MOPO GOES TO SEEK THE SLAUGHTERER
Now Dingaan, deserting the kraal Duguza, moved back to Zululand, and
built a great kraal by the Mahlabatine, which he named
“Umgugundhlovu”—that is, “the rumbling of the elephant.” Also, he
caused all the fairest girls in the land to be sought out as his wives,
and though many were found yet he craved for more. And at this time a
rumour came to the ears of the King Dingaan that there lived in
Swaziland among the Halakazi tribe a girl of the most wonderful beauty,
who was named the Lily, and whose skin was whiter than are the skins of
our people, and he desired greatly to have this girl to wife. So
Dingaan sent an embassy to the chief of the Halakazi, demanding that
the girl should be given to him. At the end of a month the embassy
returned again, and told the king that they had found nothing but hard
words at the kraal of the Halakazi, and had been driven thence with
scorn and blows.
This was the message of the chief of the Halakazi to Dingaan, king of
the Zulus: That the maid who was named the Lily, was, indeed, the
wonder of the earth, and as yet unwed; for she had found no man upon
whom she looked with favour, and she was held in such love by this
people that it was not their wish to force any husband on her.
Moreover, the chief said that he and his people defied Dingaan and the
Zulus, as their fathers had defied Chaka before him, and spat upon his
name, and that no maid of theirs should go to be the wife of a Zulu
dog.
Then the chief of the Halakazi caused the maid who was named the Lily
to be led before the messengers of Dingaan, and they found her
wonderfully fair, for so they said: she was tall as a reed, and her
grace was the grace of a reed that is shaken in the wind. Moreover, her
hair curled, and hung upon her shoulders, her eyes were large and
brown, and soft as a buck’s, her colour was the colour of rich cream,
her smile was like a ripple on the waters, and when she spoke her voice
was low and sweeter than the sound of an instrument of music. They said
also that the girl wished to speak with them, but the chief forbade it,
and caused her to be led thence with all honour.
Now, when Dingaan heard this message he grew mad as a lion in a net,
for he desired this maid above everything, and yet he who had all
things could not win the maid. This was his command, that a great impi
should be gathered and sent to Swaziland against the Halakazi tribe, to
destroy them and seize the maid. But when the matter came on to be
discussed with the indunas in the presence of the king, at the
_Amapakati_ or council, I, as chief of the indunas, spoke against it,
saying that the tribe of the Halakazi were great and strong, and that
war with them would mean war with the Swazis also; moreover, they had
their dwelling in caves which were hard to win. Also, I said, that this
was no time to send impis to seek a single girl, for few years had gone
by since the Black One fell; and foes were many, and the soldiers of
the land had waxed few with slaughter, half of them having perished in
the marshes of the Limpopo. Now, time must be given them to grow up
again, for to-day they were as a little child, or like a man wasted
with hunger. Maids were many, let the king take them and satisfy his
heart, but let him make no war for this one.
Thus I spoke boldly in the face of the king, as none had dared to speak
before Chaka; and courage passed from me to the hearts of the other
indunas and generals, and they echoed my words, for they knew that, of
all follies, to begin a new war with the Swazi people would be the
greatest.
Dingaan listened, and his brow grew dark, yet he was not so firmly
seated on the throne that he dared put away our words, for still there
were many in the land who loved the memory of Chaka, and remembered
that Dingaan had murdered him and Umhlangana also. For now that Chaka
was dead, people forgot how evilly he had dealt with them, and
remembered only that he was a great man, who had made the Zulu people
out of nothing, as a smith fashions a bright spear from a lump of iron.
Also, though they had changed masters, yet their burden was not
lessened, for, as Chaka slew, so Dingaan slew also, and as Chaka
oppressed, so did Dingaan oppress. Therefore Dingaan yielded to the
voice of his indunas and no impi was sent against the Halakazi to seek
the maid that was named the Lily. But still he hankered for her in his
heart, and from that hour he hated me because I had crossed his will
and robbed him of his desire.
Now, my father, there is this to be told: though I did not know it
then, the maid who was named the Lily was no other than my daughter
Nada. The thought, indeed, came into my mind, that none but Nada could
be so fair. Yet I knew for certain that Nada and her mother Macropha
were dead, for he who brought me the news of their death had seen their
bodies locked in each other’s arms, killed, as it were, by the same
spear. Yet, as it chanced, he was wrong; for though Macropha indeed was
killed, it was another maid who lay in blood beside her; for the people
whither I had sent Macropha and Nada were tributary to the Halakazi
tribe, and that chief of the Halakazi who sat in the place of Galazi
the Wolf had quarrelled with them, and fallen on them by night and
eaten them up.
As I learned afterwards, the cause of their destruction, as in later
days it was the cause of the slaying of the Halakazi, was the beauty of
Nada and nothing else, for the fame of her loveliness had gone about
the land, and the old chief of the Halakazi had commanded that the girl
should be sent to his kraal to live there, that her beauty might shine
upon his place like the sun, and that, if so she willed, she should
choose a husband from the great men of the Halakazi. But the headmen of
the kraal refused, for none who had looked on her would suffer their
eyes to lose sight of Nada the Lily, though there was this fate about
the maid that none strove to wed her against her will. Many, indeed,
asked her in marriage, both there and among the Halakazi people, but
ever she shook her head and said, “Nay, I would wed no man,” and it was
enough.
For it was the saying among men, that it was better that she should
remain unmarried, and all should look on her, than that she should pass
from their sight into the house of a husband; since they held that her
beauty was given to be a joy to all, like the beauty of the dawn and of
the evening. Yet this beauty of Nada’s was a dreadful thing, and the
mother of much death, as shall be told; and because of her beauty and
the great love she bore, she, the Lily herself, must wither, and the
cup of my sorrows must be filled to overflowing, and the heart of
Umslopogaas the Slaughterer, son of Chaka the king, must become
desolate as the black plain when fire has swept it. So it was ordained,
my father, and so it befell, seeing that thus all men, white and black,
seek that which is beautiful, and when at last they find it, then it
passes swiftly away, or, perchance, it is their death. For great joy
and great beauty are winged, nor will they sojourn long upon the earth.
They come down like eagles out of the sky, and into the sky they return
again swiftly.
Thus then it came about, my father, that I, Mopo, believing my daughter
Nada to be dead, little guessed that it was she who was named the Lily
in the kraals of the Halakazi, and whom Dingaan the king desired for a
wife.
Now after I had thwarted him in this matter of the sending of an impi
to pluck the Lily from the gardens of the Halakazi, Dingaan learned to
hate me. Also I was in his secrets, and with me he had killed his
brother Chaka and his brother Umhlangana, and it was I who held him
back from the slaying of his brother Panda also; and, therefore, he
hated me, as is the fashion of small-hearted men with those who have
lifted them up. Yet he did not dare to do away with me, for my voice
was loud in the land, and when I spoke the people listened. Therefore,
in the end, he cast about for some way to be rid of me for a while,
till he should grow strong enough to kill me.
“Mopo,” said the king to me one day as I sat before him in council with
others of the indunas and generals, “mindest thou of the last words of
the Great Elephant, who is dead?” This he said meaning Chaka his
brother, only he did not name him, for now the name of Chaka was
_hlonipa_ in the land, as is the custom with the names of dead
kings—that is, my father, it was not lawful that it should pass the
lips.
“I remember the words, O King,” I answered. “They were ominous words,
for this was their burden: that you and your house should not sit long
in the throne of kings, but that the white men should take away your
royalty and divide your territories. Such was the prophecy of the Lion
of the Zulu, why speak of it? Once before I heard him prophesy, and his
words were fulfilled. May the omen be an egg without meat; may it never
become fledged; may that bird never perch upon your roof, O King!”
Now Dingaan trembled with fear, for the words of Chaka were in his mind
by night and by day; then he grew angry and bit his lip, saying:—
“Thou fool, Mopo! canst thou not hear a raven croak at the gates of a
kraal but thou must needs go tell those who dwell within that he waits
to pick their eyes? Such criers of ill to come may well find ill at
hand, Mopo.” He ceased, looked on me threateningly awhile, and went on:
“I did not speak of those words rolling by chance from a tongue half
loosed by death, but of others that told of a certain Bulalio, of a
Slaughterer who rules the People of the Axe and dwells beneath the
shadow of the Ghost Mountain far away to the north yonder. Surely I
heard them all as I sat beneath the shade of the reed-fence before ever
I came to save him who was my brother from the spear of Masilo, the
murderer, whose spear stole away the life of a king?”
“I remember those words also, O King!” I said. “Is it the will of the
king that an impi should be gathered to eat up this upstart? Such was
the command of the one who is gone, given, as it were, with his last
breath.”
“Nay, Mopo, that is not my will. If no impi can be found by thee to
wipe away the Halakazi and bring one whom I desire to delight my eyes,
then surely none can be found to eat up this Slaughterer and his
people. Moreover, Bulalio, chief of the People of the Axe, has not
offended against me, but against an elephant whose trumpetings are
done. Now this is my will, Mopo, my servant: that thou shouldst take
with thee a few men only and go gently to this Bulalio, and say to him:
‘A greater Elephant stalks through the land than he who has gone to
sleep, and it has come to his ears—that thou, Chief of the People of
the Axe, dost pay no tribute, and hast said that, because of the death
of a certain Mopo, thou wilt have nothing to do with him whose shadow
lies upon the land. Now one Mopo is sent to thee, Slaughterer, to know
if this tale is true, for, if it be true, then shalt thou learn the
weight of the hoof of that Elephant who trumpets in the kraal of
Umgugundhlovu. Think, then, and weigh thy words before thou dost
answer, Slaughterer.’”
Now I, Mopo, heard the commands of the king and pondered them in my
mind, for I knew well that it was the design of Dingaan to be rid of me
for a space that he might find time to plot my overthrow, and that he
cared little for this matter of a petty chief, who, living far away,
had dared to defy Chaka. Yet I wished to go, for there had arisen in me
a great desire to see this Bulalio, who spoke of vengeance to be taken
for one Mopo, and whose deeds were such as the deeds of Umslopogaas
would have been, had Umslopogaas lived to look upon the light.
Therefore I answered:—
“I hear the king. The king’s word shall be done, though, O King, thou
sendest a big man upon a little errand.”
“Not so, Mopo,” answered Dingaan. “My heart tells me that this chicken
of a Slaughterer will grow to a great cock if his comb is not cut
presently; and thou, Mopo, art versed in cutting combs, even of the
tallest.”
“I hear the king,” I answered again.
So, my father, it came about that on the morrow, taking with me but ten
chosen men, I, Mopo, started on my journey towards the Ghost Mountain,
and as I journeyed I thought much of how I had trod that path in bygone
days. Then, Macropha, my wife, and Nada, my daughter, and Umslopogaas,
the son of Chaka, who was thought to be my son, walked at my side. Now,
as I imagined, all were dead and I walked alone; doubtless I also
should soon be dead. Well, people lived few days and evil in those
times, and what did it matter? At the least I had wreaked vengeance on
Chaka and satisfied my heart.
At length I came one night to that lonely spot where we had camped in
the evil hour when Umslopogaas was borne away by the lioness, and once
more I looked upon the cave whence he had dragged the cub, and upon the
awful face of the stone Witch who sits aloft upon the Ghost Mountain
forever and forever. I could sleep little that night, because of the
sorrow at my heart, but sat awake looking, in the brightness of the
moon, upon the grey face of the stone Witch, and on the depths of the
forest that grew about her knees, wondering the while if the bones of
Umslopogaas lay broken in that forest. Now as I journeyed, many tales
had been told to me of this Ghost Mountain, which all swore was
haunted, so said some, by men in the shape of wolves; and so said some,
by the _Esemkofu_—that is, by men who have died and who have been
brought back again by magic. They have no tongues, the _Esemkofu_, for
had they tongues they would cry aloud to mortals the awful secrets of
the dead, therefore, they can but utter a wailing like that of a babe.
Surely one may hear them in the forests at night as they wail “_Ai!—ah!
Ai—ah!_” among the silent trees!
You laugh, my father, but I did not laugh as I thought of these tales;
for, if men have spirits, where do the spirits go when the body is
dead? They must go somewhere, and would it be strange that they should
return to look upon the lands where they were born? Yet I never thought
much of such matters, though I am a doctor, and know something of the
ways of the _Amatongo_, the people of the ghosts. To speak truth, my
father, I have had so much to do with the loosing of the spirits of men
that I never troubled myself overmuch with them after they were loosed;
there will be time to do this when I myself am of their number.
So I sat and gazed on the mountain and the forest that grew over it
like hair on the head of a woman, and as I gazed I heard a sound that
came from far away, out of the heart of the forest as it seemed. At
first it was faint and far off, a distant thing like the cry of
children in a kraal across a valley; then it grew louder, but still I
could not say what it might be; now it swelled and swelled, and I knew
it—it was the sound of wild beats at chase. Nearer came the music, the
rocks rang with it, and its voice set the blood beating but to hearken
to it. That pack was great which ran a-hunting through the silent
night; and now it was night, on the other side of the slope only, and
the sound swelled so loud that those who were with me awoke also and
looked forth. Now of a sudden a great koodoo bull appeared for an
instant standing out against the sky on the crest of the ridge, then
vanished in the shadow. He was running towards us; presently we saw him
again speeding on his path with great bounds. We saw this also—forms
grey and gaunt and galloping, in number countless, that leaped along
his path, appearing on the crest of the rise, disappearing into the
shadow, seen again on the slope, lost in the valley; and with them two
other shapes, the shapes of men.
Now the big buck bounded past us not half a spear’s throw away, and
behind him streamed the countless wolves, and from the throats of the
wolves went up that awful music. And who were these two that came with
the wolves, shapes of men great and strong? They ran silently and
swift, wolves’ teeth gleamed upon their heads, wolves’ hides hung about
their shoulders. In the hands of one was an axe—the moonlight shone
upon it—in the hand of the other a heavy club. Neck and neck they ran;
never before had we seen men travel so fast. See! they sped down the
slope towards us; the wolves were left behind, all except four of them;
we heard the beating of their feet; they came, they passed, they were
gone, and with them their unnumbered company. The music grew faint, it
died, it was dead; the hunt was far away, and the night was still
again!
“Now, my brethren,” I asked of those who were with me, “what is this
that we have seen?”
Then one answered, “We have seen the Ghosts who live in the lap of the
old Witch, and those men are the Wolf-Brethren, the wizards who are
kings of the Ghosts.”