We waited no longer, Mgwali and I. We leaped from our shelter, waving
our shields and shouting the King's war-cry. We had to dash through the
glowing ring of ashes which still smouldered redly around our place of
refuge, but if it burnt us we knew it not, for we were not in the mind
to feel hurts. But, as we dashed forth, black and terrible, to take our
share in the slaughter, we found ourselves in the thick of the flying
Bakoni.
In the very midst of them we were, hemmed in so close that, we had but
to move our hands, and with each thrust a man fell, as a slain bullock
when the point of the assegai is placed behind his shoulder, and in this
manner we swiftly cleared a ring around us. At first they saw nothing,
looking neither to the one side nor the other, as they fled, their heads
stretched out before them. But when they did look up, and beheld Zulu
shields right in among them, Zulu spears rising and falling, they
shrieked aloud in their terror, fleeing even more wildly than ever.
Thus we, being but two, were carried along in this flying rout--killing,
killing, till we were well nigh weary. Never a weapon was raised
against us; no resistance even did they attempt. So great was the fear
which was upon them that they allowed themselves to be slain like
cattle, and Mgwali and I slew and slew, and laughed aloud.
We had gained the further edge of the town, and now we thought it time
to get out of the crowd and rejoin our people. So we worked our way
clear without difficulty and turned our faces toward our approaching
countrymen.
Then as we were among the huts once more, another great mass of Bakoni
suddenly appeared, fleeing for their lives. We sprang forth to meet
them, sounding our shrill war-whistles, but these valiant warriors,
seeing Zulu shields thus suddenly in front of them, halted, and,
turning, strove to flee back the way they had come. But their rear
ranks, panic-stricken, crashed against them, forcing them on; yet the
fear of the enemy they had seen in front--for they could not have
noticed that we were but two--was so great that they would not advance,
and the whole of that armed crowd stood shouting and shrieking, crumpled
back in the most deadly confusion, not knowing which way to run. At
last, turning off from their original course, they streamed wildly out
upon the plain, we two pursuing them and laughing as we had never
laughed in our lives.
But they had not far to run, for the further "horn" of our army had
swung round here, and blindly they rushed upon the lines of Zulu spears,
even as they had intended, but a brief while back, we should rush upon
theirs. A half-circle of tufted shields, and of blades now reddened and
reeking, hemmed them in. The air quivered with the shrill buzzing
war-whistle. _Whau! Nkose_! before a man could have counted fifty,
there was not one of those Bakoni left alive. Then a mighty shout of
laughter arose from the slayers.
"Ho, Untuswa!" they cried. "We thought these dogs had devoured thee.
And, thou, Mgwali! Ha! we have been paying them for your deaths.
Greeting, sons of Ntelani! Greeting!"
Thus clamoured my comrades. But I made no reply. Up went my right
hand, my weapons dropped upon the corpses of the slain Bakoni, and I
cried aloud the _Bayete_; for I saw that I was standing in the presence
of the King.
Umzilikazi was on horseback. He had led the first onset in person; but,
finding with what a craven and cowardly foe he had to deal, he had
dropped back in disgust, ordering his children to stamp out the lot,
save such as it was customary to spare.
"Welcome, Untuswa!" he exclaimed. "I thought you dead--that these
cowardly dogs had slain him whom I had sent as my voice. Yet here you
meet us--you and the boy yonder--driving hundreds of armed men before
you like so many cattle!"
"No praise is due to these dogs that we still live, O Great Great One,
for they have killed our slaves, and rushed upon us to kill us, but we
fought our way to yonder wall, whence we defied their whole nation.
Then they heaped fire around to burn us out. Behold, Elephant, it is
still smoking!"
The King's glance rested upon the stone-wall, and a flash of eager
interest lit up his eyes.
"Ha! I have an idea!" he cried. "It is good. Go now among your
shields, son of Ntelani. They wait to welcome you. We will make an end
of these people, who laughed at my offers of mercy."
Shouts of greeting hailed my return, as I sped along the ranks, for I
was well liked by the fighting men, especially the younger ones, and
none had expected ever to behold me again. I joined for a moment in
counsel with Kalipe, and then we surrounded the town. We fired the
huts, and the flame spread from thatch to thatch, till, before long, it
gave forth so great a heat that we could hardly endure to remain at our
posts.
But, as the flames began to spread, there came rushing out terrified
figures, thick and fast--men, women, and children; all such as had not
been able to escape to the fortified hill, which Tauane had so proudly
pointed out to me. They came out, only to be met by a ring of blades.
They were slain, speared through again and again, and flung back into
the flames, all save such few of the young girls who seemed fair enough
for captives; yet even of these not many were spared, for our people
"saw red," _Nkose_, as the custom with us is when there is battle and
blood-shedding, and at such times every living thing is slaughtered.
Besides, we were doubly exasperated against these, who had dared offer
violence to the King's ambassadors, and mercy was a fire of which no
spark was kindled in any of our breasts that day.
Leaving the burning town when there remained no more to slay, we formed
in columns, and marched to the fortified mountain. But by the time we
reached it, the sun was sinking, and the King gave orders that the army
should rest. The mountain was surrounded, so that no living thing
thereon might escape, and, great fires being kindled, we went into camp.
But, first of all, the King ordered a slaughter of cattle to take
place. _Whau_! that was a sight! They were driven up--hundreds of
beasts of the fine blue-coloured cattle--and ringed in by the slayers.
_Hau_! then began a scene! Not all fell at once to the assegai: many
escaped. Maddened by the blood, the terrified beasts, their horns
clashing and eyes glowing, broke through the ring, and their frenzied
bellowing mingled with the deafening whistles of those in pursuit as,
with heads lowered, and tails aloft, they scattered over the plain in
all directions, some bristling with spears which had been hurled into
their bodies. But all, or nearly all, were slaughtered at last, and
soon the fires were hissing and sputtering with huge red quarters.
Then, as we devoured the blue cattle, we who engirdled the hill united
around our fires in one grand war-dance, and the chant of the King's
war-song was more terrible than the thunder of heaven, and, indeed, if
those upon the hill, awaiting their fate in the morning, did not die of
fear, it must have been that they had no room left for any more fear.
And away over the plain a dull red glow hung above the ashes of the
burnt town, whence would the night wind ever and again sweep up a
whirling shower of sparks.
Not much did we sleep, for we passed the night in dancing and feasting.
Then in the grey of dawn we stormed the mountain, surrounded as it was
on every side. We had to ascend with some care, yet so eager were our
young men that several lost their lives through being crowded over the
edge of a cliff rather than pause to allow passage to their fellows.
They had tasted blood. All were eager to begin killing again.
A long, low wall lay right across our march. Over this they poured
before the word could be given to restrain them, and yells of surprise
and pain went up from those who did. For on the other side the ground
was staked with spear-heads and spikes of iron, and upon these writhed
the bodies of the too eager soldiers. So close together were these
spikes that if a man succeeded in freeing himself from one, he was
immediately impaled upon another. Moreover, in the struggling and
confusion each thrust his fellow down, and thus unknowingly impaled him.
Numbers died in this way.
The ascent at this point was steep and rough. Above and in front rose a
great cliff, which had to be surmounted by a long gully piercing its
face and winding round by a gradual ascent beyond our view. We could
see the tracks of cattle, fresh and plentiful, leading up this, and if
cattle had been driven by it, why then, indeed, it was a broad and open
road for the soldiers of the King.
With shouts of rage, which spoke ill for those above when we should
reach them, the warriors wrenched up the blades and spikes, and having
thus opened a passage, poured onward and upward. We soon gained the
entrance to the gully, and now we could hear the sound of voices above
and the lowing of cattle. Then, as we turned the corner of this
passage, and were expecting to rush on to the summit with a roar of
victory, lo! the way was barred by another stone wall.
Right across our path it stretched, from cliff to cliff, and the defile
was there so narrow that scarce fifty men could walk in a line. But
this time no man was eager to spring over that wall, fearing the ground
might be staked on the other side, and this, indeed, was the case, and
with longer and sharper iron points than the place we had already
passed. Moreover, these points reached back almost as far as a spear
might be thrown.
I gave orders to demolish the wall, but no sooner was the first stone
torn up than a volley of rocks was showered upon us from above, killing
several. So narrow was the passage wherein we stood that our whole
_impi_ could have been slain piecemeal by this means.
As the rocks came crashing down upon us, I noted that the brow of the
cliff, on the side whence they fell, overhung. I gave the word then for
the warriors to quit the centre way and press themselves closely against
the base of this cliff, and when this was done the stones crashed out
harmlessly, not being able to fall upon us as we stood. The bulk of the
_impi_ was in the background and beyond reach of the falling rocks.
Now, this check concerned me greatly. The only way of ascending further
was to tear down the wall and pluck up the stakes; yet every time this
was attempted a shower of great stones fell from above, killing more of
our people than these cowardly jackals had been able to slay face to
face in the open field. Standing beneath the shelter of the overhanging
cliff, I thought hard. Then my heart leaped and my blood thrilled
wildly. I had lighted upon a plan.
"Come hither, son of my father," I called, "and carry my word to the
Great Great One."
Now, whether Mgwali liked or not being sent back from the front of the
battle that I knew not, for he made no sign thereof, and herein he was
wise; for, were he ten times the son of my father, he who should have
disputed my orders at such a time would have spoken his last word. For
a few moments I whispered in my brother's ear; then, as I bade him go,
he sped away down the mountain side, running and leaping with the speed
of a buck.
So we rested beneath the shelter of the cliff for a space, taking snuff,
and laughing at the attempts made by those above to reach us with the
stones. Once, indeed, they caused some of their oxen to leap out from
the height, in the hope that these might crush us, but they were
disappointed. We roared with laughter as the crushed beef fell before
us, harming nobody, and rolling down the slope in many a shattered and
bleeding mass.
At length, as the sun rose clear above the far horizon, striking
blood-red upon the iron walls of the great cliffs, a multitude of
persons was seen coming up the slope. A loud exclamation of
astonishment arose from the warriors as in these they recognised
prisoners whom we had taken on our march, and some few of the Bakoni who
had been spared in outlying kraals. They were panting and breathless,
but they dared not hang back, for they were urged on by the spears of a
number of our people behind, foremost among whom I described my brother,
Mgwali.
"Now, my children!" I cried. "Behold your bridge! These shall carry
us over the spike-studded ground!"
A roar of delight, of admiration, went up from the _impi_ as my plan
became clear. Forced onward, the exhausted groans and despairing
shrieks of the driven herd, the human herd, mingled with the loud yells
of their drivers. As the foremost of them swept past us a shower of
rocks from above crashed down upon them, splattering us with their
blood, yet even then they dared not waver, for the spears of the breast
of the _impi_ had now closed up behind them, goading them on, ruthlessly
slaying those who fell exhausted. On they rushed, several hundreds of
them, surging over the wall.
But the frantic shrieks of those who fell first upon the spikes availed
nothing. The remainder poured over them, for they had to do it--being
there for that purpose--and fell in their turn, and others behind them,
and so on, until not one of the sharp blades which so thickly studded
the ground was visible. All were buried within and beneath the bodies
of those we had driven over them. Then, as I gave the signal, the whole
_impi_ charged forward, trampling over this shrieking mangled mass of
human beings. But we were on clear ground again. My plan had
succeeded. I had thrown a bridge over that terrible gulf of spear
points--_a bridge built of the living bodies of our captives_!
As we sprang to the clear summit of the mountain we beheld outstretched
before us a broad table-land, grassy and level, and at the further end a
rocky cone. This space was alive with cattle and fleeing groups of
fugitives, striving to gain that end, for the mountain was only to be
gained by two sides. We did not shout now. With heads bent and eyes
glowing, each warrior grasping his spear in readiness, we swept across
that level summit. Wildly those doomed ones fled--fled for the only
side still open; but here they rushed upon the spears of Kalipe, and
were driven back, so that they were now hemmed in with blades. _Au_!
then we began to kill! We slew and slew until we could hardly raise our
arms; but what I was keenly on the alert for was the chief, Tauane; for
Umzilikazi had specially ordered that, if possible, this man should be
taken alive.
Wearied with killing, I shouted to the groups of screaming Bakoni still
alive, both men and women, who now lay upon the ground, begging hard for
their lives:
"Where is Tauane? Where is the Chief of the Blue Cattle?"
They hesitate to reply. Immediately our assegais set to work again.
Then some of the women screamed out:
"Yonder he is, Lion. There, among those."
I followed their glance. A group of men, terror-stricken, sat huddled
together, their looks wildly imploring that mercy they knew it would be
useless to ask. Already our warriors were bounding upon them with
uplifted spears. But I ran forward and ordered them to forbear.
"Greeting, Chief of the Blue Cattle!" I cried aloud in a great mocking
voice. "Greeting, young lion, lord of thousands and thousands of
spears. What was my `word' but this day? That the next time the Chief
of the Bakoni saw my face it would be in the forefront of the
destroyers; and it is so. But how do I again behold the chief of so
many spears and shields? Is it armed and fighting to the death? Not
so. It is crouching low, and weeping even as these miserable women!"
"_Xi_!" cried the warriors in contemptuous disgust, the sharp click
sounding in chorus like the cracking of sticks. "_Bayete, Nkulu
'nkulu_!" they mocked. "We _konza_ to thee, young lion, who roars
louder than the Lion of the Amandebeli."
Thus they jeered the fallen chief, and amid their shouts of laughter I
gave orders that he should be tied with his right hand to his left
ankle, so that he could walk only with great difficulty. This I did,
_Nkose_, because he was contemptible as a pitiful coward. Had he been a
brave man, although he was doomed, I would have spared him insult; but
for a chief, the chief of a nation, to crouch among the women and whine
for mercy--_au_! he deserved all that befell him.
"Now," I cried, when I had set aside those whom I judged should be taken
alive to the King, "as for these, they shall have a choice of deaths.
Yonder the cliff is high, and the way thereto is smooth and level.
Hold! give them a fair chance. Go now, ye that remain of the nation of
Bakoni! _Hambani gahle_!"
The warriors roared aloud at this jest. Those of the vanquished who
were left alive started to run, doubtless hoping to find a way of
escape. But there was none such, for the cliff went down in a smooth
wall to a vast depth. Then I gave the word, and the young men leaped
forward in pursuit, and in a moment that sunny cliff brow was red with
death. Every one of the Bakoni had been forced to spring from the
height or was speared.