THE BOERS ADVANCE TOWARDS ZULU LAND--THEIR BATTLE WITH THE ZULUS--HANS'
DANGER--LOST--THE ARTIFICE--THE RACE FOR LIFE.
The emigrant fanners advanced through the ceded territory of Natal,
crossed the Tugela river, and approached the kraal of Dingaan. Only a
few spies were observed in their march, and it was feared that the Zulu
monarch had become alarmed, and had retreated into some stronghold in
the interior.
Near the kraal of Um kung kunglovo, Dingaan's residence, there was a
defile between two hills, and upon the emigrants entering this the Zulu
army first showed itself, but, as though fearing the emigrants, the army
rapidly retired towards the kraal.
"There stand the murderer's soldiers," exclaimed Uys: "let us follow
them." And the emigrants pursued their foes, who shortly showed a
front, and, with fearful yells, charged their invaders. Another
division of the Zulu army, which had remained concealed until the
emigrants had passed it, suddenly emerged and cut off the retreat of the
horsemen, who were thus attacked from front and rear. On either side
too the Zulus sprang up, and the emigrants were thus prevented from
adopting their usual successful mode of warfare; viz. loading whilst
retreating or advancing, halting and firing, and again riding away.
It became evident to all the party that their crafty enemy had inveigled
them into a trap, and had thus drawn them on, until they had entered
this very unfavourable place for fighting on horseback. With a
rapidly-arranged system, the Boers directed their fire upon one portion
of the mass of their enemies, and thus slaying them by hundreds, cleared
a way for themselves out of their difficulty.
Hans, with his two companions, had ridden near their leader from the
beginning of the combat. The heavy weapons carried by these three
hunters, and their accurate aim, had produced terrific effects on the
Zulus, the bullets in many cases having passed through two men and
wounded a third. Hans had been one of the first to see the threatened
danger of being irrecoverably hemmed in by the enemy, and had shouted
the advice, "All fire on the rear Zulus: clear a way out over them."
Had the whole party adopted this plan, there would not have been any
great loss on the part of the white men; unfortunately, however, the
leader Uys turned from the direction in which the main body were firing,
and followed by Hans and about twenty others, dashed through a weak
party of Zulus, and thus hoped to escape.
The Zulus, however, were dangerous even to death: several men who had
fallen wounded raised themselves as they saw their enemies approaching,
and even as the horses trod on their limbs these hard-lived warriors
stabbed the steeds which were above them, and, in several cases, wounded
the riders. Onward rode the emigrants, however, and their escape seemed
certain, although separated from the main body of the party, until they
suddenly found themselves on the edge of a ravine, which their horses
could not get over. At this time Uys the leader was badly wounded, and
his horse sinking under him, he called to his followers to escape,
though he could not. At this time Hans' horse received a second wound,
and he, finding it could carry him no longer, and that hundreds of the
enemy were rushing up to finish the work they had begun on the gallant
Uys, he jumped from his horse, and rushed into the ravine, the side of
which was densely wooded; and thus, whilst the Zulus were occupied in
slaying Uys and his son, who would not leave his father, Hans managed to
run or force his way through the underwood, and reached a slope beyond,
from which none of his enemies or friends could be seen.
The main body of the Dutch, having cleared a way for themselves by
shooting all the Zulus who opposed them, rode on at a gallop till they
had cleared the ravine and bushy ground near Dingaan's kraal, and
obtained a position in the plains where the Zulus dared not follow them,
even had the Dutch waited for them; but finding that the Zulus were a
more powerful enemy than they had imagined, and hearing from those of
their party who had followed Uys that he, his son, and one or two others
had been killed, amongst whom Hans was stated to be, the farmers became
disheartened, and returned at once to their head-quarters.
Several of the farmers had seen Hans' horse badly wounded, and when they
had escaped from Uys and his son, they saw Hans leave his horse and
enter the ravine on foot. They believed he would have no chance of
escape, for the enemy were in hundreds, and they therefore reported
without hesitation that he was killed, for they believed he must be so.
Had either Victor or Bernhard believed that he was still alive, they
would have been disposed to venture back in the hope of aiding their
friend; but hearing he was dead, they knew they could be of no service,
and therefore rode on with their companions.
Upon reaching their head-quarters, and reporting the loss of their
gallant leader, his son, and a few others, there was great grief at the
lager. All who knew Hans liked him, and expected him some day to be a
useful guide to them in all matters of war; so that he was bewailed by
all. Katrine bore her grief silently; she would not move from her
waggon, and sat rigid and corpse-like for hours, refusing all
consolation, and asserting her belief that Hans was not dead.
The emigrants immediately sent messengers to their countrymen, demanding
aid; but having heard that the English settlers at Natal Bay, and the
other emigrants near there, had been defeated in their attack on
Dingaan, they gave up all hope for the present of any favourable results
of an expedition against the strong chief of the Amazulu.
When Hans found himself on the slope of a hill, with no signs either of
his friends or enemies, he knew his position was one of extreme danger.
One of two courses he intuitively knew must be adopted: either to try at
once to overtake his friends, or to lie concealed until the night, and
then to endeavour to find his way towards the Bay of Natal or the lager
of his friends. After a short reflection he decided on the latter plan,
and had no sooner done so than he was convinced of its being the safer
of the two, for he saw several parties of Zulus on the hill-tops before
him on the watch, either to pick off the stragglers, or to observe the
proceedings of the retreating enemy.
Having, with the caution and skill which his hunter's experience had
enabled him to adopt, forced his way into the densest part of the bush,
and left scarcely any trail, Hans remained perfectly quiet, though he
was enabled to see the hills on both sides of him, and even to hear the
triumphant shouts of the Zulus, as they carried off the spoils of the
veteran leader and his son. Hans, however, knew that the slightest
movement on his part, even so much as would cause a branch to shake,
would most probably attract the attention of his watchful enemies. Thus
he dare not move hand or foot, but remained as still as was his brave
leader. He had determined to sell his life dearly if he should be
discovered, and only to cease using his weapons when he himself was
slain. He had some hopes that his countrymen would halt as soon as they
had cleared the unfavourable ground from which they had retreated, and
either wait there for stragglers to rejoin them, or return and inflict a
defeat on the Zulus.
During the whole day Hans remained concealed, and as dusk was setting in
he ventured to raise his head among the bushes, in order to examine the
surrounding country, so as to decide which would be the safest direction
for him to pursue. Whilst thus looking about him he observed a
whitish-looking object in the bush about two hundred yards from him,
which at first he believed to be a portion of the dress of a white man.
After examining this more carefully, Hans concluded that it was the
shield of a Zulu, and therefore believed that it belonged to a man who
must be on watch there. As long as daylight existed, Hans continued to
examine this shield, and finding that no movement whatever occurred, he
fancied the owner of the shield was either killed, or it had been
dropped by some man in his retreat. When darkness spread on all around,
Hans as silently as possible moved through the bush, and being desirous
of examining the Zulu's shield, made his way towards it. It was not
without difficulty that Hans reached the exact spot on the opposite
slope on which was the shield, for it is very difficult to keep to any
particular line in a dense forest. He, however, reached the spot, and
there found a Zulu dead. The man had been shot through the body, and
had evidently sought this retired locality to die quietly.
When Hans saw the thick skin tails that the man wore round his body and
neck, and the shield which had proved so useless against the Dutchmen's
bullets, he thought that these articles might be of some use to himself.
Divesting the body of these scanty articles of attire, he fastened them
on himself, and found that they in a great measure covered him from the
neck to the knee. Knowing the extreme danger of his position, and the
risk he ran of being discovered and at once overwhelmed by numbers, Hans
decided on a bold and novel expedient. Divesting himself of his coat,
he rolled this up, and fastened it inside the Kaffir's shield. His
trousers he cut off at the knee, to which point the tails of the dead
Kaffir reached. His felt hat he also fastened up with the coat, and was
thus bare-headed and bare-legged, whilst his body was concealed by the
Kaffir's strips of skin. In the ravine below him there were some pools
of water, in which was dark black mud. To these pools Hans quietly
stole, and walking into the water, lifted out handfuls of the mud, with
which he covered his face, hair, legs, and hands. Thus besmeared with
black, there was no sign of his white complexion, and if viewed from a
distance he might easily have been taken for a Zulu even by day. By
night, however, it was impossible to distinguish him, and this he
concluded would be the case, although he had no looking-glass to guide
him. His gun he carried with the shield, so as not to attract
attention, and his powder-horn and bullets, being slung over his
shoulder, were covered by the long skin strips that fell over his
shoulders.
Having performed these various operations, he offered a prayer for his
safety, and boldly commenced his journey. He knew that the more he kept
to the bush by day the better, but the open plains might be traversed by
night. Fortunately for Hans, the night was bright and clear, and plenty
of stars shone, so that he could by them find the direction in which he
should travel. Hastening onwards, he avoided all the Kaffirs' kraals
that stood in his way, and had passed over upwards of three miles
without meeting with any obstacles. As, however, he was passing some
dense bush, and following a beaten track which he remembered riding
along in the morning, he suddenly heard voices at no great distance, and
before he could make up his mind whether to walk on or retreat, a voice
in Kaffir called out, "Where are you going?"
Fortunately there is a great similarity between the various dialects of
South Africa. The language of the Amakosa Kaffirs could be understood
by the Zulus, and a Matabili could understand both. Hans had always an
aptitude for languages, and had become aware of the principal
peculiarities or differences between the Zulu and Amakosa, in
consequence of having inquired from those men who had come as
cattle-guards to the emigrants, when the latter entered the Natal
district. He therefore immediately understood the question put to him,
and without stopping replied, "The chief sends me."
The answer satisfied his inquirers, who in the darkness could but
discover a figure with a shield, which seemed to them one of their own
people, and thus this watchful party allowed Hans to pass without
further inquiry, never dreaming that he was an enemy disguised.
During the greater part of the night, Hans continued to walk, and when
the first dawn of day enabled him to see objects around him, he entered
a dense bush, and there remained concealed. Although his disguise might
succeed by night, he was aware that a Kaffir would be curious to see who
it was that carried a gun with his shield, and thus he would soon be
discovered. Having, therefore, succeeded in escaping one night, he
hoped to be able to continue his journey again, and thus he would soon
be within so short a distance of his friends that the Zulus would not
dare to appear in force near them.
During the day Hans adopted the same caution that he had on the previous
evening, and scarcely moved a limb. He saw no Kaffirs until the sun had
begun to increase the length of the shadows, when he knew it was past
noon. From his retreat he could see far around in all directions, and
could thus at once perceive if the enemy approached from any part; but
he saw no signs of them during the greater part of the day. As the
afternoon passed on, however, he was at once on the alert, when he
observed a party of above twenty Zulus following the course he had
taken, and evidently tracing him by his spoor. Although he had adopted
a Kaffir's attire in most respects, he had not given up his veldt
schoens (skin-shoes), for to walk bare-footed would soon have lamed him.
The footprint, therefore, which he left, especially when he walked by
night and could not see how to avoid mole-hills and soft ground, which
took an impression easily, could be easily seen and traced by a Kaffir;
and he was therefore tolerably certain that his enemies would trace him
to his present retreat. The party of Zulus were still more than a
quarter of a mile from him, when he thought of a bold expedient. Partly
concealed, as he would be, among the bushes, he trusted that even a Zulu
would not be able to see through his disguise; so, standing erect, he
shouted "_Mena-bo_" (the method of hailing a man, like "Hi," "Hullo," in
England), and waved his shield to attract attention. The Zulus
instantly saw him, and all listened to hear the news, for they
immediately concluded that one of their tribe had forestalled them on
the spoor, and could give them intelligence of the enemy they were
hunting. Hans, pointing with his shield to the hill on his right, and
in an opposite direction to that in which he intended to travel, sung
out in true Kaffir style, "_Um lungo hambili Kona_." ("The white man
has gone there.")
"Have you seen him?" was the inquiry, called with great distinctness.
"Yes; he went when the sun was up high," was Hans' reply.
Fearing that he might be asked to come to his supposed friends, he
shouted, "The chief sends me;" "_Hamba guthle_;" ("Travel on well;")
and, with no apparent effort at concealment, Hans walked rapidly through
the bush in the opposite direction to that in which he had said the
white man had retreated.
At first Hans believed his plan had proved entirely successful; for the
Zulus ceased following the traces of his footmarks, and ran in the
nearly opposite direction, looking all the time on the ground for any
signs of the white man's footmarks. Hans had made such good use of his
time that he had advanced nearly a mile in the direction he knew he
ought to travel, whilst the Zulus were endeavouring by a short cut to
come on to the spoor of the white man. He could see the Zulus
hesitating as they found no signs of footprints, and then he saw them
halt and apparently consult. The result of this consultation was soon
evident. The party rapidly retraced their steps, and again followed the
footprints which Hans had made.
On seeing this, Hans used his utmost speed to reach the banks of the
Tugela river, which he knew was not more than two miles from him. On
the banks of this river there were wooded krantzs and dark ravines, in
which an army almost might lie concealed; and if he were pursued, he
believed that in this locality he would have the best chance of escaping
the keen eyes of his foes; or if unable to do this, he could fight with
the best chance of success.
As he moved quickly on, he lost sight of the Zulus, who had retraced
their steps in order to continue their spooring; but he was not left
long in doubt as to their proceedings, for upon looking round he saw the
whole party on the crest of the hill over which he had passed, running
rapidly after him, their shields held aloft, and their assagies waving
over their heads. These men had discovered the ruse that had been
practised upon them. Even at first one or two suspicious Kaffirs had
wished to call the stranger to them, but the fear of stopping the
chief's messenger had deterred them. When, however, they found no spoor
where the strange Zulu had told them the white man had gone, they became
more suspicious, and upon retracing their steps,--and finding that the
traces of the covered foot led them to the spot on which the strange
Zulu had been seen, and then led on in the direction in which he had
retreated, they at once were almost certain they had been cheated by a
bold and quick-witted enemy. There was but a moment's doubt in the mind
of one or two that the man might have been one of their own people, who
had possessed himself of a Dutchman's shoes, and had worn these to
protect his feet; but the style of walk was not that of a Kaffir, at
least the most experienced men decided that this was not so. Whilst
this matter was being discussed, a keen-sighted Kaffir observed on a
thorn-bush a small piece of white substance, which on examination proved
to be a portion of a white man's garment; and thus it was at once
decided that the man they had seen was a white man, who had disguised
himself as a Zulu in order to avoid detection.
The rage of the Kaffirs at having been thus deceived was somewhat
decreased when, on reaching the crest of the hill over which Hans had
retreated, they saw him in the distance moving rapidly towards the
Tugela river. Compared to their own speed and power of endurance, they,
had but a poor idea of that of any white man. All white men, they
believed, travelled on horseback, and were not, therefore, fitted to
take long journeys on foot. Thus the mile start which Hans had
obtained, they did not consider of so much consequence as that it only
wanted about two hands' breath of sundown. The savage usually estimates
the time in this way, and when near the tropics, where the angle made by
the sun's course with the horizon does not vary much during the year,
this method gives very close results. By holding the arm out from the
body, and measuring the number of hands'-breadths the sun is above the
horizon, the savage knows how far he can journey before it sets. The
four fingers only of the hand, when closed and held out at arm's length,
subtend an angle of about seven degrees, and as the sun moves obliquely
down towards the horizon, the sun being two hands' breadth above the
horizon would give it an altitude of about fourteen degrees. Near the
tropics this would indicate about two hours, or one hour and
three-quarters towards sunset. If, however, a person were at the
equator it would indicate about seventy minutes to sunset. It was by
the sun's position that the Zulus knew they should have daylight
scarcely more than two hours, and they must capture the white man before
that time, or they would fail in capturing him at all. They therefore
ran with all speed after their enemy, who, finding it was no use
attempting any longer to deceive his pursuers, threw off his Zulu
attire, dropped his shield, and bringing his gun to the trail, ran
forward towards the river.
Hans soon found that he was not in condition for a pedestrian race
against such enemies as those who were pursuing him. The Zulu is a born
athlete; he is usually a spare man, with not an ounce of superfluous
flesh about him; he is kept too in training by constant exercise and no
great excess of food, and thus can at a moment's notice run his eight or
ten miles, or walk his fifty miles without breaking down. Had the race
been one on horseback Hans would have felt more confidence, for to him
the saddle was the natural condition, whilst pedestrianism had not so
much been practised. Being, however, young and muscular, and prepared
by his late hardships for an active life, he was not a very easy prey to
his pursuers. He, however, found himself losing ground rapidly, and
therefore that it was necessary to put in practice some scheme in order
to save himself by his head, if he could not do so by his heels.
The ground over which he had run was grassy, and thus easily took an
impression, so that, even had Hans not known that he could be seen by
his pursuers, he would have known that any attempt at concealment would
have been fruitless, as his traces would show where he had gone. He ran
on, therefore, with all the speed he could until he entered the ravine,
which led eventually down to the Tugela, and he then tried an expedient
which he believed would throw off his pursuers, at least for a time.
Having found a hard piece of stony ground, on which a footprint was
scarcely visible, and finding that he could not be seen by his pursuers,
he left one or two distinct impressions of his foot on the mole-hills,
and then retracing his steps for about fifty yards, he trod carefully on
large stones or hard ground, so as to leave no traces, and then took a
direction at right angles to that he had formerly adopted. The country
was here sprinkled with low thorn-bushes, and was rocky and gravelly, so
that footprints were not so easily seen and followed as in more open
grassy country. Hans having thus endeavoured to throw his pursuers out,
stopped for a few minutes in order to regain his breath, and to listen
to his enemies' proceedings.
The Zulus came straggling on, eager to overtake their victim, and hoping
soon to do so, for they had noticed the want of firmness in Hans' step,
and concluded he was like some of their fat men, unable to run far or
fast. Noting here and there a footprint which served to show them they
were on the right track, the Zulus dashed down the ravine and beyond
where Hans had turned and retraced his steps. The whole party had gone
nearly two hundred yards onwards before the leaders halted in
consequence of finding no spoor; they then spread out in various
directions endeavouring to find some sign. Fortunately one of the
footprints of Hans had been half concealed by that of a Zulu, who had
trodden on the same soft place, and this having been observed, the
Kaffirs believed that they might have entirely obliterated other traces
in their hasty rush down the ravine. This induced them to seek on
further for fresh footprints instead of trying back, and Hans, who could
hear their loud voices, knew he should at least obtain a good start even
if they did discover his change of direction.
Having regained his breath, Hans decided to move on, not in great haste,
but quietly and with care, that he might not be seen by his enemies; for
this purpose he moved with the utmost caution over a ridge, and entered
a woody valley beyond; he was thus covered from the view of his
pursuers, who were still puzzled to find his footprints. He then walked
quickly on until he found an open plain about half a mile across,
between him and a line of willow-like trees, which he believed grew on
the banks of the Tugela. Hans knew that here he must encounter great
risk, not so much from the enemy behind, for he believed he should be
able to escape them, but from any parties of Zulus who might be out
spying, and who would see him and wait in ambuscade for him. He had,
however, so firm a conviction that the Zulus behind would only be
temporarily puzzled by his artifice that he decided the least risk would
be incurred by at once making a rush across this open ground. Waiting a
moment to decide for what part of the river he should run, he took one
glance around, and then ran off into the plain.
Hans had scarcely gone two hundred yards than he knew he had been
discovered by the Zulus in rear, who, immediately they were confused by
the spoor, had sent three men to the hill-tops to look out, in order, if
possible, to catch sight of him. These spies at once shouted to their
companions below, and joining them, the whole body were quickly in
pursuit. Hans had, however, more than five hundred yards start, and he
knew that he could reach the river long before he could be overtaken.
How or where to cross this river he knew not. In some places the Tugela
is deep and wide, in other places shallow, the banks marshy, and covered
with long reeds. Again the river forces itself between deep precipices,
where the baboon alone can ascend or descend. Seeing the willow-like
trees, Hans believed that the river might be deep where they grew; and
he had therefore selected another part where low bushes prevailed, and
where there was an indication of a rapid slope in the ground.
The Zulus were more than a quarter of a mile behind when Hans reached
the bank of the river, which he found steep and rocky, the river itself
running rapidly over a stony bed. This was just the condition he
required; for although he could swim well, yet Hans knew that he could
not swim with his heavy gun, nor could he keep his powder dry, and that
therefore his last defence would be taken away. On examining the bed of
the river he concluded it was not out of his depth, so he instantly
decided to cross. Taking his powder-horn in one hand, and his gun in
the other, he scrambled down the bank, and selecting those parts where
there seemed most ripples on the water, he waded to the opposite bank,
the depth in no part being greater than to cover him above his waist,
although the rapidity of the stream rendered it difficult for him to
retain his footing. He succeeded, however, in reaching the opposite
bank without wetting his gun or powder, and he here determined to make a
stand: for he thought it possible that some of the farmers might be in
the neighbourhood, and that the sound of a gun would call them to his
aid. He was also indisposed to give up so good a defence as the river
offered. So concealing himself behind some bushes, he waited for his
enemies' approach.
Hans had not long to wait. As hounds follow the scent of their game, so
came the Zulus to the banks of the river, looked for a moment at the
bank, and then leapt into the stream. Four. Kaffirs who had
outstripped the others in speed, were the first to enter the stream,
which was at this point about eighty yards wide; they could only advance
at a slow pace in consequence of the slippery nature of the rocks and
stones on which they had to tread, and also of the rapidity of the
stream. So entirely did they look upon their adventure in the light of
chasing a feeble enemy, that they had no idea of any risk as they thus
ventured into the stream. They believed the white man's only chance of
escape was his speed or cunning in throwing them off his spoor, and they
fancied themselves more than a match for these.
Hans watched the men enter the stream, and had noted the leader, a tall,
thin, long-legged man, who had invariably taken a decided lead whenever
the Zulus had run any distance. He was the first to enter the river,
and was midway across before any of the others had advanced twenty
yards. Resting his gun on the branch of a small acacia, Hans aimed from
his cover at this man, and in another instant the banks of the Tugela
re-echoed the novel sound of a heavy gun. The skill of the elephant
hunter did not desert him on this occasion; his shot went truly, and the
tall Zulu sank beneath the waters of the Tugela, an arm partly raised as
the body was whirled down by the rapid current being the only indication
of the man's fate, after Hans' bullet had struck him.
The Zulus had fresh in their memory the fatal effects of the white men's
guns in the late battle, and those who were already in the stream, and
who saw the fate of their fastest runner, instantly turned and scrambled
to the opposite bank.
Hans now decided on waiting for a time on this river bank, for he began
to feel the effect of a long fast, and of the exertion he had used to
escape his pursuers; but a movement of the Zulus on the opposite bank
showed him that this step could not be ventured on. No sooner had those
who were in the stream when he fired returned to land, than the chief of
the party detailed four men to go down the stream, and four up, who were
to cross at once, and go round and cut off the retreat of the white man.
This plan would at once have prevented Hans' escape, had he not seen
the men leave, and had thus become aware of the plot. Taking off his
hat, he moved slightly from his cover, so that the Kaffirs might see
him, and then crouched down again, as though waiting for another shot.
Instead of doing this, however, he placed his hat on a branch where it
could be seen by the enemy on the other side of the stream; then lying
flat on the ground, he worked his way along, so as not to be seen from
the opposite shore. Having thus got out of sight, he rose, and finding
he could not be seen, ran rapidly away from the river bank, and finding
an old game path, followed this at speed, until he had gone fully a mile
from the banks of the Tugela river.