CHAPTER VIII
WE ENTER KUKUANALAND
All that afternoon we travelled along the magnificent roadway, whichtrended steadily in a north-westerly direction. Infadoos and Scraggawalked with us, but their followers marched about one hundred pacesahead.
"Infadoos," I said at length, "who made this road?"
"It was made, my lord, of old time, none know how or when, not even thewise woman Gagool, who has lived for generations. We are not old enoughto remember its making. None can fashion such roads now, but the kingsuffers no grass to grow upon it."
"And whose are the writings on the wall of the caves through which wehave passed on the road?" I asked, referring to the Egyptian-likesculptures that we had seen.
"My lord, the hands that made the road wrote the wonderful writings. Weknow not who wrote them."
"When did the Kukuana people come into this country?"
"My lord, the race came down here like the breath of a storm tenthousand thousand moons ago, from the great lands which lie therebeyond," and he pointed to the north. "They could travel no furtherbecause of the high mountains which ring in the land, so say the oldvoices of our fathers that have descended to us the children, and sosays Gagool, the wise woman, the smeller out of witches," and again hepointed to the snow-clad peaks. "The country, too, was good, so theysettled here and grew strong and powerful, and now our numbers are likethe sea sand, and when Twala the king calls up his regiments theirplumes cover the plain so far as the eye of man can reach."
"And if the land is walled in with mountains, who is there for theregiments to fight with?"
"Nay, my lord, the country is open there towards the north, and now andagain warriors sweep down upon us in clouds from a land we know not,and we slay them. It is the third part of the life of a man since therewas a war. Many thousands died in it, but we destroyed those who cameto eat us up. So since then there has been no war."
"Your warriors must grow weary of resting on their spears, Infadoos."
"My lord, there was one war, just after we destroyed the people thatcame down upon us, but it was a civil war; dog ate dog."
"How was that?"
"My lord the king, my half-brother, had a brother born at the samebirth, and of the same woman. It is not our custom, my lord, to suffertwins to live; the weaker must always die. But the mother of the kinghid away the feebler child, which was born the last, for her heartyearned over it, and that child is Twala the king. I am his youngerbrother, born of another wife."
"Well?"
"My lord, Kafa, our father, died when we came to manhood, and mybrother Imotu was made king in his place, and for a space reigned andhad a son by his favourite wife. When the babe was three years old,just after the great war, during which no man could sow or reap, afamine came upon the land, and the people murmured because of thefamine, and looked round like a starved lion for something to rend.Then it was that Gagool, the wise and terrible woman, who does not die,made a proclamation to the people, saying, 'The king Imotu is no king.'And at the time Imotu was sick with a wound, and lay in his kraal notable to move.
"Then Gagool went into a hut and led out Twala, my half-brother, andtwin brother to the king, whom she had hidden among the caves and rockssince he was born, and stripping the '_moocha_' (waist-cloth) off hisloins, showed the people of the Kukuanas the mark of the sacred snakecoiled round his middle, wherewith the eldest son of the king is markedat birth, and cried out loud, 'Behold your king whom I have saved foryou even to this day!'
"Now the people being mad with hunger, and altogether bereft of reasonand the knowledge of truth, cried out--'_The king! The king!_' but Iknew that it was not so, for Imotu my brother was the elder of thetwins, and our lawful king. Then just as the tumult was at its heightImotu the king, though he was very sick, crawled from his hut holdinghis wife by the hand, and followed by his little son Ignosi--that is,by interpretation, the Lightning.
"'What is this noise?' he asked. 'Why cry ye _The king! The king!_'
"Then Twala, his twin brother, born of the same woman, and in the samehour, ran to him, and taking him by the hair, stabbed him through theheart with his knife. And the people being fickle, and ever ready toworship the rising sun, clapped their hands and cried, '_Twala isking!_ Now we know that Twala is king!'"
"And what became of Imotu's wife and her son Ignosi? Did Twala killthem too?"
"Nay, my lord. When she saw that her lord was dead the queen seized thechild with a cry and ran away. Two days afterward she came to a kraalvery hungry, and none would give her milk or food, now that her lordthe king was dead, for all men hate the unfortunate. But at nightfall alittle child, a girl, crept out and brought her corn to eat, and sheblessed the child, and went on towards the mountains with her boybefore the sun rose again, and there she must have perished, for nonehave seen her since, nor the child Ignosi."
"Then if this child Ignosi had lived he would be the true king of theKukuana people?"
"That is so, my lord; the sacred snake is round his middle. If he liveshe is king; but, alas! he is long dead."
"See, my lord," and Infadoos pointed to a vast collection of hutssurrounded by a fence, which was in its turn encircled by a greatditch, that lay on the plain beneath us. "That is the kraal where thewife of Imotu was last seen with the child Ignosi. It is there that weshall sleep to-night, if, indeed," he added doubtfully, "my lords sleepat all upon this earth."
"When we are among the Kukuanas, my good friend Infadoos, we do as theKukuanas do," I said majestically, and turned round quickly to addressGood, who was tramping along sullenly behind, his mind fully occupiedwith unsatisfactory attempts to prevent his flannel shirt from flappingin the evening breeze. To my astonishment I butted into Umbopa, who waswalking along immediately behind me, and very evidently had beenlistening with the greatest interest to my conversation with Infadoos.The expression on his face was most curious, and gave me the idea of aman who was struggling with partial success to bring something long agoforgotten back into his mind.
All this while we had been pressing on at a good rate towards theundulating plain beneath us. The mountains we had crossed now loomedhigh above our heads, and Sheba's Breasts were veiled modestly indiaphanous wreaths of mist. As we went the country grew more and morelovely. The vegetation was luxuriant, without being tropical; the sunwas bright and warm, but not burning; and a gracious breeze blew softlyalong the odorous slopes of the mountains. Indeed, this new land waslittle less than an earthly paradise; in beauty, in natural wealth, andin climate I have never seen its like. The Transvaal is a fine country,but it is nothing to Kukuanaland.
So soon as we started Infadoos had despatched a runner to warn thepeople of the kraal, which, by the way, was in his military command, ofour arrival. This man had departed at an extraordinary speed, whichInfadoos informed me he would keep up all the way, as running was anexercise much practised among his people.
The result of this message now became apparent. When we arrived withintwo miles of the kraal we could see that company after company of menwere issuing from its gates and marching towards us.
Sir Henry laid his hand upon my arm, and remarked that it looked asthough we were going to meet with a warm reception. Something in histone attracted Infadoos' attention.
"Let not my lords be afraid," he said hastily, "for in my breast theredwells no guile. This regiment is one under my command, and comes outby my orders to greet you."
I nodded easily, though I was not quite easy in my mind.
About half a mile from the gates of this kraal is a long stretch ofrising ground sloping gently upwards from the road, and here thecompanies formed. It was a splendid sight to see them, each companyabout three hundred strong, charging swiftly up the rise, with flashingspears and waving plumes, to take their appointed place. By the time wereached the slope twelve such companies, or in all three thousand sixhundred men, had passed out and taken up their positions along the road.
Presently we came to the first company, and were able
to gaze inastonishment on the most magnificent set of warriors that I have everseen. They were all men of mature age, mostly veterans of about forty,and not one of them was under six feet in height, whilst many stood sixfeet three or four. They wore upon their heads heavy black plumes ofSakaboola feathers, like those which adorned our guides. About theirwaists and beneath the right knees were bound circlets of white oxtails, while in their left hands they carried round shields measuringabout twenty inches across. These shields are very curious. Theframework is made of an iron plate beaten out thin, over which isstretched milk-white ox-hide.
The weapons that each man bore were simple, but most effective,consisting of a short and very heavy two-edged spear with a woodenshaft, the blade being about six inches across at the widest part.These spears are not used for throwing but like the Zulu "_bangwan_,"or stabbing assegai, are for close quarters only, when the woundinflicted by them is terrible. In addition to his _bangwan_ every mancarried three large and heavy knives, each knife weighing about twopounds. One knife was fixed in the ox-tail girdle, and the other two atthe back of the round shield. These knives, which are called "_tollas_"by the Kukuanas, take the place of the throwing assegai of the Zulus.The Kukuana warriors can cast them with great accuracy to a distance offifty yards, and it is their custom on charging to hurl a volley ofthem at the enemy as they come to close quarters.
Each company remained still as a collection of bronze statues till wewere opposite to it, when at a signal given by its commanding officer,who, distinguished by a leopard skin cloak, stood some paces in front,every spear was raised into the air, and from three hundred throatssprang forth with a sudden roar the royal salute of "_Koom_." Then, sosoon as we had passed, the company formed up behind us and followed ustowards the kraal, till at last the whole regiment of the "Greys"--socalled from their white shields--the crack corps of the Kukuana people,was marching in our rear with a tread that shook the ground.
At length, branching off from Solomon's Great Road, we came to the widefosse surrounding the kraal, which is at least a mile round, and fencedwith a strong palisade of piles formed of the trunks of trees. At thegateway this fosse is spanned by a primitive drawbridge, which was letdown by the guard to allow us to pass in. The kraal is exceedingly welllaid out. Through the centre runs a wide pathway intersected at rightangles by other pathways so arranged as to cut the huts into squareblocks, each block being the quarters of a company. The huts aredome-shaped, and built, like those of the Zulus, of a framework ofwattle, beautifully thatched with grass; but, unlike the Zulu huts,they have doorways through which men could walk. Also they are muchlarger, and surrounded by a verandah about six feet wide, beautifullypaved with powdered lime trodden hard.
All along each side of this wide pathway that pierces the kraal wereranged hundreds of women, brought out by curiosity to look at us. Thesewomen, for a native race, are exceedingly handsome. They are tall andgraceful, and their figures are wonderfully fine. The hair, thoughshort, is rather curly than woolly, the features are frequentlyaquiline, and the lips are not unpleasantly thick, as is the case amongmost African races. But what struck us most was their exceedingly quietand dignified air. They were as well-bred in their way as the_habituees_ of a fashionable drawing-room, and in this respect theydiffer from Zulu women and their cousins the Masai who inhabit thedistrict beyond Zanzibar. Their curiosity had brought them out to seeus, but they allowed no rude expressions of astonishment or savagecriticism to pass their lips as we trudged wearily in front of them.Not even when old Infadoos with a surreptitious motion of the handpointed out the crowning wonder of poor Good's "beautiful white legs,"did they suffer the feeling of intense admiration which evidentlymastered their minds to find expression. They fixed their dark eyesupon this new and snowy loveliness, for, as I think I have said, Good'sskin is exceedingly white, and that was all. But it was quite enoughfor Good, who is modest by nature.
When we reached the centre of the kraal, Infadoos halted at the door ofa large hut, which was surrounded at a distance by a circle of smallerones.
"Enter, Sons of the Stars," he said, in a magniloquent voice, "anddeign to rest awhile in our humble habitations. A little food shall bebrought to you, so that ye may have no need to draw your belts tightfrom hunger; some honey and some milk, and an ox or two, and a fewsheep; not much, my lords, but still a little food."
"It is good," said I. "Infadoos; we are weary with travelling throughrealms of air; now let us rest."
Accordingly we entered the hut, which we found amply prepared for ourcomfort. Couches of tanned skins were spread for us to lie on, andwater was placed for us to wash in.
Presently we heard a shouting outside, and stepping to the door, saw aline of damsels bearing milk and roasted mealies, and honey in a pot.Behind these were some youths driving a fat young ox. We received thegifts, and then one of the young men drew the knife from his girdle anddexterously cut the ox's throat. In ten minutes it was dead, skinned,and jointed. The best of the meat was then cut off for us, and therest, in the name of our party, I presented to the warriors round us,who took it and distributed the "white lords' gift."
Umbopa set to work, with the assistance of an extremely prepossessingyoung woman, to boil our portion in a large earthenware pot over a firewhich was built outside the hut, and when it was nearly ready we sent amessage to Infadoos, and asked him and Scragga, the king's son, to joinus.
Presently they came, and sitting down upon little stools, of whichthere were several about the hut, for the Kukuanas do not in generalsquat upon their haunches like the Zulus, they helped us to get throughour dinner. The old gentleman was most affable and polite, but itstruck me that the young one regarded us with doubt. Together with therest of the party, he had been overawed by our white appearance and byour magic properties; but it seemed to me that, on discovering that weate, drank, and slept like other mortals, his awe was beginning to wearoff, and to be replaced by a sullen suspicion--which made me feelrather uncomfortable.
In the course of our meal Sir Henry suggested to me that it might bewell to try to discover if our hosts knew anything of his brother'sfate, or if they had ever seen or heard of him; but, on the whole, Ithought that it would be wiser to say nothing of the matter at thistime. It was difficult to explain a relative lost from "the Stars."
After supper we produced our pipes and lit them; a proceeding whichfilled Infadoos and Scragga with astonishment. The Kukuanas wereevidently unacquainted with the divine delights of tobacco-smoke. Theherb is grown among them extensively; but, like the Zulus, they use itfor snuff only, and quite failed to identify it in its new form.
Presently I asked Infadoos when we were to proceed on our journey, andwas delighted to learn that preparations had been made for us to leaveon the following morning, messengers having already departed to informTwala the king of our coming.
It appeared that Twala was at his principal place, known as Loo, makingready for the great annual feast which was to be held in the first weekof June. At this gathering all the regiments, with the exception ofcertain detachments left behind for garrison purposes, are brought upand paraded before the king; and the great annual witch-hunt, of whichmore by-and-by, is held.
We were to start at dawn; and Infadoos, who was to accompany us,expected that we should reach Loo on the night of the second day,unless we were detained by accident or by swollen rivers.
When they had given us this information our visitors bade usgood-night; and, having arranged to watch turn and turn about, three ofus flung ourselves down and slept the sweet sleep of the weary, whilstthe fourth sat up on the look-out for possible treachery.