The White Chief of the Caffres

I did not long remain on the beach, but made my way into the bush to a thick part where there were some large trees; I then sat down to think what should be done. I knew there would be great danger in attempting to make my way down to the Umzimvubu; and, once there, I could not expect to get away in a ship, as no ships ever came near the coast at that part. I believed it possible that when the news reached Cape Town that white men had been murdered at Natal, some soldiers might be sent up in large ships, either to revenge the death of the murdered men, or to obtain particulars of the massacre, so if I remained near the bay I should stand the best chance of getting out of the country. I suppose it was on account of my white blood, if I may use the term, that made me wish to go again to civilisation, as also the desire to see my father. For there was much to attract me among my old companions. If I returned to my old residence, I should at once take my place again as a chief and have everything I wanted. My companions of years would be again with me; and I should rest, as it were, on the laurels I had won in my various adventures. I had already discovered that white men did not seem to value or even understand the qualities I possessed, whilst my being unable to read or write well was looked upon as indicating ignorance. When I lived among youths of my own age in England, I believed I should be laughed at because I did not know as much of book learning as they were acquainted with. My books had been the forests, the plains, the rivers and mountains, and the skies above us. To read from the signs on the ground what animals had travelled over it, and when they had travelled, was an interesting book to me, and quite intelligible. To know the time at night by the position of certain stars was also a page that was intelligible; but how should I feel when asked to read from a printed book, and found myself laughed at as a dunce? I had already seen that white men were suspicious of me, and acted on these suspicions alone. Considering all these points, I felt quite undecided whether to again join the Umzimvubu Caffres, and live all my life as a Caffre; or wait on the chance of some ship coming into the harbour, and of being able to get a passage to Cape Town or England.

Although much pre-occupied with these thoughts, I did not neglect the necessities of the present. I must make myself secure from the possible attacks of two forest enemies, viz., snakes and leopards. I must sleep, and when asleep I might be seized by a leopard, or be coiled round by a rock-snake; for there were, I knew, rock-snakes in this bush at least thirty feet long, and to be seized by one of these monsters would be certain death. There was no time before dark to build a kraal, so I cut down branches and brushwood, and arranged this in a circle round the spot on which I intended to pass the night. I cut also two sticks, one having a large knob at the end; the other, which was very hard wood, I sharpened so that it was like a spear. This was the best I could do in the short time before it came dark. I then lay down and listened to hear what might occur near me.

I soon heard some rustling in the bush, which sometimes came near and then went away to a distance. This might be caused by a buck, but it might be a leopard. It was so dark that I could see nothing. The nights in Africa are darker than they are in England; and when I held my hand up I could not see it, though it was not half a yard from my eyes. It is difficult to imagine anything more exciting and trying to the nerves than to be thus alone in the bush during a dark night; when you know that dangerous animals are near you, and when noises indicate that these animals are aware of your presence, and are examining you to see whether you can be safely attacked. To sleep was impossible; I did not like even to lie down in a position of rest, but crouched on the ground with my sharpened stick ready for use in case I was attacked. Towards daylight, however, I could resist the desire to sleep no longer; and, as all seemed quiet round me, I lay down and was soon in a sound sleep.

When I awoke, the sun was many times its own size above the horizon, and was shining on the trunks of the trees around me. I ascended one of the trees, from which I could see the masts of the ships in the bay. The wind was blowing from the south-east, and as long as this wind continued the vessel would not get over the bar. I knew as long as this ship remained in the harbour the Zulus would not leave this part of the country; they knew the stupid character of the English sailors, and they also must be aware that they could not leave until they had procured fresh water. Having descended the tree, I procured some fruit and berries; and, making my way to the edge of the bush, I procured some fresh water, of which I drank a large quantity, for I did not think it safe to move about in the bush, and did not wish to have to come again to the water during the day. On my return from the vlei, I heard a rustling in the bush near me; and, becoming instantly still, I heard some animal creeping away. Being desirous of knowing what the animal was, I moved cautiously to where I had heard the noise; and at only a few yards from me came on the carcase of a red bush-buck which had been only lately killed. There was a mark on the buck’s neck which I knew indicated that a leopard had been its destroyer; but little of the buck was eaten, so I knew I had disturbed the leopard at its feast. With my knife I cut several strips of meat from the back and hind quarters of the antelope; and, wrapping these in some large leaves, I fastened them round with strips of bark, and was then provided with food for at least three days.

On again ascending the tree to look out, I saw a boat leaving the vessel with some sailors, and I could see casks in the boat; so I knew they were going to the shore to procure water. These sailors, instead of going up the bay, had seen a small stream of water running down the side of the bluff, and had determined to get their barrels filled from this stream. It was certainly a safer place than the Umbilo river would have been, and I saw the men fill several casks and return in safety to their ship. Soon after a change of wind took place; and, the sea going rapidly down, the surf on the bar decreased, the sailors set sails on the vessel, and she glided out of the harbour, and, crossing the bar, was soon lost to view behind the high land of the bluff.

I was now once more alone as regards white men, but I might be surrounded by enemies; so after looking all round the country as far as I could obtain a view, I descended from the tree and sat down to consider what to do. Suddenly I heard a human voice – it came from the shore outside the bush. Listening attentively, I heard the Zulu language spoken; and as the men spoke loudly, their words were distinctly audible.

“The ship has left now,” said one of the men, “there is nothing for us to wait for.”

“He must have gone in the ship,” said another.

“Yes, his people must have taken him with them. He was very cunning: dressed like a white man, he deceived us at first, and he must have heard us speak of the plan for capturing the boat at the narrows. I knew him when he rose in the boat after shooting Copen.”

“He has escaped us,” said another Zulu, “but we have killed four white men, and have their small guns to take to our chief.” “Hambani si hambi” (“let us be going”), said a loud voice, and I could hear the tread of the men as they moved along the beach.

I remained motionless while the sun travelled about ten times its own breadth, for I knew enough of the Zulus’ cunning to be aware that this conversation might be carried on in various places, as a trap to throw me off my guard, in case I was concealed near enough to hear what was spoken. I then crept through the bush as stealthily as a snake, and examined the beach, and saw a long distance off a party of about forty Zulus moving along the shore towards the Umganie river, which was the direction of the Zulu country. I remained concealed until it became nearly dark, and then made my way down to the entrance of the bay, where the channel was very narrow. The tide was low, and no current was running in either direction; so I swam across the channel without difficulty, and made my way up the bluff to my old kraal, which I found had not been burnt or destroyed. There were several excavations made by the sea on the shore side of the bluff – sort of caves, in fact – and to one of these I made my way; and, having lighted a fire in this cave, cooked the whole of the antelope’s flesh and made a good meal, whilst I reserved a large quantity for future use. The light from my fire could only be seen from the sea, and there was no chance of any Zulu getting a glimpse either of the fire or its smoke. I found several small fish in the various pools which had been left by the high tide, and these I intended to cook and eat on the morrow, because fish will not last fresh as long as will flesh, especially when the weather is very hot. Having had a good meal I felt fit for anything.

There are probably some people who would feel unhappy if they were alone in a wild country, without clothes, weapons, or a stock of food; but I had been trained in a rough school, and having, at least, two days’ food with me, I was far from feeling in a bad way. There is always something pleasant in knowing that, on one’s own exertions only, one’s success or failure really depends. Half the pleasure in life is lost when we are helped to everything by the hands of another, our independence is gone, and we become too often dissatisfied and idle. Not only did my daily food depend on my exertions, but actually my life was in my own hands: any incautious act, such as showing myself on the beach or bluff, might lead to my being attacked by the Zulus. It was necessary to think before I did anything, and my daily habits were therefore the result of long consideration.

I had a wish to visit the Umbilo river, to see whether any of the weapons belonging to the captain remained on the spot where he had been killed. I knew this was a dangerous expedition to make; but everything I did was dangerous now, for I could not tell who was my enemy, or where I might meet one. I decided that any expedition I might make ought to be undertaken towards evening; because, if I should be seen by the enemy and pursued, the darkness of night would soon prevent them from following my spoor, and I should get a good start of them during darkness. If I could procure some weapon, even an assagy, I should feel more able to defend myself against some possible assailant. As soon as the sun approached the western horizon I moved along the beach towards the Umbilo river, which I reached just as there was light enough to see surrounding objects. I found the bodies of the captain and his men: these had been mutilated by the Zulus, and the clothes of all of them had been carried off. I looked carefully over the ground and among the long grass, for anything that might have been dropped, and was delighted to discover a double-barrelled pistol, which I knew belonged to the captain. It was unloaded, and had evidently been fired very recently. Near the pistol I found a small leather bag, in which were ten ball-cartridges, the bullets from which fitted the pistol. Before finding this I was only a match for one enemy, but when my pistol was loaded I knew I was equal to three at least.

I had no desire to pass the night near the dead bodies of the sailors, so I made my way through the bush towards the beach, where there were rocks and hollow places, amidst which I could find a secure resting-place for the night.

I had slept for some time when I was roused by a noise not far from me. It was a loud grunt or roar – I could not say which was the proper term. So I listened with the hope of gaining more information. My pistol in my hand, I crept to the opening of the cleft in the rock, in front of my sleeping-place. The breakers on the shore before me were sparkling with a thousand stars, for the sea-water here is very phosphorescent, and, consequently, made objects between me and these breakers quite distinct. I thus saw the form of an enormous animal standing near the shore, and recognised it as that of the imvubu, which is the Caffre name of the hippopotamus. If I had only possessed my bow and poisoned arrows, I might now have tried them on this monster, and probably might have been successful in driving an arrow through his thick hide; but to fire at him with my pistol would, I knew, merely be wasting a bullet and a charge of powder. Besides, I could eat but a small part of the imvubu; and as the vultures would be sure to circle in the air above where the carcase of the monster was to be found, any Caffres in the neighbourhood would notice these, and would come to see what was attracting them. At present I wanted to remain concealed, and to think what was to be done in the future. I lay on the ground watching the imvubu, which every now and then gave loud grunts, and opened his enormous mouth, as though gaping after a long sleep. The monster then moved along the beach; and, as I found on following his spoor in the morning, he had his home in the Umlass river, about two miles from where I had slept.

When the first signs of daylight appeared, I made a meal of oysters; and then ascended the high land to examine the surrounding country and see what was going on. I soon noticed vultures circling in the air, near the head of Natal Bay, and knew that these birds had been attracted by the bodies of the captain and sailors, whose bones they would pick, and leave but little for the hyaenas and jackals.

As soon as I saw no indications of men anywhere I walked on the high land near the sea, keeping a little on the side next the sea, so that I could not be seen from the land side. Every now and then I ascended to the ridge, just high enough to see over it, and then examined the country to discover anything going on near me. I should have found the opera-glasses very useful here; but my eyes had been well-trained, and I was not likely to fail in seeing anything unusual within one or two miles of me. People who have not been accustomed to use their eyes much, especially in a wild country, do not know how the sight can be cultivated. It is a case of eyes and no eyes. One man will see the spoor of animals and signs of different kinds, whilst another will not notice one of these things. A snake, for instance, I never missed seeing, and was as unlikely to put my foot on a snake without seeing it, as some men would be to put their foot in a pool of water.

I walked on towards the Umlass river, sometimes through thick bush, sometimes on the open ground, but saw no indications of men having lately passed over the ground. There were some old kraals here, but they had been long deserted; but some mealies were growing near the kraal, where the gardens had been, and some of these I gathered and ate: though they were rather tough, still they were good for food.

Not having slept much on the previous night, and the sun being now high in the heavens, and giving great heat, I decided to sleep for awhile. I therefore examined all the ground for about the distance of two assagy-throws from me, to see if there were any signs of snakes near; for I did not wish to sleep where it was likely a poisonous snake might crawl over me, or a large rock-snake become familiar. Seeing no signs of snakes, I lay down under the branches of a large euphorbia tree; and there, in the shade, I was soon fast asleep.

When I awoke, it was because of some noise which had disturbed me; and, upon glancing round, I saw some twenty or thirty men, armed with assagies, standing round me. At first I thought they were Zulus, but, on a second look, knew they were men of the Umzimvubu tribe; and I then, to my delight, recognised my old friend Inyati, and near him my companion Inyoni. At first they did not recognise me, but believed I was one of the sailors from the ship who had escaped the Zulus. When, however, I called Inyati by name, and he had looked at me close, he was astonished and delighted to find it was me. Inyoni shouted and danced as though he were mad. Having sent four men in different directions to keep watch and prevent a surprise, we sat down on the grass, and I related to the men all that had happened to me since I had last seen them. My journey from the Zulu country down to Natal, Inyati said, was wonderful; whilst he laughed at the ignorance of the captain and sailors, in allowing themselves to be caught in so simple a manner by the Zulus. I felt rather small in being caught asleep by Inyati and his men, so I asked him how he had discovered me.

He replied that he and his men had kept under the ridge of the hill, so as to examine the country, without themselves being seen; that with his glasses he could see everything a long way off, and he had seen me just before I lay down. He and his men then crept up to where I was sleeping, and had just surrounded me when I awoke. I informed Inyati that I believed no Zulus were now west of the Tugela; and that, unless a large army came to attack our tribe, none of the Zulus would come to Natal, as their object of driving away the white man had been accomplished.

Inyati then asked me what I was doing, or intended to do.

Thinking it unwise to tell him I wanted to get away in a ship, I replied that I was making my way to my own tribe when he and his men surprised me.

Being satisfied that no enemy was near us, it was agreed that we should hunt, and procure some flesh for a meal. The spoor of several buck had been seen, principally that of the impenzi, or duiker, as the small antelope is called by the English. This buck lives in the country where the bush is not thick, but is scattered, and where rocks and long grass afford plenty of cover. The manner by which we secured these antelope without firearms was simple and effective. The spoor of the animal was followed until it was certain that the buck was concealed in a small clump of bush. This bush was then surrounded, the Caffres being all at some distance from where the buck was crouching. The circle of Caffres then closed in rapidly and silently; and when only a few yards from each other, stones were thrown into the bush. The duiker then started out on the side opposite to that from which the stones had been thrown, and was met by a shower of assagies, one or two of which usually hit it. If it was missed, it would attempt to escape on the opposite side, when another shower of assagies assailed it. By this means three duiker were soon killed, and we then lighted a fire, and enjoyed a feast of venison.

There was much news which Inyoni told me that was interesting. One of the English ladies had died: I could not find out which, but Inyoni said she was not very young. He also told me that elephants had again come down near the kraal in which I had lived, and that there was a lion not far off. He was very anxious to kill this lion, not only on account of the honour that would attend the performance, but also to obtain a necklace of its teeth and claws. He suggested that when I came back to the kraal, he and I might make an expedition and shoot this lion.

After the escapes I had passed through among the Zulus, and the manner in which I had been treated by the English sailors, I felt quite at home among my old companions, and thought, as I have often done since, that the so-called savage is superior in many ways to the imperfectly educated Englishman. The Zulus and the Caffres on the south-east coast of Africa were what would be called gentlemanly men if they had resided among civilised beings. They were most considerate in all their proceedings one to another, and there was a ready acknowledgment of superiority when this had been demonstrated; whereas, amidst so-called civilisation, men too often attempt to claim merits which they never did and never will possess, and thus to claim to command when they are only fitted to obey. I soon discovered that my adventures and escapes had raised me in the opinions of my old companions. They addressed me now always as inkosi (“chief”), and listened with great attention to all I said.

After we had finished our meal, two Caffres were sent on to the hill-tops to keep a look-out, and the remainder of our party lay down in the shade and slept, till we felt ready to start on our journey down to the Umzimvubu country.

I felt quite safe now that I had so many armed and watchful men with me. We walked on over the hills and through the bush, occasionally stopping for an hour or two, to hunt duiker or red bush-buck, both of which were plentiful about this part of the country. We never neglected keeping watch whilst we were hunting; because, knowing how rapidly the Zulus move, and how fond they are of surprises, we never were certain that a party of these men might not be concealed somewhere and might suddenly attack us. Had the commanders on the English side, during the late Zulu war, been as well acquainted with the habits of these men as we were, such disasters as befell us would have been guarded against or avoided; but it seems as though men were selected for that war because they knew nothing either of the Zulus, their country, or language, but because they had crammed successfully at the Staff College.

When we arrived at the first kraal in our own country and among our own tribe, I was welcomed with shouts and congratulations by the men, and with pleasant smiles by the females; and certainly for a time I felt very glad that I had not sailed in the ship from Natal Bay, but was again among my friends who knew me, and where my past acts had caused me to be respected and admired. There are few things – as I have found in after-life – so painful as being among strangers, where the past of which we may be proud is unknown, and unthought of, and where we occupy the same position as though in our previous career we had acted like fools or rogues.

Chapter Sixteen

Almost immediately after my return to my old kraal, I went to see the English ladies who had been on board the ship. I found that Mrs Apton was dead, but the others seemed to have become quite reconciled to their lot. They were now the mothers of several children, and they told me that they would not now leave the country if they could. What they most wished for were some clothes in which they might dress like Englishwomen. Their knowledge of dress, however, had enabled them to form, out of the skins of antelopes, very ornamental dresses; and although some people might have laughed at their attire, yet the Caffres thought their ornaments most becoming. It seemed singular how very quickly these females had become accustomed to the strange life they were compelled to lead. They did not work in the gardens as did the Caffre women, but were treated just the same as the wives of the greatest chiefs. The other Caffre women were not jealous of the English females, but treated them kindly, and seemed to regard them as strangers deserving of hospitality. What was most admired was the long hair of the English ladies, the Caffre women having only woolly locks.

There was no restriction now placed upon my movements. I had fought for my tribe, and had shown that I was true to the men who had saved my life; so I was trusted just the same as though I had been born a Caffre. Although I had been so well-treated by my present companions, and the life I now led was very pleasant, yet the fact of having seen and conversed with Englishmen had caused a feeling of restlessness to take possession of me; and I was always thinking of where I should be, and what I should be doing, if I had succeeded in getting away in the ship from Natal Bay. It was now a common thing for me to leave my hut and go down to the hills near the coast, and watch the sea, in order to find out if any ships were near. I knew enough of English habits to be certain that the slaughter of the captain of the vessel would be revenged, though I did not know by what means this would be accomplished.

It was about a moon and a half, or six weeks, after I had returned to the Umzimvubu district, that one morning I saw from my look-out station a large ship sailing, and not very far from the land. I remembered that the sailors had told me that when a vessel was going round the Cape to the east, she always kept about sixty or seventy miles from the land, to avoid the strong current that ran from east to west. When, however, a ship was travelling from east to west she kept nearer the coast, so as to get the benefit of the stream in her favour. The vessel I now saw was going eastwards, and yet was close inland; so I thought it very likely she was coming to Natal. She was of too large a size to come over the bar; and I believed she must be a vessel of war. As she came nearer the land I could see guns looking out, as it were, of her ports; and I then knew she was a man-of-war. Before the sun set this ship had anchored opposite the harbour of Natal, and had furled all her sails. I returned to my kraal and kept silence as to what I had seen. I wanted to think during the night what I should do as regards this ship. If I told the men of the kraal that a ship had come to Natal, they might object to my going there, for fear I should tell the tale about the slaughter of my shipmates. Silence therefore was the most prudent plan. Just before sunrise, I, with a large bag of boiled corn and armed with my pistols and an assagy, started for Natal Bay. The journey was a long one, but I was in such training that I could run and walk very fast, and I believe could manage fifty miles a day, without much fatigue. It was near sunset, however, before I reached the high land on the west of the bay: from this high land the ship was seen, and when first viewed I saw two boats rowing to the vessel. There was a great deal of surf on the bar, so I felt certain that no boat could have entered the harbour that day, and that probably the boats I had seen had been to look at the bar to see if it were practicable.