The White Chief of the Caffres Part 10

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 anch.o.r.ed 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 a.s.sagy, 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.

I found my old hut on the bluff just as I had left it; so, making a meal of my boiled corn, I lay down and slept well after my long journey.

I was awoke in the morning by the screams of a sea-eagle, and found, on looking out, that the sun had risen many times its own diameter in the sky. The wind had changed, and was now blowing from the north, and the surf on the bar was much less than it was on the previous day, and seemed to be decreasing. On looking towards the ship I saw two boats full of men pulling towards the harbour; and these, I saw, would, if properly managed, be able to cross the bar and enter the harbour.

Descending the bluff, I went down to the sh.o.r.e, and, breaking off a large branch of a tree, waved it over my head, hoping that some one either on the ship or in the boats would see me. It was exciting work seeing these boats approach the bar and wait for some time as they saw the wives break and curl at this spot. After some time the oars flashed in the water. I saw the boats first on the crest of a wave, then lost sight of them, then saw them reappear and glide along in comparatively smooth water as they pa.s.sed the dangerous breaking water on the bar.

The boats were now so near that I could count the men in the boats, and could see they were all armed, and were dressed alike, which was not the case with the crew of the small vessel that had previously visited Natal. As the boats approached the sh.o.r.e several men stood up in the front part of the boat, and seemed to be on the look-out for an enemy, as they had guns, which they held ready for firing. I called out that there was no one on the sh.o.r.e but me, and saw that surprise was caused by my speaking English, because I was in dress like a Caffre, and my skin had become very brown.

On approaching the rocks on which I stood the boat stopped, and a young-looking man at the stern of the leading boat called out--

"Who are you?"

"I am an English boy who was shipwrecked here some years ago."

"What is your name?"

I was about to answer "Umkinglovu," but I remembered that I was called Julius by my father, so I replied, "My name is Julius."

"Are there any Caffres about here?" inquired the officer, for such I found afterwards that he was.

"I do not think there are; but if there should be, I don't think they would do you any harm."

The officer smiled as he said, "Do me any harm! no, I don't think they are likely to do that. Are there any white men here?"

"None," I replied. "The few white men who were here have either been killed by a war-party of the Zulus, or have escaped in a vessel."

"Then how is it you have escaped?"

"I was with a tribe down the coast, who fought with the Zulus and beat them off."

"How did you come by those pistols?"

"They belonged to the captain of a small vessel here, who was killed by the Zulus as he was getting water up the bay."

As I said this the officer spoke in a low tone to a companion who was sitting near him. He then said--

"Put those pistols on the ground, and come into the boat."

I did as he told me, and stepped into the boat, the sailors eyeing me suspiciously.

"Pull off from the sh.o.r.e," said the officer, and the boat was moved into the middle of the stream, so that it was safe from an attack by any one not armed with guns.

"Now sit down here," said the officer, as he pointed to the stern of the boat, "and answer my questions."

I complied with his request, and he then questioned me--as to where the nearest Caffres lived how numerous they were, how they were armed and whether they were friendly or otherwise to white men.

I gave him all the information I possessed on these points, but I found it difficult to make him understand how it was that the Zulus were enemies of the white man, but the Caffres about Natal were friendly. He seemed to look upon all Caffres as "n.i.g.g.e.rs," and not to distinguish the one tribe from the other.

He then asked me if I could show him where the captain of the merchantman had been killed, and upon my pointing to the place he ordered his men to pull up the bay, to the spot. Upon reaching this, I explained the whole affair to him, and pointed out where the Zulus had attempted to stop me. As I continued my account, I found by the looks of these sailors that I rose very much in their estimation.

"Why did you not come away in the ship?" inquired the officer.

I told him of the behaviour of the sailors, and their suspicions of me, and that they had put me on sh.o.r.e; that, if I had not been well acquainted with the habits of the Zulus, I should have been a.s.sagied or made prisoner by these people.

As we pulled down the bay towards the bar, the officer told me he intended taking me on board the ship to see the captain, and to tell him what I had seen and known about the slaughter at Natal.

Before we had gone halfway to the ship, I became very sick. There was a heavy sea on for a boat, and I was unaccustomed to the motion, so that I was soon suffering from the effects of the waves on the boat.

I, however, scrambled up on to the deck of the ship, and found myself in the presence of several officers, who looked at me with astonishment.

The officer who had brought me in the boat told a tall officer, who, I afterwards learned, was the captain, what my previous history had been.

The captain at once was deeply interested, and inquired all particulars about the shipwreck, and what had become of those who had escaped drowning. I told him that I was the only male survivor, that the others had by a mistake been a.s.sagied, as it was supposed they were slave-catchers. The females, I said, were the wives of Caffres, and would not wish to leave their adopted country. The captain having listened to all I had to tell him, asked me if I should like some clothes, for I was dressed like a Caffre. Upon my intimating that, if I remained in the country clothes would be useless, but if I were to be taken away I must have some raiment, the captain took me to his cabin, and having sent for some of the midshipmen, I was soon rigged out in a suit of clothes that fitted me tolerably well. From the captain I learned that he had come up to Natal to make inquiries relative to the murders that had been committed on the white people, and to punish the murderers. I explained to him that the Caffres who lived near the Umla.s.s and in the neighbourhood, had nothing to do with the slaughter of these people; that it was a war-party of the Zulus which had come down the country for the purpose of killing all white men. He seemed, however, disinclined to believe that the people in the country were not a party to the ma.s.sacre, till I told him of the fight we had with the Zulus, and our battle near the Umla.s.s river.

On that night I slept on board ship, and by the following morning had quite recovered from my sea-sickness. The captain sent for me very early, and asked if I could guide a party to the nearest Caffre kraal, as he wanted to see the people in their natural state. I told him it might be dangerous, as the Caffres would suppose we had come to attack them or to make slaves of them. He laughed at the idea of being attacked; for, as he would take a large party with him, who would be armed, he considered he would be more than a match for all the Caffres in the country. I told him he did not know what these people were in war, and how by a surprise they would to a certain extent do away with the advantages which his firearms gave him. About fifty sailors were armed, and being led by the captain we landed at the upper part of the bay, and marched on towards the Umla.s.s. The chief in that neighbourhood was named Umnini, and was a very fine fellow. I was anxious to let him know we were a friendly party come to see him, but I could not meet or see any Caffres by whom to send a message. I felt quite sure that we had been observed, for Caffres are very watchful. We had pa.s.sed over some open ground just beyond the Umslatazane river, and had entered a bush-path beyond, when I heard a shrill whistle which I knew meant a signal for attack. I at once shouted in Caffre, "We are friends, come to see Umnini." The captain looked at me in astonishment and said, "What are you shouting about?" I told him he must halt his men and keep them quiet, or we might have a thousand men on us in half a minute. As he could not see a Caffre, or even hear one, he said, "A thousand men!

why there is not one to be seen." I again called out in Caffre and said, "I have brought the chief of the big ship to talk to Umnini. He is friendly and wants to see him." There was silence for a short time, and then a voice from the bush was heard, and inquiry was made as to why a messenger was not sent first to say we were friends.

I replied that the chief of the ship did not know what the law was in this country.

The captain, who was much surprised at hearing the voice come from the bush when he could see no one, asked me what they were saying. I told him that the Caffres suspected that he had come to attack them or to capture some slaves, and if I had not spoken he would have been attacked in this bush. I inquired of him if I should ask the Caffre chief to advance and to talk to us, for it would not be prudent for us to go on any farther unless the Caffres allowed us. The captain seemed rather suspicious of treachery, but having cautioned his men to keep together, said that I had better ask the chief to come to us. I called out again, asking the chief to come; when, from behind every tree and bush, and apparently out of the ground, a Caffre appeared, each armed with his six a.s.sagies and a k.n.o.b-kerrie, and carrying his shield before him. Our party was completely surrounded, and had war been intended we should soon have been a.s.sagied. The chief who commanded this party was Umnini's young brother, whom I knew well. As he quietly advanced to us, he showed no surprise or any sign of fear. His appearance, I saw, impressed the captain, who touched his cap as the chief advanced. This young chief was called Ingwe, and I told him who the captain was, and that he had come to pay a visit to Umnini. Ingwe shook hands with the captain, and then, speaking a few words to the Caffres informing them that we were friends, told them to go on to Umnini's kraal and announce our arrival.

Ingwe led the way, and we walked through the bush-paths. The sailors seemed surprised at the order and discipline of these Caffres, and the dignified manner in which they behaved; but their surprise was greater when we approached the chiefs kraal, and found the men drawn up in two lines, between which we marched till we came near the huts, where Umnini met us. Umnini addressed all his conversation to me, and I translated it to the captain, and when the captain spoke I had to turn his words into Caffre.

Umnini said he was glad to see the chief of the large ship, and was sorry there had nearly been a mistake made, as the captain came armed and like a war-party; but he was welcome to the kraal, and a young bull would shortly be killed for a feast for the sailors.

The captain replied that he did not think his coming armed would have been mistaken for war, as he had no cause of complaint against Umnini, but wished to see the chief in his kraal; that he did not wish an ox killed, as his men would not be allowed to eat at that hour.

Umnini then asked the captain and me to come into his kraal, where we saw several of Umnini's wives and children. The captain sat down in the hut, and we had a long conversation about the Zulus, and their attack on the white people at the bay; also about the life the Caffres lived, their habits, etc. The captain kept on making notes in a pocket-book as he received his answers, and seemed much interested in what he heard.

He then asked about the white women who had been wrecked with me, and inquired whether it were possible to see them and persuade them to return to civilisation in his ship.

I told him I believed they would avoid being seen, and certainly would not leave the country, as they were the mothers of several children, and were regularly accustomed to the life they now led. We stopped about as long as it took the sun to go ten times its diameter; and then, bidding the chief good-bye, we returned to our boats and pulled off to the ship.

Umnini had made a present of a gourd snuff-box to the captain, and had received in return a watch-chain, which Umnini hung round his neck.

Several of the officers of the ship were anxious to go on sh.o.r.e to have some shooting, and asked me where was the best place to go. I told them that in the bush there were elephants and antelope; that it was dangerous sport going after elephants, but if they were careful, they might kill one. Four officers arranged to go with me, in search of them, and to start at daybreak. On the open ground near the head of the bay, there were some pools of water just outside the bush, where the elephants were fond of drinking during the night. Upon landing from our boats, we walked to these ponds, and I told the officers that we must not speak above a whisper when we entered the bush, and must walk so quietly that no man could hear the footsteps of the man in front of him.