The White Chief of the Caffres

  CHAPTER FOUR.

  There was a great change in the behaviour--of the Caffres towards me nowthat I had been made an Inkosana. Before this dignity had beenconferred on me, there was a kind of watch kept on me; but now everyCaffre, man, woman, and child, seemed to regard me as one of themselves.I was now always given _amasi_ to drink instead of _ubisi_, the formerbeing considered suitable for men, the latter for women and children.Finding myself a person of greater importance, I one day asked Inyati ifI might go and see my white friends. He hesitated for some time, and atlength said: "To-morrow at sunrise you may go. Inyoni will show you theway; you will reach their kraal when the sun goes down. Stay one day,then return."

  I told Inyati I would do as he told me, and on the following morning Istarted with Inyoni on the journey. I had never asked what had becomeof the men and sailors who had been saved from the wreck. At first _Idid not ask_ because I did not know a word of Caffre, but afterwards Idid not do so because I saw that the Caffres seemed disinclined to makeany answers to my questions. Now, however, I was alone with Inyoni, hetold me all the details of the massacre. He told me how we had beenwatched for two days, and it was found that the men had firearms; sothey were all killed. On my inquiring why they were killed, Inyoni toldme that many moons ago some white men had come on the coast, and hadlanded and had carried off some men and women from a kraal; that whenthe Caffres had assembled to get back their friends, the white men hadfired their guns at them and had killed several Caffres, and thenescaped in their boats. So that the chiefs had agreed that, if everwhite people came again on the coast, they were to be watched,surprised, and the men assagied. From what I afterwards learned, Ibelieve the men who thus visited the coast were slave-hunters.

  We passed several kraals on our journey, at most of which the peoplecame out and spoke to us, and every one who saw my necklace at onceaddressed me as "Inkosana." At least a dozen times Inyoni gave anaccount of my leopard-trap, and how we had killed this leopard, and Ifound myself looked at with envy by the boys and admiration by thegirls, whilst both were very friendly, and usually walked with me forsome distance on the journey.

  The sun was several times its own diameter above the horizon when wereached a kraal in which, so Inyoni told me, one white woman was living.I entered this kraal, and Inyoni telling the head man that the chiefhad allowed me to come to visit the white woman, I was shown a hut andtold I might go in. On entering this hut I saw Constance, who at oncecaught me in her arms and kissed me, expressing great delight at seeingme, as she feared I had been killed. I soon told her all that hadhappened to me, and that I was well-treated and not very unhappy. Shelistened to all I had to say, and told me she was very glad to hear sogood an account, but that she was utterly miserable and wished she weredead. I tried to cheer her by giving her hopes of a better future, butshe assured me it was impossible that we should ever see our friendsagain, and that if she did not marry one of the chief's sons theyintended to kill her. We sat talking the greater part of the night, andthe next morning went for a walk, the Caffres appearing to take nonotice of us, though I could see one or two boys go on the hill-tops andsit down, evidently to watch us. We sat down under the shade of someeuphorbia trees and talked over our prospects. Constance could tell menothing of Mrs Apton or her daughter; they had been taken away to somedistant kraal, and for a long time I heard nothing of them. I passedthe whole of my time with Constance, and promised to come and see heragain; then, bidding her good-bye, I started at daybreak on my return tomy own kraal.

  Although I was living among a race of black people who would be deemedsavages, and who had slaughtered my companions who had been shipwreckedon the coast, still I felt a sort of home-feeling on rejoining my kraaland on meeting Inyati again after only three days' absence. Now that Iknew about the male passengers and sailors having been assagied, Italked to several of the young Caffres about it; and their remarks wereso sensible, and seemed to me so reasonable, that I must here repeatthem.

  They said that only twice had white men come on their coast. The firstmen who came made signs of friendship, and were well received. Theystayed two days on shore, and then enticed several young men and maidensto go with them to the shore, where they captured them and carried themto their ship. Resistance was of course offered by the men, and severalwere shot, also two females were shot. On hearing of this treachery,all the chiefs along the coast met in council, and agreed that, if anymore white men came to the coast, the people were to retreat, and awatch was to be set on the white men, and they were to be surprised andassagied before they could shoot anybody. Seeing our shipwrecked men onthe coast, the Caffres concluded that we had come on an expeditionsimilar to that of the former visitors, and so they had attacked us.They admitted that when they found there were women among the party theyhesitated, but having received the chief's orders to attack us, they hadno choice but to obey. "Now," they said, "we must keep you always, forif you went back among white people, you would tell them we had killedyour companions, and then an army of white men would come and attackus."

  There was no doubt it was by a mistake that my fellow-voyagers had beenkilled, but when I heard the Caffres' explanation I could not think themvery wrong. We, in fact, had suffered for the sins of someslave-hunters, who might or might not have been English.

  I explained to the Caffres how we had been shipwrecked and had escapedon rafts, and how they would have received presents had they been kindto us, and had they forwarded us to the nearest English or Dutch town.They admitted that such might have been the case, but now, having killedthe white men, they said they must keep the thing quiet. I told them,that even now, if they forwarded me and the three ladies to the CapeColony, they would be rewarded; but they shook their heads and said,"When you go among your own people you could not help telling them wehad assagied your people, then an army come here and kill us. No, wekeep quiet." It was useless my assuring them that I would not tell anyof my people that the men had been assagied. The Caffres smiled andreplied, "You don't know yourself. Now you believe you not tell, butwhen with your own people you could not help telling. Don't think ofgoing away--that never be. You will by-and-by be Caffre Chief here."

  All these conversations were of course carried on in the Caffrelanguage, and I have endeavoured to give as nearly as possible themeaning in English of the various words. In consequence of hearingnothing but Caffre spoken, and also having to express all my meaning inthe same language, I could now speak it as well as the Caffresthemselves, and so was able to learn all the views that the Caffres hadon various matters. In thinking over in after-life these days of myearly experiences, I have come to the conclusion that these people werea strange mixture of common sense, very acute perceptions, and also verychildish in many things. As regards what we term science they were ofcourse completely ignorant, so much so, that, child as I was, I knewmore than they did. For example, a great argument had been going on inour village once during several evenings. I had heard in my hut some ofthe words, and distinguished the word _inyanga_ used very often, thisword being used to signify the moon, and also a month. A Caffre countshis age as so many moons. Thus a Caffre boy who was one hundred andtwenty moons old would be nearly twelve years of age, and if he lived tobe nine hundred and thirty moons old, he would be about seventy years.I have since wondered whether this was the way that the people in theEast formerly counted their ages, and were therefore said to live tonine hundred years of age. For if, as it has been suggested by somemodern explainers, this great age was given to the ancients in orderthat they might people the world, it seems that they sadly neglectedtheir duty. For Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven yearsbefore he devoted himself to this duty, and Lamech lived also onehundred and eighty-two years before he had a son. A Caffre who was onehundred and eighty-two moons old would be about fourteen years old, andas these people come to maturity very quickly he would be quite a youngman.

  After several long arguments the men at length appealed to me, and
thequestion was this:--"Is it the same moon that comes each month,gradually grows larger, and then gets small again? or is it a fresh moonthat is born each month, gets full-grown, and then dies?"

  I told them it was the same moon, and they then asked me for proof,which I was quite unable to give; and so, although my statement wasconsidered of some value, yet it did not convince the opponents of thetheory about a different moon. They argued the subject during severalevenings, and at the end of the discussion the result was not verydissimilar to that which occurs among a certain type of scientific men:each party remained of the same opinion with which he commenced theinquiry. From what I could learn, I found that those who asserted thatit was a fresh moon born every month, had the best of the argument, andseemed to be most reasonable. There was, however, a peculiarity aboutthese arguments which I always thought of in after years when I couldcompare them with the discussions and arguments in the civilised worldon various questions. The Caffres always seemed to desire truth, and toargue for the purpose of eliciting it. They would admit the soundnessof an opponent's reasons, and sometimes allow that these could not beanswered. They never indicated that their object was to provethemselves right and their opponents wrong, no matter what was theresult.

  Inyati, talking to me afterwards about the moon, said, "Your whitepeople believe it always the same moon."

  "Yes," I replied, "they know it is the same." Inyati said, "I haveoften found that what is true cannot be made by words to appear to be astrue as something else that is false. Talking is no good."

  Finding that Inyati now talked to me on many occasions, I took theopportunity of asking him one day what had become of the things thatthey had taken from the men; for I knew there were some guns and otherthings which might be of use. He told me that most of them were buriedin a hole near a kraal some miles away; and that the people were afraidof these things, thinking that they might blow up and kill them. I toldInyati there was one thing I knew of amongst these which would be ofgreat use if we could find it, and I could show him what to do with it.I described this to him, and he then told me that this and a few otherthings were at his kraal, and he would show them to me. That evening hetook me to his kraal, and lifting up a wicker door, he showed me severalarticles in a hole below. I there saw what I wanted, and took from thehole a pair of opera-glasses in a leather case. I then went with Inyatito a little hill near, and seeing about two miles off some Caffres, Iasked him who they were.

  He said they were too far off to recognise.

  I then adjusted the glasses for my focus and told him the names of theCaffres, whom I knew, and then handing him the glasses showed him how touse them.

  I never saw greater astonishment than that of Inyati when he lookedthrough the glasses and perceived distant objects as plainly as thoughthey were near. He never seemed tired of looking, first at distant thenat nearer objects. He asked me what I called them, and I said inEnglish, "opera-glasses." He shook his head at this, and then said inCaffre, "I shall call them `bring near.'" He went back to his kraal andseemed deep in thought, and every now and then looked at the glasses,which he preserved with the greatest care.

  On the following morning he assembled all the men, and had a council.He told them that I had shown him the use of a thing that was like"_tagata_" (witchcraft); and that this thing, though quite harmless, waswonderful. He said that people and things at a distance were instantlybrought close to you, and you could almost touch them with your hand.At first the older men seemed inclined to disbelieve, but Inyati said,"What I tell you, that I can show." There was one old man who had thereputation of being a rain-maker, and was called Amanzinina, who wouldnot believe what Inyati told him. This old man had always disliked me,and was one of those who had expressed the wish that I should beassagied. He said that I might practise witchcraft, and that this thingwhich made people come near was and could be only due to witchcraft; asit was impossible to be anything else. He suggested that the glassesshould be burned, and that if I were burned too it would be all thebetter for the tribe.

  Inyati answered him; but a great many of the men who were afraid ofAmanzinina, agreed with him as to burning the glasses, though they saidthat I might be spared. At first I felt disposed to laugh at thenonsense spoken by this old man, but when I found how important hisremarks were considered by the men, I was somewhat alarmed. Inyati,however, answered Amanzinina well, and said that I had nothing to dowith this "bring near"; that it was made by white men, just as Caffresmade assagies; that it was a thing which white men used everywhere; andthat I, having seen men use it, knew what it was for, and thatwitchcraft had nothing to do with it. After a time the chief convincedall the men except Amanzinina, who would have nothing to do with theglasses, and would not even look through them.

  The astonishment shown by the men when they looked through the glasseswas quite equal to that which had been displayed by Inyati: they thoughtit wonderful, and several of them, seeing people at a distance, puttheir mouth to the glasses and shouted, believing that this would maketheir voices heard. They could not understand why it was, that if theycould see people close, by aid of the glass, they could not also makethem hear. At length, however, these glasses were looked on as avaluable treasure, and Inyati never went out without them. People camefrom great distances to see them, and every one was equally surprised attheir use.

  It was now the time when the crops of mealies and other corn were comingup, and a circumstance now happened which enabled me to judge of themanner in which these people, among whom I had cast my lot, would fightagainst an enemy. From a village about ten miles from us, news wasbrought that two bull-buffaloes, very savage and cunning, had taken uptheir quarters in some thickly wooded ravines near the corn-ground ofthe village. Each night these buffaloes used to come from the bush,break through the fences, and eat the young corn. This meant a faminefor this kraal, for the people depend on mealies for their food duringthe year. Aid was wanted from our kraal and from others in order tohunt these buffaloes and to kill them. In two days the hunting partyhad been assembled, and consisted of about five hundred men, armed withassagies, for the knob-kerrie was no use against a buffalo. I obtainedpermission to join this party, and we had assembled in the evening atthe distant kraal, and were to hunt on the following day.

  It was decided that there should be a great dance performed by thewarriors before we attacked the buffaloes. There were two kinds ofdances practised by these Caffres, one before a war was undertaken, theother before a hunt. The dance was performed by the men, who formed ina circle, and stood three deep. The dance consisted merely of stampingon the ground, first with one foot then with the other, keeping time toa song. The effect of about five hundred heavy feet striking the groundat the same instant was grand, and the shouts of the men became louderand louder, as their excitement increased. In the centre of the ringone or two men would occasionally dash about, quivering their assagies,and pretending to throw them; then, almost falling on the ground, theywould suddenly spring in the air, dart from side to side, and rushforward making movements of stabbing an enemy. The proceedings of thesemen were carefully watched, for they were known as the quickest moversand fastest runners in the tribe, and their skill in dodging an assagywas such that no man ever had a chance of hitting them in the games theyplayed with blunted assagies. The dance lasted about two hours, and wethen lay down to sleep, some in the huts and others on the ground.

  At daybreak we all got up, and having employed a short time insharpening our assagies, we assembled in groups to receive our orders.

  The buffaloes were known to be concealed in a dense ravine about twomiles from the kraal. There were two parts of this ravine whence theanimals could escape, and it was decided that they should be driventowards that end nearest the kraal. About one hundred men were told offto go round the top of this ravine and to enter at the far end, so as todrive the buffaloes before them. About twenty boys were placed roundthe top of the ravine, whose duty it was to watch the buffa
loes and togive notice where they were in the bush. I was told to go with theseboys, but I begged Inyati to let me go with him and to join the partywho were to attack the animals when they were driven out into the opencountry. With a smile Inyati consented, and asked me if my assagieswere sharp. I showed them to him, and having felt them he nodded hisapproval, and then assembling his men we marched off to our station.

  When we had reached the top of the ravine, we were placed in asemicircle and then concealed ourselves. A party of about a hundred menthen took up their position near the top of the ravine, and their dutywas to run between the buffaloes and the ravine immediately they brokecover, so as to cut off their retreat, and thus to prevent them frombreaking back, and dashing through the beaters. Everything was done insilence; a wave of the arm by Inyati was sufficient for an order, hishand held upright halted the whole party. Since then I have seenEnglish soldiers at drill, but I never saw better discipline than I sawamong these Caffres. When we were all placed in the positions allottedto us, a shrill whistle was the signal that all was ready, and the menat the far end of the bush advanced, beating the bushes and making anoise so as to frighten the buffaloes, and make them retreat from theravine in the required direction. The boys on the top of the ravinesoon saw the animals moving through the bush, and signalled to us,imitating their movements. It was amusing to see how well these boysacted. Two of them pretended to be buffaloes, and when the buffaloesmoved on they moved; when the buffaloes stopped and listened, the boysstopped and imitated every movement, twisting round and round, just asthese animals do when alarmed.

  Nearer and nearer came the buffaloes, but there was not a movement amongthe men who were waiting for them. When the animals came near the edgeof the bush they seemed to become suspicious, and we could hear themsniffing the air and snorting, though they did not move for some time.The boys did just as they saw the buffaloes do, and we thus knew allabout them. Suddenly we saw the boys rush forward in our direction, andalmost at the same time the buffaloes charged out of the bush. Inyatiwhistled shrilly, and in an instant a hundred men dashed in between thebuffaloes and the ravine, and cut off their retreat, whilst the othermen who had hitherto lain down sprang to their feet, in front of theanimals. No time was given to the buffaloes: the men closed all roundand assagies were hurled at the animals, and in a few seconds they werecovered with assagies, just as a porcupine is with quills. The buffalo,however, is a powerful animal and dies hard; so, although badly wounded,they turned, one towards the ravine, and charged at the men there, theother came towards where I was. The buffalo that went towards theravine was met by a shower of assagies, but he dashed straight on, andknocked over three or four men, and escaped into the ravine. The other,putting its head down, came at me, I suppose, because my white skinattracted his attention. The Caffres jumped right and left as he cameclose, and left me standing alone. The men called to me to jump, but Iwaited till the buffalo was within a few yards of me; I then held myheavy assagy by the wooden end, and sprang on one side so quickly thatthe buffalo missed me; when swinging my assagy round, I struck theanimal on the hind leg just above the hock, and hamstrung it, so that itcould only move on three legs. Before it could turn and charge again,the Caffres had closed round it, and had stabbed it in so many placesthat it slowly sank to the ground, giving a loud moan as it did so.

  I was greatly excited at this scene, and hurled my assagy at the animal,burying it deep in its side; and then danced about and shouted withdelight as I saw it fall, the Caffres being equally pleased. From downthe ravine we now heard shouts from the men, who announced that theother buffalo was down and dead. Two of the men whom the buffalo hadknocked down were much hurt, but they were helped home, and in a weekwere quite well again; for these people recover very quickly from evenmost dangerous wounds.

  The buffaloes were quickly skinned and cut up, the meat being carried tothe kraal, where fires were lighted in every hut, and the flesh roasted,and boiled in large earthen pots. The whole of the afternoon andevening was passed in feasting, whilst songs with choruses were sung. Iwas frequently mentioned as the young white chief, for my performancewas thought highly of, the fact of hamstringing the buffalo havinggreatly contributed to the success of the affair, and my quickness inescaping from the buffalo's charge being also a performance muchappreciated by the Caffres.

  The opera-glasses which Inyati had brought with him caused the usualastonishment when shown to the people at this kraal, and a chief thereoffered to buy them for five cows, but Inyati was not willing to sellthem, as he said there was nothing like them in the country.

  We returned home the next day, and I once more resumed the usual dailyroutine at our kraal.