The White Chief of the Caffres

A glance at Inklanzi showed he was in terror, and I guessed the cause. So I said, “I don’t know; I think they are all dead.”

Turning to Inklanzi the chief said, “Why did you not bring those women?”

Inklanzi replied, “We searched everywhere, chief, and we only heard they had all died.”

“If those women are alive, you shall be knob-kerried for not bringing them.”

“Did you fight against my men near the Umlass?” inquired the chief.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Can you throw an assagy?”

“Yes, and I can run.”

I was proud of my running, for among the Umzimvubu there was no man could beat me for a short distance.

The chief shouted for one of his guard, who approached crawling on his hands and knees.

“Bring Cachema,” said the chief.

The man jumped up, and rushed off to obey his orders. In a few minutes, the Zulu called Cachema rushed up within an assagy’s-throw of the chief. He then stopped and shouted “Inkosi” three times.

“Come here,” said the chief to Cachema. “You must run with this white boy and show him how to run.”

I looked well at Cachema, and had never seen a finer specimen of a young man. He was tall – six feet at least; his legs were large compared to his body, but muscular and well-shaped; his skin shone like satin; and, as he moved, there was an ease and grace just as we see in a leopard. I feared I should stand no chance with this man; but I was in excellent condition, and I saw that he failed in one respect, viz., that he was flat-footed, whilst I was very high in the instep, and had therefore more spring than he had.

The chief said, “You two run to that tree, touch it, and run back here again. I will give a cow to whoever wins.” Cachema looked at me with surprise. He seemed to consider it absurd for me to attempt running with him, as I was smaller and younger. We took each other’s hands, and when the chief said “Hamba” (“Go”) we started.

The tree was about two hundred yards away, and the ground over which we ran was hard and firm. I got the best of the start, and managed to keep just ahead of Cachema till we reached the tree. I knew from experience that most Caffres could run a mile at the same pace as they could run a few hundred yards, their wind was so good, and they never tired. So I did not run at full speed to the tree; but, after touching it, I came back as fast as I could run. I expected every instant to find Cachema rush past me. I dared not look round to see where he was, but continued at my best pace, and rushed past the chief several yards ahead of my opponent.

I then returned; and, making a salaam in Indian fashion, said “Inkosi.”

“Come here,” said the chief. I approached him, when he felt my legs, looked at my feet, and took a general survey of me. He then said, “You have spoken the truth: you can run.” Calling Cachema he said, “Why did you let this white boy beat you?”

Cachema replied, “He is a springbok, and runs like one.”

The chief laughed, and said, “The white boy will now be my head-runner. You, Cachema, must be called ‘gathly,’” which meant something like “slowly.”

I was at once provided with some crane’s feathers, a large black-and-white shield, six assagies, and made one of the body-guard of the Great Chief of the Zulus.

My life was now not as free or as pleasant as it had been among the Umzimvubu Caffres. Here I was a sort of servant of the chief: before this I was a chief myself. Sometimes I was days together with nothing to do: at others I was sent long journeys to take messages from the Great Chief to some of his principal men. I soon saw that these journeys would give me an opportunity of escaping when I wished. But the Zulu chief never seemed to think I should care to get away from him; for his special body-guard were envied by all the young Zulus, because they had plenty to eat, plenty to drink, and were able to order nearly every other Zulu to do things.

A few days after I had been installed as runner, a great review was held of the army that had gone against the Basutos. This army consisted of about 5,000 men. They were armed with assagies and knob-kerries: there was not a gun among them, and as yet they had not learnt the power of guns; although, when they attacked us near the Umlass, they had been defeated because we possessed some guns. Their assagies and their numbers caused the Zulus to be usually successful in all their wars. The review was held on some hills about a mile from the chiefs kraal. He rode a trained ox to the scene; and I, with about thirty other men, attended as his guard.

There were five regiments to be reviewed. Each regiment had shields differently marked, and each of the assagies belonging to the regiment had also a mark on it, so that, if lost, it would be known to whom it belonged.

These Zulus were well-trained. They advanced at a run, wheeled, reversed, dashed forward, all fell to the ground as a shower of assagies was supposed to be hurled at them, sprang again to their feet and charged. It was a lively scene, and one that brought out the quickness of the Zulus to perfection. The men were then all formed in a large circle, and two young Zulus entered this circle from opposite sides. Each had his shield and assagies. They approached each other cautiously and slowly, watching every movement of the other. When within about forty yards, one man sent an assagy at his opponent. The spear flew true to its mark; but the Zulu aimed at jumped on one side, avoiding the sharp blade of the spear, and, running forward, cast an assagy at his opponent. This was avoided with equal skill, whilst the lookers-on shouted with excitement. The two men drew closer and closer to each other; and, as they did so, they found it more difficult to avoid each other’s assagies. Both became more and more excited, and at last they closed and grappled with one another, when the chief called to them to stop. They were then brought to him and given a large calibash of Itchuala (beer) to drink, and were told they had done well. Several of these encounters took place, only one man being struck in the leg by an assagy. A great dance completed the review, and we returned to the kraal of the chief.

The only furniture in the huts of the Zulus was a wooden pillow or seat. All the men preferred sitting or lounging on the ground, and I afterwards found that sitting in a chair was really tiring till you were accustomed to it. In the East men always lounged on cushions or low seats, instead of sitting upright on chairs. Finding, however, some strong canes growing near the rivers, I gathered a number of these and made a chair for the chief, with which he was much pleased, although he would sit on it only on rare occasions.

Chapter Eleven

Several moons had passed since I was brought to the Zulu country, and my life had been monotonous. I had been sent with messages twice to the Tugela river to a chief there, who was suspected of not being too obedient to the Great Chief. He was a fine young chief called Cloko, and was a great sportsman. On the last occasion that I visited him he was preparing for a hunt against the hippopotami, which were in a lake near his kraal. The water in this lake could be let out by digging away a sand bank, which had been accomplished when I reached the kraal. The Zulus had provided themselves with heavy, barbed spears, to which some thick wood was attached. A rope made of grass was fastened to the iron, so that if two spears stuck in the hippopotamus he could be held by several men pulling in opposite directions.

The Zulus call this animal imvubu, and several were known to be in the lake. Some logs were fastened together to make a raft, and two Zulus took their stand on this with their spears ready for use. As the water in the lake drained away the imvubu were seen among some reeds near the shore. They were carefully approached by the men with the spears, and when quite close the spears were hurled at the largest animal visible. The hippopotamus rushed at the raft open-mouthed, but another spear was hurled at him which made him turn and try to escape; but fifty Zulus now held on to the rope, and his progress was stopped. The struggle was now very exciting. Several Zulus closed with the animal and drove their assagies into him, even through his thick hide, which in many places was nearly two inches thick. The fight was sometimes on the shore, sometimes in the water; for the animal was so powerful that even fifty men could scarcely stop him when he rushed away. At last, bleeding from a hundred wounds, the monster was dragged on shore, and was soon skinned and cut up. The hippopotamus is the fattest animal in Africa, three fingers thick of fat covering his flesh. He is very good eating, tasting something between pork and beef. I carried away a large piece with me as a present to the Great Chief, who was fond of this food.

I saw several hunting scenes whilst I stopped at this kraal, which I will relate now, though they occurred at intervals. One was the destruction of two bull-buffaloes which had taken up their residence in a ravine near some corn-gardens, where they did considerable damage. This coming to the ears of the Great Chief, he ordered one of his regiments to go out and kill them. I obtained leave to see the inyatï, as they call the buffalo, killed, and a grand sight it was.

In a dense ravine, where the trees and bushes grew very thick, the buffalo lay concealed. The first work, therefore, was to drive them out of this stronghold. It was dangerous work, because in this thick bush the Zulus could not spring away from the charge of a buffalo as they could in the open country; and the animals, knowing their strength in such cover, would not readily be driven out of it.

A hundred Zulus were sent into the bush to drive the buffaloes to the far end, where, it was thought, they would leave the cover in order to gallop across a small open piece of ground towards a forest beyond. On this open ground the attack was to be made, and in the following manner. The main body of the Zulus were lying down three deep, and in two lines, in the direction of the sides of the ravine. They were partially concealed by the long grass which covered this ground. As soon as the buffaloes left the ravine, it was expected they would gallop between these two lines. Then the Zulus at each end of the line wheeled inwards, and the buffaloes were inclosed in a circle of warriors. About one hundred men were scattered beyond these two lines, in order to stop the buffaloes if they broke through the circle.

It was with great difficulty that the animals were driven through the ravine. They clung to the cover very tenaciously, and several times charged at the men who were driving them; but these men, beating their shields, and getting behind trees, escaped from any damage. At last the buffaloes came to the edge of the bush, sniffed the air suspiciously, and then dashed forward across the open.

The crouching Zulus rose to their feet, wheeled round in front and rear of the animals, and hurled their assagies at them. In an instant the buffaloes looked like porcupines, each quill being represented by an assagy. Lowering their heads, they charged the body of men, one animal going forward, the other attempting to regain the ravine. The courage of the Zulus was now shown. The men in rear of the buffaloes rushed forward; two or three held the tail, others clung to the hind legs, and in an instant with their sharp assagies hamstrung the animals, when they were soon despatched with assagies. This was not accomplished without damage. Two Zulus were killed, and several were so knocked about that they could not stand. – Stout poles were cut, and the carcases of the buffaloes were carried in triumph to the chiefs kraal.

In order to keep his warriors fit for warlike expeditions, the Great Chief sought every occasion of sending parties into various districts, when he heard there was anything to be done, especially connected with danger.

Soon after the buffaloes had been killed, news was brought to the chief to the effect that near the Pongola river there was a very large lion, which was very fierce. When the Great Chief heard this he smiled and ordered Inyovu, one of his chiefs, to come to his kraal. On Inyovu coming the Great Chief said:

“Inyovu, near the Pongola there is a very large lion. I want the mane of that lion to wear over my shoulders, and his teeth I require for a necklace. Take your regiment and bring me the lion’s skin and teeth. Hamba.” (“Go.”)

I asked the Great Chief if I might go with Inyovu and see the lion killed. He consented, on condition that I did not go into too much danger. He said several men were sure to be killed, but I must not be one of them.

It was a ten days’ march from the chiefs kraal to the Pongola river, near which the lion was said to live. We carried with us bags of mealies, but there were several buck on the way which we managed to kill with our assagies and knob-kerries. The plan we adopted was, to send look-out men in front, and when they saw any antelope these were watched until they lay down in the long grass or among the bushes. The Zulus then surrounded the buck, and gradually closed in on it, forming at last a close mass of men; knob-kerries and spears then settled the question, and a feast was the immediate result. There were very few Caffres in this country, and only a few wandering Bushmen, who fled at our appearance; but there were elands, koodoo, buffalo, rhinoceros, zebras, hartebeest, and several other animals. Elephants also were plentiful. We heard from the few Caffres who lived here that the lion could be heard to roar nearly every night, and that he lived in a rocky ravine near a small stream that ran into the Pongola. He was said to be very fond of zebras, and to live almost entirely on them; so that where the zebras lived, there the lion was sure to be.

I asked Inyovu how he intended to kill the lion. He replied, “First find out where he lies down by day, then surround him and assagy him. It will cost perhaps forty men,” said the chief; “but we must obey the chief, and take the skin and teeth to him.”

“Suppose you fail?” I inquired.

“We must not return without the lion,” said the chief. “If we did, the Great Chief would order fifty men to be assagied, and send another regiment to do the work; so we must kill this lion.”

Inyovu never seemed to have the slightest doubt or hesitation about carrying out the orders of his chief. He was told what to do, and he must do it. He had above 1,000 men with him – too many, he thought; but the Great Chief liked the regiment to work together, and always to be in sufficient numbers to ensure success.

Inyovu now sent out several parties of ten men, in order to look out for the spoor of the lion and to listen for his roars at night. What he hoped to do was to come upon the lion after he had made a grand supper, and when he would be asleep; for then he might be mortally wounded or disabled before he could damage any of the Zulus. Instead of having a great dance, as was usual before an encounter with dangerous animals, we all remained quiet, scarcely speaking even above a whisper, as we listened for the lion’s roar.

It was some time before daybreak that a runner from one of the look-out parties came to the chief and informed him that the lion had killed an eland just about sundown, and had dragged the land into some long grass near a small pool of water, and had been feeding on it during the night. The place was watched by several men, so that the lion could not escape without being seen.

A few low whistles were given by Inyovu to bring his men together; and, guided by the runner, we quietly wended our way to where the lion was resting. We were met by some of the men just as it was getting light, and from a hill near we were shown where the lion was concealed. Our party was then divided into four, and each of these worked their way out on the plain, so as to surround the lion.

Great care, however, was taken that no men went to windward of the lion; for, so sensitive is the smell of these animals, that if fast asleep they would at once awake if a man passed several assagy-throws’ distance to windward of them. I was much struck with the silence maintained by the large party of Zulus: not a sound was audible, not a foot fall heard as the men closed in on the den. A wave of the arm by the chief was sufficient to direct his followers where and how to move. Since those days I have seen the soldiers of most nations when being reviewed, and I have been struck with the noise which seemed necessary both in shouting words of command and in the rattle of accoutrements, all of which appeared to tend to confusion, and to interfere with watchfulness; making a surprise by such troops appear impossible; so that I compare favourably the Zulus, for some purposes, with the best European soldiers.

To be able to advance to within a few yards of a lion without waking him, is a performance which requires the greatest skill; but it was accomplished, and before the lion could spring to its feet, twenty assagies were buried in its body. The powerful brute, however, although bleeding from its many wounds, sprang forward and struck down one of the Zulus. But, quickly as the lion moved, the Zulus behind him followed with equal rapidity, and assagy after assagy was buried deep in the lion’s body. After vainly tearing at the spears that were sticking in him, the lion sank to the ground and was instantly despatched.

Only two men were wounded – neither very badly; a result due entirely to the careful manner in which the lion had been crept on. Inyovu told me that if the lion had been aware of our approach, he would have charged before he could have been speared; and that thirty or forty men would have been killed to a certainty before the lion was rendered harmless.

The lion was soon skinned, his teeth and claws extracted and taken charge of by Inyovu. The flesh of the lion was eaten after a very little cooking, and was much appreciated by the Zulus, especially the heart, the eating of which is supposed to give great courage and strength.

Our return journey was quickly accomplished, and we were received by the Great Chief at his kraal. Inyovu gave a description of what he had done, both in getting the news and stalking the lion. He went through all the movements most graphically, creeping along very slowly, and then showing how he hurled his assagy at the lion, and how the lion charged and struck down one man. It was a very good description, and any listener must have had as good an idea of the scene as though he had himself been present. The Great Chief received the lion’s claws and teeth, and gave them to his wives to make into necklaces and armlets for him.

The Great Chief possessed twenty wives, and none of these was allowed to do any work in the fields like the wives of the common men. They passed their time in making bead-ornaments, forming and ornamenting snuff-boxes for the chief, grinding up tobacco (which grew here) into snuff, and in collecting news with which to amuse the Great Chief when he was at leisure.

I was surprised at the amount of news which was brought to the chiefs kraal. Some of this was confidential, and was not told to any one except to the chief himself; but plenty of news came which we about the chiefs kraal heard of.

I heard that the Umzimvubu Caffres, among whom my lot had been first cast, had lost many men in their fight with the white men, and had brought back very few cattle; and that it was probable that a fight might occur between the Amakosa and my old tribe. I also heard that a few white men had built huts near Natal Bay, and were living there, trading with the Caffres in those parts. This last news caused me to think once more about trying to escape and rejoin my own people. The Great Chief was very angry when he heard that white men had come to Natal. He said they would supply the Caffres there with guns, and that, by-and-by, they might become strong enough to resist him. He called several of his counsellors, and inquired whether they did not think he had better “wipe them out” at once. The men the chief consulted were divided in opinion; the older men were in favour of prudence, and letting the white men rest; but the younger were for attacking the men at the Bay of Natal at once, and so getting rid of them. I listened to every word I could hear at this meeting, because it seemed like hearing the decision of a jury, whether my people were or were not to be destroyed. I had several ideas about what I should do in case it was decided to attack the white people; for it seemed unjust that they should be attacked and killed without any warning, and I could not reconcile myself to the thought of remaining quiet and not giving some warning to the white men who were living at the Bay.

For several days the chiefs were talking about the affair; and I noticed that, whenever they did so, I was sent on a message to a distance, so that I could not hear what was talked about. I also found that none of my companions ever said a word to me about the men at the Bay; so I guessed that this was the order of the chief, and that I was not to know what was being done about the white men. I watched carefully every proceeding, however, of the chiefs of the different regiments; and I soon found that preparations were being made for a great expedition somewhere; and as there was no tribe with which we were at war, I felt convinced that it must be the white men against whom this army was to be sent.

From a few remarks I heard, I became certain that the white men at the Bay were to be surprised and killed; and consequently determined to try and warn them, and if possible make my escape at the same time. It would be a great risk, and if discovered I should be assagied at once. It was evident that there was a suspicion that I could not be trusted when an attack on white men was intended; otherwise the subject would be spoken of to me by some of the young chiefs. So I pretended to know nothing about the proposed expedition, and went my journeys the same as usual, and when asked for the news I usually said there was none. It was always the habit of the Zulus, when I visited any place, to at once say, “Chela pela s’indaba” (“Tell us the news”), and the news they liked best was about proposed expeditions of the army against other tribes. So, when I told them there was no news, they looked surprised; for rumours had reached them that some expedition was preparing.

I discovered after a time that at the next full moon the expedition would start. The army was to assemble near the Tugela river, and make a rush on to Natal, slaughter the white men, and return as quickly as possible to the Muse Umkulu or Great Kraal. Having gained this information, I decided on my own plans. Whenever I was sent on a message by the chief, I carried with me an assagy of a peculiar shape to show that I was journeying on the business of the chief. Those who saw this assagy were bound to give me every assistance, to supply me with food, and obey my orders. So I was a great man when I carried the assagy, and was never stopped or even delayed.

One evening, just before the full moon, I received the chiefs orders to travel to the kraal of a chief named Inyoko Umkulu, who lived near the Pongola river, and tell him to send some leopard-skins to the Great Chief. Now the Pongola river was in the opposite direction to that in which the army would travel to Natal; so I at once suspected I was sent away to prevent my seeing the army leave. I made my plans at once.

At daybreak I started, and travelled till the sun had risen three hand-breadths above the hills, going towards the Pongola, then I turned and travelled towards the Tugela river. I saw but few Zulus as I went, and those I did see dared not stop me when I showed them the assagy of the chief. From what I have since learned of the distances, I find I must have travelled at least fifty miles a day. So on the third day I reached the Umganie river near Natal, and saw the houses of the white men.

On entering the first house I came to, I saw a man with his wife and two children, all of whom looked at me with surprise; for they recognised me as a white boy, though I wore the tails and carried the shield of a Zulu. When I spoke to them in English they were still more surprised, and soon became alarmed when I told them a Zulu army might be upon them at any moment, and unless they could escape they would all be assagied, as I knew the orders that were given to the chiefs, who led this army. These people inquired who I was, and how I happened to be with the Zulus. I gave them a brief account of my shipwreck, and the life I led afterwards, but urged them to lose no time in doing something for their safety. The man at once went to the other huts, and all the white people were soon assembled to hear my tale. Some disbelieved me, but the majority were at once for making things safe – a proceeding which was far easier than I had imagined. Collecting plenty of food, and taking everything of value from their huts, they placed these on board a small schooner that by good luck was in the bay at anchor. Several boats were there also, and by aid of these the people could be conveyed to the vessel. Notice was sent to all the Caffres, of the expected arrival of the Zulu army; and they assembled on a range of hills west of the bay, where there was a very thick wood, and where they could oppose best the trained warriors of the Zulu army.