The White Chief of the Caffres Part 6

Inklanzi, after shouting "Inkosi," was told to come; so he and I went to the hut of the Great Chief. We waited outside for some time, silently listening for orders to enter. At length a loud voice from inside said, "Is the white boy there?"

"Yes," replied Inklanzi. "Bring him in," said the same voice. We entered the hut, and on seeing the chief I made him a low salaam, the same as do the Hindoos, and said "Inkosi." The chief looked at me for some time, and then asked Inklanzi if I spoke Zulu. On Inklanzi replying "Yes," the chief said, "Where do you come from? Tell me your history."

I commenced by telling the chief that I came from far away in the direction that the sun rose, and where men rode upon elephants, and where houses were so high that, if your brother were on the top of the house and you were at the bottom, you could not recognise him. I gave other descriptions of India, to which the chief listened for some time, and then exclaimed, "Amanga" ("You are lying.")

"It is true, chief," I said.

"Go on," exclaimed the chief.

I then told him of our voyage, of the ship being wrecked, and of the men being a.s.sagied, whilst I and some women were spared.

"Where are the women now?" inquired the chief.

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 k.n.o.b-kerried for not bringing them."

"Did you fight against my men near the Umla.s.s?" inquired the chief.

"Yes," I replied.

"Can you throw an a.s.sagy?"

"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 a.s.sagy'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 a.s.sagies, 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 princ.i.p.al 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 a.s.sagies and k.n.o.b-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 Umla.s.s, they had been defeated because we possessed some guns. Their a.s.sagies 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 a.s.sagies 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 a.s.sagies 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 a.s.sagies. They approached each other cautiously and slowly, watching every movement of the other. When within about forty yards, one man sent an a.s.sagy 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 a.s.sagy 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 a.s.sagies. 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 a.s.sagy. 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 pa.s.sed 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 gra.s.s 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 sh.o.r.e. 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 a.s.sagies into him, even through his thick hide, which in many places was nearly two inches thick. The fight was sometimes on the sh.o.r.e, 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 sh.o.r.e, 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 _inyati_, as they call the buffalo, killed, and a grand sight it was.

In a dense ravine, where the trees and bushes grew very thick, 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 gra.s.s 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 a.s.sagies at them. In an instant the buffaloes looked like porcupines, each quill being represented by an a.s.sagy. 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 a.s.sagies hamstrung the animals, when they were soon despatched with a.s.sagies. 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.")