
turbulence, breakers, and danger.
Suggestions for Governing the Kaffirs.
It perhaps may be that the discussion of matters touching
■on the Government of the Natives would be out of place in
iin Institution of this kind ; but everyone who knows any-
thing of native character and habits, will know how difficult
it is, in speaking of them at all, to avoid touching on this
question ; and if I were addressing an audience in another
country, who were only interested ethnologically, I might
content myself with an ethnographical paper. But here —
where everything connected with the races amongst which
we live concerns us deeply, and nothing more so than the
proposition as to how we are to do good to them, and receive
benefit from them, which I take to be the essence of good
Government, when the educated man is the governing power,
the savage the governed — I think I may be pardoned if
this controversy creeps in. In civilized nations it is now
allowed that the very essence and refinement of governing
is to interfere as little as possible, or not at all, with the
liberty of the subject — not even to restrain him from doing
evil to himself, or to compel him to do himself good, but to
trust that to his own nature, to his surroundings, or to the
influence of public opinion. It is only when what he does,
causes damage or loss to his neighbour, that the law steps in,
protects the sufi'erer, and punishes the ill-doer. In a
homogeneous nation benefits are of a necessity reciprocal ;
injuries equally so.
192 KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
If a man becomes rich he has more money to give away,,
or spend, thus benefitting in a greater degree the objects of
his charity, or those with whom he deals. If he loses his
money he has less to spend, and those whom he has aideti,
or those with whom he dealt, feel, in their different propor-
tions, the injury he has suffered. To go to higher illustra-
tions. The genius who has created a noble statue, or a
splendid painting, receives benefit in fame and wealth ; but
he gives to those who can appreciate his creation, and who-
give him his money and his celebrity, that "joy for ever"
which they receive from gazing on a "thing of beauty," — a
magnificent work of art. An author does this in a still
higher degree, inasmuch as a painting may be destroyed, a
statue broken and forgotten : but a moral sentiment, a noble
thought, has immortal life, and although the work in which
it occurs is lost, yet it lives in the minds of the people, and
endures for ever, fructifying and leavening " not for an age-
but for all time." When a poor' man works for a rich one,
the benefits are equalised. There can be no difference of
interests in a nation like Britain, and, therefore what is good
for one must be good for all, when we escape the snare of
class legislation.
Here it is not so ; for with us there is a decided antagon-
ism. We, the dominant race, are insensibly led to feel that
the natives ought to be our hewers of wood and drawers of
water ; and it is in the very nature of those we have to
govern to believe, that we have no other object in view
than to get as much as we can out of them, and on their
part to evade, in every possible way, giving any return for
the benefits they receive from us. There is no reciprocity
here, simply because they do not see that what we propose
for their benefit is really so. Therefore, there must of
NECESSITY OF KNOWING THE KAFFIR. 193
necessity be class legislation; and the essence of good
government in this Colony would be, to do good to the
natives, and to receive in return an equivalent benefit and
no more.
To understand how to set about this work, then, and to
give us the right to criticize those who are attempting it, it
becomes necessary that we should know something of the
laws, habits, and customs of the people amongst whom we
dwell — something, in fact, of their character. If I know
nothing about sugar, for instance, it would be presumptuous-
in me to say So-and-so was a bad buyer ; and if, repeating
only what I was told, I should first find out whether my
informant was himself qualified to judge. And if I knew
nothing about the qualities and requirements of a coff'ee-tree,
I should not be surprised if I got a bad crop. Therefore, if
I am equally ignorant of the people who serve me, it would
be more just to say, not that they are bad servants, but that
I did not know how to manage them. Again, if I had bad
land, and could get no other, I should have to be content
with the crops it gave me ; but if I thoroughly understood
its capabilities, I should not blame myself or the land, because
the returns were disappointing, but should try and improve
it. So with Kaffirs. You must rest content with what you
can get from them ; but to know what that is, you must
first know them. When you have acquired that desideratum,
you may the more easily improve their working i:>owers,
their honesty and civility.
Marriage Customs.
I will endeavour to-night to impart to you a portion of
the little I have learned, during my rather intimate and
0
194 KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
extensive intercourse with them, about the natives witli
whom we daily mix, with the hope that it may be of interest
to you as members of this Association, as masters and
mistresses of househohls and plantations, and as British
l^eople who hold in their hands the destinies of the savag(^
nations of South Africa.
I think I may reasonably begin my endeavour to delineate
their manners, temperament, and customs, at those connected
with marriage, as it is a good starting point for an exposi-
tion of Kaffir character.
It is a mistake to imagine that a girl is sold by her father
in the same manner, and with the same authority, with
which he would dispose of a cow. There may be a few
instances of such things being done, but they are the excep-
tion, not the rule. Amongst people of high rank it is not
etiquette for the girl to choose her husband. She will take
a pride in saying that such as she has no choice; and that
she is of sufficient position to be compelled to go where the
chief or the King sends her. Amongst the middle class the
young men have always their sweethearts, whom they know
will marry them immediately they are in a position to claim
the fulfilment of their promise. They are, as a rule, faithful
to them; and if any other richer suitor send a couple of
friends, with one or two young heifers, to the father, to
" T'libula" (i.e., " shoot the daughter"), if she refuses, they
are quietly sent back. Perhaps a more literal translation of
this phrase ivould be " hit her hard," as the interpretation
^' shoot" has only been applicable since their knowledge of
fire-arms. The word is here used in a joking sense. The
heifer is the " arles-penny," which, if accepted, clinches the
bargain — ergo, he has shot, winged, crippled her, so that she
can't get away from him. I know of many men, with plenty
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 195
of cattle, who arc obliged to remain bachelors because tluy
•<3an't get a girl to accept them.
When the parties are agreed, great prej^arations are made.
Both sides have new dances and songs, and it is a matter of
•emulation as to which shall excel. The bride has always
ready a stock of mats, spoons, dishes, &c., which she has
been preparing; and her father gives her a blanket, and cattle
according to his rank. But no girl ever goes to her husband
without one beast, which is ever afterwards looked upon as
the ox of the '^ Amadhlozi;" the loss of wdiich by death
would be considered a token of desertion by the protecting
spirits of her father's house; and the slaughter of which, in
the event of any calamity such as disease or barrenness, is
an acceptable sacrifice.
When the eventful day has arrived, the bride and party—
the higher the rank the more followers — set out for the
bridegroom's kraal; wdiicli, however, they wdll not enter
until it is night, singing and dancing as they come. Then^
are certain huts prepared for them, and " no one looketh
upon their approach." If the j)air live close together, the
party of the bride will go straight to the spot appointed for
the ceremony. If not, it is as I have stated above. Early
in the morning they go down to some stream, wasli and
dress, and, about mid-day, come up and begin the dance, tlu',
bridegroom's party looking on. When both sides havt^
finished, which may or may not be the first day, a beast,
which belongs to the bride's party, is slaughtered by the
bridegroom. At night the girl goes wandering about th(^
kraal, with a following of her own sex, but relations of th(;
man's. She is crying for her father's house, where she was
well treated. Now she is coming into a strange household,
where she may be ill used, and has the certainty only of
196 KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
hard work and cliildbirtli. She is supposed to be trying to
run away, and the girls to be preventing her.
Next day the husband, his brother, sister, and friends,
take their seats in the cattle kraal, and the second and last
part of the ceremony, " tikuhlamhm" takes place. The bride
comes in with her party of girls, carrying in her hand an
assegai — which, by the way, she has carried all through.
One girl bears a pot of water, and a calabash spoon ; another
some beads. The bride pours some water into the spoon, as
also some beads. Then, coming up, singing and dancing,
she throws it over her husband. She repeats this with her
brother and sister-in-law, striking the latter at the same time,
as a S3anbol that she from that time takes authority over the
girls in her husband's household. Immediately this is done
she breaks the staff of the assegai which she has all along
held in her hand, and makes a run for the gate of the kraal
as a last effort to get away. If she is not stopped by ar
young man appointed for the purjjose, it is looked upon as a
great disgrace, and the husband has to pay a beast to get
her back. " VhuhlamUsa " means, to give wherewithal to
wash the hands. I think it is a symbol that on that day
she has washed away all her old life. The marriage rites
are then finished. No widow when re-married breaks the
staff of the assegai.
The principal idea in a Kaffir wedding seems to be, to show
the great unwillingness of the girl to be transformed into a
wife. When an English girl is married, it is incumbent
upon herself, her bridesmaids, and all her female relatives,
to shed tears abundantly, as if the great event of their lives
were one of sorrow and woe ! Just so with the Kaffirs.
The whole ceremony is based upon this assumption. A
modest girl will omit nothing, but fight tooth and nail for
TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 197
4ill the observances. Hence most of the charges of cruelty
we were entertained with some time ago ; and which only
showed ignorance of the native customs.
For some time after marriage the wife will not eat sour
milk. She was paid for with milk-giving cattle, and she
■could not eat her own purchase price. She would be
"nesisila" — would have dirt, would be defiled. But after a
time she will go home to her father's, taking the broken
iissegai with her, and come back with a goat, a sheep, or a
beast, according to the rank of the parties. This is
.slaughtered, and the " isisila " — the dirt or defiling principle
— goes off the milk into the dead animal, and henceforth
the milk may be eaten ! In native metaphorical phrase —
''she has cleaned her spoon." Each wife in a kraal has her
separate hut, her independent household.
The Training of Children. .
It is part of Kaffir law that, if no children result from the
union, the wife may be returned, or compensation claimed.
The latter is often done; the former very seldom. It is
also the case that if any of the cattle, which have been paid
for her, die within the year, they must be replaced. This
custom causes much litigation, as a man may, through pre-
valence of disease or a bad locality, have to go on paying for
years. This is also the case in bargains amongst themselves.
If a man buys a cow from another, or gets one given him
by his chief, and she dies, the seller or the giver has to
replace ; but as this is no object to them, it- may be years
before this is done.
When a child is born, all in the kraal eat medicine, i.e.,
something to protect them from any evil influence. They
198 KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
do the same on the occasion of a death. The little one is
for the first two or three days fed upon sour milk. It is not
until the third day, at soonest, that it receives its natural
sustenance. Kaffir children's training is a very hard one.
They roll about in the sun or the rain, they scramble for
what they get to eat, they sleej) in the huts without covering,
and the result is that only those .of hardy constitutions sur-
vive. I never yet, even in a single instance, inquired of an
old Kaffir woman who had had children, but I found shcv
had lost one or more of them in this way.
AVhen they become a little older, say about eight or nine,
the boys' first duty is to herd the calves ; and the girls to do-
any little odd jobs about the kraal which their mothers may
desire — principally fetching water — and you will see a little
thing tottering along, not much bigger than the pot or dish
she carries on her head. How well and gi^acefully these
Kaffir girls and women carry burdens in that way ! I have
seen them with a round clay pot, holding about six gallons,
full of water ; they twist a little grass into a ring of about
three or four inches in diameter, place that on their heads,,
on it they place the pot, and away they go, up and down
hill, and along broken ground; they will stop and turn,
but never put a hand to it; and yet they never break or
spill !
This I may safely say is all the training native children
get. They learn other things, such as — the females, mats,
dress, pot making, and hoeing ; and the boys hunting and
cow milking — of themselves. The natives have no idea of
" training up a child in the way he should go." If a girl or
a boy refuses to do anything they are told, the parents simply
say that he or she is not old enough yet ; in a few years-
they will have grown up, and have more sense !
untruthfulness and laziness. 199
The Kaffir Character.
The natives have no idea of morahty whatever. A lie is
useful in daily life; but they admit that it is awkward, if
found out; if successful, it is considered rather a clever
thing than otherwise. In trading with them, you may
make up your mind that all they tell you is untrue, and
act accordingly. Give no heed to their representations as
to the age of a cow, or the value of any article. But yet, in
" a deal," if you adhere to the truth, " it bothers them
entirely." Your own natives, on the other hand, if they like
you, will lie for your benefit as strongly as the opposite
])arty against you ; and both sides think it all fair trade.
The natives have been brought up in one fixed idea, viz.^
to do as little as they can for anybody. They have been
used to work for the King and their chiefs without pay, and
the shirking feeling has been bred in the bone; therefore,
though we, with our notions of what work ought to be, cry
out against the laziness of the Kaffirs, and grumble at the
trouble they are to us, yet I do not really think that it is so
much their fault as their breeding, which they cannot over-
come in a day. The dislike to stead}^, constant work, is
inherent in them. Hoeing from morning till night is
especially irksome. For a rush of work and then a long
interval of rest, Kaffirs are good; but for steady manual
labour, as we understand it, they require constant super-
vision. But, again, this supervising is a difficult matter.
It is not easy to get the right quantity of work out of a
native and yet have him to like you. It is not to be done
by constant "nagging," nor yet by the solitary system,
which I have heard has been adopted in the colony; I
mean posting them out here and there, so that they have
200 KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
no opportunity of speaking to one another, and it is
supposed they must therefore work; but it is only to be
done by the constant presence of some one who can
understand their language and their habits, who will
neither bully nor joke with them, who knows how to put
in a word of commendation when deserved, and, on the
other hand, to give them a short, sharp admonition, when
necessary, with a threat of punishment in case of repetition
of the offence, which threat must always be carried out. It
is a difficult matter to say what is the best form of punish-
ment for a native, but I incline to the old plan, which I
have heard freely described as " hitting him over the head
with a hoe ! " If you fine him, he suffers loss, and the
punishment rankles, and he feels as if he had been injured;
whereas if you thrash him, after it is over he is no worse,
but would not like to have to go through it again. If he
is in the wrong, twenty to one he will not complain.
Never let a woman lift her hand to a Kaffir; it is a disgrace
to him; I say nothing of w^hat it is to her. Let her com-
2)lain to some male relative or to a Magistrate; but — keep
her hands off !
I have often heard people complain of the disobHging
nature of the Kaffir. If you ask him to do the simplest
thing, when he is not in your employ, the answer invariably
is, " What will you give me V Naturally so, I think. They
Are not our equals, neither do we live amongst them. We
do not visit at their homes, and do them little kindnesses.
The only relation, betwixt the generality of whites and
blacks, is that of employer and employed. The one tries all
he can to get as much as possible out of the other. There
is no idea of reciprocity. I hear nothing but " tax as high
as possible" on the one side, and "ask plenty wage" on
DISHONESTY OF THE KAFFIRS. 201
the other. We never attempt to teach them in any way.
What they learn they pick up of themselves, and they do
not often pick up much good. We try to get at their purses
just now, because we are poor, and they are supposed to be
comparatively rich ; but we ought to have the manliness to
say that it is necessity which presses us on to this course. I
never yet heard that protection to the exile, be he white or
black, was a thing that he must pay for in Britain, or in a
British colony.
It is often said that the Kaffirs are arrant thieves : well,
perhaps they are so, in a way. That they cannot be trusted
with anything, I don't admit. If you show a native that
you distrust him ; if you are constantly on the watch against
theft; if, on something being mislaid, you don't take the
trouble to look for it, but, priding yourself on you own care
and method, at once tax the Kaffir with having stolen it ; if
you constantly express the opinion that your sugar is
diminished, your wine lessened in quantity, your meal not
so much as there was yesterday, and every day ask your
Kaffir " Who has been at my wine, my sugar, or my meal?"
why then you had better put everything under lock and key
i\t once, because your native will most certainly steal some
when he gets a chance. On the other hand, if you can raise
■courage enough to say, " Here, Tom, see this meal, sugar,
&c., well, mind you look after everything, as I am going
away," I think, without doubt, your goods and chattels
would be taken care of. Trust him, and, as a rule, he will
be faithful; show that you distrust him, and he will give
cause to justify the feeling. There is one thing, however,
you may make up your mind to, and that is — there are
few Kaffirs who will not leave the impress of two fingers
and a thumb in the sugar-bowl ; for, like others, they have
a sweet tooth !
202 KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
Their moral principles are very low. A theft, a lie, or
even a murder are all very well, providing the first two are
not found out, and sufficient provocation is given for the last.
The value they put upon life is so little, that the killing^
another is consequently not thought by them such an
enormous crime as Avith us. If a man has given sufficient
provocation, it is his part to see that he does not get killed
for it.
The natives are not bound by their law to give up any-
thing they may have found, which has been lost by some
one else. Tlie loser should have taken better care of his.
property, is their moral theory.
I have heard also of their cruelty. Yes, they are cruel^
as we look upon it, but, like the dogs in Watts' hymns,
"it is their nature to." We ought to try and teach them
better, instead of vilifying them for wliat they cannot help
— or, rather, for what they do not see the wickedness of.
We might as well censure the alligator, for stowing away
the man he has drowned, in his larder in the reeds, until
he becomes properly tender, and then eating him. We
shudder at the cruelty of the death, but we do not blame
the reptile's modus operandi.
Again, I may refer to the many scenes of confusion and
I'ecrimination between the Kaffir and his master, which arise
from a want of knowledge of the language ; and I cannot
give a better example of what I mean than the word with
which a native often prefaces a speech wherein he has to-
express a difference of opinion. " Amanga " literally means
"lies;" but, idiomatically, it is the most polite form of
contradiction. It is equivalent to our " I beg your pardon,
I must differ from you." How often liave I heard a white
man say, speaking of some conversation with a native,.
KAFFIR ETIQUETTE. 20^
*' Why, the first word the so-and-so fellow said, was that I
lied. Didn't I warm him 1 He won't do that again." No,
I should think not. You may take it for granted that a
Kaffir will never be deliberately insolent without cause. If
you speak to him properly he will answer you so, but if you
liabitually speak harshly, and in an angry voice, you will
"raise his corruption," and get insolence in return. People
speak of Kaffirs being so far below whites, while they act as
if they considered them of a higher nature; for, if Englishmen
were sjioken to in the way that many masters and whites-
generally speak to natives, it strikes me there would be a
breach of the peace in a very short time ; but then they are
only " adjectived niggers !"
Every employer of Kaffir labour ought either to study, or
have some one about him who has studied the customs,
feelings, and nature of the natives. He would then know
what to expect from them, and never be disappointed;
because, on that knowledge he would base his calcultions,
:ind his conduct to them.
I say that the Kaffirs are — when you know them and they
know you — notwithstanding all their shortcomings, a kindly,
hospitable race ; and in time, with good management, good
training, and good treatment, will become good subjects,
iiood workers, and faithful friends.
Kaffir Etiquette.
Their forms of politeness are very strictly adhered to, and
are many. When a stranger arrives at a kraal, he will most
likely — if in the daytime — find the owner sitting out by the
gate, and he will hdeJca (salute) ; he will say wngane (literally
" friend"), but it is a respectful salutation. If he is his.
■204: KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
superior he will place his assegais at a little distance, advance,
and sit down, saying nothing until he is saluted in turn.
Presently the head man will say — Saka bona, abbreviation
of ge sa u gu hona (literally, "I will see you," equivalent to
our "good morning !"), and all round, one by one, will give
him the same greeting. He will answer to each one separa-
tely— Yeho (yes, I agree) ; after that, conversation may go
on. If the owner is not at the gate, but in his hut, even
although the visitor did not come to him, yet he will not
leave without going up to salute him, as it might be said
that he was sneaking about the kraal. If it is his chief, or
any other chief's kraal, he will find the captain or head man
under the chief, and after saying ^'umgane" to him, will ex-
press his wish to see the great man, or explain his business.
The captain then takes him up, and he " kukkas," giving the
chief his proper title, such as '^ Zungu" for the head of this
tribe, or " Ubtelesi" for the head of that one (he is the Zungu
or the Ubttetesi, just as a Highland chief was the Macnab or
the Macpherson), accompanied most likely by Baba (father)
and a portion of his "isibongo," or name of thanks. If he is
of sufficient consequence, the chief will salute him in return,
-and ask what has brought him there ; if not he will sit out-
side the hut, nothing being said to him, until he sees an
opening, when he will begin his business. I should like to
explain the *^ Islbongo," or name of thanks. It is a very
curious custom. When a Chief or the King gives a man
anything, or agrees that he shall do something that he wished
to do, he thanks him. He will go outside, and walk up and
down for perhaps ten minutes, shouting out all the praise he
•can think of. This '' Isibongo" is taken from some trait or
traits in a man's character, from his bravery, his strength, or
his comeliness. For instance, I can quote a j)ortion of one
KAFFIR ETIQUETTE — THE OFFICE OF " TASTER." 205
— " You who stick a man running." [The word used is
" hlaba" which means to throw the assegai into anytliing, in
contradistinction to " gicaza," holding it in your hand and
stabbing with it.] This does not sound Hke any very high
praise, but the interpretation of it is that he is very liberal —
that a man has not to stand and ask, but that, even as he
runs past, he will throw him something of his own accord.
AYhen the native is brought into the presence of the King
the same ceremony is gone through. He gives him all his,
titles, and sits down outside the hut. It is not etiquette for
an inferior to stand in the presence of a superior. He must
squat down. They reverse our idea. They say, " Is he to-
overshadow the chief?" When he takes his leave of any
one he has been visiting, he says " a usalehe" or " ealcake"
literally "please remain and build;" but, inferentially, it
means " remain healthy and well, extend your kraal, may
you become great." A curious piece of thanks from a native
is, when he tells his superior to ^^iimana" literally stand
still, or stand up, but it means that he hopes he will take
root and grow, and always be in a position to give him pre-
sents or protect him as he has done that day. The Kaffir's
idea is, that those of high rank are the dispensers of bounty
to those of lower position, for which the latter render them
service. It is exactly our "work and wages" under another
name. The chief is only supposed to give, not to pay, yet
by custom, he is bound to do it.
It is not etiquette to give you beer, without first tasting it.
I have heard many whites say, " Bother them, putting their
dirty mouths into the pot;" but I think it a loyal custom,,
similar to the office of " taster" in the old feudal times; and
it is meant to insure you against there being " death in the
pot." While any one is eating, you must not spit, but you
206 KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
may blow your nose as much as you like; and there are no
handkerchiefs amongst the Zulus !
To the King, or to his sons and daughters, the cook will
never say that the meat, which he had cut up for him to
roast, is all done. That would be a great breach of etiquette,
<ind he would be asked " Are the King's cattle, then, all
done?" He will say, " I am tired," or '' I won't roast any
more." With few exceptions, everything that is unpdite
amongst us, is so amongst them. There are gentlemen and
snobs amongst all nations; and to speak to a well-born,
<;entlemanly Kaffir, who has reason to respect and like you,
is really a pleasure.
There is wit and fun amongst the natives, too, though I
am. afraid you will have to take my word for that. Being
•on Kaffir subjects, it would take too long to translate, so
that you should understand. I will mention two instances,
however. A hunter was boasting of what he had done
4igainst the buffalo, with his assegai, before he got his gun.
He spoke of two or three doughty deeds, and at last said,
■" Go to such-and such a kraal and ask who it was that took
the buffalo's eye out with his assegai." Of course, the
answer to that was inferred. One of his hearers who had
been staring at him, open-mouthed, said, " Was he coming
■at you, then?" " Look at this fellow!" said he, addressing
the audience; then, turning, said, "Are the buffalo's eyes
heliind then?" Another: — In the roads we go in the Zulu
Country, the waggon often sticks fast, and when that happens
you naturally bully your driver, though very likely it is not
his fault. The other day my old driver was on the Berea,
and I pointed out to him the sea, on which I was soon to be
journeying, saying, " That is my road now, Klaas." " Ah I"
he said, " take care you don't stick fast there too." The
KAFFIR COSMOGONY. • 207
joke was, that the ship might get into a hole, and require a
lot of pulHng to get it out, like the waggon.
There is poetry in their natures. Many expressions of
theirs have struck me, and I will quote two or three of them
to prove what I say. A man was boasting to another that
he never had had a day's illness in his life. "Ah!" said his
friend, " the spirit of your father has been watching over
you so far; but, when he turns about, he will beckon you
to follow!" A girl sings a song, the burden of which is,
" You have put a heavy burden upon my shoulders — a
greater one than I can bear." The burden is envy — envy
that they should have sweethearts and she should have
none ! The stars they call "the children of the sky, born
by her to her husband the sun!" Am I not right when I
say there is poetry among them^
Kaffir Cosmogony.
There are many other matters of interest in Kaffir
character, laws, and customs, but they must, if worth while,
wait for another day. Meantime I have given you so much
which is dry and hard of digestion, that I think I had
better end with something lighter in the shape of a Kaffir
tradition as to the origin of men and animals, and the habit
of eating, and how people came to be born and to die. It
appears that first of all there was one UmveV nqanU, which,
being interpreted, means "the one who first made his
appearance." It is said that he came out of the Ulilanga,
which is literally "reed;" but it is understood as a custom,
or the origin, time of origin, or place of origin of all things ;
as in the case when Inhosi Uhlanga is spoken of, it means
that he is the representative of a line of kings from the
208 KAFFIR CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS.
beginning. This UmveVnqank% after coming on the scene-
himself, brought out — whether he made them or not is not
stated — men, women, animals, corn, and all the fruits of the=
earth. At first, and for a time, it is related that black
humanity lived without eating or drinking, without multi-
plying or dying. Corn and pumpkins grew and reproduced
their crops, without tending by man. The people saw them
growing in large gardens, but did not know that they were-
eatable. Feeling no hunger they never attempted to use-
them as food. Cattle, sheep, and goats roamed wild, with
all other beasts of the field ; no man tended, no man paid
any heed to them. People lived happily, without wants,
and never died. This innocent and unsophisticated state of
affairs went on for a long time, but how long is not stated.
All were happy and without fear of anything. At last,,
however, to the great consternation and dismay of every
one, there appeared upon the scene a little baby ! This was
something out of their experience. While ill in her house,
the mother of the child complained of a curious feeling, a.
gnaAving pain in her stomach which she had not felt before.
Those around knew not what to do, but at last another
Avoman said, " I will give her some of that stuff growing out
there," meaning corn and pumpkins. This she did with the
idea that she would kill her, because of this strange thing
that had happened. She did give her food, and, after a
while, the sick woman, instead of dying began to grow well,
and even fat ; then the people first learned that food was-
good, and they ate of it. After a while they found, or killed
(I am not sure which) some beef This they also found was
good to eat, and so they set to work, to try and bring the-
beasts of the field into subjection at their kraals. The
buffaloes and all wild animals, however, were too many for
KAFFIR TRADITION OF THE CREATION AND FALL. 209
them, and remain in the bush to this clay. Cattle, sheep,
and goats alone, allowed themselves to be driven and herded.
I am aware that what I have written is rather confused,
as far as regards my first having said, that the people never
die, and then tliat tlie woman gave the other food with the
idea that she wouhl kill her. But I must tell the story as it
^vas told to me. And, again, I know how greatly it would
add to the interest of this tradition if I could say the popular
belief is tliat it was in consequence of UrmeVnqanMs anger
at the child-bearing and food-eating that the following
messages were sent. But there seems to be great uncertainty
on this point. The only portion firmly rooted is what I
liave related, and what follows: —
AVhen UmveVnqankl had finished his work, and saw that
it was good, he sent two messages : one by the " Entulo" or
little stone-lizard often seen — some blue and some flame-
coloured; and one by the " Unwaho" or chameleon. The
first message was by the latter, and its purport was that the
j)eople should not die but live for ever, or, as some say, that
''they should die, but rise again!" The ^^ Entulo" he sent
afterwards to tell them that " they should die and never rise
again !" The chameleon started, but loitered by the way,
eating a little purple berry (uhktvehesane), and the " Entulo"
who came on behind, passed him and delivered his message.
When the chameleon came with his, the people, not knowing
liow sore death was, refused to listen to him, saying they
had accepted the word brought by the " Entulo" And it
so happened, through the slowness of the chameleon, and
the alacrity of the lizard, that death came to all men!
There is a great deal in this Zulu tradition, that is like,
and yet unlike, our Bible history of the Creation and Fall
of Man.
P
THE ZULU WORD FOE "LIFE."
(Xatal Colonist, ■27th April, 1875.)
Our readers will remember an interesting discussion in our
columns in the year 1871 upon a question of no small im-
portance to missionaries, and all who take an interest in the
adequate rendering into Zulu, of a word of no less moment
than is the word "Life." The discussion was joined in by the
Bishop of Natal, the Rev. H. Callaway, M.D. (now Bishop
of St. John's, Kaifraria), the Hon. Mr Shepstone, Secretary
for Native Affairs, the Rev. Mr Dohne, and others, including
the late Mr David Leslie, who in his boyhood had acquired
an intimate knowledge of tlie native language and habits of
thought, and was therefore by no means the least competent
of those who took part in the discussion to throw light upon
the question at issue. At our request Mr Leslie, then about
to return to the Zulu and Amatonga Countries, undertook
to make further enquiries for us, and embodied the results
in a letter which circumstances have hitherto prevented our
publishing. It is now proposed by his uncle, Mr R. M'Tear,
to issue a volume of the more interesting of the Literary
Remains of our deceased fellow-colonist, and we propose
therefore now to give to the public the letter in question,
and to follow it up by one or two other papers prepared for
us by Mr Leslie shortly before he left Natal. The following
paper on Ubomi, far removed as it may seem from matters
of daily concern, will yet be found to contain much that will
be of interest to philologists, and something, too, to interest
"UBOMi" — ERRORS OF COLENSO AND OTHERS. 211
tlie ordinary reader who lias any curiosity as to the habits
of life and modes of thought of his fellow-men, even of low
stages of civilization.
Among the papers, with which we propose to follow this
up, will be some further remarks on the custom of uhu
Hlonipa.
"Ubomi.
"UsuTU, July 29, 1871.
" Dear Mr Sanderson, — As you wished, I have made
many enquiries here into the Tonga idea of ' ubomi,' and of
the word for ' Life.' The Zulu I knew pretty well before,
but I have gone further into that too, with Zulus I have
with me. I find that Tonga and Zulu agree. There is not
much difference in their language except in pronunciation;
certainly that is very different indeed, and renders them
unintelhgible for a while to one who only knows Zulu.
" I have read the letters of the Bishop, Mr Shepstone, Dr
Callaway, and Mr Dohne, and regret that on some points,
(speaking of course of the Zulu and Tonga), I must differ
from them all. I shall not answer the various points they
raise, as it would take me too long; but simply give you the
result of my enquiries; tell you what I know, and my reasons
for coming to the conclusions I do ; and then leave you to
draw yours.
" The word ' uhomV is taken from the verb ' oraa' (to
dry), and means that a thing ' has dryness.' In its peculiar
signification it is derived and applied as follows i^They
say of a rich man or a chief that he has ' eaten uhonil,'
because he has killed so much meat, that it has dried up
and got maggots in it, while hanging in the hut. He.
cannot eat it fast enough. Thus it has come (long befort^
212 ZULU WORD roil LIFE.
Chaka's time) to signify 'haj^piness/ as a Kaffir understands
tlie meaning of the term; — 'plenty of meat, beer, and
wives.'
"They use it in both ways. Simply for maggoty meat,
they would say ^Le n'lmna i no homi;' but when speaking of
a man, they would put it differently (for a reason I will give
presently) : — ' That man is a king,' ' udJde uhomi,' ' he eats
maggoty meat' — idiomatically, ' he is happy,' or perhaps
more strictly, ' he has all the elements of hapj^iness.'
" I have never heard the phrase 'unoho^nV used in speak-
ing of a man (though of course it may be so amongst tribes
with which I am unacquainted), and I think it is not so used,
in the Zulu or Tonga countries, for the following reasons :
because the natives tell me it is not so; because I have never
heard it (you know they have been my constant and only
companions for nearly five years, and I have always taken a
great interest in their language and customs) ; and because
of the derivation of the Avord. When a man has just died
and anyone asks 'Is he deadf the answer would very likely
be ' Oiv, u si omile.' In telling another of a hunt, a native
would say 'The white man fired and the buff'alo disappeared
behind a bush — I ran round to see the result; I found it
long dried up' (na funiana hate i si omile). It is, if I may
use such a Hibernicism in terms, the superlative of dead,
but is only used immediately after death, as much as to say
* there is no chance for him now.'
" I have never heard, nor can I find on enquiry, that
* ubomi' has ever taken any other idiomatical meaning than
' happiness' as explained above, but I do find, and I think
so myself, that to say of a man — a sick man, for instance,
who was supposed to be dead — ^tinobomi,' would — though
not good Zulu or Tonga, as spoken in their countries — be
MAGGOTS IN 3IEAT — HAPPINESS ! 213
nearer akin to confirming his death, than affirming that he
was aUve. This is the reason I promised, a few lines back,
to explain why they always say, in speaking of a man,
' udhle uhomV and not ' unohoml.'
"Dr Callaway speaks of the Zulus Illonipa-ing the mag-
gots in the meat given them by Chaka, taken from the
■cattle killed as a ' peculiar sacrifice,' ' Esitmzimu,' as much as
to say ' the cattle of Umzimu.' Xow ' Umzimib ' is derived
from ' enzima" which has another signification than the
<'ommon one of heavj/. It means, when applied to a man,
^ exactly Avhat we express in our phrase ' he carries weight
Avitli him.' ^'Umzimu' are nothing more than the Amahlose
of Chaka, Dingaan or Enzenzengakona, or any of the King's
^mcestors — 'Amahlose, who carry weight with them.' It is,
2)erhaps, not generally known that the natives do not con-
sider the visible part of their chiefs' Amahlose, i.e., the
snake — the equal of that of common people. The Ehlose
of Chaka and other dead kings is the Boa-constrictor, or
the large and deadly black Mamba, whichever the doctors
<lecide. Tliat of dead Queens is the tree Iguana. To
return : — the King eats certain portions of these cattle, but
tlie principal portion is cooked, and given to the Amabutu
(soldiers), who, before receiving it, te ta, i.e., petition for
health and success, with the slow and solemn dirge of the
'Bau Oh '
"I don't think the Zulus Illompa-ed the maggots in
Chaka's meat, but he had so much of it that I daresay some
got maggoty, and when one said ' izlmpetu,' another would
*say 'no, this is ^'uhoml'" — happiness, or, as they would
<3xplain, if asked for a definition, ' git husa.^ (Bitsa is used
for fjoverning, but literally it means to be made hap)p)y, as
Uihoml' is the abstract quality of happiness — idiomatically.)
214 ZULU WORD FOR LIFE.
This is a matter of court etiquette, not of Hlonipa. Even
now in the Zuhi, no man will say of maggoty meat given
him by a superior in rank, ' enezim^ehi,' but 'ino uhomV At
all events, I have told you what I have learned.
"Xow for the word 'Life,' and first for the 'physical life
of men and animals.'
" As to the abstract thing — the principle of life implanted
in us by our Creator — I don't think they have a word which
expresses it ; therefore translators would have to make one ;
perhaps take a compound one or a phrase. In that case,
they would, no doubt, take a word or phrase the nearest to it.
The natives say that every thing alive is only so by reason
of its heart. ' Zi hainba nrje enhledo' or ' abanhi ha hamba
nge enhlezioJ In speaking of a man's lifetime, they say ' nxa
gu sa hamba! (while he is going dy alive). If a man is very
ill, and at last thought to be dead, a doctor will come and
say ' Qu, enhhzio ikona ' (no, the heart or life is in him), and
this without reference to feeling the beatings of the organ.
Therefore, I think if ' life ' was translated ' enJdezio u gu
liamUsa 'bantu' (or ^muntu'), it would be peculiarly applicable,
and very little explanation would be needed to enable the
natives to understand what was meant. I think it will be
some time before 'ubomi' is naturalized, amongst the Zulu
and Tonga generally, as expressing ' life."
" The expression which has been quoted — 'God is life' — is
a much more difficult one to deal with, and leads us into a
wider range. I have not the slightest pretensions to be a
theologian, but I take this to be a figurative promise that
God is life — to men, to those who believe in him, is the
giver of immortal life — altogether a different thing to the
other 'life' I have just been writing of To a Kaffir who
has no idea of life after death, beyond his crude ideas about
SPIRITUAL AND SENSUAL IDEAS OF HAPPINESS. 215
the Amalilose, who has no religion whatever, the words
quoted above are an utter blank as to any meaning ; so here
again w^e have to find others Avhich will require as little ex-
planation as possible. It may be said that if ' uhomV signifies
happiness, what better happiness can we have than immortal
life % and that, therefore, it is peculiarly fitted to express the
meaning of the words above. If ^'udle' or ^ehla' could be
fitted to it in the translation, it could be done, but '2ibomV
by itself is only 'worms' — it is by the addition of '2idle'
or ^ehla,' 'eating the worms' — that the idea of happiness is
attained. Then again, even if that is done, it would only
express to the Kafiir mind the sensual happiness of good
living — the very thing the missionaries wish to prevent.
And if they went on to explain in what, to Christians, the
hajDpiness of that better life consists, there would most likely
be a general scattering of the congregation, utterly ignoring
that definition of happiness, or eating uhomi.
" What I have now to say, I say with all respect to the
men who have devoted their lives to teaching the heathen,
and with due diffidence, as to my own knowledge of the
subject, but you have asked me to tell you all I know and
therefore I do it.
" When I speak with the Kaffirs on these subjects — (we
I tften have arguments) — I say, * No, you are not quite correct
when you say that we don't believe in Ehlose. You are like
a man who is still travelling in Zulu, but has lost the path
to the kraal he is bound for. We diff'er with you greatly ;
inasmuch as we say that there is only one Ehlose, the Creator
of all things, who was, and is, and ever will be ; whereas
your Amahlose are only a remembrance of men who have
been overpowered by death. You look to them for every-
thing, you say you only hold your life by their permission
216 ZULU WORD FOR LIFE.
— if they could not live themselves, what power have they
gained by dying?' It is needless to go further. You will
understand what I mean when I say, that if 'God is life'
were translated 'God is the only Ehlose,' a Kaffir would
very easily be made to understand what was meant. It
may be said that the natives would say, ' Oh ! then you
believe in the Amahlose too V Well, perhaps they might ;
still, I think, that would give the apostle (which a mis-
sionary is sujiposed to be) a natural opportunity of speak-
ing to them of that which he most desires to speak, — their
creation, their life, their death, and their hereafter.
" There is another form the natives use in speaking of a
man's life or death. One man will ask another from a
distant part, of the ^ nkona' so-and-so? The answer will be
^iikona' or ' gaseho' — he is, or he is not — he is alive, or he is
dead. Therefore, if in using the phrase ' God is life,' it is
meant that animal life only exists by the pleasure of God,
then it might be translated ' a hanki ha Jcona lujo Titxo.'
" Yours very truly,
" David Leslie."
" P.S. — I have come across a little piece of etymology,
which, I think, may interest you. You, no doubt, as well as
myself, have seen a portion of the country on the other side
of the Zambezi (I am not sure which), marked as inhabited
by ' Landines.' The meaning of the word never struck me
till the other day, when I heard one native address the other
as ^ IlandV I have often been told that the 'Landines'
were Zulus, and ' Ilandi' is a thoroughly Zulu word, and, to
my mind, affords a curious circumstantial j^roof, of the migra-
tion of the southern natives from the north. Ingenious
HOW ZULU NAMES ARE CREATED. 217
evidence of tins kind is often wrong, but you may take it
for Avliat it is worth. The verb ' landa' means to follow, or
to go for anything, e.g., ' UmlandenV — 'follow him.' ' Landa
enduku amV — ' go and bring my stick.' * Amalandi,' there-
fore, means 'followers.' The natives, in their southern pro-
gress, no doubt separated at the Zambezi, some remaining
behind. The aborigines would ask those that were left,
'When are you going after your brethren?' The answer
would be, ' Zi za u ha landa' — ' we will follow them,' and so
they came to be called 'Amalandi,' the followers! I need
scarcely say that ' Landines' is only a mispronunciation, and
consequent mis-spelling of the word ' Ilandi.'
" Again, curious mistakes are often made regarding the
names of places. It is well that these should be corrected,
as otherwise original native names will be corruj)ted into
something without sense. For instance, the custom is to
speak of the Maputa Eiver. Now, the name of the river
is the ' UsutUj' and that has a meaning. It is taken from
the word ^stita/ meaning to be full-of-food, and is applied
because they say 'iisuht 'I minia manzi,' 'The Usutu which
swallows all the water.' Nozingli's country is the country
of ^Makidtu,' who was the King who founded the king-
dom, or as the natives will express it ^tva 'I ])e7nha le liswe.'
'Pemba' is to 'kindle a fire.' We are accustomed to speak
of the island of Inyack which has no meaning whatever.
The true name is ^Unyaka' — ' the year,' but why that name
has been ffiven to it I don't know."
I
NATAL SCENERY— KAFFIR MUSIC AND A
TIGER HUNT.
(Extract from a Private Letter to a Gentleman in Glasgow—
in Glasgow IIkkald).
How I wish you could be taken up and set down here, at
this present moment, ;per special haloon, or other Asmodeusian
conveyance. I am writing at 10 o'clock at night, and my
ears are assailed by the Kaffirs singing, by all the world like
a chorus of porkers — the old ones grunting, and the young
ones squeaking — they would damage your tympanum "in less
than no time." You look in at the door of their bee-hive-
looking hut, and you see them hard at work, persjnring at
the music — some singing the words of the song, the others
shouting, screaming, whistling, and making other unearthly
noises — but all done in the most perfect time (indeed, they
are a lesson, in this respect, to some of your precentors at
home), and all this seen by the uncertain light of the fire,
which, fitfully gleaming on their dark and excited faces and
figures, makes them look like a parcel of , and gives you
a sort of phantasmagoric vidimus of pandemonium ! You
look out of our back door at the Berea, and you see hills and
mountains, bush and plain, river and lake; with the know-
ledge that the one is the habitat of tigers, wolves, and other
ferce naturae, and the other of alligators and hipjjoi^otami.
You' look out of our front door, and you see the town of
D'Urban, and the magnificent bay of Natal, with the outer
anchorage in the Indian Ocean — forming the most glorious
2)anorama it is possible to imagine.
ADVENTURE WITH A TIGER. 219
By the bye, I had almost forgotten to tell you of my
tiger adventure. One night lately a tiger came to our
]ieighbour's, and walked off with a goat, into the bush
behind our house, but it did not quite finish it that
night. Mr F. set a gun for it, and next night the tiger
returned for his supper, when pop went the gun, and broke
his shoulder. Both Mr F. and I, hearing the gun go off,
resolved to make "a voyage of discovery" into the bush,
which is very dense here, to see the effect; and getting two
Kaffirs and a lantern, and being armed with a double-barrelled
gun (one barrel only being loaded with buck-shot), away we
went in Indian file, and frequently on hands and knees; one
Kaffir leading with the lantern, I next with the gun, Mr F.
1)ehind me, and the other Kaffir bringing up the rear.
AVhen we got to the spot, the Kaffir in front with the lantern
suddenly drew back, and cried, " There he is ! There's the
tiger !" I was bhnded with the glare of the lantern and
could not see distinctly; but Mr F. looking over my shoulder,
-aid, "I see him — I see him. Give me the gun, and I'll
>lioot him in the head !" I gave him the gim, but, instead
of damaging his os frontis, he hit him on "the head's
(ndqjodes," "and the consekens of the manoeuvre," as old
Tony Weller says, was that the beast got up with a roai\
A\'hich made the Kaffir in front beat a precipitate retreat, in
doing which he knocked me over, dropped the lantern, and
the light went out. I lost my helmet, Mr F. his cap, and
tlie Kaffir the lantern; and having a wholesome dread of
losing something more mhiahle than either, we didn't lose a
moment, I can assure you, in getting out of the bush, and
the difficulty, at the same time. Fortunately the tiger didn't
follow us, as I suspect he was stunned with the shot,
otherwise I am afraid it would have been a rather awkward
220 NATAL SCENERY AND TIGER HUNT.
job. Next iiioriiing three of us, with a whole lot of Kaffirs,
went down to find him, and directly he saw us he bolted.
I fired at him, but my gun snapped ; he then turned — " his
soul in arms, and eager for the fray," open-mouthed, and
roaring terribly. Mr F.'s gun snapped also ; but luckily Mr
P.'s went off, and just grazed his cheek as he was leaping
the fence at us. The Kaffirs ran "like winking;" indeed
we never saw more than two out of the thirty after that. I
put i30wder in the nipple of my gun and a fresh caj) ; and
going up, caught sight of the tips of his ears ; directly lie
.saw me, he crouched for the spring. I took a sight at the
top of his head, and, with a steady aim, fired, and shot him
dead as he was sjDringing over the fence. Although I killed
him, the skin belongs to Mr F., as hunter's law here is that
he who gives the animal the first wound, however slight,
gets him, Avhoever may kill him.
A BORDER RAID.
AYhen I was a boy I used to make great friends with our
watch-dog, "Rover." After reading "The Tales of the
Borders," " The Lay of the Last Minstrel," or " The Seven
(Jhampions of Christendom," I would go out, and with him
rehearse the different "passages of arms." Rover, I think,
understood the matter quite as well as I did, and enjoyed it
as much in his own way. The usual proceeding was some-
what as follows : — After, in fancy, driving the enemy's
cattle, I would make a stand at the Border, mount my
horse, Rover, and shout, in the most approved manner,
opprobrious chivalric language to my pursuers. Armed
with a pitchfork, I would charge to meet them, and the
result was a general capsize by the bringing uj) of Rover's
tether; then he, erst my horse, now my foe, towsled me
most unmercifully. As gallant knight should do, however,
I regained my feet and drove my enemy to his cas-kennel.
In those merry days, when everything glittered in the
light of romance, when the hardships and discomforts, which
the Knights and Raiders must have endured, were unknown
or unthought of, how little did I think that I should one
day, in an opposite quarter of the globe, be engaged in a
veritable Border Raid. If chronicled by Froissart or Blind
Harry, and the time removed a few centuries back, I have
no doubt it would read as well as the usual specimens of this
kind of romance. But now-a-days, in matters like this, there
is little of the "Away false traitor !" style of conversation,
222 A BORDER RAID.
and more of the "You, be d d." Thus it is difficult to
make it wear a romantic appearance.
As a specimen of " Wild Life," however, of an existence
where your hands have to guard your head, Avhere you have
to be your own law-maker and law-enforcer, I hope it may
be interesting. Fortunately, at home in England this stat*^
of affairs is unknown; but, on the other hand, fortunately, I
think, for our youth and enterprise, there are countries where
Anglo-Saxons may learn the lessons of self-dependence, and
receive the physical training which fits them for their posi-
tion, as natives of a country, whose Empire is so extended
and of such variety.
I had been hunting with a friend, D , about the Eiver
Pongolo, which is at the northern end of the Zulu country,
in Eastern Africa. I had with me about fifty Kaffir hunters,
and the extent of territory we ranged over was very con-
siderable. AYe were pretty close to the so-called Transvaal
Republic (a small Dutch Boer State, which the British have
allowed to establish itself in the interior), and part of the
district — say about as large as a good sized English county
— was claimed by a Boer, as having been given him by the
Swazi King — a tributary to the Zulu power. This man
was a Pariah amongst his o^vn people, and one who carried
out
*' The good old rule, the shuple plan,
That he shall take who has the power,
And he shall keep who can."
I had frequently been warned by the natives that he would
give me trouble, either by shooting or robbing my hunters.
However, as two could play at that game, I was not particularly
troubled. The way we managed was this : — My friend and
I pitched our headquarters in some spot tolerably accessible
A BOER REIVER. 223
to waggons, and from there the hunters radiated, bringing
back their hides, horns, and ivory as they had collected
sufficient, or as their ammunition gave out. We all of us
lived upon meat and pure water, and took plenty of exercise
for vegetables. Some of the men would be 30 or 40 miles
away ; but, as I had possession of the country by mandate
from the Zulu King, I had no lack of natives to carry the
spoils any distance. Generally there were four or five
hundred hanging about for the sake of the meat.
One evening, after the fatigues of the day, my friend and
I were lying under the trees, by the fire, listening to the
songs of the natives, and watching the re-acting of the
cxjDloits of the day, when two of my hunters made their
appearance in sorry plight. They were unarmed — " like
women" — and altogether looked very miserable. After a
great deal of difficulty we managed to get a coherent story
out of them, something as follows: — It appeared that they
had met this famous and dreaded Boer, who had, at first,
been very kind and chatty with them. They had sat down
together — ^they and the Boer, two of his sons and his son-in-
law. They had fed and smoked together, and, while in the
full swing of confidence and friendship, he requested them
to show him their guns. This they unhesitatingly did, and
then he immediately ordered them to begone; beating them
severely when they lingered about. They came away at
length, infonning him that they would go and tell their
master, and he replied that their master and the King at
his back — i.e. of the Zulu — might come and — behave our-
selves in a way we were not likely to do !
Now this would never do. I had not only lost my guns,
but I had lieen insulted in the persons of my natives. My
prestige Avas gone, and I was bound to recover it. Besides
224 A BORDER RAID.
this, I must say that a somewhat savage feelmg had grown
up within me. My " corruption" was raised at his message.
However, for the time I simply told the men that I would
see about it ; bullied them for being such fools, and turned
away.
For days after, there was great surmising amongst the
natives as to what I would do. I kept very quiet until I
had reported the affair to the King, who very simply told
me that, as the Boer had begun it, I had better go and
" Xova Xova" him, an expression meaning to mix the malt
with the beer by grasping it with outstretched fingers, time
after time — a very strong figure of speech ! He recommended
me at the same time to be careful, so as not to have any
"shooting around." "You know," said he, "that white men
have a stupid prejudice against that sort of thing, and I don't
want any 'talk' with the British or Transvaal Govern-
ments." Promising to be as w\ary as possible, I went my
way.
About a fortnight afterwards, behold my friend and I, at
the head of some thirty good men and true, on our way for
a Border Eaid. We had a large retinue besides, and our
proposed expedition made more noise in the country than
pleased me. I was told that our friend " Koonclana"
("Conrad" Kaffirised) was on the look-out, with all his clan
about him, and therefore thought it better to spend a month
in hunting, about one hundred miles from his location. I
felt sure the natives would not tell him of my whereabouts,
as they both hated and feared him; and thus time would
be allowed for his fears and suspicions to die away.
After a month's thorough good sport, we started for his
place. As in all expeditions of that kind in that country,
the gun was the only provider. And, as is always the case.
CIRCUMVENTING THE RASCAL. 225
being particularly hungry, we could shoot no game. On the
third day we arrived at a Zulu village, within about 20 miles
of his location ; and then my friend and I got a good feed
of milk and Indian corn, though my poor fellows had
nothing. " Never mind," said they, " we shall get plenty
to-morrow. Eat, master; if you are satisfied, we are full!"
Next day, before sunrise, we were off in light marching
order. On arriving at Conrad's house, we found that there
was no way of surj^rising him. There was no bush about.
All was open round the house, and I felt sure that, if we
were seen, the enemy would retreat to the house and stand
a siege. We did not know how many they were ; and we
knew that there were more of his people within a short
distance, so that we had no time to spare. Remembering
my injunctions, to have no bloodshed, I was in a dilemma,
but, at last, my hunters came forward, and we circumvented
the rascal.
They proposed that we whites, with the most of the men,
should remain on the hill where we were, and that eight or
ten of them should lay aside their guns and bandoliers, and,
appearing as Zulus simply, should go down to him, as a jjarty
in pursuit of a runaway girl of their own tribe. So said, so
done, and away went my forlorn hope, trusting principally
in their own pluck, but also trusting to the effect of the
surprise. I gave them strict orders to come back if they
found their scheme impracticable without danger ; in no case
to lay a finger upon the women and children, and to be
careful that they did not hurt the men. All this I was most
anxious about, since, although good and brave men, they
were but savages after all. I must do them the justice to
say, however, that in the very heat of triumph — resistance
there was none — they remembered and obeyed my orders.
Q
±26 A BORDER RAID.
They went down and acted their part to a miracle. The
Boer was mending a gun just inside his own door. One of
his sons lounging about ; the others were away. Little by
little some of my fellows edged in, crying to one another to
come and see how guns were made, others disposed them-
selves about the son, and, at a given signal, seized them ;
while one or two guarded the old woman, who, seizing a
spade, seemed very much inclined to come to the rescue.
T had told them to shout for me, if successful. Instead of
that, they commenced firing off the loaded guns of the Boer's
which were in the house. . The result of tins was, that we
thought they had been discovered, and pelted down the hill
as fast as we could, everybody carrying a couple of guns
each, and expecting to meet the remains of our forces in
full flight.
When we arrived, we found the Boer sitting on the ground,
tied hand and foot, but none the worse; the son held by a
couple of my men; and the old woman dodging backwards
and forwards with her spade. My natives were shouting,
jumping, and dancing, in the full swing of triumph, and many
of the people of the country, who were by this time gathered
<ibout, looking on and enjoying the thing amazingly.
The next thing was to get something to eat, and I must
plead guilty to having cleared the house of whatever was
eatable. Starv^ing men have little conscience, but we did
him little harm in doing so, since we got scarcely anything
but meat, and of that there was abundance in the country
round. A jar of stuff was brought to me which I thought
was KafRr beer, and, in the hurry, it was not till I had taken
a good drink, that I discovered it was yeast 1 Immediately
afterwards, I found some honey, and, not thinking of
•consequences, I ate a quantity of that. It is scarcely
'•SPOILING THE EGYPTIAN ! 227
necessary to say that I soon felt like the Yankee who took
the component parts of a seidlitz powder in large quantities,
and at different times !
Well, when we had finished recruiting famished nature,
we addressed ourselves to the business of the day, and held
ii palaver. I found the man as abject now, as he had been
coarse and brutal before. His wife came with a little child
in each hand, begging that I would leave her a couple of
milk cows for their support. The son pleading guilty, and
.saying that he had warned his father of the consequences,
when he robbed and beat my natives. Altogether, I believi^
that I should have come away empty handed — had I not
overheard my natives whispering, " Now he has them in his
power, he's sure to do nothing, and we shall liaA^e had all
this trouble for nothing."
On this I spoke to the old lady. " My good woman, 1
don't come here to rob you, but to teach your husband a
lesson. He must not fancy that he can rule the roast and
rob with impunity. I have had a great deal of trouble over
this affair, and my people must be paid."
I took twenty head of cattle, and one to kill. His guns
<'ind ammunition I also took away. It would have been too
dangei|)us to leave them. My fellows had begun the sack of
the house, but I argued against this with the butt-end of my
gun, and not even a spoon was taken away. We marched
back to the Zulu kraals that night, doing a distance of 40
miles in the day, besides the attack and capture of the Boer.
We were met by the natives everywhere with great praises
and rejoicings. The only dissatisfaction being thus often
<^xpressed — " Why did you not kill the evil doer who sells
* Tshefu' (arsenic) to people to kill one another 1"
After eating the cow that night, we again marched
228 A BORDER RAID.
and in three days my friend and I, with two Zuhi boys^
reached the waggons; the whole of the natives knocked
up; their feet having given way. We, however, walked
it out. At the waggons we lay on our backs for a week
doing nothing but eating continually. There seemed to be
a void somewhere to fill up. On the seventh day I turned
to D , saying, " I think we had better be on the move^
again, I am beginning to feel a little indigestiblefied ! "
D agreed with me, and so we went on to fresh fields^
and hunting-grounds new.
AFEICAN TKAYEL, TRAVELLERS, AND THEIR
BOOKS.
(SAINT JAMES' Magazine,' February, 1874.)
In books of travel, especially in those wliicli contain a great
admixture of hunting adventures, the tendency is, of neces-
sity, to glorify the author. It is not that he has that object
in view, but that he writes of successful exploits, both in
travel and sport, with much greater pleasure and verve, than
he does of failure. Such books cannot help being egotistical,
4ind it is really an excusable fault.
Everything centres round the traveller and sportsman. It
is with his eyes we see, it is by his ideas of things we are
compelled to judge. We enter into his enthusiasm. We
sympathize with his difficulties and dangers. AVe starve,
Ave thirst, we feed and are full, with the hunter. We watch
distant mountains ; we listen round the camp-fire at night
to stories of distant lands and tribes. We long to visit
them, equally with the explorer, and we do so in the pages
■of his book.
How carefully, then, ought such books to be written ! The
great fault of most of the kind lies, not in the egotism itself,
but in the style and prominency of it. The wanderer in
Africa is the central figure, with most grand accessories. He
is the one, which stands in relief against a vast but hazy
background, only visible at all through the rents in the mist,
caused by his movements. This background is a continent
teeming with animal life ; a land of rivers, mountain, and
plain, on a dim but magnificent scale. Elephants, lions,
230 APRICAN TRAVEL, TRAVELLERS, AND THEIR BOOKS.
iliinoceri, alligators, and buffalo, pass in wild panorama, and^
at the sound of a gun, disaj)pear into limbo. Savage tribes
perform their war-dances, fight, kill, and are killed. In theii^
wild dresses, with strange shouts and gestures, they pass and
repass. Trees and j^lants, fruits and flowers, afford shade,
nourishment, and pleasure to the traveller ; while the climate-
and the heavens, by day and by night, fill up a picture,
which, by a good painter, is superlatively grand. And, in
reading a well-written book of travel and adventure, it is^
only by the impression made upon us by the surroundings-
that the central figure is evolved into view. He has had
the art to make us forget himself, and thus to evoke at last
our greater admiration. In such works the egotism is unfelt.
The writer, in dwelling upon the strength and prowess of
wild animals, the grandeur and inaccessibility of mountains
and rivers, the manners and customs of races unknown to
Europeans; interests readers of all kinds, and, at last, brings-
them to think, how staunch and enduring must have been
the man, who has seen and done all this. Those are the
successful authors, and deservedly so, who render us grateful
for description of country which is interesting in itself, and
who do not seem to demand your admiration of their prowess
in visiting such a region, jet hardly take the trouble to
describe it.
The volumes to which we give the palm as books of
travel and adventure are those of Sir Samuel Baker and
Mr Chapman (the latter of Avliom, alas ! has taken his last
great journey). There is imparted a charming mixture of
knowledge and excitement, and in the works of neither are
they themselves prominently brought forward, otherwise^
than the necessity of the story requires. Notably in the
volumes of these two travellers, others, black as well as white,.
SELF-LAUDATION, AND DISPARAGEMENT OF NATIVES. 231
have their full meed of praise for their pluck and endurance
allowed them. One of the daily papers, in July last, had a
short article upon the "stereotyped" remark of British sports-
men in India, when the half-armed, or no-armed, native ran
away from a tiger or other wild animal, and the Englishman,
with his double breech-loader, stood fast ; that the Hindu
" was wanting in the stamina necessary for encounters such
as these !" There is one line which might be stereotyped for
insertion in the shooting adventures of most African Nimrods,
and that is " on looking round" (and remember this is always
at a most critical moment) " I found the native had bolted
with my second gun." This, of course, renders the escapes
(which are always accomplished) more wonderful, and the
poor native gets an undeserved bad character. We have
travelled and hunted in Southern and Eastern Africa, and
our experience of natives is very different to this. No doubt,
if you come a stranger into the country — one whom they
have never seen before, and may never see again, one in
^\-hom they have no interest, other than the hope of getting
a little meat, who knows nothing of their habits, or even
their language — it is but natural to white and black, to allow
the well-armed stranger and alien to stand the brunt of the
danger. But if these same men are your own servants, and
liave been well treated, they are too apt to go to the other
extreme, and treat you as they would a child. Many times
we have seen men of the Zulu tribe thrust themselves into
danger to save their master.
Sir Samuel's descriptions of country, of people, and of
hunting, are all graphic, and most readable. They bring
before you the scenes which surrounded him, and the dangers
which he surmounted, without in any way pushing forward
his own part in them.
232 AFRICAN TRAVEL, TRAVELLERS, AND THEIR BOOKS.
Mr Chapman's is a book full of information of a pleasant
and useful character. That he was a most daring and
successful hunter there is no doubt (the writer of this knew
him well), but he preferred giving us what he had learned
in geography and natural history, fearing that the public
was satiated with lion stories, and he gave us a charming
book.
As records of slaughter j)ure and simple, which rouse the
destructive tendencies of our young men with j^lenty of
money and little to do, Gordon Gumming and Baldwin take
the lead. Keej^ers' game-books, with a little embellishment
as to fur and feather, and notes of the 2>laces in which the
birds or animals were killed, would read as well, only that
their scenes would be laid in a country which boasts no
dangerous carnivori or pachydermata. Still we are not
inclined to condemn this class of book. If it tempts people
to go out on a crusade against wild animals, whether in
Africa or India, it leads them to a better life than wasting
health, time, and money in London. They gain by the
change, and become men, in the strongest sense of the
word.
As an example of the steady, practical traveller who
wastes no time in sport or romance, who is a thorough
specimen of the Utilitarian in his travels and their
results, we have Dr Livingstone. His books put us in mind
of nothing so much as the business catalogue of an old-
established, steady-going publisher, which includes a little
" sensation." There is no going out of his way to cater to
the public taste. He tells what he has seen and done, and
if you don't like it, you may, to use a vulgar but expressive
phrase, " lump it." But certainly there is generally enough,
and much more than enough, in his books to hold the
DR LIVINGSTONE'S AND CAPT. GALTON's BOOKS. 233
attention of the public closely riveted. AMiat Dr Living-
stone describes, he describes well; coldly but clearly, as
matters of business ought to be done. The public seem to
have the idea, that all other travellers travel for their own
pleasure, give us very readable books, but are scarcely to be
■depended on. Here, they seem to say, we have a man who
is well used to the business; who knows what we sober old
geographists want, and who will give it us. Egyptian
Pashas, Equatorial Gorillas, Turkish Hadjis, and Armenian
Dervishes, may be very interesting, but we prefer our steady
old friend, who has catered for us so long.
Captain Galton's is a wonderful book of its kind. The
amount of research shown in its pages is enormous. Yet
we must decide that it is only fit, as it mostly purports to
be, for those who travel for amusement, to whom money is
no object, and time less. It is utterly impossible for an
exploring party, which has a wild, uninhabited country to
go through, to carry such stores and magazines as he recom-
mends. We are writing, of course, of what is portended in
this article; that what we say is true, will be seen farther on.
Besides the books which treat of sporting, solus, there are
often very good articles in such papers as The Field and
Land and JFater. They give much information regarding
the habits of animals, as well as the modes of killing them.
Notably some papers on rhinoceri, leopards, and lions, signed
W. H. D., " Upindo," &c.
We have, as we have said, travelled much and long in
Southern and Eastern Africa, and have always taken an
interest in the country and the natives. The consequence
is, we cannot help arriving at the conclusion, that, not-
withstanding all which our travellers have written, w^e
have not yet a book of travels such as there ought to be.
234 AFRICAN TIIAVEL, TRAVELLERS, AND THEIR BOOKS.
Row miicli there is to describe in Africa! What a vast
field for science! What scope for the ethnologist, the
natural historian, the philologist, the botanist, the geologist,
and the geographer! Who will, who can, give us all this as
it ought to be given, to complete our knowledge of this still
little-known country, of its character and products, and of
the manners and customs of its people 1 No one man can.
It is impossible. The scientific societies ought to join in
despatching an expedition, consisting of properly-qualified
men, who have a thorough knowledge of these subjects, and
Avho are able to compile solid information into a readable
book. The interest in such a quest ^s^oulcl be immense.
Government ought to contribute. The public would 'do so
freely; as witness the munificence of Mr Young of Kelly.
Men who love science for its own sake, are never backward
in volunteering their services, even though life may be risked
in carrying out their plans. Large sums of money would,
no doubt, be required. Years Avould also pass before the
survey was completed ; but the result would be a standard
book for the present, and of reference for all time to come.
How much benefit would also accrue to the natives from the
knowledge that we were doing such a work ! The anarchy
Avliich exists behind and around the Portuguese settlements,
could do so no longer. If the attention of the civilized
world was drawn to it, Portugal must alter or give up. She
has not the power nor, seemingly, the inclination to improve
matters ; but she would be compelled to give place to those
who have both.
It is not necessary that Britain alone should carry out
this exploration. Science is cosmopolitan. Germany, France,
Italy, and Portugal, would no doubt gladly contribute both
men and monej^ What there is a paucity of in one nation.
NECESSITY FOR A WELL-ORGANISED EXPEDITION. 235
may exist in superabundance in another. Poitugal in
Europe is, and always has been, honourably anxious for
pre-eminence in all that is good, and of use to mankind. It
would be of great service to her, and to humanity, wert^
her emissaries to see Avliat goes on in her Eastern African
possessions, in the company of men of other nations, of
unbiassed judgment and undoubted integrity — men who
would not be content with official reports, or judge by
official civility, but look for themselves into the state of the
people and tribes around.
Such an expedition, well organized and well led, could go
through the length and breadth of Africa, and, with care,
might experience but few of the usual dangers and hardships.
It would have the support of money to any amount, which
is the sinews of travel, as well as of war ; and the more
quietly and unostentatiously it went about its work, the less
liable it would be to interruption. The peculiar "madness'
of white men, other than Portuguese, is beginning to be well
known in Africa ; namely, that many of them simply travel
for knoAvledge and not for profit ; and, as a consequence, they
are cheated, laughed at, and not molested. Thus both sides
can afford to laugh, as both sides win. We are now,
however, not so certain as to what will be the treatment
< 'f travellers in Northern Africa. The fact of Sir Samuel
Baker having first ajopeared as an explore]*, and then
returned with an army, will spread through the countries
around a fear that all others may be spying out the land for
the same purpose ; and we doubt very much whether the
"Jtimate results of Sir Samuel's expedition will be of so much
1 >enefit to mankind generally, as to make up for the obstruc-
tions which we fear will be thrown in the way of scienc(^
and missionary enterprise — the true and lasting civilizers.
236 AFRICAN TRAVEL, TRAVELLERS, AND THEIR BOOKS.
Speaking of such an expedition as this, naturally leads us
into the subject of African exploration, as carried out under
the fostering care of the Eoyal Geographical Society. It is
•deplorable to see such a fiasco as the great Livingstone relief
party, under Lieutenants Dawson and Henn; and yet we do
not altogether blame the young commanders. Who, at
their age and in their position, would refuse such a chance
of renown as this leadership offered? Who would have
«elf-abnegation enough to say, *'No, )^ou had better get some
one more acquainted with this sort of thing. We are afraid
we have not sufficient experience ; and we know nothing of
Africa." We are no admirers of Mr Stanley's rather offensive
•depreciation of others and glorification of himself; but we
must allow that his strictures on the Royal Geographical
Society are not altogether devoid of truth. One great
mistake is made, which is this. No exj^loring party can
possibly be strong enough for defence, in the event of a
serious attack ; therefore, none ought to be rich enough to
excite the cupidity which infallibly leads to such a result.
An example ought to be taken from Livingstone himself.
How much he has accomplished with so little means ! It
may be said that he is sui generis ; but it is not so. Any
man who throws himself heartily into such work, ought to
be prepared to go with staff and scrip ; his instruments and
medicines, the only real necessities ; his knowledge of native
character, his high resolution, and undaunted heart, standing
him in place of all else. An expedition which might be
mistaken for the baggage-guard of an Indian army, which is
laden with patent rifles, patent saddles, food, tents, and
pontoons, which is an endeavour to take the comforts, and
€ven the luxuries of home into Central Africa, is ridiculous.
It might by this time have been recognized that, whatever
HOW TO CONDUCT AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 237
amount of Inggage, parties of this kind have started with, the
j^rincipal work has been done with very little. A man's
guns, his medicines, and his instruments, he can get better
in London ; but for all else, it is wiser to go with the money,
and buy what he wants at the place from which he starts.
It ought not to require demonstration that, at Zanzibar,
goods necessary for inland travel are more likely to be got
of the right quality and kind than in Cheapside. It is on
these grounds that we have expressed such an opinion of
Captain Galton's book as appears in the foregoing.
A little knowledge of the seasons, in different parts of the
world, would also be advisable, so as to avoid sending out
expeditions to arrive at the beginning of the rains; as was
the case with that of Lieutenants Dawson and Henn, and
the true reason, to our mind, for its breaking up.
We know many men who have started on long expeditions
in Africa, covering distances in wild, unknown, and in-
liospitable countries, which would bear comparison with
those of our great travellers who are Fellows of the Eoyal
Geographical Society, but who think very little of it ; so little,
in fact, that it is difficult to get them to advert to their exploits.
We are quite aware that it is a very different matter ta
conduct or take part in a scientific exploration, to simply
travelling through a country on business with which all the
natives are acquainted ; but still we adhere to our opinion
that it is easy to do, if a knowledge of the natives, the
<«)untry, and the difficulties, is possessed by the leader, who
above all things ought to be somewhat acclimatized. In
support of this we refer to Captain Frederic Elton's explora-
tion of the Limpopo. We might well take example by
military matters. In the conducting of an army there is one
commander-in. chief, but many subordinate ones. Each has.
his defined station and his share of duty.
:238 AFRICAN TRAVEL, TRAVELLERS, AND THEIR BOOKS.
If such a combined expedition as we advocate is ever de-
spatched, it wouhl be well that the leader of it was one who
is acquainted with African travel, even if he had no scientific
attainments. Or if that be thought infra dignitate, make
him " sailing-master." It is not necessary that a man should
liave been all over the continent, to enable him to travel in
any part of it. His experience in one part, will serve him
well in another, as witness Dr Livingstone himself. It is a
mistake to accept it as a principle, that men who have done
well in another cpiarter of the world, must do equally well
in Africa ; the conditions are so different. Just as correctly
might we say that he who is a good dancer, must be a good
musician. African travel is of itself and by itself. AVerc
there no other proof of this, the mere fact of it all having to
be done on foot, would be sufficient.
Let it be borne in mind, that we do not for one moment
wish to depreciate the work which has been done by men,
who travel in the interests of science. The hardships they
endure are no doubt very great, such as would deter any
but those who were supported by a genuine enthusiasm for,
iind love of, exploration, or an honourable ambition to
associate their names with the advance of science and civili-
zation. They endure hunger and thirst, rain and sun, heat
iind cold ; are exposed to dangers from disease, wild animals,
and savage men. Still, these are but olives to their wine.
Dr Livingstone has said that, after long association with
black men, one forgets that they are black, and accepts the
€olour as a matter of course. We know this to be true from
experience. So it is with the dlsagreinens of travel. That
Avhich, when we first encounter or read of it, feels, or sounds,
insupportable hardship, comes to be takeii as a usual occur-
rence. It is as in some of our every-day amusements in
England, the danger is good fun, while in the pursuit or
PORTUGUESE COLONIES A DISGRACE. 239
-e'xecution ; the brush or the prize is an honour, the prospect
of which only adds zest to the game itself. If the scientific
explorer has not this feeling he will never succeed. The
hunter and trader has it in full force. He loves tlie life, and
liis success enables him to pursue it.
Englishmen, above all, ought to Ije greatly interested in,
and, as we admit they do, support African travel. The
Anglo-Saxon race has already struck root in the southern
parts of the continent : and, if diplomatists do their duty
with reasonable quickness and decision, no other power will
gain a footing there, and we shall avoid disputes of the San
Juan character. AVe have said that no other power will
gain a footing ; it may be answered, that one other power
has already done so. Portugal has been there, ere English-
men had made to themselves a name beyond the boundaries
of Europe, and its settlements still exist. Truly they do ;
but they are no credit to the nation. Slavery, debauchery,
drunkenness, anarchy, war, murder, and robbery stalk in
the midst, and around, unchecked and unheeded ; nay, rather
fostered, so as to render it an easy task for the few who are
there to nde. There is no spring, no life in the Portuguese
of East Africa. As they traded three hundred years ago,
so they do now. As they Christianized and civilized three
hundred years ago, so do they not now. They have inaugu-
rated no new era of commerce and civilization. Anglo-Saxon
settlements would do this ; and the Portuguese factories —
like those of all worn-out and effete nations — would cpiickly
and surely die out.
Britain has done much for the putting down of slavery.
No nation can question her disinterestedness in this matter.
So long as she commands the sea she can j^revent slaves
being exported in that way; but all the treaties in the world.
240 AFRICAN TRAVEL, TRAVELLERS, AND THEIR BOOKS.
will not have the effect of doing away with domestic slavery^
until public opinion is brought to bear on it, and, Avithout
travellers, how can that be] We ourselves, while waiting
on business in the Government office at one of the Portu-
guese settlements, have read the treaty between " the high,
contracting Powers;" and, shortly afterwards, have been
offered boys by the Banians at £5 each. Another time wa
were witness to a quarrel between a Banian and a German,
which arose as follows : — A certain Portuguese had left for
Mozambique, and given his power of attorney to the German
(first) and to the Banian (second). He had left eight slaves
whom the German employed, but regularly paid them wages.
This was against all precedent, and the Banian threatened
to complain to the Governor that the slaves were being
spoiled, by being taught to look for payment for their work 1
These East African j^eople — white, black, or yellow — ^will
sign as many treaties as you like, and — keep none of them.
The Court of Lisbon, no doubt, fancies that all is as it
should be. It depends upon the representations of its-
officials, who risk their lives to make as much money as they
can, in as short a time as possible; and our British Govern-
ment, which is accustomed to keep its word (in philan-
thropical matters), takes all for granted.
The country is no doubt unhealthy, but we consider that
its deadliness has been much exaggerated, and that it is.
more especially a consequence of the life which people lead
there. The habitual residents have no amusements of any
kind whatever. They seldom or never take to sporting,
and their time is passed in sedentary employment, varied
too often by excess, as a relief from monotony. Travellers,
especially such as are unacquainted with the country, have
hardships to endure which a little knowledge would avert.
SELF-ABNEGATION OF THE TRUE EXPLORER. 241
They come fresh from hurrying, driving Europe, and expect
that everything is to give way to push and dash, as there.
It is not so. The African, with no sense of the value of
time, cannot be hurried; and as regards the travelling itself
— through marsh and river, forest and plain — over hills and
amongst hostile or phlegmatic tribes — the longest way round,
is generally the shortest in the end. Stanley found it so.
Let them take time therefore. Look at Livingstone, how
quietly and comfortably he takes it; no hurry there. He is
determined to work out his problem thoroughly. Years are
no object, and truly they are not. If a man, or party of
men, spent their whole lives in opening up to European gaze,
with a view to occupation, the lovely and fertile lands of
xifrica, would any one say their lives had been wasted?
Surely not.
We want men for this exploration, who will look beyond
a gold medal for their reward; who take such an interest in
their species that they will become apostles of Africa — it
would be a great name — apostles of science, civilization, and
religion; who would give us a true and unexaggerated report
upon this continent, the one portion of the globe which is
still, to the disgrace of modern philanthropy, allowed, except
on the sea-coasts, to take its chance as to all which we con-
sider of value among men.
The names of men who shall do this Avork, will live in the
memories of mankind, surrounded by a brighter halo than
those of warriors or statesmen; and though they may rest
at last far from St Paul's or Westminster Abbey, yet shall
their deeds be their brightest monument !
AMONG THE AMATONGA.
(Glasgow Herald, I7th April, 1875.)
In May, the first of the winter months of 1871, I started
from Natal on a pioneer hunting and trading triji amongst
the people whose name heads this article. They occupy the
low, flat country to the east of the Bombo range of hills,
from the Zulu on the south to the River of Spiritu Sanchi
(English River) on the north (including all the southern
shores of Delagoa Bay), and to the Indian Ocean on the east.
It is a territory of about 150 miles long by 80 broad. It
reaches to a little beyond the 26th parallel of s^uth latitude,
and its northern boundary is the line between their last
African possessions, now in dispute between Great Britain
and Portugal.
There are different tribes of Amatonga {Itonga the person,
Amatonga the people — a general name for all the tribes
thereabouts) in this country under different chiefs, but the
principal, and by far the largest, is that of Mabudtu
("Mapoota") or Temby. Their king's name is Unozingili,
and it was to him I was bound.
We started on the 11th May from the port of Natal in a
little schooner, with about fifty Portuguese natives, who were
returning from work, as passengers. These people come
regularly to earn money on the sugar and coff'ee plantations,
and after two or three years' service go back to their homes,
where they spend, in a very short time, in riotous living and
debauchery, what they have been so long in gaining. The
schooner crept up the coast, little by little, anchoring when
the wind was foul, and creeping on when fair though light,
FEAR OF NATIVES OF THE SHIP WANDERING. 243
until, on the second day before arriving at Loren90 Marques,
we had a good stiff S. W. breeze, which brought us up abreast
of the Island of Unyaka (Inyack). But, lo and behold !
when the next day dawned, the set of the current had been
such, that we were out of sight of land, and then such a
commotion amongst the natives on board 1 It was a day of
fasting, of lugubrious faces, of much whispering and gathering
in comers. They were to be taken and sold as slaves. The
way was lost. The high wind of yesterday had obliterated
the tracks of former vessels, so that the road could not be
ilistinguished. They would all be starved, and would never
see their homes any more. The sailors, when appealed to,
•comforted them by saying that food would not fail with so
many Amatonga on board. That when the head, hands,
and feet were thrown overboard, Itonga meat would look
like beef, and taste much nicer ! Water we had in plenty.
My own natives (four Zulus whom I had taken with me)
•came, in some trepidation, to consult me about this, but I
laughed them out of their fears, and they went away
satisfied.
All this day we had been leading westward, and, towards
(.'vening, high land was seen. This was at length recognised
as Unyaka, and a general jubilee was the result. We
anchored for the night inside the northern point of the
island, the captain fearing to cross Delagoa Bay in the
dark, because of the many shoals and the intricacy of the
navigation.
The island of Unyaka (Inyack) is about eight miles long,
in its greatest length, and about six broad. It has evidently
at one time been an extension of Cape Colatto on the eastern
or seaward side of Delagoa Bay, which it encloses and shelters
for half its length. It is perfectly healthy, summer and
244 AMONG THE AMATONGA.
winter. The N.E., E., and S.E. winds blow from tlie sea„
The S.W., W., and N. winds come from the land, but they
seem to cross enough of salt water to take the fever out of
them. Two ridges run throughout its length, both terminat-
ing in ^bluffs at their northern ends, and covered with bush;
between the ridges is a valley where cultivation is principally
carried on.
The soil seems to be pure sand — in some parts white, in
some red — yet it grows good crops of rice, beans of variou!>
descriptions, yams, maize, Kaffir com, manioc, turmeric,
eschalots, and pistachio nuts. Pigs and fowls are reared in
great numbers, and cattle do pretty well. Orchilla weed is
gathered on it in great quantities. It is separated from Cape
Colatto, on the mainland, by a channel of about half-a-mile,
and Elephant Island — a small spot of land on tlie inside of
the northern point of its western ridge — forms the good and
safe harbour of Port-Melville. The inhabitants number about
eight hundred, and are part of the tribe of Mabudtu, under
the chief Unozingili. It has been proclaimed a British
possession, and gazetted as part of Natal in the Gazette of that
colony, but the right to it is disputed by Portugal, and the
matter is now, I believe, under arbitration. As a trading
station it is first-class, and as a point of departure by sea for
the yearly influx of labourers to Natal from the far interior,
it would be invaluable to the colony, since the planters are
forced to expend large sums on the importation of coolies,
because the thousands of the Xorthern tribes are deterred
from coming by land, by the great extent of hostile and law-
less nations they have to traverse ; and by sea, by the many
obstacles thrown in their way by the Portuguese.
Next day, at half-past eleven A.M., we anchored in English
Eiver, opposite the Portuguese settlement of Loren9o Mar-
SEIZED BY THE PORTUGUESE-7^ CASUS BELLI. 245
ques, having crossed tlie bay (about 20 miles) with a good
north-east breeze. We were cleared at the Natal Custom-
Hoiise for the Usutu River (called on the maps Mapoota) ;
but we called at Lorenco Marques to land our native pas-
sengers— who were by this time very hungry — intending then
to proceed. It is not my purpose, in this present paper, to
•describe Lorenco Marques and its inhabitants, so I will
merely tell what befell us there. After landing the Kaffirs,
we wished to go whither we were bound, but the Governor
would not allow us, threatening, in case we did so, to seize
the ship, on the grounds that the Portuguese claimed all the
southern coasts of Delagoa Bay. The consequence was, that
I had to land in Lorenco w^ith my goods and pay duty.
After this was done, the people were kind and polite enough.
Major S , the Governor, lent me one of the Government
boats to take myself and my property up the Usutu. I had
difficulty in procuring one, through the jealousy of the
Banians, the principal boat-owners and traders to Mabudtu.
We started one morning at daybreak from Lorenzo
Marques in a large boat of five or six tons, half-decked, and
•carrying one immense lateen sail. We had a crew of eight
men and a padrone ; and capital oarsmen and sailors they
were. Their oars consist of a long mangrove-pole with a
flat piece of wood bound to the end, which works in a piece
of rope tied round the thole-pin. It was a calm when we
started, and the men had to pull. They generally stand
up on the thwarts, with their faces to the bow, and as they
row they sing. I much prefer the Tonga singing to the
Zulu. The former keep good time, and in their tunes
tliere is melody; whereas that of the Zulus is a series of
•shrieks, grunts, and bellowing, great sound, good time, but
not the slightest approach to harmony.
246 AMONG THE AMATONGA.
It was very pleasant tliat bright winter niornii]g as we
lazily rolled over the placid waves of Delagoa Bay, passing
along a coast which was new to me. Every point and bluff'
was of interest. Each had its native tradition; especially a
wall of rocks on the Teniby shore called by the natives-
" Joinhbvana" — the little houses — where the breakers had
excavated caves in the sandstone, approachable at low water,
but not at high — which long ago had aff'orded refuge in time
of war. Towards evening, we entered between the two
l^oints (Hood and Flamingo), which constitute the mouth of
the river. It was too dark to see much, but I saw it many
a time afterwards in the daytime, from its mouth to 35
miles u]), and a noble river it is — I mean for South Africa.
Flowing through flat country, its course is not interrupted
by falls and rapids as are the rivers in the hill countries of
the Zulu and Natal. For the distance that I know it, there
is water, summer and winter, for vessels drawing five or six
feet, and so far the influence of the tide is felt. Up to the
Bombo Mountains, 80 miles from its mouth, there is three
and a-half feet of water. Its banks are mostly covered with
mangrove and reeds, though in some places they are high
and dry.
The natives rowed against the tide, which has a rise of
about eight feet, and about eleven P.M. we put ashore at a
ferry on the right bank. When I awoke in the morning
we were lying high— but not dry — on a bed of mud. The
tide had receded and left us there, and the river was
covered with a thick mist which smelt of fever in every
globule of it. There was no way of getting on to firm land,
except by laying out two or three oars, and sliding along
them. By that means you reached mud which was not above
your thighs, through which you could wade to the bank.
STUCK IN THE MUD. 247
As tlie birthplace of mankind was Asia, so, I believe, the
birthplace of the mosquito-kind must have been upon the
Usutu. From there, I believe, as they increased and filled
the country, they spread over all the world, but none of
them leave the spot, so long as there is room to fly.
About eleven A.M. we started again, and passing through
many herds of hippopotami, and starting many an alligator
and strange bird, we reached our destination at night. On
the way we had to land a Portuguese passenger, and did
so (excuse the Hibernicism) 07i a tree that hung over the
water. It is the strongest and toughest wood I have seen
— a branch, the thickness of two fingers' breadth, easily
})earing the weight of a man ; and ropes made from its bark
are stronger than the strongest hemp. The natives call it
" Ublolo." It grows to no great size, and has a large thick,
soft, bright green leaf. On this voyage, I also made
acquaintance with another very useful shrub, the ^' Uqum-
bukwekwe." It has a small green leaf, with a very dark
smooth bark. The leaves of it, when bruised, are used as
soap, and a very good substitute they are, for washing either
your clothes or your skin.
Next morning we commenced landing the goods, and as
we did so, though in the middle of the dry season, it came
on to rain. The bales and cases had to be carried about
half-a-mile over a swamp to the ferryman's kraal, which was
situated on the first low ridge running parallel with the
river, and ere we had finished I was thoroughly drenched.
That night one of my Zulus complained of his head : it was
the beginning of the fever. Next day also it rained, and we
all had to lie up in the kraal, bitten by mosquitoes and stifled
Avith smoke.
I had been told that it was necessary to have rum with
248 AMONG THE AMATONGA.
me, botli for purposes of trade and for gifts. I took none
for sale; but I took with me a thirty-five gallon cask and
a piece of very nice fancy twilled stuff as a present to
the King; and next day apj^earing fine, we started for his
kraal, about 20 miles distant, carrying a five-gallon keg as a
sample. On the way, however, it rained again, and having
no change of clothes I was constrained to wear the wet
ones until they dried. Unozingili's head kraal is situated
in the heart of a thick bush, the living and decayed
vegetation of which smelt rankly as we passed through it.
The name of this town is " 'Ncin'amacebo'ezwe," meaning
"where all lying and false accusations current in the country
come to an end" — i.e., find their level. It is shortly called
" 'Ncina." It contains about a hundred huts, and is sur-
rounded by smaller kraals inhabited by his wives, servants,
and captains. In one, belonging to one of the last men-
tioned, I was told to sleep, and in the evening a chamberlain
came down for the present. He got the keg and the piece
of cloth, and I told him of the cask, which the king would
have to send for. That night I heard a tremendous uproar
in the big kraal, and on inquiry found that they had been
using my undiluted rum, as if it had been that of the Portu-
guese, which is first reduced by two-thirds water, and then
strengthened with cayenne pepper and tobacco juice. An
old man, who lived where I was staying, was carried in
about nine p.m. in a frightful state — he was roaring like a
maniac, and foaming at the mouth. When I saw him I
thought he would surely die, and was blaming myself for
having given the King the liquor. I need not have troubled
myself about the matter. Next morning he was up at day-
break, none the worse, and telling me that mine was remark-
ably good rum (or, as they call it, " Isopi "); it made them so
AMATONGA INTEMPERANCE AND IMMORALITY. 249
very tipsy in so very short a time ! Euin and arrack are
like mother's milk to these people. Even children of six or
seven years old will drink a tumblerful, raw, without winking.
I have seen one of the King's sons, a l)oy of eight, drink a
bottle at a sitting. This is one of the delightful habits
taught them by the Portuguese. It is the most profitable
merchandise they deal in, and to do any trade in Mabudtu
you must have rum as well as other goods. " All that a
man hath will he give for his life," but to such an extent is
the love of drink carried amongst the Amatonga, that they
will give even that for rum, since they care not though they
die, if they only die drunk !
Morality in the men, virtue in the women, are things
unknown amongst the Amatonga. The slave girls and
servants of the King, l)ear children for the King, and to
whom they please. The females of the King's kin are not
allowed to marry, but their families rank as of the blood
royal. The price of a wife is £5, or its equivalent in rum or
goods; and the Tonga men buy children of eleven or twelve
years old, who grow up with their husbands. A man will
go away to work in Natal, leaving his wife, or wives, at
home. On his return they will show him the goods they
have gained by prostitution in his absence, and be praised
for their diligence ! Yet adultery, when '• discovered," is
23unislied by the *' co-respondent" paying the price of a wife.
Disease prevails amongst them to a frightful extent, and,
having no proper medicines, the result may be fancied. All
this is another of the delightful customs taught them by the
Portuguese, since it is only in the tribes with which they
have contact, that such open debauchery is seen.
The rule of Portugal in Eastern Africa is a curse to black,
a shame and disgrace to white humanity. Murder, anarchy,
250 AMONG THE AMATONGA.
plunder, and licentiousness arc the normal conditions of the
nations inhabiting the territory which it claims. Tlie Portu-
guese have no power to control them. They only exist by
setting one tribe against another, and in consequence of
their possessing the only markets where the natives can sell
their produce and purchase the goods they require. We
have had great and successful agitation against slavery in
America, Cuba, and Brazil. Slavery exists amongst the Poiiu-
f/uese/ Were only half the iniquity, misrule, and efFeteness
of Portugal in Eastern Africa known, not Britain only, but
the civilised world, would compel her to part with her
possessions, since she is too weak and too bigoted, to
improve matters.
The King has a most Caliban-like way of carrying hi&
immense hands and feet; and with him, as with all his
people who can get spirits, it is impossible to do any business
after mid-day. He has sense enough to know this, however;
and although he may listen to what you have to say, he will
return no answer until next morning. The number of his
wives and slave girls is immense, and they live all about
him. There are generally about five hundred soldiers in
his kraal, two of whom are continually marching up and
down in front of his hut, armed with double-barrelled guns,
who give every few minutes a ludicrous imitation of the
Portuguese cry of " Sentinela Alerta."
There is, in 'Ncina, a dwarf who was a chamberlain to
the King's grandfather, who died about 1854. He is not
more than 33 inches high, and is not in any way deformed,
except, if you may call it a deformity, the fact of his having
immense ears, such as would be w^ondered at in a full-grown
man. He is so old that the people say he is a spirit, was
not born of woman, but came down from the heavens. I
AN ANCIENT DWARF; AND AN AUTOCRATIC KING. 251
myself was told by the Portuguese that they have papers
in the archives of Loreiico Marques with this man's name
written as witness ninety years ago ! He witnessed the
ceremony of Captain Owen's (with the present King's grand-
father's consent) taking possession of the Usutu Eiver and
the surrounding territory for Great Britain in 1823. I have
often heard of this treaty from the natives; and it is a
common saying amongst them that the country belongs to
the Englishman. The Government is a clesj^otism pure and
simple. The land, the people, their goods and their crops,
tlie cattle, goats, and sheej^, belong to the King. He can,
and does on occasion, take what he chooses from them.
They have to supply him with food for his numerous wives,
and for the soldiers who may be at headquarters; and the
latter can, when sent on errands and expeditions, take what
food the)^ require, even that which is being sent to the
King; for, he says, they are myself — I am King by reason
of them. In the Zulu nation the captains and councillors
can save a man. If they say he shall not be killed, the
King must give way; though it is not often they do so, since
they share in the plunder. In Mabudtu the King's word is
>uifficient — the lives of all are in the breath of his mouth.
He is friendly to Englishmen, hoping by their means to
<'scape from under the power of the Zulus, of whom he is in
daily fear. He has a great contem2:)t for the Portuguese,
whom he plunders with impunity; and would sweep Loren90
Marques off the face of the earth, were it not that he would
tlien be unable to procure his supply of goods. The only
method of retaliation which the Portuguese can adopt, when
plundered, is to stoj) the trade; and this makes them so
jealous of the British. claim to the English River boundary,
since, if they had a settlement there, not only Unozingili's,
252 AMONG THE AMATONGA.
but all the tribes around would be independent of them, and
Loren90 Marques be among the things of the past. AVell
that it was so !
The King is a very superstitious man. Every day, and
nil day, some of his councillors are sitting with the diviners,
who pretend to tell them what is going on in all parts of
his country, what will happen, and with what dangers he
is threatened. They divine with shells, stones, and knuckle-
bones of sheep and goats. These they throw down out of
their hands on the ground, muttering incantations the while ;
iind from the position they fall in they foretell events, and
find out secret plots against him. I need not say that most
of the prophecies and revelations are obscure enough to
warrant any interpretation. While I was in his country
his mother died. Immediately the King was begirt with
^'medicine" and charms, to keep the evil from him. Catth^
were killed for food on her way, and two of her servants
sent to attend on her. All the peo2:)le of the country came
up to the King, under their different chiefs, to mourn with
him ; they also had to be charmed and purified, which took
many days, cattle being sacrificed the while, with solemn
dancing and ceremonies. Last of all they went to " close
up her house." The whole country, with the King at the
head, went to her kraal, sacrificed cattle at the door of her
hut, then sprinkled it over with the gall, and at last carried
it away into the bush. After this the people returned to their
homes, and the King was " a man again !"
At another time, while I was at 'Ncina, the army was
there. It appeared that a chief of one of the tribes, under
the so-called rule of the Portuguese, had sent to the King to
say, that he was ready for him whenever he chose to come —
a defiance. Of course he accepted the challenge, and called
THE ORDEAL OF FIRE. 25 S
up his people to tell him of the great deeds they Avould do,
and to be "doctored." They killed many cattle, and ate
many medicines for good luck ; and, last of all, he set ta
work to make them courageous. They came round him in
their regiments, one after another. One of his chamberlains
took in his hand a huge lighted torch, with which he went
round the circle, and, through the flame of it, he blew some
oily substance out of his mouth into the faces of the men,
renewing the supply, when exhausted, out of a bottle which
the King held. It was a most amusing sight. Some of
them stood the flame well; others drew back in fright;
others, again, it was plain he had a grudge against, as he
thrust torch and all under their noses, singeing their beards-
and their eyebrows, and setting their already well-greased
hair on fire. When all was over, they were dismissed to.
their homes, to await his summons for the war.
I have spoken of his power for life and death, and will
mention one instance which came under my own observation,
both as illustrating that power, and as an episode in savage
life.
While in Mabudtu, there came to me one day a native
from Loren90 Marques, who told me he wished to go under
my protection through the Zulu to Natal. It happened
afterwards that thisihan ("Umtabula 'Nhlesio," the splitter
of hearts ; he was brave in war), although then under the
Portuguese, had been Unozingili's. He did not tell me this,
or I would have sent him on at once. He was recognised
l)y the people, who immediately reported him to the King.
On the third evening, I heard that this man had committed
some crime, and would very likely get into trouble about
it. After calling him, I asked if it was so. He did not
<leny it.
254 AISIONG THE .OEATONGA.
I tlien gave him some blankets, which were wanted by my
hunters west of the Bombo, and warned him to start early
in the morning, so that the rising sun should see him many
miles away. I had no idea of all that was going to happen.
Just at dawn, I was awakened by some one loudly calling
my name, and at the same time shouting that we were being
killed ; there was a noise of people running, the door was
burst open, a man came head over heels over me, and
crouched between my mat and the hut. Between sleeping
and waking, such a violent entry and disturbance rather
startled me, and, for a few moments, I did not recognise the
man I had sent away the preceding evening. It appeared
that people from the King had been on the look-out, and had
met him on a ridge about two miles away. He broken
through them, however, and reached my hut ; and the men
were now gathering outside, demanding him with loud shouts
and threats. I went out and spoke to them. I refused to
give him up. I offered to ransom him ; but the only rej)ly
to all was, " Give him to us." They were afraid to attack
him in the hut, and runners began to come from the King,
continually asking, " Is he dead yet 1 " and requesting me to
go and see the grave of his wife, who died by reason of this
fellow. At last, about eleven o'clock, when I saw that they
would have him, notwithstanding all I could do, and about
a thousand men had gathered, I washed my hands of the
whole matter, and told them that, as I had no strength to
prevent their doing this deed, they must act as they pleased.
Then I went in, and told him that I was beaten. Poor fellow !
he prayed me to save him. I told him that I could not save
him, but said, "You are a man; take your spear and go."
If he had burst out I believe he Avould have got away, as the
forest was close at hand ; but I had no sooner turned my
A TRAGEDY AND A TREACHERY. 255
back than lie stabbed himself, though not to death. Then
began a scene of butchery. Spears were thrown and shots
fired at him. He fired straight at me with my own gun,
which I had left in the hut, so that, by slaying me, he might
render his own death memorable, by the punishment which
he hoped would come to the King, for a white man being
killed in his country. That he made a bad shot is patent
by this writing. At last, as my natives said, he died like a
wounded buffalo in a bush. It was a frightful experience of
savage life !
The trade of Mabudtu is extensive, considering the size of
the country. The natives work hard in Natal, and although
'they spend some of their money there in goods, to take home
with them, yet the surplus is considerable. The goods
saleable in Unozingili's country, and indeed through all the
tribes for many hundred miles north, are blue salempore,
striped salempore, all kinds of fancy prints, derries, ginghams,
chintz, cotton blankets and sheets, woollen blankets in small
quantities, common coats and shirts, brass wire, hatchets,
Kaffir picks, rum, guns, powder, lead, and caps. In all
these, the Portuguese do a large trade. In return for this,
they get rice, money, orchilla weed, maize, beans, cattle,
sea-cow ivory, elephant ivory, hides both of cattle and wild
animals ; tiger, tiger-cat, and monkey skins, the two latter
being saleable in Zulu-land for cattle. Eice they do not get
in any great quantity — that comes principally from the
northward of Lorenzo Marques — but the Amatonga are such
bom traders and agriculturists (there the men hoe also, not
the women only), that whatever was wanted, and their
country would grow — and what would it not? — they would
produce in any quantity. The profits the Portuguese get
are immense, but by such high prices they cramp the trade.
256 AMONG THE AMATONGA.
Under the British rule of small profits and quick returns^
it would grow and expand, and the country become rich ;
but, as the Portuguese traded three hundred years ago, so-
they do now !
The people are arrant thieves, as seems the case with aJl
black races. Stealing is bone of their bone and flesh of the; -
flesh. It is no crime unless found out, and then the culpi.
has only to restore what was stolen. No punishment follow ,
unless, indeed, the owner of the article administers it with a
stick; and, when in the wrong, I must do them the justice-
to say, they submit very quietly.
They are much more liberal than purely pastoral tribes^
perhaps because they have more food to give away. In-
Zulu, unless you are known, you have to pay for everything;
but in Tonga you are never asked to pay for what you eat,
though, if you want a store, you must buy it. The dress of
the men is simply a bunch of skins in front and one behind,
but some of them continue the habit, they have learned in
Natal, of wearing clothes. The women, however, are much-
better dressed, having salempore or handkerchief wound
round their body, from above the breasts to the ankles. It
is the pride of the men to adorn their wives. Bad as these-
people are, I think them a much better subject for missionary
operations than the Zulus, among whom so many preachers
are placed. The latter have made themselves the first tribe
in South Africa, and are thoroughly wedded to their tradi-
tions, and to the customs, under which they have acquired
so much power and glory. The former are a much more-
impressionable people — ^more ready to accept new wages and
habits — ^more open to teaching, not so conceited and self-
satisfied, more clever and handy too than the Zulus. It is
an unsavoury comparison, but I think a true one, that the
CAPABILITIES OF THE AMATONGA. 257
Amatonga may be compared to a liquid cesspool which may
easily be cleared — the Zulus to one of long continuance
which has petrified. The constituents are the same, but the
nsistence different. The immorality and debauchery of
,,i;iie one is open, and offensive to the senses, but may soon be
'r*one away with. The same nature exists in the other,
vuough not so visible, and is as hard as rock.
The country of the Amatonga, I have already said, is
about 150 miles long by 80 broad, and it consists of a
succession of low rolling ridges, covered in some parts with
forest, and in others with thorns and scrub. I do not think
there is a hill in the country, up to the foot of tlie Bombo
range on the west, that is 200 feet above the level of the
sea. The soil is pure sand for about two feet of surfjice, but
underneath is alluvial deposit. There is no doubt that not
long ago, geologically speaking, the whole of tlie flat country
on the East Coast of Africa, which I believe extends nearly
to the Red Sea — a strip of from 80 to 150 miles from the
sea to the high lands — was covered by the ocean. The
general level of the country is from 20 to 50 feet above high-
water mark.
In the forests is good timber, which might be easily made
use of. It would not be, as in Natal, where the roughness
of the country, and the want of roads, renders imported
timber cheaper. In Tonga you might drive waggons any-
where. Railroads would have only to be laid down. The
only obstructions are the swamps, and they might be avoided,
with the exception of one, which is a natural curiosity.
From the Umkusi River, at the south end of the Tonga to
the Entshulweni, a huge swamp at the mouth of the Usutu
— a distance of a hundred miles — there runs a river called
the Umfusi. It is a running stream, but has neither source
s
258 AMONG THE AMATONGA.
nor embouchure, in the usual sense of the words. It begins
in a large swamp, flows north, sometimes running w^ater,
sometimes stagnant marsh, until at last it ends in the
Entshulweni, which has no visible outlet.
I know of no country which is better adapted for tropical
cultivation than the Tonga. Cotton, sugar, rice, indigo, and
tobacco are, I may say, indigenous. Frost is unknown. The
seasons are more regular than in hilly countries. The facili-
ties of transport are great. I liken the country to Demerara,
but it is better ofi" in the way of labour. The Amatongas are
not like the Zulus and Negroes, who, when they have enough
for their immediate wants, go home and are idle. They will
work on, so as to get rich. The india-rubber vine is abun-
dant, but it is not tapped in Mabudtu as in the country to
the north of Loren90. Several kinds of wild-fig are found,
and there is a pink plum which is delicious, and makes a
most refreshing drink. The vegetable-ivory palm is abun-
dant, and is of great use to the joeople. Of its leaves they
make thread, twine, and ropes; and they weave baskets and
mats. Of its juice they make wine, which, fresh from the
tree, is delicious, exhilarating^ yet scarcely intoxicating; but,
when old, it tastes like rotten eggs and water, will make you
very tipsy indeed, and will give you the ague into the bar-
gain. Of the nuts they make snuff-boxes. They have many
edible roots and spinaches, and those who live by the lakes
catch plenty of fish. A great drawback, however, is the
want of good water. Apart from the Usutu and the Pongolo;
which runs north, under the Bombo mountains, through the
country into the Usutu; there is no running stream that is
not brackish, and the water of the pools is apt to give you
dysentery. I suppose, if proper wells were dug, good water
would be found. The country is inhabited in patches. One
i
CLIMATE AND FEVERS. 259
part will be thickly peopled, then for miles not a kraal.
They gather and settle where there are springs.
In most parts, now that the game has been driven away,
and the Tsetse fly with it, cattle thrive and do well. 1 see
nothing to prevent horses and mnles doing the same.
With British capital, energy, and enterj^rise, what might
not the Eastern Coast of Africa become ! With British
justice and good government, what a change Avould be
wrought in the condition of the tribes !
The great l)ugbear — the great deterrent — is the i'oxtv.
AVell, it is not pleasant, ])ut one must remember that the
many deaths we hear of, are mostly of travellers who arc
<ixposed to all kinds of hardship — hunger, thirst, fatigue,
Avet, the burning sun by day, and the dews of heaven by
night. They are half-dead before the fever comes. It would
be different were the country settled, each man living in his
own house, with comfort around him. I do not think the
fever is so very virulent as is said, neither does it break
one's constitution. I have been very nearly dead with it
twice, and feel none the worse now — a year after. Temper-
iince, good food, exercise, and medicine, will ensure you
against dying by the fever, unless your day has come ; but
I believe you get it, summer or winter, all the same.
After seven months' stay in the country, I started from
the King's kraal on the 21st December, 1871. I had done
my trade amongst them, and, like most pioneers, had i)aid
for my experience. I had no adventures worthy of record,
except one, which I will tell of in a future paper. On the
seventh day I reached the Zulu hills; and although I carried
the fever with me as a souvenir of them, yet I was no longer
amongst the Amatonga.
TAKEN BY THE PORTUGUESE.
(Glasgow TIkrali>, 2itli April, 1875.)
When I left Natal for iiiy trip among the Amatonga,* I
had arranged that the schooner "William Shaw" should come
up again in September, 1871, with guns, powder, and Kaffir
hoes, and to take away what produce I might have ready to-
send. I wished her to come into the Usutu River (Mai3oota)
direct, not thinking that the Portuguese would dare to seize
a British ship in British, or at all events disputed, waters,,
especially after the lesson they had in 1823, when Captain
Owen, in H.M.S. "Leven," forcibly released the schooner
" Orange Grove," of Capetown, Avliich had been seized by
the authorities of Lorenco Marques when trading in the same
river, and compelled the Governor to pay a debt of £250
which he had incurred to the supercargo, and thought he had
got rid of by the seizure of the vessel. I knew also that the
Usutu was well within the boundary line of the territory,
belonging to certain chiefs, who ceded it to that officer for
Great Britain, by treaty, in the same year. Accordingly, on
the 8th of September, two friends who were in her, came up-
to me, at the King's, with the information that she had
arrived in the river. I must tell, however, that, as far back
as July, I had arranged with Unozingili for jjeople to carry
the hides of the game killed by my hunters, from the Bomba
hills to the mouth of the Usutu, a distance of 90 miles, and
fully expected that all Avould be done by the time the vessel
* See " Among the Ainatonga."
BOARDED AND 8EIZED BY THE PORTUGUESE. 261
■came. In the interim happened the death of his mother,
4ind everything was thereby put in confusion in the country,
and all work suspended, Avhen only about one-third had been
carried, and I was then expecting the people with the re-
mainder.
I found the ship anchored about six miles up the river,
and immediately had the cargo landed and carried away, by
people I had provided for the purpose. We lay in the river
some six or seven days, with a part of the cargo in, consist-
ing of hides and ivory, and waiting for that w Inch was to
<:ome. We amused ourselves trying to shoot ducks, geese,
mid hippopotami, and, without that, had plenty of occupa-
tion in defending ourselves from the assaults of numberless
mosquitoes, which were almost as bad as the Portuguese. On
the 1 3tli of the month we saw the lateen sails of two large
boats coming round a bend in the river, and suspected that
our friends w^ere going to pay us a visit.
They came up (twelve soldiers, the Government Secretary,
and the Clerk of the Customs,) and boarded us; and after
inspecting our papers, informed the skipper that he would
have to go into Loren90 Marques, about 22 miles to the
northward, situated just half-a-mile to the north of 26" south.
To this we duly protested, and handed in a formal protest,
but were told this must be done to the Governor in person.
Two or three days passed away before we got a fair wind,
iind during that time, we w^ere on very friendly terms indeed
with our captors.
On the Sunday they attempted to tow the vessel down
with the tide, but it resulted in our running ashore on a
mudbank, to the great alarm of the Secretary and Clerk,
since, if she had been wrecked before being condemned l^y
their Courts, they would perhaps have had to bear the loss.
262 TAKEN BY THE PORTUGUESE.
On the Monday there came a change of wind, and we
went quietly down the river, across the bay, and u^t English
Eiver, till we anchored opposite the fort, and were then left
with a guard of a corporal and four different coloured
soldiers on board, to see that we did not run away with her.
^¥[\i\e in the schooner, and coming down to Lorenzo
Marques, I had many conversations with the Secretary, who
Avas most kind and polite (as one of the seamen said, " Too-
b dy polite altogether"), and who exjiressed a most
gentlemanly regret at the contretemps; no doubt, however,
it was all a mistake ; they were very sorry indeed to-
interfere with British ships, but they were bound by their
orders from Portugal, and so on; I should only have to
explain matters — although I was rather puzzled as to what
I could explain — and I could go back to the river for the
remainder of my cargo. But when they got us fairly in
their power the tune changed. Nothing then could be done
— ship and people must be tried. It was a matter for the
civil court at Mozambique to decide on appeal; even the
Governor-General of the Portuguese possessions on the East
Coast could do nothing. I was anxious about the vessel, as
she was only chartered, and offered to pay duty and the fine
under protest ; but after they had told me the amount of the
fine — £111 — and I had asked for a day to consider, but
really to get the money, I was told that they had found a
new clause in their law, which precluded them from doing
anything but trying the ship, and condemning or releasing
her. But I must mention that, even when at first they
agreed to take the fine, they refused to allow me to j^rotest
against the seizure of the schooner, I must jjay and hold
my tongue. The trial went on for some days in the most
wearisome manner — many times interrupted by St Some-
RELEASED BY THE " GOVERNOR GENERAL." 263
body's day. All the while the sailors and myself were
hanging about the Custom-Hoiise, and I had to provide food
for all hands.
While this w^as going on, I again wished to hand in my
protest; but the answer was that I must wait the result
of the trial, and, if the ship was condemned, I could at any
time do so. Afterwards, I took an opportunity of asking
one of the officials to go with me to the Governor for that
purpose, and was then told that, as I had not done it within
twenty-four hours, I could not now do it at all.
Next day we were turned out of the ship and had to live
on shore. The sailors were provided with food and a room
to lie in. I was not allowed to leave, and had to provide
for myself. I determined to try one day, and marched off
to the shore; but I w^as stopped. Fortunately, however,
the Governor-General, who was just then on his round, paid
Loren9o Marques a visit, and released me after eighteen
days' detention. Thus it was that I was "taken by the
Portuguese," and thus, and from previous visits, I came to
know something about their settlement, the country round
about, the tribes under their so-called rule, and, generally,
their little goings-on.
The seizure of the " William Shaw," and the boundary
question, are before the Arbitration Commissioners, but the
result of the whole affair is not yet known.
I need not speak more of that matter, but it struck me
that a truthful description of this little-known country, and
of the effeteness and misrule of the Portuguese, might do
good, and be interesting to British readers. So, allons!
Delagoa Bay is a piece of water about 40 miles long from
north to south, by 20 broad from east to west. For about
half of its length on the south it is enclosed by Cape Colatto
264 TAKEN BY THE PORTUGUESE.
and the Island of Unyaka (Inyack), and in the north-west
corner lie the Islands of Sefeen, three low-lying banks
covered with mangrove, between wdiich and the mainland is
the mouth of the river Umkomati (St George's). The bay
itself, although so large, is very shallow in most parts, and
the navigation consequently very difficult. But one comfort
is, that though you may run on a sandbank you can easily
get off again. Right in the centre of the bay enters the
river, called by the Portuguese " Spiritu Sanctu;" by our-
selves, English Eiver. For some eight or ten miles up it is
more like a firth than the usual outlet of a South African
stream — there being no bar at the mouth either of it, or of
the Umkomati — ^they flow into a bay, instead of into the open
sea, and for this distance it runs directly east, so that the
26tli parallel divides it in the centre, and is not only a mathe-
matical line but a natural boundary. The Portugueses
Government, in a late treaty with the Transvaal Eepublic
(a small independent Dutch State which the British have
allowed to establish itself on the north-east corner of Natal),
settled, between themselves, their southern boundary at 26"
30^' south. This was evidently done so as to give the former
the whole of Delagoa Bay — for no other purpose and on no
other groun^. It is simply an arbitrary line drawn through
the territory of the chief of Mabudtu (Mapoota), the grand-
son of him who ceded the country to Great Britain. It
would give them the mouth of the Usutu (Mapoota) and
about 12 or 15 miles inland from the southern beach of
Delagoa Bay. Through this belt all imports and exports,
into or from the remainder of the country, would have to
pass, and Britain, on her northern boundary, would be denied
all access from the sea, to her possessions, by a narrow band
of Portuguese territory. The TransA^aal was only too proud
DISPUTED BOUNDARY. 265
to luive arrived at the dignity of treating with a European
State at all, to object to anything; and, besides that, it was
not their business to demur to any boundary in this quarter.
Britain was entirely ignored in this treaty between these
two. In the other case — i.e., the line claimed by Britain —
there is the broad division of the river, and, besides that,
there is the fact, that the undoubted owner of the country
fully ceded it to Captain Owen ; and although the Portu-
guese persist in speaking of the Chief of Mabudtu as their
subject, on the one side, and of the " Amanundwana," an-
other tribe on the "Umkomati" (St George's) Eiver, on
the other ; yet both parties are continually plundering their
so-called masters, and making war upon each other, and scout
the idea of dependence.
The Portuguese, I believe, base their claim to this terri-
tory on a treaty made with the Emperor '' Monopotapa" (a
Prester John kind of character), who they say reigned in the
sixteenth century; but how that can be I do not know, since
it is not so many years ago that they paid rent for the very
ground on which Lorenzo Marques stands. There must have
been some treaty since, of an opposite character, which they
say nothing about, if the first is anything more than a myth.
On the south bank of English river the country is most
beautiful. It is, although perfectly fiat, high and healthy.
Plenty of good water, and large trees dotted all over it. The
soil is sandy, but underneath it must be good, as the country
is very fertile.
On the northern side, it is also high, but being very
swampy, it is decidedly unhealthy. Round about Loren90
Marques, for 20 miles, there are very few inhabitants;
the constant wars, which the Portuguese are unable to
.suppress, having depopulated the country. Further north,
266 TAKEN BY THE PORTUGUESE.
from tlie latitude of St George's River 20 miles from
its embouchure, to away beyond that of Sofala, there is a
teeming population, willing, nay anxious, to come to work
in Natal, but who are prevented by the distance and the
danger, consequent upon frequent disturbances amongst
themselves, and the enmity which they have engendered.
The great advantages which all this northern coast has^
are its river navigation, splendid soil, abundance of fuel, and
cheap labour ; yet all are useless for want of a good Govern-
ment. Indeed, worse than useless, because these good
things not only lie neglected by whites, but even the natives
are not allowed to enjoy them in that peace and quietness
which the power of Britain or Germany would give.
The Portuguese have no care for improving the condition
of the natives, either temporally or spiritually. If they
became wealthy, they would be "powerful. If they were
instructed, they would no longer remain dependent uj^on
Lorenzo Marques for their suioplies, nor submit to be guided
or influenced by the advice or the bribes of a people in many
essential ways no better, and, in some respects, worse than
themselves. It is a curious physiological study, why the
character of a native of Portugal, high or low, changes so
completely when he comes to Eastern Africa. I have
generally understood that, in Europe, they are an honourable
people, generous and hospitable, straightforward and truthful.
Perhaps it is the weakness of their miserable settlements,
surrounded by many, if not hostile, yet contemptuous
natives, which so alters their nature. They are obliged to
truckle and bribe, submit to insult and exactions, and are
laughed at and plundered, whenever they step outside their
walls ; so perhaps, after all, they are deserving of pity as
well as censure.
ADVANTAGES OF THE DISPUTED TERRITORY. 267
The whole country, in dispute between Britain and
Portugal, is one immense alluvial fiat, where there is every
facility for communication, either by water or on land. It
is the same up the coast, as far as I know it. We must also
remember that up the banks of English River is the nearest
and best routes to the interior of the Transvaal — a district
capable of producing everything required by man, and rich
in minerals — gold amongst them. The new fields of
Marabastadt, where there is a British company at w^ork,
are about a hundred miles from its mouth, and are actually
in independent native territory, although the Transvaal has
a better and more convenient mode of annexing, than many
other States; they simply make a map, and when adventurers
come before the British public for railways in that little
known country, the length of the line necessary and the
difficulties, diminish wonderfully. No doubt a railway would
be the making of the territory, and open up a trade w^hich
would pay both trader and carrier, but let those who enter
into the affair ascertain all about it. The present idea seems
to be — let the company only commence, the line will then
be finished somehow.
Regarding the tribes considered by the Portuguese to be
under their authority, and the hitter's misrule and effeteness
generally, I will only tell one story. It is one which did
actually happen, and is susceptible of plenty of proof. This,
T think, will show the state of things much more strongly
tlian any declamatory writing on my part, and as I am
merely stating matters of fact, I shall be free from any
suspicion of malice or exaggeration.
I have already spoken of the natives from the northward
constantly wishing to come to work in Natal on the sugar
and coffee plantations. A few do so. This is also true of
268 TAKEN . BY THE PORTUGUESE.
some tribes of the Basuto nation who Hve to the westward
of Lorenzo Marques, but a long way in the interior.
In the beginning of 1871, sixty of these peoj^le left Natal
together on their journey home. They belonged to the tribe
of Umjantji, in the N.E. corner of what the Boers consider
Transvaal territory. They had each their pack of goods —
blankets, calicoes, &c. — and each had money. Their most
direct road would have been through Zulu and then through
Amaswazi-land; but the latter and their own tribe, although
the one nominally in Boer territory, and the other tributary,
had been at war. So they chose to go along the coast, till
they reached the latitude of their own country, and then
struck inland. They passed through Zulu and Mabudtu in
.safety, the chief of the latter tribe even giving them convoy
to the banks of English River, to prevent them being
maltreated or plundered by his people ; and they crossed to
the Portuguese side.
In July, 1871, I had been down to the Island of Inyack,
and on my return landed at the usual passage of the Usutu.
It was dark. When I came up to the ferryman's kraal, I
saw some miserable-looking wretches seated round a fire, on
which there was a pot with some maize in it. There were
ten of them, and they, on inquiry, told me that they were the
survivors of the sixty men who had passed, in good health
and high spirits, two months before. Poor fellows ! I wish
some of our diplomatists had seen them as they then were.
Emaciated, and coveretl with wounds, many of them burnt
in the inside of the thighs, and on the breast, by sitting till
they fell asleep over the fire in the cold nights, hungry and
broken. It would have stirred the bile of even a member of
the Peace Society. I learnt afterwards that about ten more
had escaped in different directions. Forty were killed, and
DANGERS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. 269
tliis was the how and the wherefore. On crossmg Enghsh
Kiver they came amongst the i)eople of a httle tribe called
*'Madtolo/' the head kraal of the chief of which is within eight
miles of Loren90 Marques gates. This tribe, 1 daresay, could
muster about four hundred men (they have since been nearly
exterminated by Unozingili, the chief of Mabudtu), and are
considered by the Portuguese, as peculiarly their own. The
Basutos encamped under a tree outside the kraals, and some
of them went that afternoon into the settlement to buy guns,
and returned to sleep. Just before daylight in the morning,
all the fighting men of "Madtolo" came down upon them,
killed forty men, wounded the others, and plundered them
of everything they possessed. The only reason given for
this was that some of the plunderers' relatives had lost their
lives some years ago in Umjantji's country. It was not
pretended that these men were the murderers, or even that
they knew anything about it. There is no doubt that the
prospect of plunder was the real reason for the massacre.
The consequence of all this was, that the remnant of these
poor fellows were now trying to find their way back to
Natal, destitute of everything ; subsisting on charity, and,
from weakness and wounds, most likely to die on the way.
Fortunately, however, I fell in with them, fed and cured and
sent them out to Natal. What became of the others who
escaped I never heard. The Portuguese did nothing ; too
weak to punish, too indifferent to help the survivors. I
heard afterwards that the Governor of Loren90 Marques
had sent to the Chief of Madtolo demanding the property of
these people. He returned him three pounds sterling (X3)
in derision, with a message to the effect that, if he did not
like to take that, he could leave it alone. So much for the
])0wer of Portugal in her possessions in Eastern Africa 1
270 TAKEN BY THE PORTUGUESE.
The comment of tlie Chief of Malmdtu, Unozingili, who
i-onsiders himself an " Enghshman," both by reason of his
grandfather's treaty, and because he, being a vassal of the
Zuhi, knows that they are tributary to us, was that lie had
been a fool. If he had thought the plunder was to go to
Madtolo he would have had it himself. After this, what
chance will the next batch of labourers have, who return
through his territories, I should like to know 1
This continual anarchy does harm to Natal and to the
natives, directly and indirectly — to the former by preventing
the influx of a regular supply of labour; to the latter because
they not only lose their lives and their property, but because
they lose the chance or the amount of civilisation they would
^gain in Natal, and which they would carry back with them
to their distant homes. Need I harp longer upon this topic ?
Surely not. When I can speak of so foul a murder having
happened within cannon-shot of a Portuguese settlement,
considered by them the capital of a territory, I have surely
said enough to prove that in those days, when good govern-
ment is felt to be a necessity as well as a duty, Portugal
must either alter or give up. Her colonial possessions are
a disgrace to any civilised community. In the nineteenth
century, she is debasing instead of raising mankind, and
wilfully too, so as to make-believe keep her power in the
ascendant. Until Sir Bartle Frere's recommendation of the
appointment of consuls in the Portuguese ports on this coast
is carried out, there will be no security for British natives,
or knowledge in Europe of one-half the slavery and anarchy
which exist in the so-called civilised colonies.
The harbour of Lorenzo Marques is in the open mouth
of the river, where it is about a mile across. There is very
good holding-ground and plenty of water. It blows occa-
PUBLICITY OBJECTED TO BY THE PORTUGUESE. i^71
sionally liard from the S.W., but there is no danger. On
landing you may, if the tide is high, get close to the land ;
but if it is low water you have to be carried on a Kaffir's
back for perhaps a hundred yards. Ashore, you must be
•careful of your feet, as the worship of "Cloacina" is carried
into practice on the beach. All goods have to be landed in
the same manner, at great risk and trouble. For all tlie
•centuries the Portuguese have been there, they have made
no improvements, and a quay might be run out at very little
expense. Splendid, straight mangrove poles are abundant
•close around the settlement — but no I change is abhorrent to
them, except for the worse. The idea seems to be that, in
tlie event of improvement, a knowledge of their proceedings
would be disseminated, and they would be obliged to alter, so
they keep themselves to themselves. In this idea the Court of
Lisbon seems to concur, as they have lately refused to grant
a subsidy to the Union Steamship Company, which is running
steamers up the eastern coast, calling at the different ports.
They refuse, although it would be a good thing for them-
selves, commercially S2)eaking, setting aside the philanthropic
motive which alone actuates Great Britain. I have known
the various settlements to be six months without any com-
munication with each other, or with headquarters at Mozam-
bique, before the Union Company had established this branch
of their line.
The settlement of Lorenco Marques is situated on the
north bank, about two miles from Point Eeuben — the
northern point at the mouth of the river. It is built on a
sandbank, which has a swamp between it and the mainland,
nnd is about 500 yards long by 200 yards broad. There
<,ould not have been a more unhealthy spot selected, since
whatever benefit it gets by the sea breeze is neutralised by
272 TAKEN BY THE. PORTUGUESE.
the efFects of the swamp at the back, the stench from which,
in the ^ houses close to it, is anything but pleasant or even
bearable. Add to this seventy-one other, from every descrijv
tion of filth and ordure, and you have a place v»rhicli — not
for variety perhaps, but for pungency — beats Cologne in
Coleridge's days; but safety had to be considered. At the
west and east ends, and on the north side, it is surrounded
by a wall. To seaAvard there is a tumble-down old fort,
which is used as a barrack and a jail. In the whole place
there are about ten guns of different sizes; and 120 various
coloured soldiers, half of Avhom are constantly in hospital^
form the garrison. These soldiers are, indeed, a Falstaffian
company, with the addition that the clothes, which they
seem to have procured by following that great commander's
advice, have not been properly distributed — the big men
have got the small clothes, and vice versa.
Within these walls the Portuguese may be said to govern,
and those who are really their people amount to about five
or six hundred. The west end of the settlement is the
native quarter. There they are as thick as bees in a hive,
and at night the sounds of drunkenness and debauchery are
frightful ; it is a perfect brothel !
The Portuguese rule these people by terror. For a
trifling offence I have seen a man lashed over a gun, and
then two men, with each a stick about an inch thick, laying
on to him — one, two! one, two! — till he was half-dead.
There is no restriction on the sale of rum to the natives.
In fact, I have seen palm wine (not nearly so intoxicating
as the other) prohibited from being brought into the place,
for no other reason that I could see, than that they sjDent
their money on it instead of on rum, with less harm to
themselves, but less profit to the customs. Outside of their
HOSPITALITY OF THE GERIHANS AND FRENCH. 273
walls the Portuguese have neither power nor respect, they
dare not step out in anger. They carry on, or rather
prevent, their wars, by setting one tribe against another,
and Loren^to Marques itself exists but on sufferance; yet
they claim — and Euroj^ean diplomatists may perhaps allow
it — territory to a vast extent and of great value and im-
portance !
There are perhaps thirty white men and one white woman
in Lorenzo Marques, the latter the very kind, hospitable
Portuguese wife of a German merchant. Amongst the
former are the Governor, Secretary, Collector and Clerk of
Customs, and an officer, generally an ensign, of the troops.
There is also a representative of a large French house in
Marseilles, who carried with him to this miserable spot the
kindness, politeness, and hospitality of his native country.
I often used to wonder, with regard to the German and this
last, not that they were peculiarly "rich or rare" sjiecimens
of their two nations, but "how the devil they got there !"
The houses are flat-roofed, built of adobe, cool and spacious ;
sanded floors, little glass, and less furniture. The two streets
are ankle deep in sand.
About Lorenzo there are a few cocoa-nut trees, but fruit
and vegetables are almost unknown. If they attempt gardens
or plantations outside, their own so-called natives plunder
and bum them, as has happened. The latter seem willing
that the whites may keep a store there ; but are determined
that they shall make no settlement, such as they see in
Natal.
In one thing the Portuguese are fortunate, and that is,
that they have a splendid supply of fish at their door.
The trade is considerable for so small a place, and might
be increased fifty-fold, were it not for the high protective
T
274 TAKEN BY THE PORTUGUESE.
duties, the want of security, and the jealousy of the presence
of foreigners, evinced every day. There are only three im-
porting houses — two French and one German. These sell
to the Banyans and half-castes, who travel through the
native tribes trading for ivory, orchilla weed, ground nuts,
<and Natal sovereigns.
In such a place there is not much to describe. One does
not like to dwell upon j^articulars which are disgusting, and
there is little else to record. Let us hope that the day may
not be far distant when Great Britain or Germany will open
up this magnificent but neglected country, and give it the
blessings and the civilisation which follow in the train of
commerce and good government, and enable him, who next
describes Lorenco Marques and the country around, to give
ii very different picture from mine.
A ZULU KOMANCE.
(Glasgow Herald, 1st May, 1875.)
*'Well, yes; there are some interesting stories of Kaffir
life — at least they are so to me. I have, in a measure, been
l)rought np amongst them. Most of their ways and habits
of thought are familiar to me ; and I have grown to take an
interest in their lives, almost as if they were my own people.
" Is there any romance V "I cannot exactly answer the
question. I think you know my belief, that there is no
romance where there is no soap. I mean by that, that
iilthough cleanly (extremely so) in their own idea, there is
much which is repugnant to a European, and detracts, in his
mind, from many situations which would otherwise be
romantic. There are, however, all the incidents of romance
occurring in many passages of their lives ; and let me tell
you, they lose nothing in the narrative by a native of high
class." " Let us have a specimen ; we have an hour to spare,
iind should like to hear a real Kaffir story." " I can't do it
now. I must think it over ; but will write one down, and
send it you."
Such was the substance of a conversation held some time
xigo. What follows is the result. I have endeavoured to
give it in Zulu translated into English. It is a genuine
native narrative ; it pretends to nothing more.
" What is it we like most of all? We like war! Is there
anything that equals if? No ! no ! certainly not. We
fight nowhere now. You white men have encircled us ; but
276 A ZULU ROMANCE.
perhaps the day may come when you will allow us to pass
through your country, and remind those nobody's people
that the Zulus are still on the face of the earth. AYe would
not meddle with your cattle. We hear that the outside
tribes say we sway no one now but the Amatonga [looked
upon as w^omen and dogs]. When will you let us prove that
we can do more 1 It may be, as you say, that fighting is-
wrong, but we have not yet learnt to think so. It is true
that the country is quieter and that all live in comparative
safety, but what of that ? there are none of us now that can
say they are braves. We might as well be women. Yes,.
many people were killed in the old time — ^men, women, and
children — but that was nothing; it kept us from crowding.
The cows had more room to get fat, and w^e to make our
gardens. And then, besides, the young men had a chance
of getting cattle, and, when they sewed the ring on their
heads, wives. Now, we are poor all our days. Then we
had people amongst us who had a name through the country
for valour and for cunning ; now, no one is known except
the chiefs and the King. Then w^e had something to live or
die for, some excitement in our lives ; now, all the soldiers
are good for is to build or mend the King's kraals, or hoe
his corn. AYe all see what it is coming to ; we shall pay
money to you w^hite men at last [taxes], and take to digging^
dow^n hills under you [roadmaking, &c.] Ah ! the army,
my man ; the army ! There's something to talk about when
that goes out. Y"ou w^ant me to tell you of some exploits in
which I shared ; well, wait till I take some snuff and then
I'll do it. Make up the fire, boy.
" Long ago in the aforetime — how many years, say you 1
How should I know" 1 two hundred may be ; yes, so many
[showing two fingers]; I was a young man, and strong.
A king's raid. 277
Wow ! but I ivas strong and active. I could throw every
man in our regiment. When I ran, people used to exclaim,
'Wow! just now he was here, and now he is yonder; where
<lid he go 1 ' And when I jumped I went till I struck the
sky. Is it hard, say you 1 Don't, white man, don't ; you
are laughing at me now. Let me tell my story my own way.
You understand our tongue and ways. Here, my equal,
help me in the nose [asking another for snufF]. Eh-h-h !
man of our tribe [thanking him]. As I was saying, long,
long ago it was once decided by the King and chiefs to make
a raid into the Amaswazi — a King's raid. I mean that the
King was getting short of cattle ; and as it was known that
the Amaswazi had again gathered herds since the last war,
we were to be sent to bring him some. It was denied to
anyone to take what he could manage to get away out of
the herd, as you know is always allowed in other wars.
Well, well, it is not exactly allowed ; but nothing is said if
the man can get clear off. This time, however, it was
announced that spies would be sent all over the country,
mid any one found with cattle he could not account for,
would be killed. They also told us that all girls we took
should be brought to the King, to form his slaves of the
interior. As I have said, we are fond enough of war, but
we like to look forward to some reward at the end ; so to
us young men these orders were peculiarly unpalatable ; we
loathed, and many were the talks we had in discussing, this
•expedition. I decided, for my part, that there was no harm
done. I should of course go out, and be guided by circum-
stances. If my snake was favourable, I should not return
<^mpty -handed, for all the orders. If not, and I showed
above the others, the King might perhaps soften, and give
me something. Anyway, I had to go.
278 A ZULU ROMANCE.
"All Zulu was gathered together to Nodwengo. [The-
King's kraal: — the mode of expression is not plagiarised
from Scripture.] By twos and threes, tens and two tens,
they came trooping over the hills. Others, whose head-
quarters were farther off, came in their regiments. The
earth thundered with the noise of their feet. Our ears
were closed up with the sound of their songs. The country
all round was black with their forms by day, and was red
with the fires they lit at night. The clatter of sticks and
shields was continually heard, as they hustled together in
the joyous excitement of fight. It was the beginning of
the war; and no cattle could graze where the army had
been, till after the next summer rains. Ah-h-h, Zulu, my
man ; Zulu ! ! can they be spoken of 1 [in a manner com-
petent to describe them,]
" Well, one day we hungered, and another day we feasted^
just as the King happened to give us beer and beef At last
our number was complete, the generals appointed, and we-
started on our way. As we went, the people hid their food
and fied with their cattle, into almost inaccessible places.
Nevertheless, we managed to get at them, and fed. Our
path was known by the cattle bones which strewed it, by
the remains of dishes and corn, and here and there a body.
Whose people were they, say you 1 Why, our own — ^tho
Zulus. The assegai [spear] had got loose, my man, and Avho
was to stop it 1 We walked long. We hungered. We
crossed many rivers, but we never tired. We began to long
for some opposition, just to vary the monotony, but none
was to be seen. You must know that the 'Swazi country m
full of large caves, the secret of the entrances to which is
rigidly kept. They are so large that all the people of a dis-
trict, together with their cattle, can take shelter in them :
THE AMASWAZI CAVES. 27i>
and they had done so on the report of our coming. We
were travelling along a ridge of mountains, when the sound
of cattle lowing was heard, seemingly underneath and all
about us. A halt was called, to consider how we should get
at them. Parties were sent out in all directions to try and
fall on an opening, but, for a long time, none could they
find. At last one of them came upon a small hole in the
rock, of size about sufficient for a man to creep in. One was
instantly directed to make the attemj^t, and laying down his
shield, he took an assegai in one hand, and in he went. We
heard a shout, a groan, and all was still ; our man came not
back. Another was at once sent after him, and shared the
same fate. Now we began to hang back. It was certain
death to refuse ; it seemed to be the same to go in. So far
it was equal ; but we loathed the idea of being killed like a
porcupine in a hole. I considered for a moment, and then
it struck me that I had the idea, and I said to myself, ' Now
is the time to show above the others ; now for some cattle.'
I spoke out; I cried out, 'I will go in.' 'Who is thaf?'
inquired one of the officers. ' Myself, father,' I answered.
' Appear T was the next word, and I did so. I was greatly
praised, and told that my fortune was made. May be^
thought I, but what use if I'm killed. However, there's
nothing wrong, my snake may be good, and I may escape.
Laying down my shield, and taking off my dress, I crept in
on my belly, having asked those outside to make a great
noise, so that my movements should not be heard. I went
along very €[uiet]y, witli my spear in my hand, till I felt the
feet of the dead man who had gone before me. I lifted them
up very gently, and 'swurmed' along until I had got liim
fairly on my back ; then with him in that i^osition, I went
on for about my own length, and felt stab, stab, thud, thud,
280 A ZULU ROMANCE.
as they ran assegais into his body and struck him with sticks.
I shouted ' Mai6 ' [oh, dear], groaned, and gave a wriggle
or two, then lay still. It was quite dark, and all was quiet
outside. Immediately some one said, ' That is the third ;
move the stone and let us see him,' and one stepped over
me in obedience to the command. I grasped my assegai,
and, just as the first light came in by the opening he was
making, I sprang up and stabbed him, shouting at the same
time to our people, ' In with you, in with you ; I am holding
the pot on the fire; quick and shove it up ;' and, turning,
defended myself from those who were in the entrance. I
had only to do so for a few moments. Our people came
rushing in, and I escaped with a few cuts. By this time we
could hear the hum of the alarmed Amaswazi, like bees in a
hole ; so like was it, that the instantaneous cry was, ' Let us
dig out this honey-nest, it is fat ;' but our officers made us
wait for more force ; it came, and we went forward. We
walked along a good way on a fine grassy glade, a stream of
water running through the centre, and the rocks nearly
meeting overhead, until at last we came to a large circular
piece of ground — as large as the flat outside there (say a mile
in diameter), a waterfall at one end, precipices all round,
and wood here and there about the foot of them, but not a
soul was to be seen. We hunted until at last we found many
openings into caves at the sides, and these we at once
stormed, our whole force having by this time come up. The
people within fought well, and we were hunting one another;
but we got lights, and then we finished them off. Did we
kill the women and children, say you 1 Ay, that did we.
Why nof? The children would grow up into soldiers to
fight us, and the women would bear more.
" I came to one girl. As I raised my assegai she looked
" LOVE IS LIKE A DIZZINESS 1" 281
at me, clasped her hands over her eyes, and said ' Ow um-
ta-ka-baba' [oh, child of my father, my brother] ; that was
all, and, do you know, I could not kill her. Chaka! I
couldn't [swears by his king]. She had ' medicine,' that
girl. I had killed that day till my assegai was blunt and
my arm was weary, but all anger seemed to go out at my
fingers and toes. So I said, 'Rise, Tdadte, [literally, Sister,
l)ut in meaning, as in sound, the same as the Scotch "dawty"],
no one will hurt you.' I defended her from others. Many
would have attacked me, but I was always recognised in
time, as the brave who had gained the entrance; and the
cry was, ' Let him alone; let him keep the girl.' ' Ah, but,'
cried others, ' he'll have to give her up to the King.' Then,
for the first time, I remembered the orders, and I looked up
to see if I had not come suddenly under a waterfall. I
turned towards the girl; she was gazing on the ground.
' Lulama' [straighten yourself], I cried. Our eyes met.
Something seemed to soften and melt, warmly and gradually,
within me. I began to be disgusted with the blood which
covered me. I thought of my sisters and my mother at
home, and I thought of her father and mother, most likely
killed that day. Somehow or other it came into my mind
that she was alone and in sorrow, and would be torn from
her country and her people, and given to be a slave to the
King, for no fault of her own; and still I warmed and
melted, until at last I became a child, and determined to
save her from our army, and send her back to her folk, if,
haply, any were alive. I tell you she had medicine, that
girl. I took her quietly to one side, and said, ' Look here !
I must give you up to the officers for the King ; but watch ;
be quick to understand what I say or do, and I'll find an
opportunity of letting you go safely.' She did not answer
282 A ZULU ROMANCE.
— she only looked at me ; but something in the look wa."*
better than spoken words. Well, when all was over, we^
gathered together our cattle and our captives, ready for our
homeward march ; and by way of reward I was appointed
an officer of the guard of the latter, just what I would have
wished for. We travelled for a day without being able to-
exchange a word with the 'Swazi girl, though I wanted to,,
very much ; I felt just as if I was hungry. She was some-
where in the centre of the throng, and has told me since
that she kef)t edging outwards, until she got close to where
I was, hoping that I would, yet fearing I would not, address
her. When I saw her near I began to look about for an
opening to let her go. I made a sign to keep close by me.
She did so ; and towards dusk, as we were marching by a
wooded ravine, I managed to give her a push. She sprang
clear in, and I purposely fell in the way of the man behind,
who was jumping in after her. She got away, the mor(^
easily, as I shouted to my men to stand firm and guard those
who were left, in case they should go too. I thought I had
managed so cleverly ; but I was to hear more of it, as you
shall see. I would have been killed, only my snake stood
straight up.
"We reported to the generals the loss of the captive;
they said it could not be helped, and spoke of something
else. We travelled on without further adventure until we
got near the King's again ; when we halted, and messengers
were sent forward to announce our return. A day was.
appointed for a review at Nodwengo, and we all brushed
ourselves up to look our best. The day came. We defiled
l)efore the great one, and each had our little praise ; then
came the giving out of the cattle. A great many had
received their rewards, when the cry was raised for the bravo
REVIEW AND REWARDS. 283
wlio had gained the entrance, to show himself, and I had to
step forward. ' To me,' said the King, ' you have shown
yourself a soldier indeed, and deserving of a King's notice ;
there is a troop of cattle for you. But , now I shall
Idll 3^ou for helping one of the captive girls to escape. AVhat
say you*?' I saw it was no use attempting to get out of the
hobble, so I spoke boldly. I knew that kings like those
who speak out, but I trembled all the while. ' Yes, father;
yes, wild beast; yes, you that are black,' I replied. ' The
King is, of course, right. I ought to be killed; but I could
not help it. She bewitched me.' ' How sol' asked he; and
I told him the whole affair, with all the symptoms. AVhen
I had done, he burst out laughing, and said, ' Wow ! the
idiot fell in love with her. Go, go; you are a brave soldier,
but a fool in these matters. I should have thought a young
man of your age and appearance would have known more.
Wow! the fool! What was it like? Was it sore 1' 'No,
father, I can't say it was sore. It was like a sickness,
though. It was just " Umhlolo." '* 'Go, go,' he said, 'You
have escaped.' I went quickly, took my cattle, and thanked
my snake all the way home. That was the beginning of
my rise; till now, as you see me, I have many kraals, much
people, and plenty cattle.
" Well, when I had been at home for about ten days, I
went paying visits all round, was everywhere 2)raised and
fed; but still something was wanting. My heart continually
ached with a dull pain. I felt a want. At night I dreamt
about the 'Swazi girl. By day I thought of her. I saw her
face in the burning coals of fire. I halted while eating my
food to think of her, until my people said, ' How much that
* Anything out of the v/ay. Anything unnatural ; not explain-
able in ordinary or natural grounds. Used in a great many senses.
I
284 A ZULU ROMANCE.
young man speaks to his heart' [thinks]. I went hunting,
but I used to forget what I was about. In the dance I
would stop and not know it. Wow 1 that love is an Umhlolo
indeed. At last, one morning while lying lost in my hut,
my sisters came rushing in, saying that they had found a
girl half-dead with cold in the garden, and that she was
'Swazi by her tongue. My heart leapt up at once, and with
it my body. I knew it was she. It was as if something
was drawing me with a rope. The girls laughed; they
had a shrewd idea as to what was the matter. I ran
out, and there I found her: pinched with hunger, shrivelled
with cold, done with weariness; but yet with the same
glancing look I remembered in the cave. I spoke to her ;
<asked her where she came from, and why she had left her
own people. She crossed her arms upon her breasts, burst
into tears, and, as she was falling to the ground, I caught
her up and carried her to the kraal. On the way she told
me, ' My people were all killed; who was I to go to? Our
kraals were burnt; Avhere was I to live 1 I thought of you,
and said, I will go to him who spared me in the great
slaughter; I will hoe his corn, and cook his food, and' —
Avhat more she said does not matter now; but there is the
old woman beside you, and sometimes I think she has
medicine still. So, after all, you see, notwithstanding the
orders, I got cattle, praise, and a wife. My snake was good
to me, you old hag; long have I been speaking of you.
Ask now from the white man a cloth to cover you when the
nights are cold 1"
LETTERS TO THE PRESS.
Native Labour.
(Natal Colonist, 4th Mai-ch, 1873.)
To THE Editor of the Natal Colonist.
Sir, — Many suggestions, and much advice liave been given
on tliis subject to the public, through your own columns and
those of your contemporaries.
Knowing something of the difficulties with which the
Government, as well as private persons, have to contend, in
their endeavours to procure the necessary labour for planters
and others — both w^ithin and beyond our borders — I WTite
to you, in the hope that I may be able to state those diffi-
culties, and to show how they may be surmounted.
1st. With regard to labour from tcithin our herders. We
may dismiss any hope of creating a sudden increase in the
number of labourers, by any means which we can, with jus-
tice, employ. We must be content to w^ait until civilization
gradually teaches the natives that the end of man's work is
not to procure cattle and wives, and then become a drone,
till it teaches them to like work for its own sake. But, even
when it does so, we may be sure that the Kaffir will strive
to become his own master as trader, farmer, cattle-dealer, or
perhaps storekeeper, and will not be content to be a labour
ing man all his life long.
When the revenue was less than the expenditure, w^e used
to hear a great outcry against the Government, for not
286 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATIVE LABOUR.
increasing the taxation of the natives, as also against the
marriage law, as being a farce. We must remember that
the principle of taxation — the support of a Government — is
only to draw what is required for that Government : where
more is done it becomes tyranny. At present, I doubt very
much whether all that the natives pay directly, is spent
upon them. "What they jjay indirectly, in the shape of
customs' dues, I say nothing about. If we were establish-
ing colleges, industrial schools, and large establishments
for teaching the natives trades and agriculture, — if we were
l^reparing them to be clerks and interpreters in the civil
service, or fitting them for the counter and the desk — I
should say, Tax, even at the risk of a little grumbling and
discontent, since, although they might not see the benefit
of it now, they would be sure to do so at a future time. I
cannot agree with those who say that, as we have given
them Locations, and saved their lives, when fleeing from
their own Governments, we ought to make them pay —
vrhat ? Why, whatever the luhites run short of, to pay for
the roads, the railways, the bridges, the liarbour works,
iind the civil service, which they require for their own
prosperity. To the Locations many of them have a right,
from having been in Natal before the British came. As
the natives become more civilized, I would do away with
Locations, but very gradually and gently ; and principally
by giving each deserving native, not tribe, a title to his piece
of land. Such as are not worthy of a freehold, and for whom
there is no room on the Location, may very well pay rent to
the white proprietor. We must remember that we have a
higher mission than simply to make this a prosperous colony,
and fill our own pockets. AVe are a Christian and a civilized
nation, and, as Britons, should have, peculiarly, the welfare
MAKING THE NATIVES PAY FOR PROTECTION. 287
and improvement of the black races under our care. To do
anything Avhich would drive them back into barbarism would
be to declare ourselves false to our promises and our duties.
With regard to the argument that, " as we have given pro-
tection they ought to pay," I cannot think it a right one,
although we act on it to a certain extent now, by making all
refugees work three years at half wages. It is principally
political crimes, or supposed crimes and witchcraft, which
drive them out of the Zulu. As well might Britain have
said to Louis Napoleon, " Pay double taxes or go back to
where you will be shot." The illustration may seem extrava-
gant, but the principle is the same. I am afraid the interest
I feel in this subject has caused me to digress ; but, however,
having said thus much, regarding the j^rospects of labour,
from within our own boundaries, I have now to turn to the
natives who live beyond, and as my knowledge is only of
those to the north, it is of them I shall speak. And first of
the Zulus.
We were told some time ago in the papers that some
regiments of Zulus had been sent by Cetchwayo to work
in Natal. This was a mistake. There has never been
anything of the kind, and I say most decidedly that I
should be sorry to see either the Zulus coming to work in
Natal, of their own accord, or sent by their King. No one
but Mr Shepstone knows how the Zulus, being an inde-
pendent and to some extent antagonistic nation, facilitate
the ruling of our oayu Kaffirs — what a damper they act upon
their even entertaining the thought of getting rid of the
whites. When such a thing happens, I shall look upon it
less as a mark of the progress of civilization, than an attempt
at coalition with our natives, or of possessing friends in the
enemy's camp.
288 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATIVE LABOUR.
But, although this is not true, what has happened is this :
— Cetchwayo being a despot, with command of hfe and
death over his people, and especially over the Amatonga,
who are looked upon by the Zulus as dogs, has compelled
the small tribes of Umanaba, Umangaliso, Endongene,
Uhlomula, and others, who are directly under Usomkele, a
Zulu chief at St Lucia Bay, to turn out numbers of men
(between 300 and 400) to work in Natal, and the money to
go to him. These small tribes being directly under the
Zulus have no choice. They cannot fight ; and if they refuse
to go, they die. This was spoken of, in the Mercury, some
time ago, and glossed over, by saying that, excepting some
reductions to their chiefs, their money was paid them at the
end of their time. The truth of the matter was this, that
they were bound for six months at 8s. per month = 48s.
The 8s. they got to buy a blanket, the 40s. went to Cetch-
wayo, with which he buys guns and powder. Surely this is
not the right way to get labour. It is nothing more nor
less than slavery ; and of a dangerous sort for the colony.
Now, as Mr Shepstone has said in his Memorandum, there
are three routes by which labourers come into Natal; 1st,
Through the Transvaal ; 2nd, Through the 'Swazi or Tonga
and Zulu country ; and 3d, By sea. Let us consider these
three routes, and what is required to make the natives travel
on them, in greater numbers than they do now. Every one,
with any knowledge of the subject, is aware that all that is
wanted, is to free the land routes from danger, and, if possible,
help the travellers with food on the way. We spend large
sums on Coolie immigration. I do not see why we should
not spend a little on this. With regard to the Transvaal,
the natives consider it as dangerous as any other, and rightly
so, I think ; since, although we see on the map an immense
TRIBAL ANTAGONISM. 289
tract of territory as belonging to the Eepublic, yet, over fully
one-half of it, it has neither right nor j^ower. Consequently,
the tribes have a double safety in murdering and plundering,
since the Dutch cannot, or will not, punish them; and outside
tribes do not like to attack them in the so-called Transvaal
territory. When the unfortunate labourer reaches what is
really the country conquered by the Eepublic, he is just as
badly off as ever, in consequence of the chronic antagonism
of the Dutch to the black man, and their peculiar ideas of the
relation of the one to the other.
As regards the second route, through tlie 'Swazi, Zulu,
and Tonga, all the Gaza tribes, i.e., those under Umzila,
and they are an immense number, would choose this route.
It is their natural one. But the Amaswazi are their
deadly enemies, because of wars between them, and latterly
because of Mawewe, who was deposed by Umzila, being a
friend of, and located amongst them. Unozingili, the King
of Mabudtu (Mapoota), was friendly enough with Umzila
and his people, but since the last war he had with the
Amanundwana, when he took all the guns the Portuguese
had lent them, and so comj)letely defeated them that our
ingenious neighbours were obliged to own tliat their mdory
had cost them dearly, he has been challenged by the Gaza
l)eople, who say, "Let him come here. We should only
like to see him come here ! " To this he has answered,
"Wait a little. I am making ready. I shall come ! " So
that we suppose his country to be not a very safe one for
( laza labourers.
With every wish to oblige our Government in the matter
of protection to the Tonga labourers, going and coming,
the Zulu King is unable to do it thoroughly. They are
l)lundered and ill-used by the young men, and, as the Zulus
U
290 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATIVE LABOUR.
are all banded together in any dealings with outsiders, the
unfortunate wayfarer often puts uji with his loss, rather
than undergo the bullying, trouble, and expense he would
incur in bringing his case before Cetchwayo, or a great
chief.
I have pointed out the dangers ; now, it remains to be
seen how they are to be obviated.
Let our Government make arrangements with the
Transvaal — I do not loiow the country sufficiently to say
where; but others do. Let them buy farms at proper
distances along the route, and appoint a Briton to be
on each farm ; who shall be the Consul, to whom all com-
plaints of plunder or ill-usage are addressed, and let him
apply to the -Dutch authorities for redress, and if none is to
be had from them, let him forward his case to Natal. Let
him always have a certain stock of mealies on hand. He
may buy them, or grow them, so that he could both feed
the people for a day, and give them some to carry them on.
Let the proper buildings be erected for him, and, I am
much mistaken, if many men would not take the situation
at a very low salary indeed, because of the advantages it
would offer, as a store or trading station.
In the Zulu, 'Swazi, and Tonga, the same may be done.
I must mention that the Amaswazi and the Basutos of
Umjanji and Usikwata are at deadly enmity. There is no
passage for the latter. Neither can the former pass through
Zulu-land. But all this can be remedied if our Government
takes it in hand.
The first station might be on the Temby side of English
River — of course I am supposing that the English boundary
of 26° south will be upheld — it is a fine country and not
particularly unhealth}'.
immigrants' stations and agents. 291
4
The second could be out of the unhealthy country of
Mabudtu on the Bombo Eange, south of the Pongolo river.
The third and last should be in the centre of the Zulu
•country. The same arrangement applies to these stations
— as regards men to take charge of them and their duties—
as to those in the Transvaal. Lastly, appoint an Inspector
of all these stations.
If this were done, the routes would be rendered perfectly
safe — which concerns the natives more than their food — and
every labourer from the Xorthern countries — except, j^erhaps,
those who live within the boundaries of the Portuguese
settlements — would come by them and go by them, in
preference to the sea route. Time is no object to the
natives, if they are safe. The most of their food they will
manage for themselves. They fear the sea, and they save
passport duty and passage money, as well as duty on their
goods when returning by land.
I have pointed out the dangers of the two routes, and
what I think the best means of obviating them. Is it my
business to say where the ways and means are to come from,
too ? Well, perhaps it is, so I shall try to do so.
I would not hamper these people in the slightest. I
would say nothing about taxing them, since the story of the
three black crows, is exemplified every day amongst the
natives. Let the first Station-Master they come to, give
them each a ticket as labourers for Xatal, and let each
succeeding one stamp it as "Passed." When the natives
reach the first Magistracy in Natal, they shall be bound to
go there and exhibit their tickets, pay one shilling, and have
them stamped with the Magistracy and " Paid ; " or, if he
has no shilling, " Unpaid." This ticket they shall be bound
to show when they seek employment. If they have no
292 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATIVE LABOUR.
ticket when they ask for work, they may be taken to the
nearest Magistrate, where tliey shall have to give an account
of themselves and receive a ticket. The arrangement to
engage, must be made before the Magistrate. The employer,
if he cannot go himself, can always send a messenger with
the people, and with a letter stating that he has employed
certain natives, giving their names, term of engagement, and
wages, and, if necessary, paying the unpaid shilling, to be
deducted from their wages. Let there be a penalty upon
any engagement of a labourer from beyond the borders,
without his ticket ; and, if the system was extended to our
own natives, so much the better, and there shall be no redress,
if a Kaffir is engaged otherwise than before a Magistrate. To
afford facilities this might be done before a Field Cornet
or J. P., the employer forwarding the engagement to the
Magistrate for record. The ticket shall remain in the
employer's possession, so that the natives shall not be able
to lend them to one another ; and, on leaving his employ,
his master shall endorse his discharge upon said ticket,
without inspection of which, it shall be penal for any other
man to engage him. When he wishes to go home the
Magistrate shall give him a clearance, homeward bound, on
payment of another shilling, which he can show along the
route ; and, without this clearance, he shall receive neither
help nor shelter.
In all laws of this kind it is impossible to prevent there
being some loophole, by means of which it can be evaded.
Unless the employers of labour work with each other and
the Government, and are satisfied that the law is a good
law, we may as well save ourselves the trouble of putting it
on. the Statute Book.
If I remember rightly, Mr Shepstone in his Memorandum
immigrants' TICKETS; AND PORTUGUESE BAD FAITH. 293
proposes to tax the labourer one sliilling per montli, for the
]>enefits he receives, from a scheme something Hke the one
I am proposing. I say No ; but rather tax the employer
one shilling per month. If labour becomes plentiful, it will
eventually be paid by the labourer ; but if it be scarce, it is
simply one shilling per month higher wages, and this course
will prevent rumours, of immense sums having to be paid,
circulating amongst them.
I think I have pointed out sufficient ways and means, and
even if I have not, surely Government and the planters will
not grudge a little more, when they are going to ten times
the expense for Coolies.
Now for the Sea route. I see that Captain Elton has been
commissioned by the Government to proceed to Mozambique,
to arrange with the Portuguese authorities, for leave to the
natives to embark from their settlements for Natal. No
man is more fitted for this than Captain Elton. He will
arrange his treaty. Our polite neighbours will express them-
selves anxious to do all their " possibilities " for their good
friends the British. He will come back with flying colours
and — it tvill be money throivn away !
I saw some time ago an account of a meeting of the Immi-
grants' Aid Office, at which it was stated that Captain
Kaminski, of the " Sea Nymph," said that the Portuguese
imthorities prevented natives embarking for Natal. This
was denied by Mr Peace, the vice-consul for Portugal.
Nevertheless, Captain Kaminski was right and Mr Peace
was wrong. I remember hearing a story from some one, of
Captain Elton asking the Governor of Lorenzo Marques if
the natives might embark in the " May," and his being told
that, as they were free now, they might do as they liked,
there being nothing to prevent them. Captain Elton's agent,
294: LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATIVE LABOUR.
I was told, procured fifty-two men, and while they wero^
collected outside the office, waiting for their tickets, some
soldiers from the garrison passed among them. They
gradually melted away and the vessel came back empty. It
does not suit the Portuguese that their natives should come;
to work in Xatal ; for they would get notions of liberty and
good government which are entirely contrary to Portuguese
ideas. Besides that, seeing large numbers of Britons and
their power and progress, they would be sure to imbibe a
very unpleasant contempt for their masters and their miser-
able ordure-scented settlements.
If we had a station on Inyack Island — then indeed the
sea route would become the best. All the natives from the
Interior would come })y it. They would just come quietly
round the walls of the Portuguese settlements, — they could
not stop them, — cross over to Inyack and there wait for a
vessel. The Island is perfectly capable of growing food for
their support, and it is healthy. By this means they would
avoid the Swazi, the Zulu, and the Mabudtu, and the very
name of Britons being settled on Inyack would draw out
thousands who now fear the distance and the danger.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
Peter Schlemil.
Durban, February 17, 1873.
The Gun Trade with the Natives.
(Natal Colonist, 4th April. 1873.)
To THE Editor of the Natal Colonist.
Sir, — The vexed question of the trade in arms and ammu-
nition with the natives, and how to stop it, is one which just
GUN TRADE WITH THE NATIVES. 295
now occupies a great share of public attention. To my mind,
no one who has spoken or written, on this subject, has gone
deep enough. The cure of a wound must begin from the
interior — if cicatrised it only bursts forth again — worse than
before — and, perhaps, dangerously affects other parts of the
))ody.
I see that the Lieutenant Governor has put a stop both to
the importation and exportation of guns — the latter either
l)y land or sea. I cannot say " very good," since this is only
cicatrisation.
There have been three routes by which guns and powder
have hitherto reached the natives, with whom we in Natal
might come into collision : —
1. From the Cape Colony and the Diamond Fields
overland.
2. From our own Colony of Natal, with and without the
I»ermission of the Government — nior(^ without than with,
liowever.
3. Through the Portuguese settlement of Loren9o Marques,
situated about two miles up the left bank of English Eiver,
which runs into Delagoa Bay.
I believe that, owing to the representations of the Free-
State and Transvaal, Sir Henry Barkly and Mr Southey
have, or are about to, put a stop, not only to the sale of
lirearms to natives, but to their indiscriminate importation
and sale altogether. So far so good, but will Sir Henry
prevent them being exported by the new line of steamers to
Loren9o Marques? I need not speak of the settlement to
the North of that one. Or, if he does that in Capetown
and Algoa Bay, can he stop, in transhipment, guns, shipped
in ICngland, consigned to Lorenco direct 1 Supposing,
however, all this be done, combined with what has already
296 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — GUN TRADE.
been done in Natal, it will prevent any guns or ammunition
from leaving the British Colonies in South Africa for the
Portuguese settlements ; hut Avhat does that help 1 They
themselves can, and do, import from France, Britain, and
Portugal. The next proceeding, I su2)pose, would be a
treaty, between Great l^ritain and Portugal, to the effect
that neither Power should dispose of arms to the natives.
All would be properly settled, diplomatically, and, after all, it
would be a mere farce.
I could not help laughing to myself the other day, when
I saw something in the Mercuiij, about the 500 guns having
been delivered to the Zulus by the Governor of Lorenco
Marques, "to the great dissatisfaction of the inhabitants."
Dear me ! There are perhaps thirty pure white inhabitants
— the only ones who dare call their souls their own — in the
jilace, besides those among the soldiers who are white, but
who count for nothing. If they were dissatisfied, take my
word for it, that it was only because the j)rofit did not go
into their pockets ! As for the Governor, he could not do
otherwise. If he offended the Zulus, who would keep the
Amaswasi and Mabudtu tribes from him %
Here I cannot help digressing, to remark how ignorant
people are, who might be enlightened by the slightest
enquiry, not only of the tribes surrounding us, and their
politics and proceedings, but also of the geography of the
surrounding countries. A good while ago I saw in your own
journal, or that of your contemporary, an extract from a
Transvaal paper, to the effect that Mr George Moodie has
inspected the route of the proposed road from New Scotland
to the mouth of the Usutu Eiver, as far as the Bombo range.
That up to that 2:)oint he had found no difficulties, and, from
there, it was only dghteen miles of level country, free from
MISSTATEMENT OF DISTANCES. 297
obstructions, to Delagoa, Bay. It is eighty every inch of it,
and if he goes down the right bank of the Usutu, he has
the Pongolo to cross — if down the left, he has lakes and
morasses — which will necessitate a detonr. Again, quite
lately, I saw that the President of the Transvaal had been
to the Swazi Queen's head kraal " Lotito" (Udidti), one.
<lay's journey from Delagoa Bay. Now it is five days' hard
walking. There may be a " motive" in the original penning
of these statements, but it is careless in the Natal Mercuri/
and Colonist, to take them for granted, and transcribe them;
they may mislead abroad.
To return to the treaty, and why it would be a f^irce. It
is acknowledged that Governments may make treaties, but
unless the nation considers them beneficial or honourable,
they do not hold. The voice of other nations, or the public
opinion of an honourable people, may for a time cause th(^
obnoxious and harmful treaty to be adhered to, simply
because unfortunately it has been made; but, sooner or
later, it is openly abrogated, and in most cases systemati-
cally evaded. Honourable public feeling does a great deal,
but even that will not do all.
How will it be, then, where there is neither public opinion,
press, nor feeling of any kind — where a few men risk their
lives, for the sake of making money quickly, and returning
to tlieir native land — where the end and aim of everything
is profit; the description of trade in which it may be gained
being of no consequence'? The British may make represen-
tations, should they break or evade the treaty; but will the
Portuguese Government accept such representations, in
despite of those of their own officials and subjects ] Never !
What do those who reside in the East African settlements
of Portugal care? They live within stone walls, and con-
298 LETl'ERS TO THE PRESS — GUN TRADE.
sicler themselves tolerably safe, not only because of their
defences, but because the natives think that, should they
sweep them off, they would be unable to procure their
supplies of goods, and the arms with which they murder
and plunder one another. There is only one remedy for
this, as for other matters, and that is a British settlement-
on the southern bank of English River, as well as Unyaka,
with posts along the border. This would aid our labour
supply, and stop the gun trade. What the Portuguese do,
to the northward, is a question for philanthropists — not of
our safety.
I cannot pass on, without referring to a late article in th&
Transvaal Advocate, in which the Colonial Governments ar&
bitterly blamed for the " reckless" way, in which they allow
the natives, in and about the liepublic, to procure arms;
and, it is tolerably broadly said, that Great Britain does
this for the jmrpose of compelling the two States to come
under British rule, by involving them in wars with the
natives. The Transvaal shouldn't throw stones, and the
reason why it should not do so, I will give in an anecdote.
T remember, some two or three years ago, having some
conversation with a trader, who takes, every year, large
(piantities of goods into the Transvaal, and amongst other
things, guns and powder. He was telling me that he traded
with the natives on the outskirts of the Kepublic, about and
across the Limpopo, and mentioning his large i)rofits, a £10
tusk for a £3 gun, and so on. I — filled with a natural
envy — was trying to find " a worm in the rosebud" he was
holding, so tantalisingly, to my nose, so I said : — " But do
not the Transvaal authorities interfere with you?" I shall
never forget his look of pitying contempt at my simplicity,
as he replied, " No I I get the Yeld Cornets to trade for
TRANSVAAL INCONSISTENCIES. 291>
me." Now the Natal Government do their best; wlienever
they give a permit to export guns to the Free State or
Transvaal, they take a bond, to be redeemed by the Land-
rost's certificate. This gives the authorities tlie information
that certain guns have come into their country: and it
surely then becomes their business to see that they are
properly disposed of. The Governing powers of the Re-
public may rest assured, that, so long as their officers are
amenable to reason, and the profits will allow of reason being
shown, guns will be sold to the natives, whatever nation
may bear sway in Natal, the Cape Colony, or the Diamond
Fields.
I have pointed out, what I believe to be the only thorough
preventive of the sale of arms and ammunition, by the Portu-
guese, to the natives bordering on Natal: and, as regards
our own Colonies, I think that the various Governments
ought to take the trade in guns into their own hands, just
as they have done that in powder. They can appoint
agents for the sale of fire-arms, at a fixed salary, and they
can always keep a stock on hand. I do not think that bona
fide buyers of guns would object to this, as the Government
(;ould afford to sell cheaper than importers, since what they
want is safety, not profit. As at j)resent, the Magistrates
could give permits. They would never be required to
adjudicate on an application for a great number, because, as
nobody can sell, nobody would buy, except what they
required for their own use; although I think that one
l)rivate individual may sell his gun to another, provided the
Magistrate is satisfied. It is only the imjmiation of guns
that I would have in Government hands. From the 15th
to the 31st of every January, might be the time in which
registered owners of guns should be compelled to show or
300 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — GUN TRADE.
account for tliem, at their respective Magistracies. As
regards guns going Overberg, I don't think that the present
arrangement can be improved upon. The Free State and
Transvaal may rest assured, that the first use of these guns,
if they get into the possession of the natives, will not be in
war ic'ith the British! Instead of grumbling at us, let them
look closer after their disposal.
There is one thing, however, which our Government is
remiss in, and that is, the allowing so much' gun and powder
.smuggling to be carried on. Many cases of guns, and casks
of i:>owder, pass yearly into Natal, without paying duty, or
being registered. It is impossible to say more, but this
islight reference ought to be enough ; verhum scqj : !
Notwithstanding all I have proj^osed, and other people
may propose, and all that the Government can do, we may
rest assured that, while the profits are so high, the trade
will be carried on, but it is our duty to do all we can to
stop it. The more strict and vigilant the Government is,
the greater the risk to the illicit traders. To cover that
risk, he can only sell a class of gun which is much more
dangerous to the man behind it, than to the one in front ;
and, after all, it is not what an undisciplined horde of
natives can do with firearms, that I am afraid of, but what
they think they can do, so that, if they can only get a class
of weapon, which will quickly betray their confidence, in
a disastrous manner, the result might almost be better,
than if we could stop the trade altogether.
It is known that the Zulus (The Ma Zitu) about tlic
Zambezi and Shire, will have nothing to do with guns, and
when they take them from tlie enemy, they beat the iron
into assegais. Some time ago I was conversing with one of
the Mabudtu Tongas, and I made the remark — speaking of
DIFFICULTIES OF THE GUN TRADE. 301
the late war — " Now you liave taken the Portuguese guns,
I suppose every man in Mabudtu is armed." " Oh ! " he
repUed, "guns help nothing. They are very well for
hunting, but not for war. You fire one shot, and before you
can load again they are on you with the assegai ! "
These tribes have learned by experience; but that of
other tribes has yet to come.
I am &c.,
Peter Schlemil.
Defence.
(NATAL Colonist, lOtli April, I87;i.)
To THE Editor of the Natal Colonist.
Sir, — In common with everyone in the Colony — especially
those who live in the country — I take a great interest in
this subject, and that must be my apology for offering a
suggestion or two.
The Volunteer law is a good one, but it is not sufficient.
We ought most decidedly to have a militia law to supple-
ment it. This would, however, most likely be a dead letter,
since everyone would then join the Volunteers — as they
ought to do. I have not the law by me to refer to, and
(consequently cannot say whether there is a compulsory
clause or not ; but, if there is not, there ought to be. Any
man, who has once voluntarily joined a corps, ought to be
compelled to keep up his drill and practice. If he does not,
let him fall back into the militia. Sure am I that no
employer will grudge the necessary time to any employe.
502 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — DEFENCE.
Another thing tliat comes within tlie compass of this
subject, is the arming of our natives. What is there to
prevent our training two hundred Kaffirs, at eacli magistracy 'i
I feel perfectly confident that we could find trustworthy
natives, who would stand by us in any war ; and the fact of
there being diff'erent tribes, at difi"erent magistracies, would
prevent them ever coalescing against us. They might drill
twenty-four days in a year, and receive one shilling per day
pay. The same on service — besides rations, but no rations
during j^ractice or drill. These men might be attached to,
and officered by, the different Volunteer corps ; and we
should thus, with our Volunteers and militia, be prepared
for any outbreak in the Colony — and, with the addition of
our Kaffir Sepoys, be ready for any inroad from, or war
beyond, our borders. Their arms, after drilling, to be
deposited in the care of the magistrate.
It is well known that the Kaffir " in authority " — say the
policeman — is harder on his coloured brethren, than the
whites are. So I believe it w^ould be, in the event of mak-
ing them soldiers. And we could obviate any chance of a
rebellion, such as that of the Hottentots of the Cape Corps,
by keeping their arms from them, except at drill, or on
service. But I reiterate — and I have some knowledge of the
natives — that I believe they would make faithful soldiers.
Besides that, it would be a step in the right direction, as
showing them that we identified our interests with theirs,
and expected them to do their sliare in defending a country
in which they, as Avell as ourselves, have their homes.
I am. Sir, yours,
Peter Schlemi]>.
Durban, Fehruary 22, 1873.
THE KAFFIR RISING IN NATAL. 303
The Kaffir Rising in Natal.
(Times, 2nd January, 1874.)
To THE Editor of tue Times.
Sir, — As one who has lived many years among the natives
of Natal and surrounding countries, I would say a few words
.as to the alarm, no doubt felt by many, about the recent
outbreak in Natal, of which we have such scant news, in
•consequence of the detention of the mail, and Avhy I think
it of little moment.
At intervals of a few years, a tribe becomes rich and
unmanageable. Something happens to cause a quarrel and
disobedience, and the tribe is punished. There have been
two cases of this in Natal, before the present one of
Langalibalele (Anglice, " The sun, it shines") — those of
Isidoi and Matyana. Both were "eaten up" and driven
from the country. Some of the other tribes were gathered
by Mr Shepstone, and, in company with a few whites,
perfectly succeeded in their expeditions. They took all the
cattle and scattered the offenders. Their place knew them
no more. Among such an agglomeration of petty nationali-
ties as there is in Natal, it is certain that every now and
then one will be contumacious — ^just as in civilized com-
munities there are always individuals who commit crime.
The unfortunate part in this case is, that what was intended
as simple punishment, should have ended in something like
a battle, in which we were defeated, and the natives escaped
with their cattle, which are all in all to them. I have no
fear whatever of any general war in Natal, unless some
question is raised which would band the tribes together.
Summary interference with polygamy might do it.
304 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — KAFFIR RISING.
There is one thing, however, which I have constantly
advocated, in the Natal newspapers and in papers read
before the Natural History Association of that place, and
that is the necessity for education. It applies equally to
West Coast and East. Missionary exertions are good so
far, but they are slow. Let us have Mr Forster's Act out
there. The natives have been used to plenty of room for
their cattle and their gardens. As time goes on, under the
peaceful rule of Britain, they increase and multiply, and,
unless they are educated into a different mode of livings
they become crowded, they quarrel, and wars are the result;
simply because, in their own idea, they had not room to exist.
It has been an infallible law in the history of all savage and
half-civilized peoples (in that of others, too, perhaps), that a
long peace bred a bloody war, but this is the principal
reason for it among natives — they must have room; and
wars, once begun, are hard to put a stop to.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
David Leslie.
Natal and Ashantee.
(Glasgow Herald, January 6th, 1874.)
To THE Editor of the Glasgow Herald.
Sir, — I see that you have done me the honour, in to-day's
issue, of republishing my note to the Timei< of the 2nd inst.
I wish to mention that that letter was written on 31st
December, and I am now glad to see that the news by the
Anglian, corroborates my opinion of the so-called "rising."
My object in addressing you to-day is to point out the
i:)arallel which, to a certain extent, exists in the conditions
ZULUS THE ASHANTEES OF THE EAST OF AFRICA. 305
of the tribes on the West and East coasts; as also the
position in which a different mode of Government and a
different pohcy, has placed them to their English rulers.
Xatal has not the disadvantage which the West coast
labours under, viz., that of being an unhealthy country, but
as regards the number of natives to rule, the position is the
same ; nay, in that colony it is not so favourable, since it is
but the other day that the Zulu immigrants were constantly
at war, and still they are naturally turbulent, brave, and
warlike, whereas the natives of the Protectorate are the
opposite. Natal is surrounded by strong and restless tribes,
> et are they all friendly. A severe, yet just and honourable
policy, has always been adopted towards them, and though
in the case of the Zulu nation beyond the border — the
Ashantees of the East — it has been aided by the accident of
fear of civil war amongst themselves, and by the influence
exerted by Mr John Dunn, Secretary to their King; yet
Ave may truly say, that it has been successful in the highest
degree.
Natal proper, is inhabited by a number of tribes, each of
which preserves its autonomy, and is governed by its chief,
who exercises magisterial authority, but is subject to the
white magistrate of the district in which his tribe is situated.
He has a right of appeal, however, as have any of his people
— nominally to the Lieutenant-Governor, as Great Chief,
])ut virtually to the Secretary for Native Affairs, the Hon.
Theo. Shepstone, C.M.G., to whom Britain is greatly
indebted, not only for what he has done in Natal, but
because he has thereby shown that natives in our depen-
dencies can be well and easily governed, and at the same
time improve their condition morally and physically, yet
remain loyal subjects and good friends.
X
306 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATAL AND ASHANTEE.
Thus, tlien, one tribe keeps the other in check ; and
whenever a case like the 2)resent one of LangaHbalehi
happens, they are only too anxious, for love, or for hatred,
or reward — perhaps all three — to help the whites against
their contumacious brethren.
It is inevitable, ''in the unalterable fitness of things," that
such quarrels should happen in Natal. Although the present
affair began by the chief's refusal to register guns, bought by
his people when working at the diamond fields, yet he has
long been known as one who had a great opinion of his own
power. These natives are located — i.e., portions of the land of
Natal are laid off for occupation by them. Each tribe holds
a title from the Government. The people, however, are at
Uberty to, and thousands of them do, reside on private
property, if they prefer the locality, and can arrange with the
proprietor. Much has been said against this system of
locations, but I myself cannot see how, for the present, it
can be altered. As I wrote in the Times — it is worth
repeating — unless they are educated to a knowledge of, and
desire for, a higher mode of life, they cannot exist on small
plots of land, as could a white man ; and to throw them
abroad in the colony with no foot of ground — no locus standi
— compelled to find place for their kraals where they could
arrange with the landholder, would subject them to, in their
opinion, persecutions and fleecings, and drive them into
rebellion against what the white men Avould only consider
their just claims.
Education is the great civiliser. The mandate of the
Governor, as Great Chief, of course supported by the Legis-
lative Council, Avill be more simple and efficacious than Mr
Forster's Act. The natives can very well pay taxes to
support the schools, and education will do no more than it
CAPE JEALOUSY OF NATAL. 307
lias done in this country, when it induces reform amongst
the Kaffirs of Xatal.
I must also point out as the brightest side of all, that there
is less drunkenness, debauchery, and crime — the usual con-
<:omitants of civilization — amongst the natives under the
Government of Natal, than in any other colony I have seen
or read of. The Cape papers abuse the Natal Government
for strictness in its native policy — the Natal colonists cry
out against its too great leniency, and call it negrophilism.
Be sure, therefore, that the happy medium has been hit.
The Cape is always pleased to get a bone to pick with its
younger sister ; but yet it has not been so successful in its
own native policy, as to entitle its criticism to weight.
Natal, since it has been a colony, has never cost the Imperial
Government a penny, or a man, through its wars or its
rumours of w^ars. That is only negative praise; l)ut it has done
more. From the Zambezi southwards the natives come to
Avork in its sugar and coffee plantations. They compare the
■condition of things in Natal with the anarchy, murder, and
robbery which prevail in countries, which we allow to t)e
under the degraded so-called rule of Portugal, and they
spread the name of Euglishman (Scotch though I am, I must
acknowledge that W(^ go by no other) as a synonym for jus-
tice, honour, and humanity. This is the state of things in
the East.
On the West Coast, as on the East, there seems to be a
belt of coast land which is unhealthy. Throughout those
low-lying countries there are a number of tribes under our
protectorate, who bear the same relation to the Ashantees us
do the Amatonga tribes, under so-called Portuguese rule, on
the East, to the Zulus. The latter can neither control nor
protect the Amatongas. They encourage them in forays on
308 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATAL AND ASHANTEE.
one another, so as to j^revent themselves from bemg over-
whelmed ; and they actually make their complaints and pay
tribute, in the shape of presents, to the Zulu power, which
is tributary to the British, against the very people whose
territory they now claim, notwithstanding its cession to us 1
The result of the question being at present under arbitration
is, that we are unable to give the peoj^le that ^jrotection, from
themselves and from the Zulus, which the presence of a single
British official would afford them. We have hitherto been
in much the same position on the West Coast as the Portu-
guese on the East. The difference is, that we are able and
willing to do what is right. AVe only require awakening.
In consequence of our having nothing but trading posts on
the Gold Coast, the demoralisation caused by us amongst
the natives has been something frightful. There has been
no colony, little authority, and no public opinion. By
taking possession of the Ashantee country, and establishing
our headquarters there, our trooj^s and officials would be
free from disease, and we should be enabled to keep our
factories on the coast. Those who reside in them, would no
doubt risk their lives for money-making, but, if they choose
to do it, neither themselves, nor any one else, has a right to
grumble. A railway from the low to the higher lands, would
reduce the risk from fever on the passage to a minimum.
The Ashantees, like the Zulus, seem to be, upon the
whole, a manly, brave, and generous people. But again,
like the Zulus, as they have gained their power by an utter
disregard for human life and a love for war, created and
fostered by early successes — and through their possessing
finer constitutions, both physically and morally, in conse-
quence of living in a hilly, healthier country, and being far
from the debauchery and drunkenness which inevitably
don't spare the rod. 309
€xist in the vicinity of the factories — they have a love for,
and consider it necessary to keep np, their bloody customs
and wars, in the belief that without them they would neither
be respected nor unmolested.
A thorough beating first, and good treatment (though
firm and just) afterwards, will at once reconcile them to the
temperate rule of Britain, and to the safety for their persons
and property which would obtain. It has been so on the
East, where the Zulu Power desolated the South-East Coast,
until they came in contact with the Dutch Boers, who com-
pletely defeated them; and afterwards, the British having
defeated the Boers, their supremacy was accepted, and the
Zulus became good neighbours and vassals. This, of course,
does not apply to the Xorth, as the way is open there for
the Zulu forays, through the claim of the Portuguese to the
territory.
The natives of Africa, East and West, are born traders.
It is about trade that the quarrels on the West principally
arise. Give them peace and security — by conquering them
— and an immense trade with the interior would result.
Adopt the system at work in Natal, where the one tribe
keejis the other in check, and we should have a magnificent
dependency in Western Africa, easily and inexpensively
ruled, with prospects for commerce scarcely to be equalled,
except, perhaps, in China.
Adopt the other plan which is openly advocated, and
what is the results We avenge our honour, re-establish our
X^restige, and — what ? We leave the country a j^rey to war,
anarchy, and crime of every kind. The slave trade would
revive in all its horrors. (It has never died out on the
East Coast, under Portuguese rule, notwithstanding treaties
and Sir Bartle Frere's embassy 1) Britain would falsify her
310 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATAL AND ASHANTEE.
past liistory as the coiintiy which has preferred benefit U>
humanity to her own profit; as the nation wliich never
calcuhited the cost, wlien what she thought good was to be
done to oppressed and degraded peoj^les. We need not go
to Coomassie for that end. Halt now, and leave the countr}'.
Our honour and our prestige have had many a worse rul>
than what they would suffer from doing so, especially with
the princii:)le avowed that "the game is not worth the
candle." In one sense — the lowest — it is not; but let us
hope that higher motives will prevail. If they do, we shall
undoubtedly meet our reward, even in a pecuniary sense.
I am, &c.,
David Leslie.
The Native Rising in Natal.
To THE Editor of the Times.
Sir, — In writing of the circumstances of the late outbreak
in Natal, it is necessary, to a true understanding of the
affair, to have a knowledge of the condition of the tribes in
that colony; of the position which they occupy towards the
whites, and of their character and customs. Most Natalians
■will know my name, and will not deny my acquaintance
with the subject, though they have generally considered me
a "negrophile," in consequence of my always having defended
Mr Shepstone's policy towards the natives; and their rights,
against rash politicians, who, either on the one side wish to
reduce them to something like serfdom, or, on the other,
adopt the Exeter Hall cry of " a man and a brother. — our
equal in all respects." I know Langalibalele personally,
his country, and his tribe.
AT ODDS WITH "EVEN-HANDED JUSTICE." 311
The letter of " Even-handed Justice," which appeared in
your issue of the ITtli January, is, except on one point
which I will notice, merely a tirade which shows how much
harm an "amiable enthusiast" may do, when he takes upon
himself to write, on so grave a question as this, on second-
hand information. Even in his first paragraph there is a
gross mistake, calculated to mislead. The tribes in Natal
were never "vanquished" by us. They came in for pro-
tection from the Zulus and other large and warlike nations.
Naturally, therefore, it must be considered a more heinous
crime to rebel against those who have protected, than against
those who conquered or " vanquished" them.
I have no objection to his adoption of such a noin de])lume.
Let us see, however, whether he remembered it in writing.
1st. — He quotes from the letter of a correspondent, "above
suspicion of misrepresentation" — -"hundreds of men killed."
Very likely. That generally does happen in a rebellion.
We ought to feel thankful that they who rebelled, and not
those whom they rebelled against, were the sufferers —
" thousands of men, women, and children made prisoners,
who are to be converted into slaves for the benefit of the
colonists." In this case the " correspondent" has certainly
not simply misrepresented, he has made an assertion which
is positively untrue, and I cannot see that it is " even-
handed justice" to brand the struggling colonists of Natal,
in the columns of the leading journal of the Empire, as a
slaveholding community, on no other foundation than an
extract from a letter, which has no date, and comes from no
l)lace, to an anonymous writer who dates from " London."
Some time ago I saw a sort of circular from the Peace
Society on the same matter, and thought of replying to it.
I was very busy, however, and thinking that the senile
312 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATIVE RISING IN NATAL.
complaints of these sixteen-cup-of-tea-and-bread-and-butter-
philanthropists did not press for refutation, I let it pass.
Now, however, as it crops up again in a more virulent
manner, I think it but right to lay the truth before your
readers, for simply to deny the assertion may not l)e
enough.
When Langalibalele and his men decided to leave the
colony, they deserted their women and children (in the
usual Kaffir fashion) by the thousand, thinking that once
they (the men) were fairly settled somewhere else, these
poor creatures would find their way to them. In all Kaffir
wars the women have to look after themselves and their
children. These unfortunates Avere found by the Govern-
ment forces in all sorts of out-of-the way places — in the bush,
the caves, and amongst the rocks; and when it was decided
to follow up the tribe (rightly so, as I shall show) the
question arose, What was to be done with the captives'?
To have let them alone, would have resulted in the star-
vation of one half, and the dispersion of the other amongst
the loyal and auxiliary tribes, who would have made them
the captives of their spear and shield. Mothers would hav(;
gone one way, children another. Families would have been
broken up, and intense misery the result. Under these
circumstances, the Government wisely and mercifully decided
that these helpless women and children should be placed out
amongst respectable colonists, ])y whom they would be j^aid,
fed, and taught — thus caring for them in the meantime, and
endeavouring to raise them in the social scale in the future,
just as helpless pauper children, deserted by their natural
guardians, are apprenticed out in this free country of ours.
It was always provided, further, that should the husbands
and fathers of these women and children return peaceably.
HOW GUNS ARE GOT BY TIIP] NATIVES. 313
and settle down in the colony as good citizens, they might
claim tlieir families and receive them.
Tlie remainder of the paragraph from the "correspon-
dent's " letter is mere clap-trap.
"Even-handed Justice" then goes on to "narrate the
events which have led to so shocking a history," and, in
doing so, makes a gross misrepresention (whether for the
sake of argument or through ignorance, I do not know).
He says that many young Natalians paid these natives for
work at the diamond-fields in guns, the possession of which
Avas the first cause of the rebellion. This is not so. They
paid their labourers — and they came from all parts of South
Africa — in money, and these men purchased firearms and
brought them liome, although they knew that, by the law
of the colony, they were not allowed to own them without
permission. He makes several other insinuations as excuses
for the natives, and tending to throw tlie blame upon the
whites, such as " a near relative of the district magistrate
icas supposed to have dealt in the i:)rohibited
merchandise" (the italics are mine), and "the old chief
having been taught to love rum by the white
man." Is it " even-handed justice " to make use of under-
hand, unsupported aspersions of this kind in a grave contro-
versy concerning matters of so much moment 1
" Even-handed Justice " goes on to say (and here I must
begin to mix up his two letters, of the 17th and 26th inst.)
that there was really no outbreak, no rebellion in the usual
sense of the term. Let me tell him, tliat a refusal to come
to head-quarters, when called by his supreme chief, is the
worst rebelHon a native can be capable of, short of plundering
the residence of the King. It is as much as to say, " You
have no right to call me. I am as good as you. If you
314 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATI\'E RISING IN NATAL.
want to see me, come to me. If you want my arms, come
and take them." He asks also why this tribe should not
have been allowed to go in peace when they wanted to take
refuge with the Basutos. He evidently is in ignorance that
the Basutos are also under British rule. How, then, could
we have allowed a tribe, which had defied and then left us,
to take up a habitation amongst a nation which is still
l)oiling and heaving with the excitement of the last war
with the Dutch 1
Again, if they had been allowed to go in peace, taking
their cattle with them, and their wives, children, and
household goods, having plenty of time to follow, what
l)unisliment would that have been for insubordination ?
The native is not rooted to his native soil, as we are. This
chief would have gone away victorious, and all the other
tribes would have seen that they were in effect independent
if they chose. There would have been an end to all rule
and order. The colonists of Natal were sitting on a mine,
and they hiew it, as do all who have personal knowledge of
tlie colonj^
AYith regard to the death of the three volunteers at the
Bushman's Pass, your correspondent says that about " sixty
volunteers " were posted there. There were thirty, " backed
by a body of Basutos as auxiliaries." There were twenty
"when the natives came up by twos and threes, quite peace-
ably, until about two hundred had assembled, of whom not
more than one-fourth were armed [with guns, I suppose
he means], and then a parley began." What followed,
according to your correspondent, created the savage desire
for vengeance in the minds of the colonists.
Major Durnford's orders were not to fire on the natives
until fired at, but to try and stop them peaceably; and it
THE BEGINNINGOF THE FIGHT. 315
was in endeavouring to fulfil these orders, by reasoning with
them on their conduct, that his men were fired at, were then
l)anic-struck, and in the flight the three were shot down.
I will not say that they were " basely murdered." Savages
deal after their kind;\but it'is difficult for the fathers and
l)rothers of these young men,"to excuse the natives by saying,
" Poor fellows ; they knew no better."
The fact of the natives leaving the colony under such
circumstances would be no " remedy for the i)re2:)onderance
in numbers" in the colony. Are they to go, creating a wave
of war throughout South-Eastern Africa, and leaving insub-
ordination and rebellion amongst those who remain behind'?
Your correspondent's remarks on the Court of Inquiry are
worth nothing — since all was done under native law, by
which the tribes have preferred to be governed, and which is
administered, with the exception of questions of polygamy,
consistently with Christian jirofession — if not with the
" usages and laws of Britain."
Now I come to the only point on which I agree with the
letters of " Even-handed Justice," only here again he is dis-
ingenuous. In your issue of the 17th he quotes from a letter
of Mr H. Bucknall. I at once allow that it is a brutal letter.
In your issue of the 26th he says : — " I will not pile up
horrors, but take almost at random the following extract from
a letter in the Natal Times to illustrate my meaning," and
then goes on to quote another account of the same occurrence as
described hy Mr Bucknall. He has, at all events, here jailed
one horror into tiuo, which shews that what I said in the
l)eginning of my letter about an "amiable enthusiast" is
truly the case.
And now, Sir, I would say one or two more words before
I end my trespass on your space.
316 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NATIVE RISING IN NATAL.
Is it '' even-handed justice," that in every case Avhere the
colonists endeavour to defend themselves from massacre in
cold blood, which would entail upon Britain a costly exj)edi-
tion — as in Jamaica, so now in Natal — that there should
be in this country a party of crack-brained enthusiasts as
regards the rights of the black men — rights which they too
often show they do not appreciate amongst the whites — to
villify them for their pains '? Is it " even-handed justice,"
that because a few men have committed the crime of being
cruel, and the blunder of boasting of it, that the whole body
of colonists is to be aspersed as slaveholders and "ferocious"
shedders of blood 1 Is it reasonable to suj^pose, think you,
that our brethren and our fathers, who left here but yester-
day, should have so far changed their nature and forgotten
their training, as to trample upon all the rights and feelings
of the natives, who, thoughlower in the scale of humanit}-,
are still their fellowmen 1
Is it in any way fair that philanthropists, who sit in their
easy chairs, with no personal knowledge of the circumstances,
are to be judges of the conduct of men who are changing a
wilderness into a smiling land, and really doing much to
raise so many nations, morally and socially, but who, sur-
rounded by these savage thousands in an uneasy state of
transition, carry their lives in their hands 1 Are they to be
judges of they know not what ? — to cry shame ! when there is
no shame, except to themselves for misjudging 1 Are the
colonists first to see their fields and houses in ashes, and
then only to retalifate, or to cry for assistance to Britain, and
hear the univeral growl, "Why can't you defend yourselves,
you colonists ? What good are you 1 Only an expense !"
Xo, Sir, I have lived amongst these same natives many
years, and have liked, and for many things, admired them.
COLONISTS MISJUDGED BY PSEUDO-PHILANTHROPISTS. 317
I have always been their reasonable advocate ; but in this
case of the rebeUion of Langahbalele and its certain conse-
quences, if unchecked, the colonists have done well for them-
selves, the natives in general, and the Anglo-Saxon name.
Look at the aifair in all its points, and give, I also say,
" oven-handed justice " to all concerned.
I am, &c.,
David Leslie.
The New African Gold Discoveries.
(Times, 19th January, 1874.)
To THE Editor of the Times.
Sir, — By the last mail we have important news from Natal.
Some years ago the people and journals of that colony, led
away by Herr Mauch's vivid descriptions, announced to all
parts of the world that gold had been discovered in immense
fields. The result was that many came from all parts of the
world and were disappointed.
Gold there was, no doubt, but it was not to be found in
(quantities which would pay the diggers. Since then, there
lias been continual talk of finding the precious metal in
different localities; but the papers, warned by the odium
they incurred on that occasion, have been very careful as to
])ublishing the various reports.
This time I have no hesitation in believing what is told
us. In 1871, when I was in the neighbourhood of the dis-
trict in which auriferous deposits have been discovered, I
heard many stories from the natives of gold being there.
There were white men also at work, and they said very little
as to their progress — a very good sign of success ; and now,
318 LETTj:rxS to the press — new gold discoveries.
instead of l)eiiig suddenly blazoned forth, the stories have
gradually increased in volume, until the announcement has
been, in a manner, forced from the'Natal papers. Within a
year or two I fully believe that we shall see a large mining
population at work, and the exports of gold beginning to
rival those from Austraha, the gold-bearing districts of which
are in much the same parallels of latitude.
Now, Sir, what is the present position as between the
white and black races in South-Eastern Africa, and what
will be the position if my anticipations be realized 1 We
all know how that Britain was compelled to assert her rights
over the country in which the diamond fields are situated,
so as to prevent the Dutch Boers of the Orange Free States
from assuming the sovereignty, over a country and a popula-
tion, which they could neither have governed nor kept in
order. The present gold fields are situated in a country
which is claimed by the Transvaal Republic, another i)etty
Dutch Boer State Avhich Britain has allowed to establish
itself on the north-east of Xatal, but Avliich is in reality
native territory. The Boers have many curious modes of
annexing native lands. 1 will give you two out of my
experience.
A certain district was required, so as to give a right of
way to the coast from New Scotland (a settlement in the
eastern part of Transvaal). The operating agent, who Avas
in this case an Englishman, approached the chief with a
request to be allowed to cut a few trees in the forest, for
which he paid him about £15 or £20 worth of blankets.
Of course, the request was granted, and some timber was
felled. It so happened that this forest swarmed with
monkeys, the skins of which were valuable for purposes of
trade among the neighbouring and powerful nation of tlu^
"THE SIMPLE PLAN " OF LAND ANNEXATION. 311)
Zulus. I wished to place some native hunters there, for the
purpose of shooting these monkeys, and applied to the chief
for the purpose of doing so, offering him a couple of blankets
in return, which usually avouIcI have been ample remunera-
tion. '' No, no," said the chief. " The white man has given
me all these goods for mere permission to cut trees. You,
who wish to deprive us of every means of existence, since it
is only by possessing these skins that we are enabled to pay
tribute to the Zulus, only offer me two blankets. No, no."
I met the Englishman afterwards, and he acknowdedged
that it had been done with a view to asserting that the land
had been bought !
Again, a certain Boer, named Conrad Vermack — a man of
the nomadic class, which moves about with their flocks and
herds, and exist by hunting — applied to the King of the
Amaswazi, a tribe bordering on the east of Transvaal, for
permission to hunt in a certain district (say about the size
of Lancashire), and to squat there (by the laws of the tribes
land cannot be sold, as we understand it, and this is well
known to whites who have any relations with the natives) ;
also for the general assistance and countenance of his people
while hunting. This was granted, and now I see that the
country is included in the map of Transvaal as j)art of that
republic !
Up to the present time these transactions have only led
to constant bickerings with the natives. Wars have been
prevented by the interposition of the English Government
of Natal, and the sparseness of the white population has so
far prevented the natives from feeling any pressure ; l)ut,
when we remember the results of this class of bargains be-
tween the whites and Maories in New Zealand, we may wt^U
anticipate trouble, and adopt measures to avoid it.
320 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NEW GOLD DISCOVERIES.
Again, on tlie coast of Delagoa Bay — tlie nearest seaport
]jy far to the gold fields — we have the Portuguese shut up
in their factory of Lorengo Marques, and holding on their
ground only by keeping up wars and anarchy among the
natives.
In 1823, Captain Owen, in her Majesty's ship "Leven,"
visited the bay, and entered into a treaty with the chiefs
south of English river (on the north bank of which Lorenco
Marques is situated), by which they ceded their territory to
Great Britain fully and freely. I have had the ceremony
described by old natives who Avitnessed it. While Captain
Owen was there, a schooner from the Cape, called the "Orange
Grove," entered the river Mapoota for purjioses of trade.
The " Leven " went on a cruise to Madagascar ; during her
absence the crew of the schooner fell sick of the fever, and
the Portuguese took advantage of the opportunity to
seize her. Captain Owen returned and compelled her
restitution, together with all of which she had been
plundered, thus setting at rest, once and for ever, as one
would think, the question of ownership of the territory.
Ever since then, that country has been held to belong to
Great Britain. The Island of Inyack (a portion of it) was,
in 1861, Gazetted as a j)art of Natal, in the Government
Gazette of that colony. The diocese of the bishof> of Zulu-
land was marked for him as including it, and it was only in
September, 1871, when I took a schooner into the same
river, and for the same purposes as the "Orange Grove" had
in view, that the Portuguese seized it with its cargo, and
our Government agreed to refer the territory in dispute to
arbitration, without even insisting, that they should first
l)ut matters in the same position as before the agreement, by
restoring the vessel.
OUR LAISSEZ FAIliE POLICY A BLUNDER. 321
Surely the mere fact of agreeing to arbitrate, on the part
of the Portuguese, showed there was some doubt as to the
ownership of the territory, and that they had no right
whatever to act in this high-handed manner. It may be
asked by all, what this has to do with the gold discoveries
in Eastern Africa. This much — that a giving way to the
pretensions of a petty, but obtrusive and self-sufficient State
like Portugal, from a wish to save trouble, is as great a sign
of weakness in policy, and w^ant of the just regard which we
ought to have to our own power, and the protection which
is due to our fellow-citizens in all parts of the world, as it is
to bend to the fear of consequences, in dealing with a great
one like Russia or America.
The "let alone" policy which has enabled petty states,
like the Orange and Transvaal Republics, to establish them-
selves in such close proximity to our Colonies, and in the
midst of a teeming population of natives which they are
unable to control, will surely end by our being drawn into
wars, which the aggressions and misgovernment of these
states will create. Remember how, some years ago, we had
to establish a protectorate over the Basutos, so as to put a
stop to the war, in which they were then engaged with the
Orange Free State, which was dragging its weary length
along, and creating a feeling of restlessness among all the
natives around.
If the present laissez faire, and careless dilettante policy
in Eastern Africa, is persisted in, and my anticipation of a
large and motley gathering of miners on the Gold-fields
becomes a fact, (and I unhesitatingly i:)rognosticate its
fulfilment), what will be the result? It will be this, that
rowdies and ruffians, from all quarters, will flock to the
diggings, the more numerously and the more readily, that
Y
322 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — NEW GOLD DISCOVERIES.
they will be in a country where there is neither law nor
strong Government. Then will follow wars with the natives,
plunder and massacre. Will our own Colonies escape from
fermentation, with the malt in such close contact '? If Britain
does not retain a footing in Delagoa Bay, she cannot control
these diggers, unless she first annexes the Transvaal, and
then only through 500 miles of weary, rugged road from
Natal, the nearest seaport. If she retains her undoubted
right to the south bank of English Eiver, she is within
150 miles of the fields, with a country between, which is
remarkably fertile, level, and easily travelled.
On grounds of self-respect, of right, of justice to ourselves,
and to the claims of humanity, and for political and com-
mercial reasons, our Government (I speak of no party)
ought to listen to the advice of that Christian gentleman
and wise politician (Sir Bartle Frere), whose addresses in
Edinburgh and Glasgow, show how well and how thoroughly
he understands the present position and future prospects of
Eastern Africa. — I am, &c.,
David Leslie.
Glasgow, January 16th, 1874.
Is Dr Livingstone Dead?
(Glasgow Herald, 23r(l February, 1874.)
To THE Editor of the Glasgow Herald.
Sir, — Every man in this country will mourn for the death
of Dr Livingstone, and all of us would be glad to grasp at
any straw of hope that the news is untrue.
I have travelled for some years in South-Eastern Africa,
and have some experience of the natives, and knowledge
IS DR LIVINGSTONE DEAD? 323
of their character and customs. I have lived entirely
amongst them, have made them my study, and am not
satisfied with the accounts we have received of the death of
the great traveller. The tribes I know, which are those
inhabiting the low-lying coast-lands round the Portuguese
settlements, are the same, in all their characteristics, as those
inland from Zanzibar, and it is upon my knowledge of them,
that I ground my doubts as to the truth of the reports.
What we are told regarding the Doctor's death is so
circumstantial, and seems to be believed by so many, who
ought to have means of judging, that I am afraid to say "he
is not dead;" but I think we ought to suspend our decision,
and await further intelligence, before accepting and bewailing
such a loss to the nation.
Lieutenant Cameron's report is grounded on the story of
" Tshunia," a faithful servant of the Doctor's. Dr Living-
stone's son thinks Tshuma " too faithful to desert his master
and too honest to tell a lie." It may be so. But Mr Living-
stone has spent much of his time in this country, and has
not better means of judging, than others who are not satisfied.
The Johanna men were also " faithful servants," and they
lied. Dr Kirk, who travelled much in the interior, before
lie rested in his well-earned and well-filled position at
Zanzibar, seems to question the fact of the Doctor's death.
I do the same, on the following grounds : —
I remember, in 1871, that I had occasion to send a
messenger a distance of about seven days' walk. I was in
an unhealthy country, and he was a native of Natal, who
had followed my fortunes. Knowing that he was liable to
be struck down, I applied to the King for men to go with
him, both to show him the way and to aid him in the event
of sickness. Four messengers went with him, men well
known throughout the country as being about the person of
324 LETTERS TO THE PRESS — IS LIVINGSTONE DEAD 1
the King. On the way back he was taken ill, and came in
a very weak condition to a village at night. The influence
of the King's men gained him entrance, but in the night the
owners of the village, fearing that he would die, insisted on
his being carried out to the hillside, and there his com-
panions watched him, kept the wolves away, until towards
dawn he " went home !"
]N"ot even for fear of the King would the jDeople allow the
man to die in their village ; and sure am I that for no con-
sideration would the natives of Eastern Africa carry a dead
body any distance, let alone marching with it day after day.
They have an utter horror of a corpse. After in any way
coming in contact with one, they eat "medicine" to avert
the baleful influence, to carry oft' the defilement; and the
mere fact of having such a circumstantial account raises, in
my mind, a doubt of its correctness.
It has also been truly asked, " Where would the natives
procure salt and brandy to embalm the corpse"?" Salt they
might get, as " salt pans" are plentiful through the country.
But brandy 1 No ; it is impossible !
Let us rest patiently awhile, and hopefully. It cannot be
long ere the news is authenticated or denied.
If we have to mourn, we may remember this, that Dr
Livingstone never expected any other death than the one
now reported. He considered himself a soldier whose end
would most likely be the battle-field; and if he has died as
we are told, the greatest proof to my mind of the ascendancy
he gained in Africa, of the power which his A^ery name was
possessed of, would be the fact of his men having carried his
remains to Zanzibar, and having been allowed to do so by
the inhabitants of the villages through which they passed.
— I am, &c.,
David Leslie.
THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
(Xews of the Week, Dec. 1S74, and Jan. 1875.)
Chapter I.
Voyagers, driven into obscure regions by untoward winds,
may have passed a low peninsula jutting out from one of the
islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Twenty years ago they
would have admired the luxuriant beauty of the vegetation,
and the many lovely nooks created by the entrance of the
sea, forgetting that in its depths hovered the voracious
.shark, and unaware that ashore they would have found this
seeming paradise, apparently so green, so cool, and yet so
gaudy with lovely hues, to be teeming with snakes, and rank
with miasma.
The island itself was not a large one, but was peculiarly
formed. On the eastern side, it sloped gradually down from
a, high ridge, and the slopes were covered with jungle, which
had, however, in many j^laces yielded to the slight labour
necessary for cultivation in that favoured region. Springs
towards the loftier parts of the range were the parents of
innumerable little streams, which here and there sparkled
and glanced in the sun, as they wandered on their way,
through forest and open country, to the sea. And the shady
nooks and tiny waterfalls were seldom without an occupant,
in the shape of a native enjoying that greatest luxury of all
in a hot climate — fresh, clear, and cold water.
The banana, the plantain, the cocoa-nut, the pine-apple,
iind every rich and luscious fruit known to the clime,
326 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
bountifully and almost spontaneously offered tlieir product
to the hand that wished to gather ; while numberless gaudy
creepers and flowers of many hues, relieved and set off the
dark green of the jungle. Birds of the most brilliant plum-
age and discordant cries, fluttered and glanced through the
foliage, and made their nests in the gigantic ferns which
lined the courses of the streams. But in the most lovely
spots of this most beautiful part of the island — in the under-
wood, or in the open glades — coiled or basked the most deadly
snakes ; and at night, amongst other noises which spoke of
danger to man, the roar of the tiger was heard predominant.
The numerous prahms which lay upon the beach, and the
number of people walking up and down, or gambling and
carousing in the shade, spoke of a community supported by
piracy at sea, and debauched by a sensual life on shore —
men with black skins and long hair, some of them grown
grey in their career of crime, others showing in every feature
the sensual and brutal life they led, and all of them wearing
that villainous physiognomy peculiar to the lowest class of
the tribes of the Eastern Archipelago.
"Ramesamy," said an old man (speaking the Malay
language) who appeared to have some authority amongst
them, "it is time the prahms Avere out. Know, my son,
that, for our sins, the gods have given us far to go, before we
can procure what we require, to support our modest life in
this island."
" It is true," said the other. " Still, that distance is our
safety. Think how long we have been without those accursed
British ships paying us a visit. Shall I call the men
together this evening, to decide as to the expedition 1 They
are willing, nay, anxious to go."
" Do so ; but stay. Are we not rather short of slaves V*
A TRADITION OF SURVIVING ABORIGINES. 327
" My father speaks with his usual correctness. Many of
our men will have to labour as well as fight."
" I do not know that," said the old man. " Have you
never heard, Ramesamy, that when our fathers first landed
here, though they were suj^posed to have destroyed the
original inhabitants, yet a few families did manage to make
their escape 1"
" Yes, I have heard so," replied the other, " and there is
a vague tradition amongst us, that they still exist on the
western side of the island."
" I believe it to be true, and I will tell you why. You
know, when Moonesamy stole my daughter — whose bones,
for her disobedience, lie bleaching in the jungle — that they
passed some days near the top of yonder ridge you see in
the far distance. Well, on his return, and after receiving
my pardon "
" For which he paid well," interposed the other.
" He related his adventures," continued the chief, without
noticing the interruption, " and, amongst others, asserted
positively that he had seen smoke arising from the jungle
on the western side, where there is a peninsula. I have
never spoken of this, although it is years ago, until now,
because I did not wish the attention of the men to be drawn
from richer booty, which sails far afloat. But we will see
about it."
It is with the simple people, referred to in the foregoing
dialogue, that we have now to do. Let us, therefore, leave
this fair scene of nature, the principal blot on which is the
presence of man, and transport our readers to the western
end of the island.
The ridge to which we have already referred as rising
gradually from the eastern shore, extended the whole breadth
328 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
of tlie island, from north to south. At its highest elevation,
it suddenly broke into a precipice, fronting, like a huge wall,
the gales from the westward. Below this was the peninsular-
shaped i^ortion of which we have spoken — level ground,
stretching almost to the sea. The ground itself was broken
and rocky, covered with plants and trees of the aloe and
cactus, mixed with thick grasses and creepers peculiar to
the East. Towards the beach, slimy and foetid mud abounded,
and nourished patches of the mangrove, amongst which the
sea wound in clear green channels, haunted by sharks, and
by fish as gaudy as the birds on land. Of timber, properly
so called, there was none; neither were there wild animals.
They had either found it impossible, or thought it not worth
while, to scale the precipice which divided the island. The
coral reefs which encircled the shore, and the fact of the
j)lace being far out of the track of vessels, constituted it a
safe refuge for the unfortunate few who were its inhabitants.
These people looked, and most likely were, amongst the
most miserable of the earth. Long residence in an unhealthy
locality, caused by the heat arising from the reflection of
the sun against the precipice, and the exhalations from the
beds of mud, had reduced them to poor, sickly specimens of
humanity, content to be in the shade of a rock by day, and
to bury themselves in the grass at night. They lived on
what they could pick up from the sea, and what few yams
they could coax from amongst the rocks and prickly j)lants;
but yet withal they were a kindly, innocent race.
Many years before, their ancestors had occupied the fertile
eastern declivity, from which, as mentioned by the old
Indian, they had been driven on the advent of the Malay
pirates from the mainland. They had not increased in
number, and amounted, at the time of which we write, to
about one hundred families.
A DERELICT. , 329
Chapter II.
The scene changes, and this time there is no landscape to
describe. It is at sea we first make acquaintance with the
other characters in our story. The circumstances under
which we find them, are sufficiently fearful to test their
courage, and their trust in a higher power. The sky is over-
cast with clouds in wild commotion; the sea whirling and
heaving; the waters wearing that leaden hue, sprinkled with
drifts of spray, which shows the force of the hurricane, before
which the ship has been driven for days; and the driving
rain, which has lately begun to fall, seems to join sea and
sky into one element. The masts of the vessel have long
gone, and the helpless hulk drives before the wind.
Shortly after the storm arose, the captain had been washed
overboard, wdiile superintending the wearing of the ship, to
get her before the gale ; the mate, scarcely recovered from
sunstroke, had succumbed to the resumption of duty at such
a time ; and now the second mate, a rough and good enough
sailor, but not competent to control such a crew, was in
command.
The "Criterion " had been unfortunate in her men. She had
left New York when the gold fever — the rage for California
— was at its height, and her captain had to be content with
anyone who offered his services — in very many cases the
lowest of the low. And now, after many days of license
and riotous living, the fear of that death, to which they
seemed too surely driving, impelled them to work as hard as
the heaving and rolling of the vessel would permit, at
strengthening and stowing different articles in the boats, of
which only two were in any way serviceable.
On the main-deck, sheltering themselves as well as they
could by what was left of the bulwarks, stood, or rather
330 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
crouched, a grouj) consisting of eight persons, the principal
figures in which, were a female, who was clinging to her
husband, and an old man, her father, whom she seemed to
he supporting and soothing, while her two children clung
weeping to the folds of her gown. The other three were
unmarried men, and they all were a party of missionaries,
who had started with joyful hopes and high ambition to do
their work amongst the heathen.
It is the fortunes of this family party which we are princi-
pally concerned to narrate. Some years before the date we
are speaking of, John Maxwell had received holy orders, and
at the same time decided that he would carry the glad tidings
of the Gospel to those who knew them not. This determi-
nation was a sad blow to Mary Munro, his betrothed bride.
She was the only daughter of a widowed father, and could
not leave him. After a long struggle, however, John com-
promised with his conscience, so far as to agree to remain at
home during the lifetime of Mr Munro, and they married.
Time passed on, and two children, a boy and a girl, were
born to them. Their parents might have been happy, were
it not that, as year succeeded year, his heart upbraided and
vexed him more and more. He felt that he had not obeyed
the call — that he was not in the way of his appointed duty.
To two, who bore each other such deej) affection, the unhappi-
ness of one was that of both, and she felt it the more, as it
was her influence which had led him to this dereliction.
His father-in-law saw this, and mourned that he should be
the cause of keeping his son from doing what he felt was
right, and thus inducing misery to two he loved so well.
One day he thus abruptly and decidedly settled the question
of their future course : —
"John, my dear son, I have watched, with great disquiet,
A patriarch's resolution. 331
the struggle going on in your bosom, between what you con-
sider your duty to your God and your duty to me ; and,
after much prayer and calm thought, I have come to a con-
clusion. It is useless for you to attempt to dispute it, as
there is no other course by which I can be assured of peace
of mind in my old age. I am now an old man, near the
grave, and it matters not, in my estimation, where I lay my
head, provided I am in my appointed path at the time. I
notice that, in about a month, the " Criterion" will sail for
Shanghai, and both you and I know that our board is want-
ing missionaries to send out by that opj^ortunity. AVe will
gather together our substance and go. Who can tell 1 It
may be that I shall be as a second Jacob, going to see the
establishment of another people of the Lord; and, after all,
come back to lay my bones in my native land. Besides, my
son, you know that warm climates are favourable to old
people, so that, in doing what is right, I may be renewing
my lease of life."
And so, on the old man's j^art, with this mixture of religi-
ous feeling and the kindly wish to make light of the journey
for his son's sake; and, on the other side, the two with a
sacred joy at being at last in the right way; and the children,
with feelings of unmixed delight at the romantic prospect;
they sailed for China in the good ship "Criterion."
As the vessel drew nearer and nearer to the breakers, now
distinctly visible through the clearing of the sky, many eyes
were strained, in the anxious endeavour to spy out a passage
to the quiet waters beyond. The sailors' preparations for
escape in the boats Avere hurried on, and to a few anxious
inquiries made by the troubled missionaries, rough and
coarse answers were returned.
332 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
Everything being at last in order, those on deck prepared
to launch their largest boat, their comrades in her standing
ready to cast-ofF the moment she touched the water. To all
the prayers of the passengers that they might be allowed to
enter, the same answer was given, namely, that they must
wait, and it would be lucky for them if there was room in
the other boat. At all events, it did not matter much, as
those who came to show others the way to live and die, could
not surely fail in the last act of their lesson ; and further,
that it was all through having so many " Jonahs " on board
that their ship had " come to grief."
As the ship rolled, the launch was fairly got into the water,
through the gangway cut in the bulwarks. " Now for the
other boat," was the cry. "Lower her down from the
davits, it's the safest way ; " and everything was made ready
for so doing. After a little consultation among the men,
one came aft, and addressed the party.
" We have only room for three ; who goes 1 " was all he
said.
To all prayers, to all commands or offers of reward, he
was deaf.
" It's no use, when I tell you there's no room. It is each
for himself here, and your money would be of precious little
use to those who had to stay behind."
"Quick! you on deck, there," came from the boat, "or we
shall be stove in. AVe can't hold on much longer."
" You hear that 1 " cried the spokesman ; " decide quickly.
I count twenty, and then leave you. Hold-on a moment,
mates. One, two, three, four " —
"Save my children, at least," was the father's anxious
plaint ; but the mother interposed with a holier confidence.
" No, husband. AYe have always been a loving and united
THE CATASTROPHE. 333
family, putting our trust in the Lord, and so shall we continue
in life or in death, whichever God pleases to send. Let us
leave it in His hands, and, rest assured, that all will be
ordered as is best for us."
Then turning to the three unmarried missionaries who had
stood watching this discussion, and ready at any moment to
acquiesce in the decision which would apparently consign
them to certain death, and give the family party, or at all
events a portion of it, a chance of safety, she said — "Go, my
friends. We have made up our minds to abide by the vessel.
It is evidently God's providence that the boats should be for
you. Go, and carry, if you are permitted, the tidings of how
calmly we met our fate. It may be that, in punishment of
our former dereliction of duty, in thinking of ourselves
instead of obeying our call, this dispensation is sent us. If
so, we thankfully and cheerfully submit to our chastisement ;
and it maybe that the land now visible, and which you
have a chance of reaching, is that in which you are destined
to labour."
The sailor had in the meantime forgotten to count, and
stood watching the scene vrith emotions new to him. The
sight of such unselfishness, and of such an entire faith and
trust in an overruling power, stirred within his breast good
thoughts, long slumbering. They were destined never to
bear fruit. After a silent embrace all round, the three
turned towards him, and went forward to meet their fate.
Everything seemed fair for safety. The gale had broken,
the land was not far away, and there must be a passage in
the reef The one boat was fairly afloat, the other coming
over — but it was not to be. A surging wave brought the
launch back directly under the one descending. There was
a cry, a crash, and immediately the freights of both boats
334 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
were struggling for life in the waves. The scene was heart-
rending. Those who had been so selfish and so sure of
safety, were now at death's door, through the very means
they had thought were to carry them to life. Those who
were swimmers were gradually, but surely, swept towards
the breakers and the sharp coral reef, while others sunk
immediately.
Amongst the latter, consigned to a swifter, but more
merciful death, were the three missionaries, who, feeling the
uselessness of struggling for safety, with a farewell wave of
the hand to their friends on the deck of the now much-
desired haven of refuge, went to that death which they had
sought to avoid, though they feared it not. Not one of the
sailors who had deserted the family party so unfeelingly,
survived to repent of their misdeeds. They all perished;
and those who had so nobly accepted a death, apparently
certain, to give others a chance of life, now looked on the
scene with feelings of mingled sorrow and thankfulness for
the mercy which God had vouchsafed to themselves.
After a few moments spent in prayer, they began to look
to their own position, and that with some feelings of hope-
fulness. The gale had evidently spent its force, and although
the waves were as high and as wild as ever, yet the progress
made by the vessel to seemingly sure destruction was
evidently slower.
All their faces were now turned to the breakers in silent
prayer, and hope that there might be some passage. After
a time, it became evident that the ship was taking a slanting
direction — still surging on towards the breakers — but, at
the same time, bearing more to the northward, as if taken
by some current. This circumstance gave them fresh hope,
and they began to look about for means of escape, should the
A SAFE HAVEN. 335
vessel reach the sheltered water, which they felt certain
must be within the reef. After some minutes of intense
watchfulness, those on board became aware of a channel of
tolerably smooth water leading into the inner basin, and it
was evident that the vessel was slowly approaching it.
Nothing, however, could they do to help themselves. They
had only to wait. It was plain enough that, if they reached
the inside safely, the vessel would not break up at once, and
they would have plenty of time to gather together what they
wanted to take on shore; whereas, if they struck on the
reef, amidst the enormous breakers — the hoarse roar of
which deafened, and the spray from which by this time was
sprinkled over them — they would require nothing more in
this world.
Onwards rolled and heaved the vessel, gradually drawing
nearer and nearer to the passage. It seemed fearfully
narrow, and the rollers, which on each side broke upon the
reef, swelled through it with fearful velocity. Closer and
closer comes the disabled ship, and now on both sides of it
there is broken water. It seems to the devoted party on
<leck that they must touch the reef — that there is no room
to pass through. While contemplating their end with awe,
indeed, but yet with calm Christian courage, one of the
heavy rollers came. The "Criterion" rose with a rush, as if
seeking the sky, and the next moment went down, down, as
if she sought the very foundations of the earth.
Chapter III.
Again the upward heave, the downward shoot ; the ship
was past the channel, and all was for the time safe. Giddy,
wet, blinded, and deafened, those on board did yet remember
336 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
their first duty of thanks to the Ruler of the winds and
waves, for His mercy in sparing them from the awful death
which had overtaken their friends and the sailors so few
minutes before.
The set of the current seemed to be round the basin they
were now in, and slowly and smoothly the " Criterion "'
went with it. When they had got about opposite the
channel by which they had entered, over on the shore side,
the hulk struck upon a projecting spit, and there remained
firmly fixed and out of danger. Now came the reaction.
While in deadly danger from the storm, any land seemed
welcome — the veriest desert would have been a paradise ;.
but, while recruiting exhausted nature with the first food
eaten in tolerable peace and security for many a day, they
allowed their eyes to roam over the miserable peninsula
which we have described, on which there was not the slightest
sign of inhabitants; they began to think that they had only
been spared from one death to suffer another, if possible,
more dreadful.
Old Mr Munro, however, speedily rebuked the first
symptoms of repining. " Whatl" he said, "what is this I
hear 1 We are no sooner saved from what seemed certain
death, than we commit the sin of ingratitude to Clod, for such
it is, to be dissatisfied with the place where he has seen fit to
land us — to cavil at His mode of displaying to us His mercy.
How are we better than those whom in His wisdom He has
seen fit to die 1 We murmur, but have we not this ship to
live in for the present 1 It will be long ere she breaks up
in this quiet haven. Have we not planks and spars to build
a boat ? Have we not abundance of food 1 and can you not
see little rivulets glancing among the rocks on shore 1 Though
this miserable peninsula seems uninhabited, there must be-
LAUNCHING THE HAFT. 337
Malays on the other side. Most of these Eastern Islands
arc peopled. Besides all this, my daughter, remember your
farewell to our friends who are gone. This may be the land
in which you are destined to labour."
After this little speech, his son and daughter, ashamed of
themselves for their momentary giving way, looked at their
situation and spoke of it more cheerfully. It was decided to
go on shore as soon as possible. The first thing, therefore,
they set to work at, was to make a raft. The great danger
in this was from the sharks. Yet they could not build their
raft on deck and then launch it ; they were not strong enough.
They had to do it in the water, and send everything over
piece by piece. To be safe from the monsters they saw
swimming around them, they made a stage and hoisted it
over the side. On it Mr Maxwell wrought, while his wife
watched to give warning of the approach of the dreaded shark.
After many hours' hard labour they finished a something,
which they thought would take them safely to the shore, not
many paces distant. Who was to go first 1 It would not
carry them all. It was decided that old Mr Munro and
one of the children should go with Mr Maxwell ; that he
should leave them on shore, and then return for his wife and
other child. Mr Munro, who had been a great sportsman
in his youth, armed himself with one of the ship's muskets,
and, before starting, they gathered together provisions for
some days. After much labour and some narrow escapes,
they were all safely landed on what could scarcely be called
terra firma, seeing that it was on a bank of mud which lay
between two small creeks, which emptied themselves into the
basin on both sides of their resting-place. But, such as it
was, they were obliged to be content with it for the time, as
the night had fallen ere their labours were well over.
z
338 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
Early in the morning tliey started to explore, with a
vScarce living hope that the vegetation they had seen on the
peninsula, from the deck of their vessel, was not merely a
covering to such unhealthy mud as they were then on. They
had seen the little streams trickling down the rocks at the
foot of the precipice, but if this narrow strip of ground was
all the dry land there was between that and the sea — God
help them ! They felt that but few days would be necessary
to prostrate their strength, and disable them from building
boats to take them off the island. As the place seemed
utterly uninhabited, they deemed it safe enough to leave
Mrs Maxwell and the children for a while, and they started
up a creek to find, if possible, some solid ground. They
poled their way along, and, as they went, the mangroves
began to get fewer, and the sides of the creek to be over-
grown with grass and rushes. At last they found they
could get no farther with the raft, and were obliged to step
on shore. They broke their way through the tangle, till
they reached the head of the creek, and there they found
dry land, such as has already been described. They pushed
about for an hour or two, until Mr Maxwell saw that the
whole of the peninsula was evidently of the same character
as what they had explored. They then returned to his wife
and little ones at about the middle of the day.
They found them safe and well; Mrs Maxwell sitting on
a box, under the miserable shade of a mangrove tree,
beguiling the time by telling stories to the children, who
were leaning on her knees. Immediately their father and
and grandfather stepped off the raft they ran to meet them,
and it was " Oh, papa — oh, grandpa, mamma says we shall
soon get away from this nasty place, where we can't play."
^' See here, papa," said Eobert, " I tried to run after Effie,
THE ABORIGINES. 339
and I fell down and dirtied myself, and mamma washed my
face with salt water, and it made my eyes so sore."
While Mrs Maxwell Avas getting some food ready for the
returned pioneers, they told her of all they had discovered
in their little trip, and it was decided that they should go
up that very afternoon, so as, at all events, to get away from
the mud they were now in, and, when settled at the head of
the creek, they would there begin to build their boat. They
had refreshed themselves, and were standing for a moment,
all three looking at the "Criterion," the children standing
a little way behind them on the boxes, which served for
chairs and table, when Robert's voice was heard crying,
'' Oh, papa, a black man!" "Me see him, too," said Effie.
In great alarm they turned round, but nothing was visible.
The children, nevertheless, persisted that they had seen a
naked black man spring behind a clump of mangroves, which
stood a few paces off. As it was not so far, but that they
could quickly return for the protection of Mrs Maxwell and
the children, both Mr Munro and her husband moved
forward to reconnoitre. On getting round the trees, they
saw, to their great surprise and alarm, four or five men
standing talking amongst themselves, frequently pointing in
their direction, and evidently debating as to wdiether they
should make their appearance or not. It was plain they
did not know they had been observed; and at their feet were
•some yams, roots, and fish.
As soon as Mr Munro and Mr Maxwell came in sight,
there was a commotion amongst them, as if they meditated
flight, but at length one came forward ^vith many Eastern
bows and genuflexions, and tendered to the two, some of
the food which he had taken from the ground. Surprised
and pleased at these friendly tokens, the missionaries did
340 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
everything they could to establish the j^eace so evidently
offered ; and, reassured by observing the ^^eople's miserable
and unarmed condition, they managed to induce them to
follow them to their temporary camp. Mrs Maxwell was
evidently a little alarmed at her new visitors, but the children
fraternised at once. They induced their mother to give them
some ship biscuit and pork, which they immediately took ta
their sable friends ; and, after much talk on both sides, which
no one understood, they managed to make them comprehend
that it was good to eat, and from that hour a firm alliance
was established.
Surprised as they were to find j^eople on that desert
peninsula, yet our party took hope from their seemingly
peaceful disposition. Thej^ had no idea that they inhabited
the spot upon which they had been wrecked, but thought
they had seen, from the high land above, the fate of the vessel,
and had come down the precipice to see for themselves.
But after much pointing to the hill on the part of the mis-
sionaries, and head-shaking on that of the natives, thej^
came to the conclusion, that it was useless to attempt to
learn anything about the country, until they could under-
stand one another a little better.
They then decided to go on with their idea of proceeding
up the creek, and Mr Munro ai^proached the natives to try
and get them to help. He pointed to the raft, and then up
the creek. They nodded, and said something, evidently in
approbation. He then went on to it with the two children,
and began poling up, at the same time beckoning to them to
come. Immediately two of them jumped into the water,
and pushed the raft up much faster than he could. The
remainder stayed with Mr Maxwell and his wife. Mr Munro
wished to land where he had landed before, but the natives
MAKING FRIENDS OF THE NATIVES. 341
-would not allow him, and went on to a landing-place on the
other side. They walked for about a hundred yards, and
<3anie to a large rock, where there were signs of people
1 laving been about. There one of the natives, with a word
to his companion, sprang away, and after an absence of a
few minutes returned with ten or twelve more men, women,
and children, who showed evident signs of pleasure at their
visitors, and again laid some food before them. By the aid
of signs, Mr Munro managed to make them understand that
he could not eat until joined by his friends, which they at
once acquiesced in, some of them snatching up Kobert and
springing on to the raft, which immediately disappeared.
In great alarm, Mr Munro endeavoured to follow, but was
stopped by the smiles and gestures of all around, of whom
he could not find it in his heart to be suspicious. He sat
down and tried to pacify Effie, who was much astonished at
Eobert's apparently violent abduction. In a surprisingly
short time Mr and Mrs Maxwell, Robert, and the natives
reappeared, bringing with them a supply of cooking utensils
and food, with which, under the rock, they all made them-
selves as comfortable as circamstances would allow, still
surrounded by the laughing, wondering people of the place.
For days after this, Mr Munro, with a party of the natives,
was engaged in landing necessaries from the hulk, while Mr
Maxwell and another party were busy building a shelter.
He'had attempted to find a practicable path up the precipice,
on the eastward, but when the natives became aware of his
intention, with much speaking and many gestures, they
compelled him to desist. It was not till some time after,
when he had learned something of the language, that
he came to know their motive for so doing. Mrs Maxwell
and the children were employing themselves in many ways
342 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
— the latter principally in making friends with their black
companions, whom all of the party found then, and ever
afterwards, to be honest, kindly, and generous to the extent
of their means. Food they were continually bringing — in
small quantities, it is true — but, when the sterility of their
little peninsula is considered, it was wonderful that they
brought any at all. They were ever ready to assist in any
labour that was going on, without making any demand for
payment, and, during the whole of the missionaries' sojourn
with them, theft was unknown.
After a while they learned to wear clothing, and to build
houses ; and, as the two parties began to understand one
another better, they were taught many things which added
to their comfort, and gradually they were transformed into
civilised men. The ship was an inexhaustible mine. For
years she lay in the quiet basin, and as her timbers began to
rot and her sides to open, the remainder of her contents was
transferred to sheds on shore. From her the missionaries
procured seeds of all kinds, plants, and agricultural imple-
ments, pigs, fowls, and sheep. They taught the natives
how to dress their miserable land, by making use of the
mangrove mud from the shore. They taught them to gather
the stones into heaps, and so leave open spaces for cultiva-
tion; and as vegetables, corn, and fruits became j^lentiful,
as the pigs, fowls, and sheep increased, a flesh diet was
added to their usual one of fish, and the result of all this
was visible in their improved personal appearance and better
spirit.
One may fancy how these simple people revered their
benefactors. Some time after their landing, when they
began to understand one another, Mr Munro asked them to-
tell him their notions of a God. One of the old men replied
THEIR ENEMIES ON THE ISLAND. 343
that he had heard long ago of their ancestors, who lived on
the other side of the island, worshipping gods, to whom
they prayed, and whom they thanked and looked to for
protection; bnt he thought they must have left them there,
as now they never saw them, and knew nothing of their
whereabouts. But they proposed that Mr Munro and his
relatives should be adored, as they were sure no gods could
do more than they had done. It was not without great
difficulty that Mr Munro had been able to divert them from
their purpose.
It was during this conversation also that Mr Maxwell,
hearing them speak of their ancestors on the other side of
the island, and remembering that they prevented him from
trying to climb the precipice, now inquired their reasons.
Little by little he managed to understand their terror on
that occasion. They told him how peaceably and happily
they had lived on the eastern declivity, until men in great
numbers, and of ferocious aspect — cannibals and blood-
drinkers — had attacked and destroyed them, except a few
Avho had escaped in their canoes, and who had, after coast-
ing the island, been washed into the same basin as the
"Criterion," and how these destroyers — to whom time had
given the attributes of demons — still inhabited their old
country. " Some of us," continued the narrator, " have
climbed on the top there, and have reconnoitred. We have
seen the habitations of those, who blast with a look, who
kill with a gesture; but whom — if what our fathers told us
is true — we shall one day conquer again." Mr Maxwell
was at no loss to put a true interpretation on all this, and
aware of the dreadful cruelty and bloodthirsty disposition of
the Malay pirates of the Eastern Archipelago — on one of
the islands of which he guessed they had been cast — the
344 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
party decided to be content with their lot for the present,
while they prayed to God, to bless their i:)reparation for the
conquest, which the old man spoke of as having been pre-
dicted by his ancestors, and which they liad a feeling would
surely come to pass.
So for a time they went on, teaching and improving the
condition of the poor people with whom they lived. Day
by day, they taught them the love of Christ to man, His
sacrifice for us. His promises to us, if we walked in His way.
After the day's work was done, they all assembled together
as one family, and devoted themselves, with greater success,
as they became more proficient in the language, to teaching
them the knowledge of God, and trust in Him as our
Heavenly Father. Ere long, this simple peojole became an
example, which many a white man might have learned
from. On every occasion they bore themselves like good
Christians. Their faith was evident and strong, and at the
end of seven years no one would have known the orderly,
well-clothed, happy-looking people, who assembled before
their teachers to hear the glad tidings, which were for them
as for all men, to be the same with those miserable-looking
beings, who, at the commencement of our story, had been
content to burrow in the grass at night, and lie in the shade
all day.
All the family party, also, had been mercifully preserved.
Mr Munro's face was whiter, the lines on his face more deep,
but otherwise he was strong and hearty. Mr and Mrs
Maxwell were in good health, and Eobert and Effie, now
fifteen and thirteen respectively, were of the greatest use to
their parents in all ways, particularly in teaching, since they
had mastered the language completely.
EFFECTS OF CIVILIZING AND CHRISTIANISING. 345
Chapter IV.
About seven years from the landing of our missionary party
in the island, there came such a Sunday as had never been
seen on that peninsula.
It gladdened the hearts of Mr and Mrs Maxwell and Mr
Munro, to see the change that had been wrought, by God's
providence, in that miserable people. They had assembled
together for morning worship, before the missionary build-
ings, and had divided themselves into four groups — three
attended to by the grandfather, son, and grandson, and one
by the mother and daughter — the latter group consisting of
the children of the settlement. All were devout, staid, and
well clothed, though as regards the item of clothes our
friends were beginning to feel anxious, seeing that the
supplies from the '-Criterion" were drawing near to a close,
and where to get more they knew not. All over the
peninsula could be seen plots of cultivated ground, and little
stone and wood cottages. The hearts of people and teachers
alike swelled with gratitude, and they raised with greater
fervency their hymn of praise and thankfulness to God, as
they looked upon what had been brought to them by His
goodness. After service they scattered in parties over their
little domain, talking over the lessons of the day, and
planning fresh improvements for the morrow; and under the
shade of the rocks, and the trees which they had planted,
they enjoyed their frugal yet much-relished meal.
In the afternoon they began to gather again for service,
and were walking towards the church buildings, when an
interruption occurred — one which alarmed them, and sent
them flying to the missionaries, like chickens to their mother
when the hawk appears in sight.
346 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
Round the northern end of the reef which touched the
northern end of the island, a number of boats were coming
in sight. Prahm after prahm appeared, each crowded with
ferocious-looking Malays, wdio were pulling with all their
strength against the current. They set up a shout of joy,
when they saw the frightened natives; and of derision, as
they perceived them running headlong from the shore. Mr
Munro and Mr Maxwell came out of their house, attracted
by the tumult, and immediately noticed the cause. At once
they understood the calamity which had befallen them, and
as they saw the boats searching for a j^assage in the reef,
they betook themselves to the task of soothing and calming
their frightened flock — a task of no little difficulty. At last,
teachers and people knelt down together, and implored
protection and aid from that God, who they felt could alone
give it them. Mr Munro inculcated upon the people the
policy of a calm demeanour and a Christian resignation,
both as being the best and the most likely to save their lives,
and as being their duty as followers of the Prince of Peace.
The boats, in the meanwhile, had found the passage
through which the "Criterion" gained the inner basin, and
from thence the Malays could see some of her timbers still
standing, while at the same time they became suddenly
aware of the houses on shore. They seemed to understand
what had happened — that a vessel had been grounded, that
some Europeans had been saved, and were still on land.
This caused a halt and a consultation. They evidently had
a wholesome dread of the white man, and, of course, were
not aware of their number, or how they were armed. That
they were not few, they thought to be the case, as it never
struck them that the miserable inhabitants had been taught
and civilised. For a time they seemed to hesitate, as to
ATTACKED BY THE MALAYS. 347
what measures they should adopt, but it was not long before,
firing their muskets and shouting their war-cries, they
dashed to the beach, and immediately advanced to the larger
houses, which alone were visible.
Our missionaries had prepared for them. They had drawn
their flock up in a body, in the oj^en space before the church
— the men in front and the women and children in the rear
— and they themselves stepping forward, took up their
2)osition in advance of the people.
With many wild shouts and brandishing of weapons, the
Malays came on, encouraging one another by the fact of their
encountering no resistance, until on coming in sight of the
missionaries and their people they halted, and seemed about
to commence hostilities; but, seeing no sign of any opposition,
they did nothing, but waited for the coming of the old
Malay chief, who had originated the expedition.
After his arrival, the fate of the inhabitants seemed still to
hang for a moment in the balance, till at last he beckoned
the missionaries towards him, and on their advancing they
found, with great pleasure, that they could understand what
he said.
He asked them many questions. Who they were*? Where
they came from 1 What the vessel contained 1 How many
of them were there 1 AVhere was the treasure] All this
with many menaces and blows. At last Mr Munro reques-
ted his permission to speak. At length it was granted, and
he addressed them. He told of the wreck of the "Criterion,"
now seven years ago, and of their landing on this peninsula.
He described the state of the inhabitants on their arrival,
and then he said —
"Come with me, and I will show you what, by God's
providence, tliey have now arrived at, and I trust that the
348 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
same God, who lias improved their condition, will so soften
your hearts, as to induce you to leave them undisturbed in
their little possessions, since they have nothing which can be
of any value to you."
" We will see," replied the Malay. " Lead on."
They passed the anxious, fearful group, and the pirates
inspected everything on the peninsula. They showed great
delight on finding some j^owder, lead, and guns amongst
the stores wdiich had been landed from the "Criterion," after
which they ordered the natives to be drawn up before them.
" You wish me to leave you unmolested," said the old
Malay chief. " And you say you have nothing which will be
of any value to us. We will not molest you; but all you
have, and you yourselves, are of value to us."
Then, turning to his own men, he said —
"Take these dogs with you, and gather everything I
have shown you to the prahms."
Then began a scene of sorrow — weeping and wailing, on
the part of the natives ; expostulation and entreaty, on that
of the missionaries. All was useless.
"You say," cried the pirate, "that we are taking you
away from your homes ; that we are robbing you of your
23roperty. We have the right of the strongest. Your men
must labour at sea, your women on land. Thus you will
have no occasion for property, and houses you can build again
at the other side of the island.
On hearing this, the old man's relation of the prophecy
flashed into the minds of our friends.
These were the" "demon" men who had driven their
ancestors away from the fertile eastern declivity, and whom
their descendants were to conquer again. It seemed a
manifest decree of Providence that they should go with
NATIVES ENCOURAGED. 349
tliem, not only without repining, but with joy, since there
was good hope that that conquest would be effected, not by
force of arms, but by the power of the Gospel.
While the natives were grovelling on the ground, at the
feet of the Malays, in despair, Mr Maxwell addressed the
cliief. He told them that they could make no resistance ;
that the grief of the people was natural ; but if he would
allow him the opportunity of privately addressing them, he
thought he could reconcile them to their fate.
" What will you say V asked the chief.
" That I must not tell you. What I shall say is between
my people and myself."
The pirate glanced at him suspiciously, then at the people,
and then looking at his own numerous and well-armed
horde —
" Bah!" said he. "Go; say what you please; the slaves
will be useful to us, and I wish not to kill them. Only
haste you; ere the sun sets we must be clear of yonder
reefs."
Turning to his sorrowful flock, Mr Maxwell addressed
them. He recalled to their memory the long-cherised pro-
phecy, and on that he based his address.
"My friends," he said, "it is true we are leaving a spot,
endeared to us by much hardship and much joy. Here you
passed the greatest portion of your lives in misery and
want; here you heard the message of the Gospel of Christ;
and here you have lived for a time in peace and plenty.
Now it appears as if we were leaving our happy homes, and
going to a state of slavery, degradation, and want. That
we shall suff'er much is certain; that our minds will be
shocked by sights of bloodshed and robbery is sure; but, for
all that, let us go cheerfully. It is evidently the providence
350 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
of God. Never let us forget Him. In all our troubles and
straits let us apply to Him, and He will render them light.
Let us remember that we are soldiers of Christ, and in His
spirit let us go forth to conquer — not with the arms of
the flesh, but with those of the spirit. Let us fulfil the
prophecy. Rest assured that the time has come for its
fulfilment, and in subjecting them to God, we make them
fellow-subjects of our King. Let us go, my friends; go as
gladly as we may, with the hojDe of better times to come,
and the knowledge that we are doing our duty."
The effect of these few words was wonderful. The people
rose with one accord, and one of the elders replied —
" We will do as you say; we ivUl accomplish. All we
have, and all we are, we owe to you; and it is not now, in
time of adversity, that we will begin to question your
wisdom, or your right to advise us. Hardships we shall
suff'er. Many things we shall see which we shall grieve
over, but we will consider that we are fulfilling the orders of
the Great Chief, you have taught us to know, and that it is
part of our warfare. We go now to gather such property
as these men will allow us, and we will follow them, in a
full belief that, though they know it not, we are to conquer,
and bring them into subjection to the Great King, who, we
hope and trust, will do for them what he has done for us."
Mr Maxwell then told the j)irate chief that they were
ready, and he directed his men to take the natives with
them, and bring everything of value down to the boats.
He then turned to the missionaries, and spoke with threat-
ening aspect —
" I know not what you have told these people. I seek
not to know. If you have been hatching some conspiracy,
let me tell you that vre are strong enough to restrain a
AN ANXIOUS ENQUIRY. 351
parcel of dogs and slaves. If anything of the kind is dis-
covered, your women and children shall die, your men be
for ever chained to the oar."
Our friends assured him that such was not the case, that
tlie Master whom they followed forbade his people from
ssucli courses. They had only been inculcating upon their
people, the duty of resignation to the inevitable, and telling
them that what was sent by their Master and Friend, was
doubtless for their benefit in the end.
" Who is this master — is he on the island 1 "
" No," said Mr Maxwell; " He is God, who reigns in
Heaven, over you and over me."
" Ay, and are these his doctrines 1 "
'' They are."
" Good ! We Avill speak further of this matter."
Mightily comforted l)y this auspicious beginning, our
friends turned away to assist at the embarkation. The
chief, though no doubt bloodthirsty and pitiless, like all his
race, did not seem to love bloodshed and cruelty for their
own sakes. He was evidently also an intelligent man, and
their hearts were cheered by the hope that their warfare
might be more easily accomplished than they had thought —
that their Master had cleared the way. As the shades of
night drew over the sea, the heavily-laden prahms went clear
of the reef, and urged by the exertions of the unfortunate
natives of our peninsula, which were stimulated by the blows
and cries of the Malays, they proceeded at great speed along
the northern end of the island.
Towards morning, they rounded a point, and as the
daylight increased, they became aware of a settlement on
shore, to which they were making their way. It consisted
merely of a number of heaps of mud and dry grass, with
352 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
the entrance in one gable — in these the families of the
Malays lived. In the centre of the little village there was
a larger building, in which the men usually congregated,
and where they caroused throughout the day. Our friends
and their natives were landed, and after assisting to draw
up the prahms on dry land, they were driven into the large
building above mentioned, where they awaited their fate.
Towards afternoon some food was given them, after
eating which they were brought out for distribution, along
with the other plunder, amongst their captors.
The old chief called the missionary party to him, and told
them that they were amongst those who had been allotted
to him, and that he expected them to oversee the natives in
house-building and gardening. He had seen how comfortably
they lived on the peninsula, and was determined to take the
opportunity of having such artificers and agriculturists, to
improve his own and his people's condition, without trouble
to themselves. This was at once promised, and then our
friends took advantage of the^occasion, to petition for liberty
to gather their flock together for worship and prayer,
promising, that if that was granted them, they would clieer-
fuUy submit to labour for their masters, and would do it
all the more effectually, as they would gain strength by
intercourse with God. There were some demurs to this,
both on account of the loss of time, and from fear that when
gathered together they might be hatching conspiracies. The
old chief, however, overruled all objections, by reminding
his people of the result of the missionaries' speaking in the
peninsula, and decided that, if the pirates feared conspiracy,
some of them might attend their meetings and watch. As
this was just what Mr Munro and Mr Maxwell wished, they
eagerly agreed to the chief's decision, and on this basis
everything was settled.
INFLUENCE OF THE CHILDREN. 353
Now, for a time, things went on regularly and without
change. Some of our natives practised at the oar. Some,
headed by our friends, cut wood, built houses, and cultivated
the land. When taken by the pirates, they had brought
away many seeds, grains, and plants, Avhich they hoped
would improve their condition, and soften their minds
towards them.
Eobert and Effie made themselves useful — each in their
own way. The former was very useful with tools, and he
made and mended cheerfully, always with merry countenance
and voice, and at every opportunity repeating the lesson of
our Saviour, as taught him by his father and grandfather.
Effie also became a great favourite with the women and
children. The former she taught to sew, and from them
learned to weave. She taught them, also, how to cook many
little dishes, which were palatable to their male relatives ;
and taught them cleanliness in their houses. The children
she played with, and while she played she taught. Gradually
the women became more refined and feminine, the children
less savage ; coarseness of language was insensibly avoided,
and Effie's mother and herself, took every opportunity of
speaking to these poor women and children, and of unfolding
to them a life of peace and love — a life which touches the
heart of women all the world over. Mr Munro used to say
that these two, were the best teachers and preachers of them
all ; and no doubt they were. A missionary's wife can do
more, towards softening and civilizing a savage nature, than
can her husband, if her heart is in her work, and she her-
self a true Christian woman, and a well-bred one.
I am, however, going on too fast in my chronicle, since
many things had happened, and much suffering been gone
through, ere the results above mentioned were apparent.
2 a
354 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
The first battle fought in this new conquest was that of
the Lord's Day. Teachers and people both saw that they
would have to bear with much, ere they gained j^ermission
to keep it holy. At their first evening meeting after their
capture, Mr Maxwell spoke of this to them, and exhorted
them to stand fast in their faith, to run the race that was
set before them, and to let no ill-usage or persuasion induce
them to break the Fourth Commandment. " I speak of this
to you to-night," said he, " and in this manner, because I
intend mentioning to the chief to-morrow (Friday) that our
religion will not allow us to profane God's holy day. I
foresee that this will be the first open fiery trial of your
faith. Let me hope you will not give way. Give me not
the grief of seeing my children whom I have taught, lived
amongst, and loved, fall away from their Heavenly Father,
forget the benefits which they have received, cast away the
grace which has been given them, and run into debauchery
and wickedness, which will render them the natural slaves of
their former conquerors. It is not thus, my friends, that the
prophecy will be fulfilled. It is not thus our conquest will
be achieved. Show that you are worthy to be conquerors,
by being able to endure, and conquerors you will be."
As he had said, Mr Maxwell next day took the first
opportunity of mentioning their determination to the head-
man, who laughed at the idea of their doing nothing one
■day in seven. "I see how it is," said he, " I agreed that
you should have liberty, after the work of the day, to
perform your absurd ceremonies; and now, as my people
foretold, you have begun at once to plot, and this is the
first move. What was that you were telling the slaves last
night about their being conquerors? Some of my men
heard you and reported it to me. Take care. So long as
J
THE GREAT CONQUEROR. 355
you are quiet find useful to us, you may live. That is all
you can expect ; but you know your doom, in the event of
my suspicions proving true."
Mr Maxwell saw that he had not been sufficiently careful
in his address of the night before, and knew no other w^ay
to dispel suspicion and to gain his object, than by describing
to the chief and the Malays, who had now begun to gather
around, the beauties of Christianity, the holiness, the meek-
ness, the love to man, displayed by Christ in His life and
in His doctrine. He reminded the chief of his assurance,
while on the peninsula, that they " would speak further of
this matter." He now requested permission to do so,
telling their captorsjthat what he should now say, would
afford the explanation they required, and at the same time
show the reasons, why he and his people refused to work on
Cxod's holy day.
" Well," said the leader, " what do you say, my men ?
We have nothing else to do. Shall we listen to this mad-
man?"
Chapter V.
All the Malays, probably in anticipation of some amuse-
ment, agreed that Mr Maxwell should go on to speak to
them as he wished. They gathered more closely round
him, and seemed deeply interested in what was about to
take place.
" Listen to me, men of the East, and let me tell you a
.story," Mr Maxwell began. "It is not a fiction which I
invent, not a tale of sorrows and of griefs fabricated for the
purpose of imposing upon you, so as to touch your hearts
and lessen our bondage. That it will stir your hearts Avithin
356 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
you, I lioi^e and believe, since I know that, in sowing the
good seed, I am obeying the commands of our Lord and
Saviour — yours as well as mine — and in doing so I am sure,
of a blessing to follow." The good man then went on to
tell them of Jesus, His life and sufferings, and cruel death,
inculcating upon them the necessity for faith and constant
watchfulness. " We are your slaves," he said, " and have to
work for you all day and every day, with little food and no
recompense, yet, in our faith, we are hapj^y. Could you say
as much were you in our place ? You know you could not.
This, then, was the sense in which I spoke to my children
last night, and this our determination which I have announced
to you. AYe cannot renounce our religion ; we cannot dis-
obey God's commands. May He send His grace to your
hearts, and His blessing upon all of us."
There was silence for some minutes after Mr Maxwell had
finished. His evident earnestness had impressed the
natives ; but soon loud threats and execrations burst forth,
and, amid a shower of curses, he was driven to his work,
blows also not being spared. He went with a heavy heart,
seeing nothing but a falling-away and much suffering, per-
haps martyrdom, but determined to do his utmost to preserve
his people in their faith. Their evening meeting, for that
and the following night, Avas interdicted, but Messrs Maxwell
and Munro, as also Mrs Maxwell and the children, managed
to say a few words to cheer and strengthen the sinking
hearts of their flock. They continued their work that day
and the next, but w^ien Sunday came, none appeared at
their usual labour. Great cruelties were practised upon
them by the Malays, without effect. They stood firm.
They were given no food, and at last sej^arately confined,
being told that if they did not work, neither should they
KEEPING THE SABBATH. 357
oat nor meet together, the last being by far the greatest
privation of all.
However, the day passed away, and next morning they
went cheerfully to their work. No sullenness appeared, no
anger at their cruel treatment ; but the pirates overheard
them cheering one another, and pitying their captors as
men who knew no better, yet hoping they would learn in
time. All this had its effect, and next Sunday, though the
attempt was again made, yet it was not persevered in, and
their evening meetings were not forbidden.
Again some days passed on, and it was evident that
something was being discussed. Our friends judged rightly
that it was an expedition, and sorely were they distressed
at it.
They knew, from the practising at the oar which had been
going on, and from what the chief had said on the peninsula,
that their ])eo])\e would be called upon to row, and a refusal
to do this would, they saw, be worse than their so-called
idleness on the Sunday. What to do they knew not ; they
<30uld only pray to God for light and help. Mr Munro and
Mr Maxwell were decided, so far as they were concerned;
they had served God too long to fail Him now. The
<piestion was, whether they should expose their natives to
certain death, by directing them to refuse to work. That
this Avould be the result they felt sure, as the Malays would
no doubt put them to death as drones, who preferred death
to labour, a preference which they could perfectly under-
stand. In that case the conquest which they hoped to
<3ffect, by Christianising and reforming the Malays, would be
impossible.
At last, after much prayerful thought, they decided to
<3xplain everything fully to their people, then leave it to
358 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
their own consciences ; and, at the same time, they intended
to protest against their being forced to sin against God, by
being thus made to help in piracy. A day or two after this,
orders were given out by the chief for the expedition to
prepare, and for food to be collected, and got ready. At
the same time, he told our friends, that they had better pre-
pare such of the natives as would be required to go. Mr
Munro took the opportunity of making his protest. He
entered long and fully into the question, exj^laining to him
the double sin he was committing, in the acts of murder and
robbery, and in forcing those, to whom it was so abhorrent,,
to participate in them, by their presence and assistance.
" You white men will not have to go," said he.
"It is the same," replied Mr Munro; "those whom you
took with us, are equally Christians with ourselves."
"Listen tome now," said the chief "I think you may
have seen that I am disposed to be friendly towards you and
your people, therefore you may take my warning as sincere.
Do not think of refusing to obey these orders. So surely as
you do, you die. I have heard, when I was in Singapore, of
white men of your kind, wdio travel about different countries
teaching good doctrines, though not those to which we are
accustomed, men who, I know, are not to be moved by
danger, from preaching and doing what they think right.
And I have all along understood your motives, in submitting
to your slavery to us so cheerfully. You think that you may
do with us, as you have done with the natives of the penin-
sula. Well, it may be so. I, for one, would not reject what
is good, simply because it is new. But how can you do this ?
How can you be successful in your mission if you are all
massacred? Give way; glide gently like the serpent. Do
you think that such men as you see around you, are to be
A MALAY JESUIT. 359
turned from their every-day life, their old habits and feelings,
by the bold face of a miserable set of slaves, or in a day?"
"Perhaps not," was Mr Munro's answer; "but we are
commanded not to do evil that good may come, and we are
assured that, if we do what is right, we can safely leave the
issue in the hands of the Lord."
"Then leave it in his hands," said the chief. "You have
spoken on this matter to your people, and shown them the
sin, as you call it?"
Mr Munro assented.
"Then say no more about it. Those who are weak will
do as they are required, and I scarcely think their God will
account it deadly sin. Human nature is human nature.
The fear of death is powerful. You have done your duty.
Continue to do it. I am not going on this expedition myself.
A younger chief heads it. Many people will remain at home
with me. Go ! I will do my best for you."
The day came for starting, and a sad day it was. The
original slaves of the pirates, went quietly enough on board,
but our natives stoutly refused to a man. Three of their
number were immediately put to death. So it has been from
the beginning — Christians have always suffered for their
faith. At last, as the old chief j^rophesied, the weak ones
began to give way, and the struggle was at last ended, by the
pirates carrying bodily, such as they wanted, on board, and
there tying them to the oar. The fleet put out to sea, and
our sorrowing friends were left with a portion of their people
on shore. Then their first act was to put up a solemn and
fervent prayer for pardon, on behalf of the Malays and of
their unfortunate companions, for the sin which they were
committing. Afterwards, with heavy hearts, they returned
to their work on shore.
360 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
The fleet was away nearly six months. They had gone
to join an expedition in which the Malays of other islands,
all of them pirates, had coalesced; and were to lie, in the
track of European vessels, a very long distance off.
On our island, the labour of each day was constant and
regular. Our friends built houses and cultivated the land,
and although, in their mission work, they did not make
much progress, yet there was a more peaceful, more refined
air throAvn over the community. Now the influence of
Mrs Maxrvvell and her children began to be made manifest.
Insensibly they humanised those cruel barbarians. As
their wives and daughters improved, so their imj^rove-
ment reacted upon the men. When these latter found
their homes more comfortable, their wives more obedient
and loving, they also tamed down, and began to pay more
respect to the missionaries, and to improve the condition of
their slaves. Gradually not only all mockery ceased, but
the pirates actually began to take an interest in the services,
and in the doctrines which were taught. These people had,
no doubt, once upon a time, followed the Pantheism of the
Hindoos and Malays, but they had been so long by them-
selves, and had so long revelled in bloodshed and robbery,
that they had cast adrift or forgotten all knowledge of any
gods whatever. This was an advantage in some respects,
since it is easier work to implant the knowledge and love of
Christ in new soil, than to convert those who have already
a system of their own, and to which they are most likely
bigoted. At the daily meetings for prayer, and the Sunday
services, there were always some of the women and chil-
dren present. At last, a few of the men began to stroll in,
and one Sunday morning, the old chief, with a number of
his immediate followers, took their seats amongst the
INFUSION OF THE "LITTLE LEAVEN." 361
congregation. One can imagine how thankful our friends
were to see this, and how fervently they prayed that the
good seed might that day be sown, and that they might
have strength and wisdom granted them, to touch the hearts
of these men, and bring them to a knowledge of Christ the
Saviour. In the afternoon a message came calling Mr
Munro to the presence of the chief. On his attending, the
old Malay told him to sit down, as he wished to have some
conversation with him, regarding what he had said that day.
Mr Munro expressed his pleasure, and they began.
" You spoke very strongly," said the old chief, " against
our helping ourselves to what we need, by the strong hand,
and you called it very ugly names. Why so 1 since we only
follow the ways of our forefathers from time immemorial;
and, w^ere we not to show our strength, we should be over-
whelmed."
Mr Munro replied — "It is difficult for me to speak to you
so that you can understand. As you say, it is the life led
by your forefathers and yourselves. But what is in itself
bad, does not become good by age. Many of your people
have now gone away on an expedition. Supposing they are
successful, think how much bloodshed there will be — think
]iow many women and children will weep. This you may
not care about, since they are no relations of yours, and
belong to another country. Suppose, however, they are
defeated and slain ; what grief will be caused here in your
own community ! Eeflect, then, that you who remain at
home, are peaceful and happy. You have enough for all
your wants. You are molested by no one ; you molest no
one. You might live amongst your families, till you die in
a happy and revered old age. A life of peace and goodwill
to all men, is preferable to one of bloodshed, rapine, and
care. Add to that, the belief in God, and the love of Him
362 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
and obedience to His commandments, and you are assured
of a glorious resurrection after death, and a life of eternal
joy and felicity."
" It is true as you say," was the answer, " that at death
the women weep. It is their nature — but the tears of a man
are far away. Our brother who is killed in battle, only takes,
the road we all hope to follow. Why should we sorrow when
a man dies ? It is the fate of us all. I should say, in the
event of any one being so womanish, that he was a coward ;
that he wept, not because his friend was dead, but because
of the reminder he had received, that he also would one day
die. Xo doubt, if we remained on this island, we should
always have enough to eat ; but we want more — we want
wealth, power, and glory. More than this : we war for our
own protection. Did we not, we should be attacked and
perhaps made slaves of by other tribes, as we have done to
you. And, do you mean to tell me, that we shall rise again
after we are dead V
" I will answer you as you have spoken," said Mr Munro
in reply. " I acknowledge that women, being of a softer
nature, are more prone to show their feelings; but their
sorrow for the death of a friend or relative is no deeper than
that of a man. You say a man is a coward who weeps. Not
so; he is only a human being. One who does not is on
a level with the beasts of the field, which see the tiger
slay one of their number, and go on feeding, indifferent as
before. You say you cannot be content with sufficient to
eat, but that you want wealth, power, and glory. There
are legitimate means of getting all this. Easier means alsor
more certain than war or bloodshead — means which are not
offensive to God, nor productive of unhappiness to men.
You have here a magnificent island, with many products
saleable to white men. You, chief, say you have been at
ANENT CONQUEST AND DEATH. 365
Singapore; you must there have seen a flourishing commerce.
Power you will get with your wealth, and if you make it the
power of doing good, it will endure. Glory also will come
to you, as you will have that of being a peaceful, kind, and
happy people. Your influence will be all-powerful for good
amongst the other islands, and a man who can say that he
is a Malay of this one, will be revered and trusted. You say
that, did you not make war, you would be made slaves — that
does not follow. It is allowable and right to make defensive
war. You would be all the stronger to defend your happy
homes, your wealth, and your commerce, and it would soon
1)0 seen, that your change of life had strengthened as well
;is enriched you. In time, you would have the glory of a
new conquest; you would have conquered jourselves — made
yourselves amenable to the law of God, and by the influence
of a good life, the fruit of a love to God, and adherence to
the doctrines of Jesus Christ, His Son, the Saviour ; you
would conquer to yourselves many friends, and from the
devil many subjects. This is a conquest worth brave men's
attempting. You ask if we shall rise again. That is sure
and certain. What are your thoughts as to the fate of man
after death f
" They die, and there is an end of them. I have, indeed,
heard from Malays and Hindoos of the j^eninsula many old
women's stories, such as that men become higher or lower
animals according as they have behaved in this world.
Something they call a soul, goes into the bodies of these
animals, but we here know nothing of this. When we die,
we sleep for ever, without the power of awakening, and as
we cannot awaken again to life, our bodies decay, as every,
thing else decays."
" Then," said Mr Munro, *' you put yourselves on a level
364 THE ISLE IN THE KISTERN SEA.
with the deer in the jungle, with the fish in the sea. Do you
not feel 1 Does it never strike you, when you look at your
hands and limbs, when you see the reflection of yourself
in the water, that although that is your body, yet it is not
yourself 1 Just as although the oar i)ropels the prahm, yet
it is not the propelling power. Do you never have the con-
sciousness that there is a something within, which tells you
when you are doing wrong, which enables your mind or your
body to do that wrong, since thought or speech may be evil,
iis well as action. That something we call the soul of men,
is immortal and indestructible. That never dies, but wings
its way to the place appointed for it, where it abides till the
great day of judgment, when God the Son shall come to
judge the good and bad. Then, as our actions have been
committed in the body, as in the body we have accepted or
rejected the salvation offered us through Christ the Saviour,
and ordered our lives accordingly, so, in the body again, shall
we receive our reward or our jnmishment — in a glorious and
purified body everlasting bliss, or in an evil body everlasting
damnation. Rest assured, my friend, that we are here
merely on trial. Those who hear the truth, as I am now
telling it to you, and reject it, woe to them. Try this sal-
vation I off'er you, only try it, and so sure am I of the power
of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of those who earnestly ask
for His Spirit, that I am not afraid of any return to your old
ways. Try it, I implore you."
There was a minute or two of silence, and then a long
breath, as if of satisfaction at a way of escape from a visible
<langer, so much had Mr Munro's earnestness impressed them.
Then the chief spoke again.
" We have listened to you, and you ^have spoken well.
We believe you to be a good man; but as yet we cannot say
AN APPEAL TO CONSCIENCE. 365
that we see that yonr religion is adapted for us. Let me ask
you a question. What, then, has become of our people who
have died without a knowledge of this salvation you offer
us? and who is this other king you call the 'devil,' whom
we are to fight against and conquer?"
"Your first question," Mr Munro replied, "I cannot
answer for certain. But Christ says, 'In my Father's house
are many mansions,' and as God's mercy and justice are
infinite, we cannot say that they will be 2:)unished for the
want of what they had no means of knowing anytliing
about. According to our lights we shall be judged ; and a
Malay, good and upright according to his conscience, though
ignorant of the name of Christ, will take a better place than
one who, having a knowledge of the Christian religion, has
yet neglected and despised its precepts. But now God,
working through your own wicked purpose of enslaving an
innocent and unoffending people, has brought the message to
you. In the name of Christ, I command you to listen to
His word and reform your lives. There is no escaj^e, if you
neglect the great salvation which is offered you. I know —
I can see — that, through God's grace, my words are working
in you. You know that I am right. You feel that what I
say is true. You are inclined to give way to the Holy Spirit,
who is gently drawing you. But is there not a something
in your hearts which whispers to you, not only now, but at
every good action you feel inclined to do : — 'Why should you
trouble 1 The old way is a good way. Eat, drink, and be
merry, for to-morrow you die. Plunder away. What folly
to talk of right or wrong ! What to you is the death of men
or the sorrow of women 1 Don't be a fool. Take what you
want, if you are strong enough.' That, my friends, is the
devil — the principle of evil, the deadly antagonist of all that
366 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
is good — working in jour hearts, so that you may, at the
last, join him in everlasting damnation, by becoming his
subjects in this world. As I have already told you, we are
here on trial. We have a mind of our own — a reasoning
power, which tells us what is good, and what is bad. God,
who made us, gives us free will. AVe do as we please, and,
for His own wise purj^oses. He allows us to be tempted by the
devil. He gives us our choice, and if we deliberately choose
€vil when we know the good, if we defy and condemn Him
to whom we owe our being and our life, is it not right that
we should be punished 1 It is right, and it is certain."
" Tell me," said the chief, " when all this was — when and
how you got your religion 1 "
" God, who is our God," said our venerable friend, with a
holy fervour, " was from the beginning, is now, and is to
<}ome. He hath neither beginning nor end. He made the
heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is therein, by the
word of His power. You and I, as we stand here, are in
the hollow of His hand. He fills the world and infinite
space with His presence; and yet He will condescend to dwell
in your heart or mine. It is by His direct inspiration, that
holy men have written His word — have given us his law and
precepts. The good news of the Gospel, was given us by the
disciples of Christ — men who lived with Him during His
sojourn on this earth — ^^vlio saw His daily life and conversa-
tion, and who witnessed his life of sacrifice, finished by His
death on the cross. You have travelled, and you no doubt
know what books are 1 You have also seen me reading V
The chief nodded. " Well, these men wrote all these things
in a book, and the book has descended to us."
One of the Malays, who seemed most dissatisfied, now
spoke.
THE leavp:ning of the whole lump. 367
"You have advised us a great deal. Amongst other
things you recommend commerce with Singapore. This
would be all very well ; but is it not that you wish for com-
munication with Singapore, so that you may inform your
brothers of your presence here; and would not the result be,
that we should be invaded, and you rescued 1"
This at once created an effect which Mr Munro was not
slow to notice. He sighed, and said —
" It may be so to some extent. I will not deny, that I
ishould have wished to console many mourners, by the tidings
that we are alive; and we should be glad to tell many
friends of our work here. Yet I tell you that I am willing,
for myself and for my children, to avoid all communications
with any whites till you give us leave. That day I feel
assured will come."
The people then dispersed, and Mr Munro returned to his
family.
Chapter VI.
Xow things went on very quietly. Every day brought its
duties, and little knots of men, women, and children might be
seen listening to the exhortations and explanations of our
friends. They were instant in season and out of season ;
they were all things to all men, so that they might win some.
At last the men began to take an interest in agriculture,
and under the missionaries' directions, and with their help,
they planted many things which were articles of commerce.
.Soon the village and its vicinity wore a neat and smiling
aspect. Food was more abundant and better; and the palm
wine calabash was not so often resorted to, to pass away the
<lay. The men were softened, the women cheered, and many
<'omforts were added to their houses, by the results of another
I
368 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
trip to the wrecked stores, organised by Mr Maxwell and
his son. There were fewer speculations now, as to the
results of the expedition, and of the i:>lunder that would be
brought back. There were still some discontented spirits —
men who regretted the change which was evidently coming
over them, who longed for bloodshed, robbery, and licence.
These stood obstinately aloof; but they were not many in
number.
One thing there was that troubled the missionaries —
what would be the result of the return of the fleet, especially
if it returned victorious and laden with plunder? They
were afraid that the sight of such success would throw the
Malays into piracy or barbarism, or if it did not, that they
would all have much trouble — perhaps persecution — ^from
the returned warriors. Then, again — how had these poor
natives stood the fiery trial 1 All seemed very dark ahead.
The old chief — ^who was by this time a Christian at heart —
comforted Mr Munro when he spoke to him about this.
"Yes," he said, "It may be so. It most likely will be so ;
but what can you do 1 You have told us* much about God,
and, amongst other things, of His power. Let us wait
patiently and see the result. I will do what I can, but you
see that those who are here are not unanimous, and those
who are coming are the largest number. In a matter of this
kind my power is little."
Day followed day, quietly and peacefully; and, resting on
the Lord, they waited.
One day, just as the sun was setting behind the island,
and throwing its beams to the eastward, some prahms
were discovered by the discontented Malays, who had been
anxiously looking out, in the hope that when their friends
came back, all things would be changed.
RETURN OF THE PIRATES. 369
In a few minutes, word was passed from house to house,
that the fleet was returning, and they all gathered on the
shore.
But was this the gallant and numerous flotilla which,
nine months ago, had put out to sea, full of hopes of plunder,
and a glorious return l Eickety, broken boats, much dimin-
ished in number, and with scarcely anyone to be seen on
board, coming slowly and painfully towards the land ; and,
at last, when they touched the beach, what a lamentable
sight was there ! Those who were well, were scarcely able
to work the vessels, and in the bottoms of them, lay thickly,
the sick and the wounded.
Battle and tempest had done their work; all their friends
and relatives crowded to help, and with much tenderness
carried them up to their houses. Our natives also attended
to their friends on board — now, alas, how few ! and the
missionary party dispensed their help, and their medical
knowledge, to all alike.
Nothing of moment took place for some days, except the
occasional laying in the earth of some slave, or the burning
of some Malay, who had succumbed to wounds or to
disease.
Many a black look was cast by the discontented Malays,
who had remained on shore, at our friends, as if they, by
some magic art, had been the cause of this calamity. Others,
who had allowed the influence of the Gospel to reach their
hearts, and had been inclined to believe its doctrines, now
looked upon this catastrophe with awe, and accepted it as a
proof of the truth of the teaching. They had heard that
such a life as they had hitherto led, was abhorrent to God,
and could not be continued without His long-suff'ering mercy
})eing exhausted, and retribution coming upon them. They
2b
370 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
determined to go and sin no more. It was the turning-
point, and by God's goodness and wisdom, it turned the
right way. Even the Malays who survived, when they
found food abundant, seasoned with kindness and affection,
no complaint, no scoff addressed to them — when they saw
the comfort of their houses, and generally the change for the
better which had come about, softened and lowered by
affliction, they instinctively turned to God, as the flowers
to the sun. They had precept and example to guide them.
The missionaries sowed and watered, and God gave the
increase.
The natives of the peninsula had suffered much in the
expedition, but they had stood the trial well. Some of the
Malays said that the example of their resignation, coupled
with their resolute denunciation of all that was bad, coming
after what the missionaries had told them before their
departure, had a great effect, even w^hile at sea. There was
much grief for those who were lost, but time, and the belief
that they should meet again, tempered and softened their
sorrow.
Now, indeed, there was a change in the island. It
became an earthly paradise. As year succeeded year, they
increased more and more in the knowledge and love of God.
Some few, I am sorry to record, resolutely refused to listen,
or to quit their old ways, but as they were few, the others
kept them in order. At last they announced their deter-
mination of leaving to join some other tribe, to which many
objected, saying that they would be sure to bring other
tribes upon them, and they should be involved in war.
The missionaries, however, considered that, some day or
other, the change must become known, and the sooner the
better. Against invasion they hoped to be able to defend
SOCIAL REFORMATION. 371
themselves. So, by their influence, the malcontents were
allowed to depart.
I may mention here, that the fears of the people were
realized. Some time after, they were invaded by a party,
headed by the runaways; but they were defeated, and
learned such a lesson, that the island was never troubled
again.
The slaves were freed, and all dwelt together as brethren.
Polygamy was abolished, and marriage held sacred. They
tilled the soil greatly, though for many years they stored
what they did not use, as they refused to listen to the
recommendations of the missionaries, to open communica-
tions with Singapore. They were, they said, happy and
prosperous. They wanted for nothing. They were not now
afraid of harm coming to them, through intercourse with
white men; but why should they advertise their j)eaceful
and unwarlike state, amongst the other islands ; why sub-
ject themselves to the risk of evil 1 Mr Munro and Mr
Maxwell — to whom they looked up, as their fathers in God
— argued the matter with them, told them that they must
be strong to resist the evil, and that they had no right to
hide their light under a bushel ; it was their duty to dis-
seminate the blessings they had received amongst others.
Englishmen at Singapore would cheerfully and heartily
helj) and protect them in doing so.
In the summer of 1871, 1 was cruising about, on a trading
expedition amongst the islands of the Eastern Archipelago.
It was rather dangerous work, and we were well-manned
and armed. One evening, we found ourselves in sight of an
island, of which no one on board knew the name. We had
372 THE ISLE IX THE EASTERN SEA.
encountered a gale, and were considerably out of the usual
trading track. The night fell while we were still some
distance off, but as it was nearly calm we hung about,
keeping good watch, and determined to have a nearer look
at it in the morning.
The night passed without any visitors, and at dawn we
found ourselves closer in. Many telescopes were directed to
the shore, and in a few moments the second mate shouted,
in an accent of great surprise, *'I see the American flag
flying !" And truly there it was. We, of course, imagined
that some vessel had been wrecked, and that the crew had
found their way on land ; but knowing the character of the
inhabitants of these islands, we wondered by what miracle
they had remained alive, and, most of all, how they were
allowed to communicate with us.
We manned a boat, and armed it well, in case this should
only be a ruse, though by this time we saw some few people
sauntering down to the beach, as if to meet us. We could
not understand the apathy which was evinced, still less the
absence of white men, although the flag was still flying ; and
there was apparently no preparations for launching the
prahms, which, when the inhabitants mean well, and in
some cases when they do not, is always done. Imagine our
great surprise, on cautiously approaching the beach, to hear
ourselves hailed in English, and asked to land, as there were
some of our brethren there in great sorrow; and on our
showing some hesitation, the people shouted to us not to be
afraid, as they were Christian men like ourselves. Little did
we know what was the true state of things, though we
afterwards learned all that is here recorded from Mr and
Mrs Maxwell, and their son and daughter.
On reaching the shore, we immediately began to inquire
LAST SCENE OF ALL. 373
into this strange state of affairs, but were answered only
with the sorrowful request, that we would follow them to
the hill where we saw the flag, and where (here the tears
flowed freely) we would find their fathers dying. Alas ! it
was too true. Mr Munro and the chief, now brothers in
Christ and in heart, white-headed and broken, had been
carried to say their last farewell to their people — to die in
the light of God's day, and to be an example to their flock
of the joy, the bliss of dying in the Lord. Hand in hand,
they were proj^ped-up, on mats, under the "feathery shade''
of the cocoa palm. Eound them knelt, in great yet calm
sorrow, Mr and Mrs Maxwell, Robert and Eflie, and, in the
outer circle, the people both of the peninsula and island.
So impressed were we with the touching solemnity of the
scene — which we comprehended at a glance — that we also,
without one word, took up our position amongst the mour-
ners, and listened to the last words of the dying patriarchs.
" My brother," said Mr Munro in feeble accents, " we are
to-day to die. We leave our friends and our relatives, but
we exchange this world, for one of everlasting joy and felicity,
where we shall again meet them. Is this a matter for
sorrow "?"
" No," said the chief, " not altogether so. The shortest
parting is a matter of grief, but the joy is the greater when
we meet again. Thanks to God, who sent you, and to thee,
my brother, that we have that hope. God grant that I may
desire that certainty, and He will give it ; of that I feel
assured."
" See how good He is," said the missionary ; all I have
wished and prayed for, has come to us in good time. The
commerce and protection of our people will be assured.
The work of God will be continued. My friends and relatives
374 THE ISLE IN THE EASTERN SEA.
■\vill have the blissful knowledge of our existence. Our
people will be brought into contact with a good and Christian
nation. He has brought these strangers to cheer our dying
moments."
We waited in solemn silence, only broken by occasional
whispers from the two friends, and sobs from — I am not
ashamed to own it — ourselves, as well as the people, till at
last, as the sun sank in the west, with words of affection
and Avisdom on their lips, these two good men passed
away.
Their rest cannot be otherwise than calm and happy..
May their example ever be remembered ; so may God's work,
thus happily begun, have His blessing to a good continuance^
A DUBLIN "BOY."
(GLAsaow Weekly Herald, May 8th, 1875.)
I WAS travelling once from Glasgow to Dublin by one of
the Clyde steamers. It was a very stormy night, and we
had a regular game of pitch and toss. I tried to keep out
of the heated atmosphere of the cabin as long as I could,
but an extra gust and a roll, sent me down nolens volens. I
got to my feet again, and while removing my wet wrappers,
and shaking myself generally, I was accosted by a stout,
sturdy, bullet-headed respectably-dressed man, with Irish-
man written in every feature of his face, and heard in every
roll of his tongue.
" Thry some of this, sur," said he, handing me a smoking
tumbler. " It won't agree wid the cowld, an' it will dhrive
it out, for sure it's the better man av the two."
I did so, and soon found that my friend was right, so to
turn what was still an undecided battle into a complete
victory, I ordered a jorum for myself and sat down beside
him. It was my first trip to Ireland, and, of course, I
could talk about nothing except the country and the people.
The " Dublin Boy," as he called himself, was evidently a
man who, although perhaps a "broth of a boy" once, and
even yet not objecting to a jollification, had evidently "done
well" in the world. He knew, and cared, nothing about
politics. Perhaps that accounted for his success.
"Arrah! go way wid ye now. What do I know about
Fanienism an' Home Rule? Begorra, what do they want?
Let them attend to their business; pay twenty shillings in
376 A DUBLIN "BOY."
the pound (somehow this sounded so strange in the Irish
brogue), an' those that have no business let them work stiddy
— there's plenty jobs for them — an' you'll soon hear the last
of their cries. I have thravelled over ivery bit of Ireland,
an' a great deal of England and Scotland. In them two
counthries I seen ivery man minding his own business, an'
not botherin' about the Government; an' what's the con-
sequence ? The Government don't bother them. In Ireland
you'll see every bog-throther's son of a pitatie patch, if he
isn't polthougueing his neighbour, he's sure to be blowing
away about the wrongs of Ireland, and the oppression of the
English. Sorra a wrong I iver seen, nor heerd of nayther,
from a man as could pay his way. I see by the papers, sur,
that they be doin' the same thing in France and Spain. It's
in the blood, it's in the blood ! I've seen some of them fur-
riners — and they do be more like the Irish than you English
are. Nothin' will put things right, but time and the strong-
hand. I don't mane that the strength of England should
be always held up before Ireland, but let the people know
and see that it is there, and will be used if occasion requires.
The Government is good enough; though it is not so very
long ago since yees icere hard upon us."
" Yes, that is true."
"Well, well, that oughtn't to matter now; he's a good
boy that gets better as he gets older. Time '11 do it, sur.
Time '11 do it. We didn't — English or Irish ayther — lie
down in our paint and skins at night, and get up in frock
coat and throusers in the marnin'. Did we now?"
" No, we did not. I quite agree with you in all you say."
" Ah, to be sure; well, let's say no more about it. It's
only waste av time. Take another tumbler and a pipe.
Do you smoke?"
THE DONNYBROOK DAYS. 377
I agreed to both my friend's recommendations, and finding
that he would say no more about pohtics, I tried him in
another direction, being anxious to ascertain if the wild
^' divarsion" of their social life, as portrayed by Barrington,
Lover, and Lever, was still " to the fore."
" What sort of a life do people lead in Dublin 1"
" Arrah, it's better now, but it was a wild divil-may-care
life at one time."
" In your own young days, now, how was it '?"
'' Don't spake of it, sur. What with whisky, an' fighting,
an' dancing, an' horse racin' — sure horse racin' bruk all
Ireland, it did !"
The sudden change, from the hilarious look and voice to
the mournful brow and quaver, was indescribable ; it was
as plain as a pikestaff that my friend had at one time been
^' bruk," or near it, by a fondness for the sport, an' divilment
of all kinds.
" We had some rare goin's-on in Dublin in the owld time.
A lot of us young fellows, twenty years ago, would go on the
batter, night after night, and feel none the worse for it.
Sure, everybody did the same, an' why shouldn't they.
Maybe it's me that is changed, but sure it can't be that, since
my eyes is to the fore yet. It seems to me, anyway, that
the people is changed. Donnybrook, and most of that kind
of divarsion, is done away wid ; there's more quiet drinking,
I think, but not the divilment there wunst was. What wid
Fanienism, Home-Rule, emigration, fine-art exhibitions, an',
an' botheration of all kinds, the fun of Dublin is clean gone
entoirely.
" I'm not so very ould ; how ould would yees think I am 1
No, no ; I'm just six-an'-forty, so that the times I speak of
are not so very long ago. I'll tell yees now of a night me
378 A DUBLIN "BOY."
and some other boys had — wild divils they was, too — some-
five-aii'-twinty years agone. There wor just five of us. an'
we had all come up from Baldoyle races together. We had
won a bit of money, an' bed ad ! nothin' would sarve us but
we must spend some of it. There was an owld fellow kep*
a hotel, that I knew well ; so, on my recommendation, we
decided to go there ; it was in a good quarther for society,
sure, an' we thought we could get a few together an* make
a night of it. It was late when w^e got there, but, be gorra !
we wor decaived. The owld man, a rich, comfortable, well-
to-do owld fellow, had gone an' cut his t'roat."
" What did he do that for 1"
" Bedad, not a mother's son could tell. Yees see this, now.
His head waither had left him some time before, an' started
in opposition. He took away a great deal of his thrade ;
particularly the commercial men, with whom he had been a
great favourite. The owld fellow wor vexed at this, an*^
took it to heart so, that the night before we came up, he
went down to the hotel that belonged to his waither, an'
tuk a bed there. AVell, when they came to wake him up in
the mornin', they found he had spoiled the bed and a new
carpet, sure he had ; an' it was as plain as the nose on yer
face, that he had done it for nothin' else but to injure the
opposition business. Wasn't he a 'cute owld fellow, now ?"
" Well, I don't know. But did it have that effect ?"
" Begorra an' it did, sur. Not a man-jack went near the
place for a twelvemonth after. Well, sur, we could not well
have our fun, when the man of the house was lying dead in
it ; and as it wor gettin' late, w^e were thinking of going to
our homes. The old fellow had been a friend of mine, so
I did not like going over to the opposition, seein' wdiat
he'd done, an' why he'd done it, an' we wor just biddin' one
AN IRISH WAKE. 37^
another good night, when up comes a waither, and he says,
'Gintlemen,' says he, 'yees want some liquor an' divarsion,.
why wouldn't yees go up to the wake ? Yees'd get both
there; an sure the frinds would take it kindly av ye.''
'Where is it, Dan?' says I. *It's jist round behind the
hotel,' says the waither. ' I'm sure they'll make yees wel-
come, an' it'll be health to the owld woman's sowl, to see
yees at it 1 '
" Nothin' more was wanted. Away we went, primed an''
ready for anything. When we came to the door, we found
a crowd of ragged vagabonds outside. Yees'll see the
l)eggars in Dublin, an' can guess we had throuble in gettin'
through, but at last we managed to get upstairs an' into the
room where the owld woman lay on a bed forenint the door.
In the middle, there was a bit of a table at the foot of the
bed, an' on it wor whisky, pipes, an' tibaccay. Eound the
room the people, male and faymale, wor sittin' three deep.
B' the powers! the old lady had more visitors and good
words whin dead, nor ever she had whin livin'. Takin' them
upon the average, they was all half dnmk, an' one pair was
croonin' an' dhronin' away at a song. All the others was
lukin' towards them, tho', faix, little could they see for the
smoke that filled the place. We squeezed in, an' room was
made for us as well as they could. We got seats someway,,
half on the people an' half on nothin', but one of our party
nearly made throuble, by dhriving his way up close to the
bed ; he wor a gallows young bird, that one.
" Barrin' some black looks an' mutterin's, that our im-
pident talk and ways occasioned, everything went very
comforthable for a while, till the whisky got done, an' then
such a screechin' and clatterin' for more. A fresh supply
came in, an' at it we went airain.
380 A DUBLIN "BOY."
" By-an'-by, there came in a purty counthry-luckin' girl,
that stud by the door, as if she belonged to no one in
particular, just a dissolute faymale orphan; an' as I wor the
same, I thought I'd go over and help her, wid her lonesome-
ness. I scrooged along, until I had got nigh forenint the
door, when in came Biddy wid a fresh supply of spirits an'
hot wather in a tray. She just gave wan luck at me (as I
thought), an' wid a ' Agh-O-A,' down she went, the contints
of the thray powdering a-toj) of her, an' she kicked an' she
scramed, as if she was possessed wid siven divils. Begorra,
sir, it shuk me, it did. Here was I a-goin' to comfort a
young cratur, and somethin' horrible about me that frightened
Biddy out of her sinses; but just then there was a yell from
all in the room, an' I turned my head. Oh, Holy Mother !
there was the corpse a-sittin' up in the bed, noddin' its head
iit us, an' says she "
"Says who r'
"Blue blazes, sur, amn't I tellin' ye. ' The corpse,' says
she, * Bless yer sowls,' she says, * aren't yees a pretty
lot of nagurs, niver to ax me to join yees; an' the liquor
mine, an' the tibaccay too.' Be all the saints, sur, I
thought I shud have dropped, an' most in the room was on
their knees, or a top av one another. The corpse, sur,
turned round, as if she were goin' to get out av the bed.
Iverybody roared an' tried to run. There was sich a crun-
-chin' an' crowdin' at the door. Some fell over the banisthers,
an' some fell down the stairs. I got away wid my head
broke, my ilbows skinned, an' my coat torn off me back,
sure I did. B' me sowl, sur, when I think av it now, I'm
like to split my coat agin wid laughin', I am; but it wor no
laughin' matther thin. An' what do yees think it was all
iibout, nowf
A SERIOUS JOKE. 381
" How can I tell^ Some trick, I suppose."
" Thrick ! Begor it icor a tlirick, an' no mistake. It wor
just that blackguard spalpeen, young Dick O'Flynn, as I
towld yees was a-dhriving his way up to the bed. He had
tied a cord round the owld lady, an' passed it round the fut
av the bed; an' he underneath it at the other side, pulled
away till he raised the dead an' nearly killed the living;
bedad so he did. I didn't hear how it was done for some
time afther. The rascal kept quiet till we all got better av
our bruises, an' well for him too. There Avor many av us so
sore, in our minds an' our bodies, that we would ha' spared
him some av the pain wid pleasure."
*' Well, I suppose you didn't try for any more ' divarsion'
thatnightr'
" Divil a bit, sur. It kep' us quiet for a week afther;
but let us go to bed, sur; and if yees have no objections,
I'll give yees a wake, av another kind, in the marnin'."
PLIMSOLL'S "JACK."
(Glasgow Weekly Herald, 22d May, 1875.)
There is no doubt whatever that Mr Plimsoll has clone
^ood service in agitating on the subject of unseaworthy
ships. I am inclined to think, however, that he has not
been discreet enough in his advocacy. To look upon his
picture, one would imagine that the life of a sailor is one of
-exceptionable hardship and low wages ; that they are unable
to combine, as do workmen on shore, so as to control their
labour market ; that they are ill-fed, hard worked, and
frequently offered up, as unconscious sacrifices to the genius
of swindling, especially in the department dedicated to
insurance companies and underwriters; or, when that is not
wilfully done, that they are looked upon as the crew of the
commercial fireship, with this difference, that no honour
accrues to them if they escape, though substantial profit may
result to the sender. Such partisanship tends to mislead.
I believe there is good foundation for Mr Plimsoll's stric-
tures, so far as home-going. North-sea, and short-voyage
ships are concerned. It is in the forecastles of these that
you often hear the sailors say —
** He who would go to sea for pleasure,
"Would go to hell for pastime. "
And, certainly, some stories I have heard from the men show
that reform is needed. I remember a Swede telling me of
ii Russian prize having been condemned, and sold for £65.
Instead of being broken up, she was despatched from London
COFFIN SHIPS. 383
by her owner, a Norwegian, with a cargo of coals for Malaga.
At the time, after the war, the shipping trade was very bad,
and this man had been loafing about for two months, living
from hand to mouth, unable to get a berth. At last, he
signed articles for the voyage in this " old coffin," and she
sailed. They had pretty fair weather and fair winds, till
near their destination. Nevertheless they had to be con-
stantly at the pumps. At last it came on to blow, and the
timbers of the "old hooker" opened and shut "just like as
many oysters." She was perfectly rotten at the stem, and
at last a hole opened " that let in the water faster than we
could take it out again." They tried many ways of stopping
it, and at last the captain succeeded ; he himself went over,
fast to a line, and stuffed salt beef into the opening 1 With
only this between them and destruction, they reached their
port. They could get no cargo for anywhere there. So,
after some patching up, away they went, in ballast, for the
St Lawrence. By the mercy of Providence they scrambled
over somehow, and loaded with timber for London again !
After being blown and battered for a month, losing their
deck cargo, with enough of her under water to enable the
men to " lean over the bulwarks and wash their hands," they
got back as far as Queenstown; and there my informant,
hearing that ships were more plentiful and wages better,
forfeited his wages by leaving her — so what became of her
afterwards, I had not the pleasure, or pain, of knowing. Of
course, at any j^ort he might have left the vessel, and got
his wages, too ; but what was Jack to do 1 He says, " I
did try ; but none of us had no money for the lawyers, and
v/e didn't know nothin' about how to go to work, and so we
slipped South as soon as we could, and forgot all about it
after a bouse out." Again, on being asked why he shipped
384 tlimsoll's jack.
in sucli a vessel at all, he says, "Why, we didn't know
nothin' at all about that either ; and if we had, I, for one,
was so blessed hard up, that I'd have gone to sea on a gratin'
for grub and wages. Besides, we were well treated ; plenty
to eat, and none of your confounded teetotal ships; so what's
the odds so long as you're happy?" Such is Jack all through
the piece ; and, being such an indispensable member of the
community, it is but right that his friends should see he is
well treated, and his life cared for.
Having said this much in favour of Mr PlimsoU and his
championship, it becomes us now to point to the peculiarities
of Jack in fighting against himself, and to show long-voyaged
Jack especially, as one who is well fed, lightly worked, and
in a better position by far, than his fellow-workman on shore,
to save money, so as to be in comfort in his old age; that he
has time, and, in very many ships, opportunity, for improv-
ing his knowledge of the art he lives by, and that generally
Jack, if he would only take care of himself, might be as
happy and prosperous as he is useful.
Jack is like the herring — the prey of every other variety
of his own species; but none are so fatal to him as those
who, as quoted in one of the magazines some time ago,
when the ship arrives at St. Katherine's Docks,
" Come down in flocks ; "
and, as the writer did not continue, say
** Come on, Jack, you're welcome back,
And I'll go you shares in your three years' whack,
For I see you're homeward bound."
It is characteristic of the sailor that he sings those songs —
and enjoys them too — although they tell so much against
his usual proceedings on shore. Another verse of the same
I
jack's unthrift. 385
"shanty," is referring to Jack just returned from sea, and
Jack who has been some time on shore, and, as a natural
consequence, in a state of impecuniosity : —
' Then, in comes the landlady with a smile,
Says, * Taste this liquor, it's worth your while.'
For I see you're, &c.
' ' Then, in comes the landlady with a frown.
Says, 'Get up, Jack, let John sit down.'
For you'll soon be outward bound."
I remember one old sailor telling me that his last pay-day
was .£48, "and in twelve days I hadn't a cent!"
" What did you do with iti" I inquired.
" Do with it ! why, spent it like a man !"
And nothing would convince him that he hadn't done so.
"What's the use?" he says. "If it was known in the
forecastle that I was a ' miser,' what a pretty life I'd lead.
And if I gave it to some one to take care of — some of your
institutions or such like — they'd be sure to burst up, and
I'd lose it. No, no; I'll take the benefit of it while I can.
This voyage I want clothes bad enough. I'm just thinking
whether I shall spend all my money in clothes or none."
Giving up the attempt at conversion as hopeless, I saunter
away aft, and ruminate over the opportunities which Jack
has of doing himself good, and how completely and per-
sistently he neglects them.
Notwithstanding all the sailor's coarse ways and modes
of expressing himself, his too often filthy conversation, and
licentious habits, it is wonderful how he respects a man
who is consistently and quietly the opposite — always i3ro-
vided that he is liberal with his money. We knew one
Swedish carpenter who was a staid, well-behaved man, never
mixed in the wild talk of the other men — rather discouraged
2c
386 plimsoll's "jack."
them than otherwise — read his Bible on a Sunday, never
swore, and did his work without grumbHng, which was as
extraordinary as any other trait in his character. It was
pleasant to see how this man was respected. How the oath
would die away upon the lips of the speaker, as " chips"
<lrew near; and how willing — nay anxious — they were to
do any little thing to serve him. Yet, strange to say, he
was carried on board dead drunk by his mate; and it was
perfectly well known, that he would be in the same state an
hour after landing. Jack seems to accept drunkenness as
the normal condition of a sailor. Even the very few lusus
naturce, who do not drink themselves, think nothing of it in
other men. One who is careful of his money, may give good
advice, and example too, but all he gains by it, is the reputa-
tion of a miser; and he has no influence whatever.
It is a very difficult matter to say what ought to be done.
Teetotal ships are supposed to be a step in the right direc-
tion, but it is questionable. It is another phase of the
*' making men sober by Act of Parliament." The men are
sober enough while on board, but, whenever they get the
opportunity, they rush into the opposite extreme; and it is
a common saying about Wells Street, when a man is so
drunk that he cannot lie down without holding on, " Oh,
j)Oor devil! he's just landed from a teetotal ship." Of
course, if owners choose to lay it down as a stipulation,
before engaging a man, that they shall supply no grog, and
he to accept it, it is all right enough; they have a perfect
right to do so, and nobody can complain. But it is as to
Avhether it does the sailor good, morally, that I am speak-
ing. I don't think it does; and he, more than most men,
requires, for his physical well-being, his " glass of grog
a-day."
I
jack's grumbling and revenge. 387
Jack's grumbling propensity is marvellous. It seems to
be a safety valve; it lets off the steam which would other-
wise blow-up the ship. If, also, he considers himself ill-
treated, his revenge is sure; and, in taking it, he is not
always guided by considerations of the danger his own life
may be brought into. I remember one case, where the
master had roughly expressed some suspicion, that the men
were tampering with the cargo, and threatening them with
severe punishment if it was so. Nothing had been touched
up to that time, but they then determined to give him some
cause for his suspicions; and before they reached Madras
had drank, and actually thrown overboard, about XI 00
Avorth of wines and spirits, just to inflict that loss upon the
ship, and " get the captain into a row." They had reached
it through a bulkhead, which partitioned-ofF the forecastle.
Another time, when I was a passenger in a large barque,
off the New Zealand coast, we were struck by a heavy squall,
with everything aloft that would draw. The men had some
real or fancied cause of complaint against the caj^tain and
mate, and to all the quickly-following orders of the former,
they responded by fiddling about the wrong ropes — they
dared not refuse duty, while stern-sail booms and upper spars
were tumbling about their ears.
" Let the b y ship go to ," I heard one of them
growl, as I passed him ; and they were all doing their best
to send her somewhere.
The old skipper knelt on the poop-rail, and implored,
^' For God's sake, men, keep the masts in her."
" Aye, aye, sir," was the instantaneous response, and to
work they went with a will. They had brought " the old
man to his marrow bones," and were satisfied.
I was once in a " Methodist ship," the ca2:)tain of which
388 plimsoll's "jack."
was a local preacher. He was a thoroughly good old man —
one who had a close grip of the things of this world, but
whose Christian feeling made him constantly fight against
this propensity. He was a first-class sailor, and the men
respected and rather liked him. Everywhere, scattered
through the ship, were Methodist publications, of course
especially those \mtten for sailors — many of them " yarns,'^
(supposed to have been told in the forecastle) of a highly
religious character. It was amusing to hear the sailors'
critiques on these.
"AVhat ship was that in V says one, after the reader had
finished.
" There's no name given," was the rei)ly.
" Ah ! I thought not," said another.
" They was too sharp to put that in : they knew Ave should
find out what humbug it is. I have been in many ships,
and hang me if ever I heard any talk of that kind — nothin'
but sprees and judes."
" It's very pretty, though," says a fourth.
" Wery," cries a Londoner.
"Don't you see, mates, that Christians is thankful for
anything that's given them, and never grumbles at overwork
or underfeeding. Them's the ticket for captains and owners."
"Ay, they'd bring us to something, if we all took that line :
sing us a song. Bill ;" and away goes the forecastle mirth in
full fling. Humorous — nay, often witty — it is, I allow ; but,
as a rule, filthy in the extreme.
It seems to me to be a mistake, for people who wish ta
improve the sailor, to -write as if they had to deal with chil-
dren whose character had to be formed, and not with full
grown men with strong passions, shrewd and sharp in many
things, but whose principal fault — the principal reason why
jack's "broad" language. 389
the man before the mast so seldom prospers — is that they
<}amiot, or will not, restrain those passions. Again, in writing
on this subject, it is not well to write what Jack would call
" finikin." The sailor uses broad language and oaths, often
without thinking, always without feeling that it is wrong to
do so. I remember arguing with an old fellow about this ;
he didn't see it.
"You don't, ah]"
" No. There's no women about here."
" Well, wait a moment." I then went on, on the same
subject, but interlarded my argument with every specimen I
knew.
Jack stared, then looked shamefaced, and at last said, " I
see what you're drivin' at. Well, it do sound queer -, but you
iin't a sailor!"
" No ; I am not ; but why should it be ' all right ' in you,
and all wrong in me ?"
He walked away thoughtful ; I did some good there.
The men who sail in short-voyage ships are generally a
^' scaly" lot, especially in those from Liverpool to America.
There the sailors (1) are generally engaged for the run, and
captains are not particular, so long as they are able to pass
the law. This throws extra work upon the few A.B.'s there
really are, who, as a natural consequence, do not stay in the
vessels longer than they can help; neither do they go again,
unless compelled by circumstances.
On the other hand, however, there are no better sailors on
blue water than those who man the regular coasting craft —
no men who understand better how to work a ship in all
difficulties. These are generally husbands and fathers, who
set the pleasure of being at home, at frequent intervals,
-against the hardships and dangers of their service.
390 plimsoll's "jack."
Big-ship, long-voyage Jacks are generally prime men^
especially on the homeward passage. The know-nothings^
and the skulkers have been pretty well weeded out by
the rough but effectual process of making it "darned un-
comfortable" for them. The vessels I speak of generally
carry from fourteen to twenty-eight men before the mast.
They leave port in splendid order, well found, and every-
thing good of its kind.
For the first few days, they have hard work in getting
eveiything in its place and ship-shaj)e ; and, if the wind is
against them, and it is a case of beating down Channel, it is
labour of the most severe and harassing kind, especially in
winter. Given a fair wind, however, and away they go ;
and when they " get " the " Trades," it is easy times for
them. Often, in well-manned ships, the men forget whose
"wheel" and "look-out" it is, and, regularly the ordinary '
seamen and boys take the latter, though it may not be their
turn — this by private rules amongst the men. Instead of
watch and watch, four hours in and four hours out, it is more
often four hours out and eight hours in, at all events at
night. The old plan of making men work all day, or at least
be on deck, and then keep watch and watch at night, has
been abandoned. It was found that they would sleep, over-
come by the fatigues of the day. The crew have generally
a good, roomy topgallant forecastle, or a house on deck.
Ventilation is well attended to. Their food is good of its
kind, and well cooked. It is much better than they would
voluntarily accept on shore, and by private understanding
with the cabin cook, they have daily " treats." In foreign
ports, the work of loading and unloading, is frequently done
for them, or lightened by assistance. On the homeward
passage there is generally about a fortnight's hard work.
JACK NOT SELF-IMPROVING. 391
scraping, painting, bending new ropes and sails, setting up
and tarring down rigging, and getting everything into tip-
top order for coming into dock. This is done on the south-
east trades, generally while "rolling down into St. Helena."
The men, for weeks together, have not work enough to " keej)
the devil out of them" — the mere working the canvas, in
sailing the ship, is very little. • Thus, long-voyage Jack has
plenty of time to improve himself, in any way he chooses,
and, as a rule, his officers are willing to devote themselves,
and their spare time, to his welfare. But his course of
procedure reminds me very much of what I have seen occur
between natives and missionaries : — " Why don't you come
to church ? it is for your good."
"I am good enough already — very well as I am; but I'll
come to church if you like. What will you give me?"
EXTEACTS FEOM JOURNAL :
Kept During a Hunting and Trading Trip in the Zulu and
Amatonga Countries.
Note by Editor.— The following extracts from Mr Leslie's Journal, have been
considered suflftciently interesting and instructive, to find a place in this volume
of his Collected "Writings. The Journal itself is a somewhat curious melange of
the details of the day's hunting j^nd trading, both by himself and his hunters-
such as, the shooting of so many Buffalos, Elephants, Tigers, &c. , and the
exchanging of Blankets, Beads, Picks, &c., for Elephant and Rhinoceros' Teeth,
Skins, Cattle, and eve^i Sovereigns /—with information about the IS'ames of the
Kaffir Moons, Reflections for the Day, &c.
Agreement for Importation of Native Labour
INTO Natal.
<* November 2nd, 1871.
"Memorandum of Names of Natives (and Chiefs' Names)
who have engaged to go to Natal under my protection, and
work for one year from date of engagement, at the various
monthly wages set opposite their respective names, with
Messrs Kennedy, Campbell, Thomas Milner, A. W. Evans,
and Smerdon. The above agreement has been entered into
by them, in consequence of, and in repayment to me of food
and protection, to be received from me on the way; and
further, in the case of the natives belonging to Nozingili's
country, of a payment of 10 single guns, 1 double gun, 18
gallons rum, 11 51b.-bags powder, and 2750 caps, made by
me to the said chief, Nozingili, who has the right to dispose
of their services. — David Leslie."
A SPECIMEX OF SAVAGE KING-CRAFT. 393
" Mabudtu, December 6th, 1871.
^' Memorandum of Agreement made with the King Nozin-
gih this day : — That, in consequence of my remitting a debt
of the amount of Eleven Pounds, Ten Shillings, Sterling
(£11 10s), which the King owes me, he gives me full right and
title to a piece of ground, to be chosen by Mr S. Sanderson
or myself, on the banks of the River Usutu, near a Kraal,
belonging to one 'Hokosa,' in the district of Tshalasa,
under the Sub-Chief Ushuso. The above was agreed to
between us through the medium of his Ncekus (Counsellors),
Utsholotosholo and Un-Hlafela. — David Leslie.
" P.S. — And the arrangement is further, that, on my
return, and on my erecting a house there, I am at full
liberty to do so without further payment ; notwithstanding
Mr S. Sanderson's occupation of Hokosa's Kraal in the
meantime. — David Leslie."
"Mabudtu, December 16th, 1871.
" With reference to Memorandum as regards the King's
debt to me of £11 10s, on page 22, I have further to write
that, after reading over what I had written to the Ncekus
aforesaid, they went and told the King, and he sent word to
say that I must not consider the affair concluded, until he
had spoken to his head men. Then he told me the same
day, after constantly pressing him either to give me my
money or settle the affair, he positively refused to do either,
but said that, as Mr Sanderson was staying behind to trade,
and I was coming back, he would settle the affair on my
return, provided I brought a man from the Zulu with me.
I could do nothing else, so made the best of a bad job, and
agreed. He has refused to carry my hides remaining, saying
he has no people. — David Leslie.
"P.S. — In the meantime, Mr Sanderson is not to be
bothered for rent or gifts. — D. L."
394 extracts from journal.
Names and Interpretations of Moons, Thirteen
IN A Year, in Kaffir (Zulu.)
Spring. — ''Umandula" dying about 29th September. To
Wanclula, is for one man to strike another before he is aware
of his intention. It is then said " Wamandula" (he "andula"-ed
him.) So, in that month, thunder storms are not expected,
and, when they do come, they "andula" — hence "Umandula.""
Spring. — "Umfuntu," dying about 27th October. This
moon, the young meahes are said to be " Umfunfusa," i.e.,
they are grown so that they hide the earth, and will have to
be cleaned next moon — ^lience '' Umfuntu-umfunfusa" is a
word applied to the growth of mealies or corn only.
Spring. — "Ulweze," dying about 24th November; is named
so, because a small insect, something like the cicada, which
adheres to the branch of a tree, and passes water (poisonous)
from its body, drop by drop, until the ground is quite wet,
begins to do so this month, called " Ulweze."
Summer. — ^^UsihaiiJilela" dying about 22nd December;
means the "Hider of Paths," because this moon, the grass is
so grown, that the path is invisible, and a man has to feel
for it with his feet.
Summer. — "6"?/mszv^^«?^«," dying about 19th January. To
" Singa," means to shade the eyes with the hand. In this
month bees' nests begin to get fat, and are hunted after. In
the afternoon, when the sun begins to get low, the people go
out, and shading their eyes with their hand, look towards
the sunset, so as to see the bees flying past. They follow
their course, and so find their nests — hence " Umasinganed,''
the shader of eyes, the one which causes the eyes to be
KAFFIR LUNAR NOMENCLATURE. 395
shaded. Literally speaking, it makes them to shade one
another, i.e., the eyes from the sun, and the sun from the
eyes.
Summer.—" Uandasa" dying about 16th February. To
" Anda," is to increase and multiply. So this month, the
few mealies, &c., first crop have ripened, and food is of no
account; it has " andile," i.e., become plentiful; it is the
"Uandasa" moon, i.e., the result of plenty.
Autumn. — " Umlilolanga," dying about 16th March.
" Umhlolo" is a wonder, something out of the common, or
some act or event which is repulsive, or causes loathing.
"Inga" is a dog. The "I" is changed into an "a," and
and the second "o" eliminated from "Umhlolo," as in Zulu
letters are often altered and eliminated to make compound
words, for the sake of the euphony — hence " Umhlolanga,"
the loathsome act of the dogs — they copulate.
Autumn. — '' Umhasu," dying about 11th April. "The
Causer of Fire." This month it begins to get cold, and the
people cannot do without fires.
Autumn. — " Umhlaba," dying about 9th May. This
moon, the red flower of the aloe (" Umhlaba") comes forth
— hence the " Moon of the Aloes."
Winter. — " Unhlanf/ulana," dying about 6tli June. When
the foliage of the thorn country, principally different species
of mimosa, dries and falls off; when the creepers of various
kinds do the same, and the bushes become more open, —
the bushes, trees, and creepers are said to "Hlangula;"
the addition of the "na" makes it a diminutive — hence
" Unhlangulana," the lesser moon of " Hlangula."
396 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
Winter. — " Unhlangula," dying about 4tli July. The
explanation given above does for this, only that there being
no diminutive, it is the moon when the bush is as open as
it will be.
Winter. — " Umaquba" dying about 1st August. "Quba"
is to drive, in its proper sense, though it has other signifi-
cations. This moon, the whole country is very dry, being
the last of the winter months, and one in which strong, hot
winds are very prevalent, the dust is driven about the
country and the kraals — hence "Umaquba," the "Driver."
First of Spring. — " Uncwaha" dying 29th August.
The natives generally are very ignorant as to the names
and times of the moons. It is often a cause of great argument,
as to which moon is overhead, but I believe the above to be
the true and correct list as to the names, times, and inter-
pretations.
When a man from a long journey washes and anoints
himself with fat he is said to be "ncwabile," i.e., he shines,
is clean, puts on a new appearance. So the earth, after the
dust and dried appearance of the winter, puts on a new coat.
Shines is "Ncwabile" — hence " Uncwaba."
The Zulus allow four months for sj^ring, because they
do not consider summer arrived, until they cut the green
mealies, of the first crop, which they generally do about
the end of November; although different districts have
different times.
Reflections of the Day.
Tuesday, 10th September, 1872. — Curried rabbit is more
indigestible than pine-apples, when taken in quantity.
REFLECTIONS OF THE DAY. 397
Wednesday, 11th Septemher, 1872. — To go to bed and be
rained on, is very unpleasant, and lias four results : — It makes
you wish that the principles of grass buildings were better
understood amongst the Zulus. It seriously detracts from
the comfort of your night's rest. It makes you very wet,
and it makes you wish there were no white ants in the roof.
" Second Eefiection engendered by the above" : — That my
blankets must be put out to dry, and that water in sugar
increases its weight !
Thursday, 12th September, 1872. — Hunger and thirst cannot
be natural to the human frame ; they are so remarkably un-
pleasant. Yet, with plenty to eat and drink, the sensations
are delightful.
Friday, 13th Septemher, 1872. — This is the tenth day of rain,
more or less, and the earth is fast returning to the chaotic
period, before the waters under the firmament, and the waters
above the firmament, were separated. It was a time, by all
accounts, of mud and water. I find, from exj^erience, that
tobacco-smoke, soup, and cofi'ee, even with the addition of
pen, ink, and paper, are no efficient substitutes for the sun.
Saturday, 14th Sej^tember, 1872. — Threatening rain again.
Everything wears a dark and gloomy look; like a child's
face, who has been whipped for rolling in the gutter, after
he has rubbed his eyes to clear the tears away. My reflec-
tions naturally take the same hue, and as I look at the place
where the carcase of a goat was wont to hang, I reflect
on the evanescence of all things, especially such as are
eatable.
Sunday, 15th Seiotember, 1872. — It is said that, in Christian
countries, the Sabbath is a noticeable day. The hum of
398 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
labour ceases, even the birds and the cattle seem to know
that it is a day of rest and calm. This is true; but I think
it arises from long observance and association of the day
with holy things. In the Zulu, unless a man has pen, ink,
«and paper, or an almanac, he forgets both the day of the
month and the week. There is nothing to remind him.
When I reflect on this, I think I had better just note the
fact and no more, or I may be led into a disquisition which
will disquiet me, and use up my j)aper.
Monday, 16th September, 1872. — Human nature is very
perverse! We have had rain and clouds all this month,
and to-day the sun shines strongly. Fourteen days' gloom
and longing for sunshine. One day's sunshine and we
grumble. The way of the world !
T'lcesday, 17th September, 1872. — Since I have been here, I
have been very much put about, for want of the Zulu mats
to eat meat on, and been trying to get some every day. On
Saturday I got a present of two beauties, and have never
used them, having the feeling that they are too pretty to be
soiled. Hereupon, it strikes me that I was not so very much
put about after all ; it was only the fact that I had none,
which made me think them indispensable, and be discon-
tented. It is a lesson in contentment, and shows that the
possession of a thing, gives not half so much pleasure, as the
prospect of acquiring it.
Wednesday, 18th September, 1872. — I wonder if we do the
natives good in trying to civilize them. They have existed
very well for ages without missionaries or civilization. We
now teach them wants which they never felt before, and
so make the act of simply living much more difficult. Certain
habits and customs of theirs are revolting, and ought to be
REFLECTIONS OF THE DAY. 399
put down ; but as the richest of men gets no more out of his
riches than his meat, his clothes, and his lodging, so all we
do for the Kaffir, gives him no more than he had before ;
and, having, by our means, " eaten of the tree of the know-
ledge of good and evil," he is rendered discontented with his
state of life, past and present.
Thursday, 19th September, 1872. — AVe have had four days'
fine weather this month, and I reflect on the fix the rain-
doctors will be in. Since, this year, they will be killed for
drowning the country, as they have been killed, in years past,
for burning it up ! It is strange that the natives do not see
the fallacy of these notions, for they are generally sharp
enough. The cause is, that it is to the interest and profit of
the King and Chiefs to keep up the superstitions of witch-
craft and rain-making, as engines of Government, and as
excuses for killing i)eople and getting their cattle. So long
as it is so, the Missionaries will make but poor progress.
Friday, 20th September, 1872. — On looking at my Eeflection
for September lOtli, it seems rather ridiculous; but yet I
think it is not so, since it is founded on one of the great
sources of human happiness — a knowledge of what is diges-
tible. I consider that discovery of more interest to mankind
than that of a live frog in, say, the old red sandstone ; or an
undecipherable inscription on a stone, which causes much
wrangling and personality.
Saturday, 21st September, 1872. — What a change sickness
makes in a man. Yesterday and to-day my inward parts
have been out of order, and I could reflect upon nothing but
that. Now, as a reflection on the stomach-ache would hardly
be interesting to those w^ho have not got it, I am forced to
•consider what a nuisance it is, that there is such a close con-
400 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
nection between the stomach and the mind ; and yet, I don't
know. Supposing they were antagonistic, one would be apt
to become all stomach or all mind, whichever prevailed, and
in neither case, I fancy, would a man be haj)py.
Sunday^ 22iid September, 1872. — The Italians are quoted as
leading an idle and sunny life, but in that they do not approach
the Zulus. Civilization is a great boon, no doubt, to those who
have the means to enjoy its products. But the poor, who
feel all its wants, yet have not the means of satisfying them,
how are they off ^ I think the Zulus lead the happiest life.
I speak of the material life upon this earth, not of that, the
hope of which supports a Christian man in his trials.
Monday, 23rd September, 1872. — I wonder for what good
purpose flies were created. In Kaflir kraals, in summer,
they are a perfect nuisance ; they annoy the cattle and the
people, spoil your meat, and, in civilized houses, they dirty
the windows, the furniture, and the blinds. They cause
putrefaction, but they do not clear it away, like the vulture
and the wolf. To sum up all, in short, their creation is a
very undoubtable and unpleasant mystery.
Tuesday, 24th September, 1872. — What a great thing is
knowledge! A trite remark, but it was brought to my
mind by the case of a cow or horse. I have been here some
time, and the cattle of the kraal know, and are used to, my
pony. Yesterday I bought a cow and a calf, and we had
some trouble in keeping her from running away. The last
time she tried it, the horse, in galloping home, met her
about half-a-mile away. Immediately, she turned tail, and
came full-tilt down to the other cattle, " Cliarlie " after her,
seeming to enjoy the fun. I could not help thinking that
there was an expression of contempt on the faces of the
REFLECTIONS OF THE DAY. 401
herd, as that they should say, " Look what a stupid cow, it
is actually afraid of a horse," forgetting that it was their
case a few days ago ! Therefore, I say, what a great thing
is knowledge ; but what a dangerous thing a little of it is !
Since, in the one case, it renders a man calm and strong —
in the other, it only makes one animal, without reason,
contemn another.
JFednesday, 2oth September, 1872. — It has been very
prettily said that "Distance lends enchantment to the
view," but that saying, like many others of the "pure
intellect" order, is only adapted to gentlemen, who have
nothing else to do, but cultivate the picturesque, with
their luncheon basket behind them ! Supposing you see
a hill far-off, and know that you have to walk there,
and that before you can get any breakfast, I think that^
under such circumstances, the hill would look much
prettier if it were just over the way. I speak not of
the intrinsic beauty of the landscaj^e, but of the enchant-
ment which is lent it by its being near, or far away.
Thursday, 26th September, 1872. — To-day, throwing a stone
at a dog, I nearly killed a woman. What a little there is
l)etween life and death, health and sickness, and in how
short a time an accident may happen 1 If one thought on
those things much, one would die a hundred deaths a-day.
Verily, Dr Johnson said truly, that courage is one of the
\ irtues, since, without it, all the others are of little use.
Friday, 27th September, 1872. — I have found that one
never enjoys one's food so much, as when one has difficulty
in getting it. If you don't know where your supper is to
come from, when it does come it is delicious. If you know
your supper is secure, you are sure to criticise it. A thing
2d
402 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
in another man's possession is of great value. When it
comes into your own, its value seems to diminish somehow.
The same of an article of your own. While you have it, you
think nothing of it ; when you have passed it away, the
further it goes from you, the more valuable it appears.
Saturday, 28th September, 1872. — "When goods increase,
they are increased that eat them ; and what good is there to
the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their
eyes." Truly, saith the Preacher, "All is vanity 1" We labour
so as to increase our store, never thinking that others will
enjoy the fruit of our toil. Never content with sufficient
for the day, always thinking of to-morrow. Nevertheless,
it is well, humanly speaking, that mankind have more care
for their posterity than for themselves, else the world would
not go on ; and also, as regards a man's own subsistence
and prosperity, "Providence helps those who help them-
selves."
'• Sunday, 29th September, 1872. — AVhat a thorough old
bachelor St Paul was. He says, that those who have no
wife, care to please the Lord, but those who have, care only to
please their wife; and that those who marry do well, but those
who don't do better; and that although he gives no com-
mand, yet it is his judgment; he thinks he has " the spirit
of God." If all the world had taken his advice, I should
not have been writing this, nor you reading it. It is good
that mankind did not, in this case, choose the better part,
but that they " let well alone !"
Monday, 30th September, 1872. — There are many prover-
bial sayings, current in the world, which, under a religious
or honourable guise, greatly tend to mislead. I, through
habit, made use of one of them on the 28th, " Providence
REFLECTIONS OF THE DAY. 403
lielps those who help themselves." This is a cynical remark,
as much as to say that those who do so, need not look to it,
since they are sure of its assistance. They are their own
Providence ! Another, " Honesty is the best Policy." Those
who adopt that for their motto, will be apt to give way,
when they think another policy better. Honesty is no policy,
but a duty 1
Tuesday^ 1st October, 1872. — "Give me neither poverty
nor riches," but a competence. Yet who is content with
any of these ? The j^oor wish to be rich — the well-off to be
richer. The wealth of the rich is a burden to them, beyond
the poor-man's daily toil, yet they long for more. What is
the exact medium, which renders a man perfectly happy % or,
is it neither riches nor poverty, but a contented mind 1 No
doubt the latter, and uitli it how little suffices ?
Wednesday, 2nd October, 1872. — Washing one's self is
certainly an acquired habit. It is not natural. A baby cries
on being put into cold water, and a man, who is not in the
habit of bathing, does not like it. Yet bathing is good for
both body and soul, since we are told that " cleanliness is
next to Godliness." So it appears that, in the case of man-
kind, we can improve upon nature's handiwork. My experi-
ence, deduced from observation of savage life, is that all bad
habits are natural, all good ones acquired !
Thursday, 3rd October, 1872. — What a strange thing the
imagination is, when not under the control of reason! I
had been reading yesterday I. Timothy, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
and 5th verses, which appears to me to be a plain prophecy,
and condemnation of monkery. Then I began to think of
a speech of Mr Winterbotham's, who said that no one turned
Catholic in England but " Peers, Parsons, and Women," and
404 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
as to how it would be now-a-days, should the Queen or the
heir-apparent go over to that faith. All this I must have
mixed up at night with something I had seen in the "Kraal,"
since I dreamed that I saw the Poj^e and the Prince of
AYales at " the Point." The former was a tall, old gentle-
man, with one eye, and he seemed to be very fond of his
Eoyal Highness, as he was doing to his head what Kaffir
mothers do to their children, when the game becomes too
abundant ! I remember that, in Bulwer's " Pilgrims of the
Rhine," there is a student who had the power of continuing
his dream, night after night, so as to make it a separate and
consecutive existence in dreamland. Is this only a poetical
fancy, or may it be realized?
Friday, 4th October, 1S72. — I have been reflecting on the
excessive cost which is entailed by the smallest action at
law, and wondering why our legislators do not introduce a
Court, like the ancient Jewish Court of Three. It stood
through all mutations of rule, with which the country was
afflicted, and by it such suits, which are of a long and
changeable nature amongst us, were settled at once, and
substantial justice done between man and man. Its con-
stitution was, that one of the litigants chose a judge, the
other another, and these two a third ; and it had cognizance
of all matters of sale, purchase, or contract. This was a
legally constituted Court, which is the difl'erence between it
and arbitration as practised amongst us ; and to render it
practicable, a fee might be payable to the judges, according
to the time occupied by the suit.
Saturday, 6th Odoher, 1872. — That a running nose, sore
eyes, a cough, and a bad cold, generally prevents reflection
at all!
REFLECTIONS OF THE DAY. 405
Sunday, Gth October, 1S72. — A man's conscience is surjly
the result of long training. We are told that it is im-
planted in us, as a guide to what is right, and as a scourge
for evil doing. It is no doubt the case, amongst Christian
and civilised men, that a man will often — smitten by his
conscience — confess a crime, and find it a relief to be
hanged. But how is it in the natural man"? The savage
— -the Zulu, say. I have known cases, where the man's
greatest friend was sent to kill him, on the grounds that he
would not be alarmed at his approach. This friend has
come and asked for food, and while he is eating the food
which has been given him, and talking over the news of the
day, he has stabbed the man to death. I have known a
case, where an equally treacherous murder has been com-
mitted, without the excuse that it was an execution. When
the man fled to Natal, and after the affair had blown over
{since in the Zulu, when a man is dead, there is little more
said about him, on the ground that you cannot restore him
to life), he boasted of the deed, as did the other. The
Kaffir will commit any crime, and if he escapes, is never
troubled by conscience. If he is caught and punished, he
only thinks what a fool he was, not to take better pre-
cautions. How is it, then? Is conscience dormant in the
savage 1 I really doubt whether it is there at all ! To have
a conscience, is it necessary to know a God'? or, is it a
habit of thought which will take many generations to
engender?
Monday, 7th October, 1872. — I think it a pity that so many
difi'erent sects of missionaries should be sent to Christianise
one tribe of natives ; each have their different ways, and the
Kaffir is sharp enough to notice it. I have been asked by
one of the King's daughters, how it is that there are so
406 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
many different modes of teaching, and could only reply by
an illustration, saying, that she herself knew that there were
many paths in Zulu, but, whatever direction they appeared
to take, they all led to the King's kraal, which satisfied her..
It is the case, that any path you like to follow, will eventually
bring you to " Nodwengo," the capital !
Tuesday, 8th October, 1872. — Gratitude is another feeling^
which appears to be awanting in the Zulu. If you give him
anything, or do anything for him, he thinks that you do it,,
either because you wish to make yourself a great man by
assisting others, or that you will want some return. His^
very form of thanks, is a prayer that you may always continue
rich and powerful, so that you may never desist from giving him
^presents, and he always in the position to do so ! He has no idea
that you may do a thing from a kindly feeling towards a
fellow-man. How is it, then % Is this virtue also dormantr
or was it never in them ? I think it is with the savage, as
with wild fruit. Conscience, gratitude, mercy, honour, honesty*
truth, chastity, are all acquired by cultivation, just as wild
fruit is made rich and good for food, by the same j^rocess.
As in wild fruit, you will sometimes find one tree of a much
better quality than the others, more nearly approaching to-
that which is tended, — so you will sometimes find one savage,
who approaches very nearly to a civilized and Christian man,
in appreciation of the virtues — but it is a freak of nature
after all !
Wednesday, 9th October, 1872. — My horse is dead, and I
don't know which I am most sorry for — the death of the
horse, or the fact that I shall have to walk out to Natal. Of
course, as the horse dying is the cause that I shall have to
walk, the primary sorrow is for the horse ; but then, one is.
REFLECTIONS OF THE DAY. 407
SO constituted, that the knowledge that you will have to
walk, engenders a feeling of anger against the horse for
dying. So it stands as follows : — I am sorry at the death
of the horse, and I am angry at the horse for dying. I am
annoyed at having to walk, yet I would walk with pleasure
if the horse were alive, and all this mixture of feelings is
engendered by one event.
Thursday, 10th October, 1872. — Was there ever a man who
was content with what he had, or the position he was in ?
Did ever any one say, I have enough ? I doubt it. Life is
one continual struggle to " get on." The soldier, the lawyer,
the merchant, all strive after two things — rank and money,
or, rather, I should say money and rank, since the one
follows the other. There are, no doubt, " seven thousand
who have never bowed the knee to Baal," who, though they
are obliged to take part in the daily struggle, yet look upon
their money and their rank as a means, and not an end, who
think more of their fellow-men, than of themselves. These,
however, are seldom those who become peers and mil-
lionaires, but are they who are called " no-man's-enemy but
their own" by " the successful man." Nevertheless, it is
well (humanly speaking), for the sake of the world, that the
principle of progress is implanted in man, else we had all
remained savages, as at the beginning.
Friday, 11th October, 1872. — I question if we are improved
in our modes of speech — whether it is not better and wiser,
as in old times, to call a spade a spade. For instance, St
Paul, in speaking of a man's latter end, keeps plainly before
you the dark-side, viz., death, corruption, and the judgment
to come. Now-a-days, in speaking of a dead man, we
" Hlonipa" (adopt a poetic-philosophic mode of speech), and
408 EXTIIACTS FROM JOURNAL.
say that he has " cantered away into the eternal silences!"
Such a mode of expression may render the thought of the
event, surely to come, less painful, but, when it does come,
we will wish that we had faced it more bravely.
Saturday, 12th October , 1872. — One works, toils, slaves, and
saves to make money, which gives one a position in this
world. But, after he has houses and lands and goods in
store, what profiteth it him ? ' It does not endure ! There
are two kinds of life in this world, which will render a man
happy, with different kinds of happiness. One is, if it is
possible, " let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we
die." Gratify the senses. Think of nothing but a material
life and be happy, as a savage is happy in years of abundance
— as a cow is happy when the grass is good. The periods of
sickness, which must intervene, enhance the enjoyment of
the times of health, and when you die, you die, "and there's
an end on't."
Sunday, 13th October, 1872. — This is not possible for a
Christian man. Is it so for a civilized one 1 It may be, to
those who teach that man is only the product of the constant
working of nature — is evolved by the progression of its forces.
But I doubt even that, since science takes nothing for granted,
has no faith in anything, which it cannot see and prove ; and
as man is not all-knowing, without faith, one cannot rest in
the belief of a better future, whether it is that pointed out by
religion, or that hinted at by scientific men. It may be that,
through long teaching, the belief is engrafted in us, has be-
come part of our being, that the law of Christ is the only
one which imparts to us, if followed, calm and peace. But
so it is. No other mode of conduct renders us content with
ourselves. If we do wrong, we know it and feel it, and are
REFLECTIONS OF THE DAY. 409
restless till the wrong is repaired or repented of; and, when
repentance comes too late for the sufferer to benefit by it,
how bitterly we sorrow. The peace imparted by the obey-
ing that law — by the belief in religion, and the faith which
is thereby engendered — are worthy of a man's pursuit, since
we know that they must be endured !
Monday, 14th October, 1872. — The pursuit of riches and
position, puts me very much in mind of hunting. The chase
is the pleasure; the riches, when procured, or the animal
when killed, are soon little thought of.
Tuesday, 15th October, 1872. — I have said that the peace of
religion endures; and it may be said," how do we know it
endures longer than houses and lands 1 Thus, on a man's
deathbed, his riches are no consolation to him; but the
thought of immortal life is so, if that thought be accompanied
by the knowledge of a well-spent life in this world, and the
hope of a reward. The grave has no terrors, since there
will be rest — rest with a bright morrow to come — no toil,
no trouble, no weariesome wrestling with the world !
Sunday, October 20th, 1872. — Ever since drojDping my
reflections I have had a cough, earache, and neuralgia, start-
ing pains in the head, and continual want of appetite. I
have no medicine, so have just had to " grin and bear it" —
a miserable time ! I have been as deaf as a post, for ten
•days; can't hear a word, without they come near and
shout. I hope it will go away. I am slowly getting better,
however.
Monday, 21st October, 1872. — I feel strangely home-sick
and low-spirited to-day. I hope there is nothing wrong at
home.
Tuesday, 22nd October, 1872. — I hear a report to-day that
410 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.
the King is very ill ; cannot speak or hear, and that some-
white men had been at Nodwengo, who uncovered him, and
said that he was " very old," and that the disease (the gout),
he had been suffering from, was " going up !" I have a strong^
suspicion that he is dead, and that it is known, though not
openly spoken of. It will be awkward if it is so. We
shall see.
Thursdcuj, 24th October, 1872. — I hear to-day that the King
is not dead, but expected to die every moment. He seems,
from what I hear, to be paralysed. All the great folks are
beginning to go up. I expect there will be great confusion
and disturbances. I wish I had my Kaffirs here, so that I
could get my cattle about me, and be out of it.
Friday, 25th October, 1872. — I have been to Tikasa to-day
to see Uzwetu, but he would not see me. He said his father-
in-law, Enkunga Kastai, was dead, and he could see no one.
I met all the King's wives (nine of them) going to Nodwengo.
I expect I was right in my first conjecture, and that the King
is dead. Masipula has gone to ISTodwengo, and he has not
been there for seven years. I expect my business will all
fall through now, and I shall lose five or six head of cattle.
Uzwetu had appointed to see me at Umkondo on his way to
Tikasa, but I was too ill, besides being deaf as a post.
STATEMENT OF MY CLAIM
AGAINST THE POETUGUESE GOVERNMENT,
FOR ILLEGAL SEIZURE, &c *
(Sent to the Colonial Office ; and to Mr George Anderson, M.Y.,
February C, 1874.
In 1823, Captain Owen, H.M.S. '^Lcven," made a treaty
with the chiefs on the banks of the Mapoota River, which
has its embouchure on the southern part of Delagoa Bay, by
which they ceded to Great Britain all the territory south of
English River, called by the Portuguese " Spiritu Sanctu,"
and on the northern bank of which their factory of Lorenco
Marques is built.
These chiefs were tributaiy to the Zulu Power, but held
the territorial right to their country, which was never
invaded by the Portuguese. The Zulus themselves imme-
diately afterwards became tributary to the British, and have
remained so ever since.
During the negociation of the treaty a schooner called the
" Orange Grove," of Capetown, went up the Mapoota for
purposes of trade with the natives, and Captain Owen, sailing
on a cruise to Madagascar,* left her there. On his return he
found that the crew had gone down with the fever, and the
Portuguese of Lor€n90 Marques, taking advantage of his
absence, had sent up anned boats and seized her. He com-
pelled her restitution, together with everything of which she
had been plundered, thus settling once and for all, as we
thought, the claim to the territory.
* Vide "Taken by the Portuguese," page 2G0.
412 CLAIM AGAINST THE PORTUGUESE
In 1861, the Government of the day, instructed the pubb"-
<;ation in the Natal Government Gazette of a proclamation, to
the effect that the Island of Unyaka (Inyack), far to the
north of the mouth of the Mapoota, was a British possession
and a part of Natal. Some time after, Earl Kimberley, 1
think, gave a Mr M'Corkindale, who had established a settle-
ment— New Scotland, at the source of the Mapoota — a right.
in writing, to land his goods oi\ Unyaka, and to take them
up the said river.
Depending on all this, I, anxious to open a trade with the
natives of Mapoota (the name of the country as well as the
river), went up in a schooner, the'" William Shaw," in May,
1871, being cleared at the Natal Custom-House for the
Mapoota Eiver. I, however, wishing to land some native
passengers, called at Loren90 Marques, and was prevented
from proceeding, unless I paid'duty to the Portuguese, under
threat of seizure of the ship. I paid under protest.
In September 1871, the schooner came to me again with
gims, powder, and Kaffir hoes. She was cleared this time
for Delagoa Bay simply, and came directly into the mouth of
the river, ivhicli is in Delagoa Bay.
Seven days or so after, the Portuguese,''encouraged by the
policy which has lately obtained, seized the ship and a
quantity of cargo, consisting of hides, ivory, skins, &c., on
the ground that the territory was theirs, and that the ship
being cleared for Delagoa Bay, meant Loren90 Marques, and
that they considered that I was smuggling.
The Portuguese had surely no right to_ enter what had
always been considered British territory — send armed men
on board a British ship — search and demand her papers,
and afterwards send her to Loren9o Marques. And on
protest being made and reparation refused, the British
FOPw ILLEGAL SEIZURE. 41 S
Government allowed the question of the territory, in which
my claim is involved, to go to arbitration, without, in the
firlb place, insisting that the Portuguese Government should
store things to their status ante quo, by returning the ship
and cargo, and paying damages; although my petition to
I*]arl Kimberley prayed for this, on the ground that the
Portuguese having agreed to arbitration, showed that the
t(MTitory was at all events in dispute, and the claim of the
British had some foundation. All these transactions
happened before we in Natal heard, or could hear, that the
question of territory was to' be arbitrated upon; while we
.still had a right to consider, from the course j^ursued by
tlie Government, that they intended to hold to their rights
over the territory in question.
In old times, before the telegraph had connected all the
world, when peace or war was declared, a certain time was
allowed, during which captures were valid or otherwise,
before or after the declaration. Arbitration takes the place
of war, and surely, in a place like Natal, where there is no
telegraphic communication, the same latitude should be
;illowed.
I think that I have failed in receiving'that protection and
justice, which every man, who does not contravene the laws
f)f the country he is in, is entitled to receive from his
( Jovemment. I broke no laws. I was attacked in a country
wliich has always been held to belong to Britain, and which
assuredhj is not Poi'tuguese, since they dare not put their foot
on shore in anger. And for the British Government to give
way to a petty, but obtrusive and self-sufficient power like
Portugal, is as great a sign of weakness, as to bend to the
fear of consequences, in dealing with a groat one like Russia
or America.
414 CLAIM FOR ILLEGAL SEIZURE.
This spoliation and arbitration as to territory, occurred in,
And concerns, a distant and obscure part of the globe ; and
that it interests few, is the only reason why, that I can
see, the matter was not put right immediately, instead of
being still — in 1874 — in abeyance.
David Leslie.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX.
THE DELAGOA BAY DISPUTE;
MARSHAL MACMAHON'S AWARD,
AND
REMARKS or tue Leading LONDON JOURNALS Thereon.
Marshal Macmahon's Award.
The following is the text of Marshal MacMahon's award
in the question concerning the Bay of Lorenzo-Marques, or
Delagoa Bay, submitted to his arbitration by Great Britain
and Portugal :
" We, Marie Edme Patrick Maurice de MacMahon, Due
de Magenta, Marshal of France, President of the French
Republic, in virtue of the powers vested in the President of
the French Republic, by the minutes drawn up and signed
at Lisbon on the 11th day of September, 1872, according to
which the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of Great
Britain and Ireland, and that of his Majesty the King of
Portugal, agreed to submit to the President of the French
Republic, to be definitively decided by him without appeal,
litigation pending between them since the year 1823, con-
cerning the possession of the territories of the Tembe and
Maputo, and of the Inyack and Elephant Islands, situated
on the Bay of Delagoa or Lorenzo-Marques, on the east
2 E
418 THE DELAGOA BAY DISPUTE.
coast of Africa. Having considered the memorandums
presented to the arbitrator by the representatives of the two
parties on the 15th September, 1873, and the counter-
memorandums also presented by them on the 14th and 15th
September, 1874 ; having also taken cognisance of the letters
from his Excellency the British Ambassador and the Portu-
guese Minister at Paris, dated February 8th, 1875 :
"The Commission appointed on March 10th, 1873, to
examine the papers and documents submitted to us by both
parties having communicated to us the result of their
deliberations,
" Considering also that the litigation, the object of which
has been defined by the memorandums presented to the
arbitrator, and by the letters above mentioned from the
diplomatic representatives at Paris of the two parties, refers
to the title to the following territories, viz. :
" 1. The territory of Tembe, bounded on the north by
the Eiver Espiritu Sancto, or English River, and by the
River Lorenzo-Marques or Dundas, on the west by the
Lobombo Mountains, on the east by the River Maputo, and
from the mouth of this stream to that of the Espiritu Sancto,
along the coast of the Bay of Delagoa or Lorenzo-Marques.
" 2. The territory of Maputo, comprising the Peninsula
and the Island of Inyack, as also Elephant Island, bounded
on the north by the coast of the bay, on the west by the
River Maputo from its mouth to the parallel 26-30 of
southern latitude, on the south by this same parallel, and
on the east by the sea.
" Considering, also, that the Bay of Delagoa or Lorenzo-
Marques was discovered in the sixteenth century by Portu-
guese navigators, and that, in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, Portugal occupied various points on the northern
MARSHAL MACMAHON's AWARD. 419
coast of this bay and on the island of Inyack, of which
Elephant Island is a dependency;
" Considering that since the discovery Portugal has at all
times claimed sovereign rights over the whole bay and the
territories bordering it, as well as the exclusive right to
trade there, and has further supported this claim by arms
<against the Dutch about the year 1732, and against the
Austrians in 1781;
" Considering that the Acts by which Portugal has sup-
ported its pretensions have not given rise to any complaint
on the part of the Government of the United Provinces,
and that in 1782 those pretensions were tacitly accepted
by Austria, in consequence of diplomatic explanations ex-
changed between that Power and Portugal;
'' Cojisidering also that in 1817 England herself did not
contest the right of Portugal, when she concluded with the
King's Government the convention of 28th July for the
suppression of the slave trade, and that in fact Clause 12
of that convention must be interpreted to designate the
whole of the bay, bearing the name of Delagoa or Lorenzo-
Marques, as forming part of the Portuguese possessions;
"Considering that in 1822 her Britannic Majesty's
Government, when sending Captain Owen to make a
hydrographic survey of Delagoa Bay, and the rivers dis-
charging themselves into it, recommended that officer to
the good offices of the Portuguese Government;
" Considering that although the accidental Aveakening of
the Portuguese authority in those parts may, in 1823, have
led Captain Owen erroneously, yet in good faith, to regard
the native chiefs of the territories now contested as really
independent of the Crown of Portugal, the conventions
concluded by him with those chiefs, were none the less
contrary to the rights of Portugal;
420 THE DELAGOA BAY DISPUTE.
" Considering that almost immediately after the departure
of the English vessels, the native chiefs of Tenibe and
Maputo again recognised their dependence upon the Portu-
guese authorities, and themselves affirmed that they had no
power to contract treaty engagements;
" Considering, lastly, that the conventions signed by
Captain Owen and the native chiefs of Tembe and Maputo,
even if they had been^ concluded between responsible
parties, would nevertheless now be void, as the agreement
respecting Tembe, contained essential conditions which have
not been executed; and the agreement respecting Maputo,
concluded for a limited period, was not renewed at the
expiration of that time. Upon these grounds we have
judged and decided that the claims of the Government of
his Most Faithful Majesty to the territories of Tembe and
Maputo, to the peninsula of Inyack, and to Inyack and
Elephant Islands, are duly proved and established.
"A^ersailles, July 24th, 1875.
" (Signed) Marshal MacMahon, Due de Magenta.'*
Leader in Daily News, 17th August, 1875.
The last of the series of Arbitrations, to which the late
Government referred questions pending between Great
Britain and Foreign Powers, has been concluded, and, as in
the two former cases, a decision has been given against this
country. The Portuguese Government has published in the
Lisbon Gazette the award by which Delagoa Bay is declared
by Marshal MacMahon to belong to the King of Portugal,
and not to the Queen of England. Delagoa Bay is perhaps
not a possession the gain or loss of which would weigh much
in the prosperity of a great Empire. At the same time, we
REMARKS FROM "DAILY NEWS." 421
trust the day will never come when the territorial rights of
tliis country, even in a corner of the least important of the
continents of the world, will be regarded with indifference.
Tlie inlet of the Indian Ocean on the East Coast of Africa,
vfhicli the Portuguese call the Bay of Lorenzo-Marques, and
we Delagoa Bay, is situated about 350 miles north of Port
Natal, and forms a safe and commodious harbour, on a coast
\'ery deficient in such conveniences. The shores of the bay
are fiat and marshy, and in summer exceedingly unhealthy,
])ut the bay itself, besides forming a good harbour, receives
<x number of rivers, to which the progress of this portion of
South Africa, in population of European descent, is giving
importance. Behind the Drakenberg Mountains is the
flourishing Transvaal Kepublic, which could have no better
;iccess to the sea than that which Delagoa Bay affords. The
bay receives the Manice river and Mapoota river from the
sonth, and has, on its west side, an estuary called English
river, formed by the mouth of several streams, one of which,
the Delagoa river, is navigable by vessels, drawing twelve
feet of water, for forty miles, and by boats for two hundred
miles.
In the north-western corner of Delagoa Bay, the Portu
guese have a fort and factory of Lorenzo-Marques, with an
<'xport trade in ivory, gold dust, and, it is said, in slaves.
This is the only part of the bay which they or any other
I'^uropeans occupy; but, upon that occupation, the Portu-
guese base their claims, not only to the whole of the inlet,
l)ut also the coast line several miles below its southern
extremity. The Portuguese also put forward their discovery
of the bay by Vasco de Gama, but it does not appear that
t hey based any claim to the whole, or, indeed, to any part of
it, except this fort and its rayon, until many years after the
422 THE DELAGOA BAY DISPUTE.
commencement of the present century. As, holding the
sovereignty of the Cape Colony, we inherit the claims of
the Dutch, from whom we acquired it by cession, and,.,
certainly, the Dutch, when the Cape w^as theirs, did not
recognise any exclusive title on the part of the Portuguese
in Delagoa Bay. They went there a hundred and fifty
years ago, and, without the slightest misgiving, established
a fort near that of the Portuguese on the English river.
It is true they did not remain, but they withdrew before the
influences of a pestilential climate, and without any renun-
ciation of their rights. Against the limited occuj^ancy of
the Portuguese, we have set up our occasional occupancy,
not to insist upon the cession of the western coast in 1822
by a native king who was exercising a very real authority
there. It is quite clear that at no time did the Portuguese
ever exercise and enjoy the rights they claimed at the hands-
of the arbitrator. A controversy arose, however, between
the British Government and that of Portugal, and, during
the Presidency of M. Theirs, it was eventually agreed to-
refer the case to the arbitration of the French Government.
M. Theirs, although overloaded with labour, did not think
it right to decline the task, but, before he could well
take it in hand, he had been driven from power, and the
work devolved upon his successor. Marshal MacMahon, wc
cannot doubt, has decided imj^artially upon the facts before
him, and it is very far from our intention to question his
judgment. The Portuguese Government has thanked him
for the trouble he has taken, and if Lord Derby has not
already done so, he certainly will. But, without for a
moment impugning the justice of Marshal MacMahon, we
may express the regret, which will be universally felt, at
this settlement of a long-standing question. The Marshal
REMARKS FROM " DAILY NEWS." 423
could only decide iq^on the case as it was laid before liim,
and a moment's reflection will suffice to show, that there
were important bearings of this territorial dispute, which
could not be placed before any arbitrator for decision.
Those among us, who have been impelled by humanity
and love of peace, to advocate the policy of obtaining the
decision of disputed international questions, from the reason
of an arbitrator, rather than from the sword, must not be
surprised if their favourite method should be discredited by
the fact, that every arbitration to which we have assented
during the last six years, has been decided against us. It
would be strange if the event were otherwise. The decision
against us at Geneva, was emphasized by an award of more
than three millions sterling damages. That rendered by the
Emperor of Germany cost us the island of San Juan, and
now we are deprived of a bay and harbour, which we could
have made useful to all trading and maritime peoples, but
which may now become a source of annoyance to us in poli-
tics and trade. Our people must not be blamed if they
judge even of so sublime a principle as arbitration partly by
its results. We know that there is no Government in the
world so magnanimous and unselfish in its dealings with
other nations as our own; and our patience is tried, when
award after award is given against us, mth as much
certainty, as if we were a greedy, grasping people, against
whom the civilized world had found it necessary to combine.
This cannot go on. Islands, bays, and millions we may
lose, and be not much the worse for it, but we cannot con-
sent to be systematically discredited, and many will think
that, after all, our honour is safest in our own keeping.
These feelings are perfectly natural; at the same time, it
will be well to beware of surrendering ourselves to the
424 THE DELAGOA BAY DISPUTE.
impulses of a mere reaction of sentiment. If arbitration has
not produced all the good results we hoped from it, we may
find it worth while to ask the reason why. It may be that
it has failed because it has not been wisely appealed to, but
been relied on in conditions under which it was not truly
applicable. Whatever may be said as to the reference of
the Alabama claims, and the San Juan question to arbitra-
tion, we may safely pronounce that this dispute^concerning
Delagoa Bay should not have been allowed to pass out of
the hands of our Government. It should not have been
allowed to do so, because it involved various points, of
which some of those, which could not be submitted to the
arbitrator, were of more importance than those which might
and must be. Every intelligent advocate of the principle of
arbitration, admits that there are some claims which touch
the interests of a nation so closely, that their denial must
never be deemed possible, but they must be defended at any
and all cost. On the other hand, there are, as undoubtedly,
other matters o^i which a Government may be at variance
with a neighbour, and as to which any decision that might
be given, would be more tolerable than the prolongation of
unfriendliness. Between these two conditions, statesman-
ship has plenty of room to make a discerning choice. No
independent State should place at the disposal of an arbi-
trator, consenting to surrender it at his bidding, any power
which is necessary to enable it to fulfil that civilizing part in
the world, which is marked out for it by its history and rela-
tions. Neither should arbitration be resorted to, when it is
likely that an adverse decision would create a situation
more embarassing, than that which it is sought to terminate.
For both of these reasons, this dispute concerning Delagoa
Bay, should have been either settled by negotiation with the
REMARKS FROM "TIMES." 425
Portuguese Government, or permitted to remain open, until
it could be terminated in a satisfactory manner. Marshal
MacMahon's decision is founded on a view of the past, with
its shadowy claims and confessedly imperfect rights, but the
present and future of South-East Africa are more important
elements in any settlement of the Delagoa Bay question,
that could 1)6 described as politic and statesmanlike, than
the technical considerations that have weighed with Marshal
MacMahon's advisers. This decision Avill be honourably
accepted, but it will cause difficulties. History tells us what
has been the character and tendency of Portuguese influence
on the East Coast of Africa, and it clearly foreshows that
other kind of influence which is destined to supersede it.
Portugal, it is notorious, can turn its possession of Delagoa
Bay to no use that is important to the world, though it can
easily make of it an occasion of strife between those who
should be friends. The event of this reference to the
French Government, of a case which ought not to have been
referred to any Power, should'not discourage the friends of
.arbitration, but it should certainly enlighten them, and lead
to a more careful application of the principle, so that its
great advantages may not be altogether lost to the world.
Leader in Times, 21st August, 1875.
A THIRD application of the principle of Arbitration has had
ii result adverse to this country. The tribunal of Geneva
nudcted us in the sum of three millions sterling ; the Em-
peror of Germany and his jurists were against us in the San
Juan controversy ; and now Marshal MacMahon gives
Delagoa Bay to the Portuguese, after their claims have been
426 THE DELAGOA BAY DISPUTE.
questioned by us for some fifty years. We publish the text
of the award, which, in the usual manner of a French judg-
ment, gives clearly the grounds on which the decision is
made. The precise territories in dispute are defined, and
the Arbitrator proceeds to summarise the historical facts
connected with them, which in his opinion lead to the con-
clusion that Portugal has acquired and has never lost a
sovereignty over them. First comes discovery. The Bay
of Delagoa, or Lorenzo-Marques, was discovered in the 15th
century by Portuguese navigators, and in the 17th and 18th
centuries Portugal occupied various points on the northern
coasts of the bay, and on the island of Inyack at its entrance.
Portugal has at all times claimed sovereign rights over the
whole bay and the territories bordering on it, as well as the
exclusive right to trade there, and has further supported
this claim by arms, against the Dutch about the year 1732,
and against the Austrians in 1781. These pretensions were
at that date recognised by more than one power. " The
acts by which Portugal has supported its pretensions did
not give rise to any complaint on the part of the Govern-
ment of the United Provinces ; and in 1782 these pretensions
were tacitly accepted by Austria, in consequence of diplo-
matic explanations exchanged between that Power and
Portugal."
This seems to be the substance of the case on the part of
our opponents. In those distant days, when the Portuguese
w^ere a maritime and colonizing people, and their adventur-
ous navigators were on every sea, the eastern coast of Africa
for hundreds of miles passed under their domination. They
were without a rival on the Indian Ocean, and on all its
shores they established their factories or made more am-
bitious settlements. Thev were to be found in the Persian
REMARKS FROM "TIMES." 427
Gulf, on the Coasts of India, in the Malay Archipelago.
They took possession of the most advantageous points on
the eastern shores of Africa, and the coast over which our
late visitor, the Seyyid of Zanzibar, rules, or claims to rule,
once acknowledged their supremacy. The decay of this-
wonderful prosperity, the stagnation of this restless enter-
prise, the ruin or the alienation of so many coveted estab-
lishments, is matter of history. Other nations supplanted
the Portuguese, as they had supplanted the Venetians.
Their possessions in Eastern Africa dwindled in importance,
and though the Governor of Mozambique still exercises a
nominal authority over a large undefined territory, the
Portuguese occupation of the greater part of it is something
very shadowy and unreal. This shrinking of the Portuguese
power has led to the disputes about Delagoa Bay. In the
war of the French Ee volution the Cape of Good Hope fell
into the hands of the British, and though it was restored to
Holland at the Peace of Amiens, it was subsequently recap-
tured, and retained at the Peace of 1815. This placed us
in new relations with the Portuguese. We were the lieir.s
of the Dutch in Southern Africa, and the Portuguese had
now to deal with a people more adventurous and pusliing:
than their former neighbours. The British Government
and the East India Company attached the highest import-
ance to the Cape of Good Hope, and desired to see a great
colonial development in South Africa, as securing the route
to India, and creating a European society, in a country which
was not hopelessly remote from India itself. Southern
Africa became a territory for which too much could not be
done. The colonists, it is true, were treated like children,
spoilt by the indulgence of unreasonable requests, at the
same time that they were scolded for not accepting some
428 THE DELAGOA BAY DISPUTE.
pedantic regulation of the Colonial Office ; but they had,
on the whole, little to complain of, and the British taxpayer
\\as the chief victim. The authority of Great Britain ex-
tended itself over one tract of country after another, until
at last we came uj^on a region which, to all appearance, coukl
belong to no European State. Delagoa Bay, its shores, and
islands were in the possession of the natives, and of no one
else. Consequently, there has been a disposition in the
Colonial authorities to deal with the tract as belonging to
tribes without the pale of the civilized world, and therefore
open to British occupation. The fact is that if the Portu-
guese occupation of Delagoa Bay had ever been a reality, it
had lost this character in the lapse of years.
The Portuguese rights seemed to have been abrogated by
disuse. The Portuguese did not rule the country ; they did
not occupy it, and there was no prospect that they would do
either in the future. All hopes of the development of the
country rested on the British. But the award of Marshal
MacMahon instructs us tliat we must not entertain such
considerations. The rights of a State, which belongs to the
community of civilized nations, are indefeasible. They can-
not be diminished by the lapse of years or generations ; at
least, the slightest assertion of authority or any act of occu-
pation, however artificial or constructive, is sufficient to
maintain the claim. The Portuguese, as we have already
mentioned, made "pretensions" to the territory in 1782
which "gave rise to no complaint on the part of the United
Provinces," and which were "tacitly accepted" by Austria.
This fact is, of course, evidence against our contention, but
it appears that 35 years later we furnished by our own act
iui argument against ourselves. In 1817 England herself did
not contest the right of the King of Portugal, when she con-
REMARKS FROM " TIMJ:S. 421>
eluded with the King's Government the Convention of the
28th of July for the suppression of the slave trade. " In
fact, Clause 12 of that Convention must be interpreted to
designate the whole of the Bay bearing the name of Delagoa,
or Lorenzo-Marques, as forming part of the Portuguese
possessions." Furthermore, in 1822 the British Government,
having sent out an officer to make a hydrographic survey of
tlie Bay and the rivers flowing into it, recommended him to
the good offices of the Portuguese Government. This, no
doubt, is strongly on the Portuguese side, according to all
the theories which prevail as to national rights; but we find
within the limits of Marshal MacMahon's own judgement
ample evidence that all substantial authority had passed
away from Portugal. He says that "though the accidental
weakening of the Portuguese authority in those parts, may,
in 1823, have led Captain Owen erroneously, yet in good
faith, to regard the Native Chiefs of the territories now
contested as really independent of the Crown of Portugal,,
the Conventions concluded by him with those Chiefs were
not the less contrary to the rights of Portugal." The fact
that an intelligent officer could mistake the Natives for the
independent tribes, shows that there could have been no
efficient representative of the Portuguese Government in the-
vicinity; and the effect of this is not lessened by the cir-
cumstance that, subsequently, the Portuguese Government
obtained anew from the Chiefs a recognition of its authority.
But the rights of Portugal, acquired by discovery in the
sixteenth century, asserted by force of arms as well as
diplomatically in the eighteenth, recognised incidentally in
the early part of the nineteenth, appear to the French
President, sufficiently established, and he gives to His Most
I'aithful Majesty all the territory claimed. We do not
430 THE DELAGOA BAY DISrUTE.
contest the justice of the Award, but Ave may regret a
decision which will tend to retard the settlement and
civilization of those regions, which can now only be accom-
plished by union with the great South African community
growing up under the British Crown. In the end we may
fairly expect that no obstacles, raised by a strict interpreta-
tion of the rights of nations, will impede a consummation
.so beneficial to the world.
Leader in Morning Post, August 23, 1875.
The text of Marshal M'Mahon's award on the Delagoa
Bay controversy has at length been made public. On the
23d March, not very long after the latest representations
appear, by the document in question, to have been made to
the Marshal by the British Ambassador and Portuguese
Minister at Paris, Ave Avere enabled to announce to our
readers Avhat Avould be the result of the arbitration, and the
statements made subsequently in Parliament confirmed our
information. It is only noAv, hoAvever, that the official
decree is made public, and it rather briefly and summarily
disposes of our claims. The convention agreeing to the
arbitration seems to have been signed at Lisbon on the 11th
September, 1872, and as the aAvard is dated Versailles the
24th July, it has taken nearly three years to come to a
conclusion. We cannot complain of unnecessary haste in
the matter, therefore, inasmuch as nearly a year seems to
have elapsed betAA^een each move in the affair. The com-
mission of investigation AA^as appointed by the Marshal on
the 23d of March, 1873. On the 15th September folloAving,
the representatives of the tAvo parties presented their
KEMARKS FROM ''MORNING POST." 431
memoranda to the arbitrator, and exactly a twelvemonth
later counter-memoranda were handed in, the case on either
side being finally closed by letters dated the 8th of February
in the present year. Two different points arose in the
question, the one having reference to the territory on the
northern side of Delagoa Bay, as far as the Espiritu Sancto,
or English Eiver; and the other being in regard to the
territory on the southern side, known as Maputa, and
-embracing the island of Inyack. With respect to the former,
we had imagined all along that the Portuguese claim to that
was established, but we had also considered that our title to
the latter portion of the Bay was one that could be sus-
tained. Whatever might have been the Portuguese assump-
tions as regarded the Dutch and Austrians, and however
much those Powers might have given in to their pretensions,
we had certainly never acknowledged them; at any rate, in
reference to the Southern half of the Bay ; and we cannot
now see how the fact, so markedly dwelt upon in the award,
of our Government recommending Captain Owen to the
kind offices of the Portuguese authorities, when making in
1823 his survey of the bay and rivers discharging them-
selves into it, is to be construed into our having admitted
the right of Portugal to the whole of the territory. The
Portuguese had a settlement at Lorenzo-Marques, and what
could be more natural than that our Government should
request their officials to tender the Captain their good offices
should occasion require it. But indeed the proof that we
had no intention of acknowledging them as complete masters
of the territory is self-evident from the conduct of Captain
Owen in dealing with the native chiefs in the vicinity, whom
he treated as quite independent of Portuguese authority.
Nor are we prepared to admit that the terms of our previous
432 . THE DEIAGOA BAY DISPUTE.
convention with Portugal in 1817, for the suppression of
the slave trade, are such as to imply a recognition of their
right to the whole of the Bay. We never intended any-
thing of the kind. The decision is, however, given against
us, and as it was agreed in the arrangement of September,
1872, that the question should be decided by the President
of the French Eepublic without appeal, all we can now do
is to make the best of a bad bargain, if so it may be termed.
Since the result first became known to the public in England,
a very strong feeling has been evinced, that an endeavour
should be made to come to terms with Portugal for pur-
chasing the Bay, or at any rate that portion of it which it is
advisable we should possess, and which, indeed, we claimed.
Its growing importance is acknowledged, and, now that its
reputation for unhealthiness is proved to be greatly un-
deserved, there is the more reason why we should be anxious
to retain it. Its situation at the entrance to the Mozam-
bique Channel, and its being the only available seaport for
the Transvaal, destined at no distant day to be one of the
South African Confederate States, and which it is well to
remember is already attracting a good many Australian
diggers, greatly enhance its value. With every disposition
to trust in the good intentions of the Portuguese Govern-
ment, and in its willingness to offer facilities for commerce at
the Bay, we would much j^refer to have the port in our own
hands. It is tolerably certain that British subjects will be
the parties chiefly interested in the trade that will be carried
on at the Bay, and a far larger traffic is likely to take place
under British jurisdiction, than if it be exercised by a foreign
Power, however much it may be actuated by good intentions.
The inhabitants of the Transvaal, we are satisfied, would
much rather that the port were in English hands, and it is
REMARKS FROM "MORNING POST." 433
needless to remark how the project for railway communica-
tion between the Bay and its proposed terminus in the
Kepublic would be furthered under British auspices. It is
not of the present alone that we think; Southern Africa is
destined to become a confederation of States owning British
supremacy, and whatever objection may at the moment
exist amongst certain parties in the two Eepublics against
union under the British flag, is pretty sure to die away.
The increased settlement of British subjects within their
l)orders must of itself necessarily tend to this, and it is most
desirable that, when a confederation is established, every
inch of territory in the neighbourhood should be held by
ourselves. We have no apprehension that Portugal will
enter into negotiations with any other foreign Power for the
disposal to it of Delagoa Bay — a proceeding which would be
very injurious to our interests. But at the same time
Portugal will, doubtless, wish to reap some advantage from
the award, which, rightly or A\Tongly, has handed over to it
territory we had reason to believe belonged to ourselves.
It is not probable that Portugal has any special interest in
retaining possession of the port. Its African territories are
not of paramount importance to it, and in surrendering a
small portion of them it would have no objection to make a
good bargain. Very likely the award is an unexpected slice
of good luck to Portugal, and if we can only come to
reasonable terms with her for the purchase of the Bay, we
may eventually not have so much reason to grumble at what
has happened. Perhaps, even, it may become a subject of
rejoicing, as it may act as a lesson to us in the future to be
distrustful of the arbitration system, which, somehow or
other, however good a case we may think that we have,
results in our being the losers. If it only leads us to dis-
countenance the practice in the future, the award in the
2f
434 THE DELAGOA BAY DISPUTE.
Delagoa Bay controversy will not be without its advantage.
Of international arbitration the British public is beginning
to think we have had quite enough, for it only ends in
every other State getting the better of us, a consummation
by no means to be desired.
From the Herald of Peace, London.
The award on the recent Delagoa Bay case went in favour
of Portugal. This fact, coupled with the adverse decisions
on the Alabama and San Juan questions, has considerably
disturbed the equanimity of our press, and led to some hard
things being said against the principle of arbitration. We
are told that wherever that method of settling disputes is
had recourse to, the issue is unfavourable to our country.
This is not quite correct as a matter of fact. The Anglo-
American Commission, which was only arbitration under
another name, and which dealt with a great variety of
irritating questions, some of long standing, between us and
the United States, gave, on several points, judgment in our
favour, and decided that the United States should pay
Great Britain various sums, amounting in the aggregate to
about half a million sterling. It is gratifying to find that,
while many of our journals are dissatisfied, and perhaps
naturally so, at finding the award of an arbitrator for the
third time going against us, there is not, so far as we know,
in any quarter the slightest whisper of repudiation. It is
honourable to our countrymen that the universal and un-
hesitating conclusion is, that we should abide loyally by the
decision of the French President, however unpalatable it
may be to ourselves. Nor is there any serious attempt to
impeach the fairness of that decision on the grounds sub-
mitted to the arbitrator. Indeed, the Times distinctly says,
** We do not contest the justice of the award;" and, after
REMARKS FROM '^ HERALD OF PEACE." 435
stating the reasons specified by Marshal MacMahon as the
ground of his judgement, the same paper adds, " This, no
doubt, is strongly on the Portuguese side, according to all
the theories which prevail as to national rights;" though it
afterwards somewhat qualifies this admission by affinning
that the Portuguese rights had lapsed, or, at least, become
doubtful by desuetude. We have no doubt that Delagoa
Bay would be of greater use, not only to ourselves, but
possibly to the interests of civilisation, if it were in British
rather than in Portuguese hands, though our contribution
to the civilisation of Africa has hitherto been of a very
equivocal kind indeed. But the same thing may be said,
probably, of Lisbon or Oporto, and a hundred other ports
in all parts of the world, upon which we may choose to cast
a covetous eye, and, if that be a sufficient ground of claim —
and especially if the claimant himself is to be the judge — it
would let loose all mankind to engage in one universal game
of mutual spoliation. We should be glad to see Delagoa
Bay pass by rightful means into the possession of Great
Britain, but we contend that the settlement of the in-
dispensable and preliminary question of title, will servo
rather to facilitate than to frustrate negotiations for that
purpose. But on the subject of arbitration, if we find the
award going against us on so many occasions, where we
have no reason to call in question the competency or the
integrity of the arbitrators, would it not be well for us to
ask ourselves whether this does not point to the fact, that,
nationally, we are of an aggressive and masterful spirit; not
consciously unjust, but prone, from a sense of our enormous
power, to be somewhat arrogant and exacting in our claims?
Nations, even more than individuals, have reason to say —
** 0 wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oorsells as ithers see xis."
436 THE DELAGOA BAY DISPUTE.
The Newcastle Daily Chronicle, of 15th September, in an article
on "The Conservative Government and Slavery," animadverting
on the Admiralty order ^prohibiting Ships of War being made a
harbour of refuge for runaway Slaves, says : —
"It is of some importance to know if the law officers of
the Crown have been consulted as to this Order. It would
also be interesting to learn who are the parties the Govern-
ment thus means to favour*? Is it because the decision
was against us in our dispute with Portugal, that we are
about to propitiate the slave powers on the coast of Africa I
Portugal is the European protector of slavery, and it must
be either the Portuguese Government we are anxious to
' pleasure,' or some one or other of those barbarous African
Chiefs to whom slavery is wealth. There has of late been
much in our transactions with Portugal that will scarcely
bear criticism. Whoever has read the very able statement,
by the late Mr David Leslie, of his claim against the Portu-
guese Government for illegal seizure, can scarcely fail to be
satisfied on this point. The treatment that accomplished
man received from 'this petty but obtrusive and self-
sufficient power' was a public scandal, which Mr Leslie's
premature death does not absolve us from avenging. But
the Circular of the Admiralty is another pertinent illustra-
tion of that ' spirited foreign policy ' the Premier promised
would distinguish his reign. Seriously, the subject with
which this Circular , deals is something far transcending
mere party politics. The interests and honour of the nation
are compromised thereby."
SHARP PRACTICE WITH SPAIX 1-WHAT ABOUT PORTUGAL?
Fatal Encounter between British and Spanish Forces.— A telegram from
the Gibraltar correspondent of the Western Morning Neics, dated September 1.5,
1875, 9 p.m., says an investigation was being held concerning a serious affair
which took place on Tuesday, it being reported that a French vessel had been
captured by the Spanish Coastguard in British waters. A steam-launch from
Her Majesty's ship Express went in chase, and took both in tow. The Spaniards
resisted, and, although warned by the British Officers, persisted in attempting to
cut the tow-rope. During the affray a Spaniard was accidentally shot dead.
NEW BOOK ON AFRICAN SPORT.
Now ready in 1 vol., large 8vo,, with Woodcuts and Coloured and Tinted
Sketches, price, 21s.,
THE LARGE GAME AND NATURAL HISTORY OF
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By the Hon. W. H. DRUMMOND.
1. Buffalo.
2. Rhinoceros,
3. Eland.
4. Elephant.
5. Lions.
6. Leopards.
7. Hunting with Dogs.
8. Game Birds.
9. Anecdotes op Antelopes.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
Scotsman.
' ' The freshest and most interesting sporting book that has appeared for
many a day. Freshest in subject and in treatment, most interesting in the
novelty of its scenes and the greatness of its adventures is the Hon. W. H.
Drummond's * Large Game of South and South-East Africa.'"
Globe.
" Wielding his pen almost as successfully as his rifle, he has succeeded
in delineating a graphic picture of Sporting Life in South African Wilder-
nesses, with all its perils, privations, and pleasures."
Liand and "Water.
' ' We can recommend it strongly."
Standard.
" For hair-breadth escapes, exciting struggles, and desperate combats,
it far surpasses any similar book we have ever read, and we can but
wonder at the good fortune which carried him almost scatheless through
so many adventures."
Daily News.
"He is one of the best types of the traveller and the sportsman ; he is
indomitable in courage, unswerving in determination^ always ready to
submit to what must be endured."
Liverpool Albion.
" It has attractions, alike for the traveller, the sportsman, the student
of natural history, and the general reader and lover of adventure. To its
value as a practical educational book, it adds the charm of thrilling and
always interesting narrative, of a kind which carries its character for
horesty and competency in its face."
New Book on African Sport.
Court Journal.
''The volume is a record of numerous exciting adventures with hair-
breadth escapes, and it contains much that will interest the student of
natural history."
Edinburg-h Courant.
** The Hon. W. H. Drummond has given us one of the very finest books
in the library of sport. The sportsman hoping some day to stalk game
under the southern cross, or wishing to enjoy at his own fireside lifelike
pictures of hunting scenes, cannot turn to a better book than this ; while
the naturalist who desires new light on animal nature, and the general
reader who likes picturesque grouping and lucid description, will be certain
to enjoy this narrative of an African hunter."
New York Evening: Post.
"The entire book is one of great interest."
Glasgow News.
"The great fault of Livingstone's writings about Africa— dryness of
style — cannot be imputed to this one, which is as attractive in manner as
it is instructive in matter. * * * ♦ rpj^g simplicity of the
tnie sportsman beams from every page, and the reader is charmed with the
freshness and vividness of the pictures drawn by an artist who is absorbed
in his subject,"
Pall Mall Gazette.
" Abook that contains an adventure on almost every page ; may be taken
iip anywhere with the certainty of amusement ; and Mr Drummond's
adventures and hair-breadth escapes are of an exciting description."
Leeds Mercury.
" It is quite within the truth to state that every page of the volume
contains some adventure of the greatest interest."
Glasgow Herald.
"Such a book as this, it maybe easily understood, is one to be read
and enjoyed. * ♦ * * ^jj. Drummond may rest assured
that the public will not soon get tired of his Avell digested knowledge and
lively narrative."
Saturday Review.
"This is probably one of the most genuine books ahout big game that
we have had since the volumes of Mr Gordon Gumming * * *
We can concientiously recommend Mr Dnimmond's book to those who
desire information either about the vicissitudes of sport or the chances of
colonization in a land of striking scenery and great game,"
Similar laudatory notices have appeared in the Spectator, Observer, Morning Post,
Daily Free Press, Daily Ilevieio, Dundee Advertiser, Chambers' Journal, d-c.
EDINBUEGH : EDMONSTON & DOUGLAS, and all BookseUers.
88 Princes Street,
Edinburgh, June 1875.
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