perceivedthat the village was surrounded by an armed enemy, and on a high bank onthe opposite side of the village I could see a line of men armed withthe long gun which the Boers then carried, while at the two ends of thevillage strong parties--also of Boers, for they had no black allies withthem--were stationed. These, too, were armed to the teeth. I knew in amoment what had happened. The Boers had attacked the village by night,and were shooting the men down as they rushed in alarm out of theirhuts. There was no possibility of resistance or escape. The rockyridge over my head was too high to have been stormed, even by trainedsoldiers, and these poor naked half-armed savages could not approachwithin ten yards of it. The bank opposite was almost as impossible toattack; but I did see two or three of the Bechuana warriors make theattempt. Some spears were flung, but they did no execution. It wassimple wholesale murder, and lasted, I should think, fully an hour; bywhich time every male Bechuana in the village was either dead ormortally wounded. It was the most shocking sight I have everwitnessed."
"Horrible indeed, sir?" exclaimed Redgy. "What provocation do yousuppose they had given the Dutchmen?"
"Most likely none at all," was the answer. "The Bechuanas in generalare peaceable enough, but the Dutch--the Boers, that is--are bent onhaving slaves to work for them; and if they can't get them by what theyconsider fair means, will get them by foul."
"What do they call fair means?" asked Redgy.
"Buying them of their parents," answered Baylen. "They will go to avillage and demand the help of a number of women to work in their fieldsor gardens. These women, who dare not refuse, take their children withthem, and then they will try to bargain for these, in order to makeslaves of them. But the Bechuanas are a very affectionate people, andcan very seldom be induced to sell their children. Therefore, as theBoers would tell you, they are obliged to take them by force."
"You are joking with us, sir, are you not?" said George.
"Indeed I am not. They think that not only is it fair and right thatthe natives should work without pay for them, but that it is their dutyto oblige them so to work."
"On what possible grounds, Mr Baylen?"
"Because they are an inferior race, over whom the Boers have a naturalright. This is no pretence. They really think so. The Boers are,after their fashion, a very religious people. They believe Almighty Godhas given the black races to be their servants, and that they are onlycarrying out His will when they reduce them to slavery. Some of themeven believe that it is their mission to kill all except those who arethus kept in bondage. They liken themselves to the Israelites when theyentered the Promised Land, and the natives to the Canaanites, whom theywere to exterminate."
"And their quarrel with us really is that we won't allow them to carryout this idea?" asked Margetts.
"At the bottom I am not sure it is not," replied Baylen. "It is certainthat they would carry it out, if it were not for the English. Theirusual practice is to do what they did on the occasion I have beentelling you about. They circulate a rumour that an attack is going tobe made upon them by some tribe. The rumour is almost certain to befalse, for the Bechuanas are a very peaceable people. But as soon asthe report has taken wind, they march out in force, generally takingwith them a number of native allies. These surround the village,keeping the men back with their assegays, while the Boers fire in safetyover their heads, until all the males have been destroyed. They thencarry off the women, children, and cattle."
"Horrible!" exclaimed Redgy. "I shall hate these Boers like poison.Why, they must be the most awful cowards, as well as hypocrites!"
"I don't know about that, Redgy," remarked George. "They don't want toencounter danger, if they can help it, no doubt. But it doesn't followthat they wouldn't fight, if there was the necessity for doing so. Theyare like Wilkin Flammock in _The Betrothed_; you remember what he says.He was `ready to fight for life or property, if it was needed; but asound skin was better than a slashed one, for all that.' But I thoughtyou told us, sir, that the Boers in your story attacked the Bechuanavillage without allies."
"So I did," answered the farmer. "But they knew the ground, and wereaware that it would be impossible for the Bechuanas to attack them, sothat there was no need for the natives to accompany them on thatoccasion. But to go on with my story. I told you it was a brightmorning, and so it continued for nearly an hour. But after that thickclouds came up, and it grew almost dark. The Boers remained in theposition they had taken up till the forenoon. But about half an hourafter the firing had ceased, I heard a noise as if some one was movingsomewhere near me. I looked out, and could just make out that aBechuana woman, who had been mortally wounded by a bullet, had crawledto that spot, with an infant of a year old in her arms. I suppose shehad some idea of concealing herself in the hollow of the rocks, notknowing that her hurt was to death. I crept down and took the childfrom her arms. She was just at the last gasp, but I think she gave itover to me willingly, fancying that I should treat it kindly. I took itback with me into the cave, and remained in concealment until the Boershad departed, which they did about the middle of the next day. I wasfortunate enough to reach the farm of a friendly Hollander, who sold meanother horse, and provisions enough to carry me through the mostdangerous parts of the journey. The infant (which I called Matamo, fromthe name of the Bechuana village which I had seen destroyed) provedstrong and healthy and we both reached Hakkluyt's Kloof safe and sound."
"And your mother?" asked Margetts.
"My mother was at first terribly disappointed about Mr Livingstone.But when she heard the tale of the destruction of the Bechuana village,and the rescue of the infant, she was so moved by pity for it, that Ithink she forgot everything else. She took it under her special charge.Up to the time of her death, three years afterwards, Matamo was herchief care and delight. The boy grew up strong and healthy, and has, asI told you, been an invaluable servant to us."
"And you have well deserved that he should," remarked Mr Bilderjik."You have had him baptised and educated, and brought up in the Christianfaith; you should add that. I would that many masters in South Africacould say the same."
CHAPTER NINE.
A general assent followed Mr Bilderjik's remarks, to which, however,the farmer made no reply. A silence of some minutes ensued, which wasbroken by George.
"Mr Baylen," he said, "I was much interested in the history you gave usthe other day of the colony, and King Chaka and his brother Dingaan.But all that you told us occurred forty years ago. I should like toknow something of what has happened since."
"Well, the last thing I told you of, was the murder of Pieter Retieffand his followers," said Mr Baylen, "wasn't it? Well, the naturalconsequences ensued; there was war for some years between the whites andthe blacks. The English settlers invaded Zululand, and carried off aquantity of women, children, and cattle. But they were attacked by tenthousand Zulus, and a hot fight followed. The English shot them down insuch numbers, that they formed high banks over which their comrades hadto climb. In spite of this, they advanced and overpowered their enemiesby mere force of numbers!"
"Ah," interposed Hardy, "and it would be a good job if our Englishgenerals remembered that fact. They persist in despising their enemies,and may take a lesson from the Dutchmen, who are too wise to do so. Butgo on, Baylen; I beg pardon for interrupting."
"The Zulus," resumed the other, "drove the English beyond the Tugela,overran Natal, and for the second time turned it into a desert. Thecolonists took refuge in an island in the Bay. There they werepersonally safe, but their houses and goods were utterly destroyed, andtheir cattle driven off. We had contrived to take away with useverything of value that could be carried off to the island, and nogreat injury was done to the farmhouse and buildings. But all thecattle, horses, oxen, sheep, and goats were driven away. If we had notrecovered them a few months afterwards, I should have had to begin lifeagain."
"How did you manage to recover them, sir?" asked Margetts.
"Through my brother-in-la
w, Cornelius Schuylen. He had joined the mainbody of Dutch settlers from the Cape, and was a leading man among them,and a friend of the Dutch General, Praetorius. They found it necessaryto go to war with Dingaan, and there was a pitched battle, in which theDutch were the conquerors. I agree with Mr Rivers, that the Dutch areno cowards; but that they think that a whole skin is better than aslashed one, and they conduct their campaigns accordingly. I waspresent at the battle myself, having gone up to the Boer camp about mycattle. The natives outnumbered us, ten to one, I should think, andthey fought as bravely as men could fight. But we gained a decisivevictory, with very little loss."
"How did you manage it,