CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
I remained on board ship this day, talking with the captain and sailors; the former was anxious to get his water casks filled, and also to procure some fresh meat and vegetables. I was able to tell him where to get fresh water: to get this it was necessary to pull up to the head of the bay to where the Umbilo river ran into the harbour. The water of this river was very good, and at low tide was not affected by the salt water that entered the bay. I told the captain he must be very cautious; because, as the boat would be seen as it proceeded to the river, an ambuscade could be arranged by an enemy without any difficulty. The captain said he would take his pistols, and the men would be armed with guns and handspikes; so he did not fear a few naked n.i.g.g.e.rs. I suggested to him that we should row up the bay whilst it was dark, and get to the river before daylight, fill the casks and then return; by so doing, no spies could be aware of the boat having left the ship, and when it returned it would be too late to ambuscade us. The captain, however, said that this was making too much fuss about the matter; and, supposing after all no Zulus were near, we should have taken all this trouble for no reason.
"If," I replied, "Zulus are here, and we don"t take this trouble, we shall all be a.s.sagied or made prisoners."
It was no use, however, talking to the captain. He was one of those dull men who never can see a danger before it really occurs; and probably would have gone and sat down in a mealie garden to eat his lunch in an enemy"s country, and so have been surprised and a.s.sagied; whereas, had he selected a wide open s.p.a.ce, he could have seen an enemy approach, and could either have retreated, or prepared for defence.
Englishmen, however, are never fit for bush warfare with savages, until by long experience they have been taught what to do, by the savages themselves.
It was some time after sunrise when the captain and four men started in his largest boat with his barrels to procure fresh water. I went with him to show him where the Umbilo river was situated, and took with me a double-barrelled pistol and ten rounds of ammunition. I cautioned them all to converse in very low tones, because voices are heard from the water at very long distances, and it was not advisable to give an enemy"s ears the chance of discovering us in case he was so situated as not to be able to see us. I felt certain that if any Zulus were near the bay, they would keep watching the ship, and would have seen the boat leave, and would make their plans accordingly. It took us a long time pulling to the river, and I had scanned every part of the country to try and discover some sign of an enemy: not that I had much hope of seeing one, even if he was there. We reached the mouth of the river, and tasted the water, which was quite fresh. I suggested that we should examine the bush a little way, to see if there was any sign of the Zulus; for if they attacked us when we were busy with the casks, we should be taken at a disadvantage.
"There are none of your n.i.g.g.e.rs here," said the captain, "never fear; let"s get our water without more delay." So the barrels were filled, and placed in the boat, and we were preparing to re-embark, when a rustling in the bush near us attracted my attention. On looking round I saw three or four Zulus crouching behind some bushes and watching us.
Pointing my pistol at them, I said to the captain, "Zulus are here, get into the boat at once." I would not fire for two reasons: first, if I discharged my pistol, I could not reload again before they could close with me; secondly, I knew that a Zulu would retreat to some cover when he saw a pistol pointed at him; and there would thus be time for us to get into the boat.
I hoped that when the captain knew that all my caution had not been without cause, he would get into the boat as rapidly as possible, and we might then easily have pulled beyond the range of an a.s.sagy, for no man can throw an a.s.sagy well when he is among the bushes. The captain, however, instead of following my advice, shouted "Hurrah, we"ll wallop "em!" and before I could stop him, he had called to his men and had rushed into the bush where the Zulus had been watching us. It was useless to follow him. I called out to warn him that he was going to destruction, but he made no reply; and I at once ran to the boat and pushed off in it, so as to keep a short distance from the sh.o.r.e, and there waited to see what should occur. I soon heard the report of pistols and some loud shouting from the sailors, but not a sound came from the Zulus, who when in the bush like to keep their position secret.
Soon, however, the shouts ceased, and I heard a groan, then another, and soon all was quiet. I knew too well what had occurred: the captain and his men might possibly have shot two or three Zulus; but then, when their pistols were unloaded, the Zulus had closed with them and had a.s.sagied them. I pushed the boat a little farther from the sh.o.r.e, and waited on the chance of some one of the party having escaped, and of this one reaching the sh.o.r.e; but in a very short time I saw four Zulus come to the mouth of the river and beckon to me. They made signs for me to come on sh.o.r.e, and pointed into the bush behind. I at once knew that, in my sailor clothes, they did not recognise me; so I called out in English, "What do you want?"
"He cannot speak Zulu," said one of the men. "We must get the boat, and then we may get on board the ship in the night."
I then heard them arrange a plan: which was that six of their men were to run down in the bush to where the channel was very narrow, through which channel I must pa.s.s. They could then, by swimming, get before the boat and hold on to it; and either get into it, or drag it on sh.o.r.e. A sailor, such as they supposed I was, they did not seem to think able to do them much damage. The Zulus sat down on the sh.o.r.e and took snuff from their small snuff-gourds, and no one unacquainted with the cool proceedings of these men, would have imagined that they had just been engaged in a deadly combat.
I spoke to them a few words in English; and then, taking out the oars, began pulling the boat down the bay. Luckily the tide had not yet turned, so the stream was with me. The boat was heavy, and I was not accustomed to using the oars. So I had great difficulty in moving the boat. I managed, however, to make it travel through the water. I could not help being amused at seeing how calmly the Zulus watched me. They made no attempts to stop me, because they knew that they could then do nothing effectually, and that if they did attempt to do anything it would merely excite my suspicions. I knew it would be of great advantage for me to conceal my ident.i.ty; for, if they knew that they had to deal with one who had been trained in their own school of warfare, they would take extra precautions, to prevent being taken at a disadvantage. The narrow channel through which I had to make my way was about half a mile from the river, and as I approached this I kept a careful watch on the sh.o.r.e. In the boat were two pikes--very good weapons for close quarters, but no use against an a.s.sagy; for the latter can be thrown and will pa.s.s through a man at forty yards" distance. As I approached the channel, I saw the bushes near the sh.o.r.e moving more than they would do if the wind alone had acted on them; so I knew where to expect the enemy. I then saw four Zulus slip quietly into the water; and, keeping all but their heads under water, make their way to the centre of the pa.s.sage where the boat must pa.s.s. I went on with my rowing until I was within an a.s.sagy"s-throw of these men. I then pulled three or four strokes rapidly, so as to give the boat considerable speed; and, dropping the oars in the boat, crouched down and seized one of the pikes. All was quiet with the Zulus: not a ripple in the water showed their presence, whilst not a man was seen on the sh.o.r.e.
Suddenly, standing up, I found two of the Zulus within a yard of the boat. With my pike I thrust at one of these, and drove the pike into his throat; the other had just placed a hand on the bows of the boat, and had partly raised himself out of the water. A second thrust, in this man"s chest, sent him back, and he sank--I fancy to rise no more, as the blood gushed out of his wound as I withdrew the pike.
At the same instant two a.s.sagies flew close past my head, and I saw two Zulus up to their middle in the water and preparing to cast other a.s.sagies at me. Dropping into the bottom of the boat, so that only my eyes were above the bulwarks, I seized my pistol and aimed at the nearest Zulu. As I pulled the trigger he was about to cast his a.s.sagy; but it never left his hand, as I hit him in the chest and he sank in the water, rose again and floated down the stream. The other Zulus made for the bush and concealed themselves from view.
I again loaded my discharged barrel, and, taking the oars, pulled as fast as I could towards the vessel. The report of the pistols had been heard by the sailors on board, and they were on deck looking out. They hailed me as soon as I came near: and when I told them that I believed the captain and the other men had been killed, they were astonished, for they also seemed to think that the captain, with his pistols, was more than a match for any number of "n.i.g.g.e.rs."
I told them that the Zulus were not men to be despised, that they were brave in every sense of the word, and that they were clever in all the arts of bush warfare, and would most probably try to capture the ship; so that we must be prepared for them, and must keep a careful watch all night. Had the wind been suitable, the sailors would have left the harbour at once, but there was a heavy surf on the bar, and the wind was blowing in the harbour, so we could not get out.
After I had been some hours on board, I found the sailors talking together in low tones and looking at me very suspiciously. I had no idea what this meant, but after a time two of them came to me and told me they suspected me of being in agreement with the Zulus, and having led the captain into an ambush. I told them it was not my plan for the captain to go on sh.o.r.e for water; and if I had been friends with the Zulus, how was it I had shot them, and killed one of them with a pike?
The sailors replied that they had no proof I had done so, and they would rather not have me on board. I told them that, if I had not come on board, they would have gone on sh.o.r.e fearlessly, and would all have been killed by the Caffres, and their ship taken. This argument produced no effect on the sailors; who, like all ignorant people, considered that no amount of reason or facts were as powerful as their own prejudices.
They had somehow conceived the idea that I was in league with the Zulus, and could not perceive how differently I should have acted had I been so. They had, however, made up their minds to get rid of me, and to turn me out of the ship; and though I begged hard to be allowed to stay and go with the ship to Cape Town, they would not hear of it. They seemed to consider they were very generous not to string me up to the yard-arm, for having been concerned in what they called "the murder" of their captain and shipmates. They would not allow me to keep the pistol, but gave me a knife; and then, making me get into the boat, they pulled ash.o.r.e, and there left me.
When I found myself once more on the land, alone and unarmed, I began to think that the Caffres were better than the white men. It was in consequence of the ignorant obstinacy of the white men that they had fallen into ambuscades and been slaughtered. This style of proceeding seems common among white men, as was shown during the Zulu war; where, in spite of all that has been written about the Zulus and Boers, the English commanders acted just as foolishly and recklessly as did the captain of the little ship, and the disasters which occurred might have been avoided by any one acquainted with the Zulu style of warfare. It was true that I was unarmed and without food, in a country where behind every bush there might be an enemy; but I did not feel as helpless as would a man who had lived all his life among towns and civilisation. I could construct traps for animals, I knew what roots and berries were good to eat, there was plenty of water to drink, and I might find some weapons. Besides, it was possible that another ship might come to the bay, the captain and sailors belonging to which would not be as self-sufficient as were those I had just left. I might still remain concealed in the bush for a long time, and probably might make my way down to the Umzimvubu tribe, and live the remainder of my life as a chief. The white men I had seen were not of a cla.s.s to impress me much with the advantages of civilisation. The Caffres, it was true, were cruel in some ways, and had quite different ideas from the whites; but there was something very pleasant in their wild life, the simple requirements of existence, and their love of reasoning from facts.
White men had their sciences, about which I knew little; but none of these could follow the spoor of a horse for miles over a hard-soiled country, nor could they distinguish the footprint of a hyaena from that of a leopard; and if any of them happened to be left alone in the bush as I was, surrounded by enemies, and without weapons or food, they would certainly starve or be captured.
The dress that had been given me by the captain was a blue flannel jersey, blue trousers, and a jacket. To be seen in this dress at any distance by a Zulu would have been fatal, for he would have recognised a white man"s attire. I therefore cut up the jacket to make "tails,"
which I hung round my waist. I kept on the jersey because it made me look dark-coloured, but I dispensed with the trousers. People who have worn clothes all their lives do not know how imprisoned a man feels in clothing, when he has been accustomed to live without any. When I had on a jersey and a jacket I felt as though I could not cast an a.s.sagy; and as to running with trousers on, it was simply impossible. When I had divested myself of my unnecessary raiment, I felt much more as if I could take care of myself than I did when I was in sailor"s clothes.
The weather was warm, but the nights were chilly. I had become so accustomed to be without clothes that I suppose I was like an Englishman"s face, which he never covers with clothes even in the coldest weather.
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 ma.s.sacre, 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 pa.s.sage 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 pa.s.s the night. I cut also two sticks, one having a large k.n.o.b 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 quant.i.ty, 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 sh.o.r.e 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 sh.o.r.e 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 sh.o.r.e 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 sh.o.r.e 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 quant.i.ty 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 a.s.sagy, I should feel more able to defend myself against some possible a.s.sailant. 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 gra.s.s, 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 pa.s.s 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 sh.o.r.e before me were sparkling with a thousand stars, for the sea-water here is very phosph.o.r.escent, and, consequently, made objects between me and these breakers quite distinct.
I thus saw the form of an enormous animal standing near the sh.o.r.e, 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 Umla.s.s 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-gla.s.ses 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 Umla.s.s river, sometimes through thick bush, sometimes on the open ground, but saw no indications of men having lately pa.s.sed 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 a.s.sagy-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 a.s.sagies, 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 gra.s.s, 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 gla.s.ses 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, princ.i.p.ally 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 gra.s.s 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 a.s.sagies, 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 a.s.sagies a.s.sailed 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 pa.s.sed 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.