I have said that sad days were not very far from poor little Mou-Setse.
They came when he was still only a little boy not more than eight years
old.
The people of Eyeo had need of their high wall and their strong
fortifications, for they were surrounded by enemies.
One day the news reached them that a strong neighbouring tribe, calling
themselves Kakundans, were coming to attack them. The King of Eyeo had
never done these people any harm, yet they wanted to conquer him, that
they might take him and his subjects for slaves, and gain money by
selling them to the Portuguese. This was very terrible news indeed; and
great terror and great pain did it bring to the inhabitants of Eyeo.
The poor mothers began to tremble as they clasped their babies in their
arms and reflected on the dreadful thought that soon they and those
little children so precious to them might be torn from each other. The
fathers, too, brave warriors as they were, looking in the frightened
faces of wives and children, felt some of those heart-pangs which make
men resolute to conquer or to die. The king called a council, and it
was resolved at this council that all needful preparations for war were
to begin at once. Accordingly the priests offered sacrifices to
Korowah, who was the men's god, while the women hastened to gain the
favour of Terbertaru, who belonged to them.
The warriors busied themselves in polishing their knives and sharpening
their daggers and securing the handles of their axes. Even the little
children tried to help. The elder boys cleaned and brightened the
weapons, while the younger went out to pick fruit, rice, and corn, in
case the enemy should shut them up and they should be short of food.
Little Mou-Setse was particularly busy in this way, and his active
little feet were scarcely ever still.
These many preparations were not made a moment too soon. The captain of
the war, and the chief warrior who was to defend the city gate, were
only just appointed when the terrible Kakundans were seen approaching
towards Eyeo. With their arms glittering in the sunbeams, on they came,
nearer and nearer, trampling down the flourishing rice harvest, until
the sound of their feet and the clanking of their weapons were heard
just outside the city walls.
It was the intention of this cruel enemy to encamp round about the city,
and to subdue it by famine. Oh, what trouble there was in Eyeo that
night! What weeping and sorrow in many a hut! For though the children
were ignorant, and perhaps the wives had some hope, well did the
warriors know that they had little chance of escape. They were
determined, however, to do what they could, and to defend their wives
and children at any cost.
From the hour the Kakundans encamped round the city all was in confusion
there. There was nothing thought of but the war. Now and then bands of
men used to go out and fight with the enemy, but the Eyeo men had very
few successes and many failures. As the days went by they grew weaker
and weaker. Alas! famine was making them weak. Famine was beginning to
tell on old and young alike in the unhappy city. Little Mou-Setse's fat
legs grew thin, and his round cheeks hollow, while his bright, black
eyes stared more and more out of his face every day. He was only one of
many. He and his brothers and sister felt hunger, and even cried for
bread, but they had not the terrible fear that pressed so heavily on the
hearts of the grown people. That fear was to be realised all to soon.
The Eyeo men could bear the dreadful famine no longer, so they consulted
together what they should do to get food. The siege had now lasted
several months. After thinking and consulting for a long time, they
decided on a very dangerous plan. It was this: the bravest of the
warriors determined to leave the city for a time, and to go into the
country to try and get a supply of food. This was a most bold and
dangerous plan. They themselves would be exposed to the attacks of the
enemy, while the city would be left defenceless. Hunger, however, had
made these brave men desperate. Anything, they thought, was better than
their present condition. So the warriors went out in a strong band,
leaving the little children, the sick, and the aged behind them.
Mou-Setse's father and mother both went away. They bade their children
good-bye cheerfully, and little Mou-Setse, as he clasped his arms round
his mother's neck, even laughed at the prospect of the good food they
all might soon have. Alas! how little they guessed the dreadful things
that were about to happen.
The Kakundan camp, quickly discovering that the strongest of the
inhabitants of Eyeo had left the city to seek food, determined not to
lose so good an opportunity to make a final attack on the place. To
make this attack, however, they must take two or three days to prepare.
But well did the wretched people inside the city know what was going to
happen. Poor little Mou-Setse and his brothers and sister became at
last really alive to their danger. They all cried and wept; but
Mou-Setse, though the youngest, possessed the bravest heart. He knew
that crying would do no good; he wondered would it be possible to act,
and so to act as to save his brothers and sister. He said nothing to
them, but he ran about the town, and chatted to the old women, and
finally got them to tell him a secret. This was the secret: as many as
possible meant to escape from Eyeo that night. Mou-Setse thought that
he and his brothers and his sister might go too. Perhaps they might
soon find their father and mother. Mou-Setse believed that if only he
had his mother's arms round him again he might be safe. He told his
brothers and sister of his plan, and they all agreed to escape that very
night. As soon as the night was quite dark they left their hut and went
softly in the direction of the city wall. They reached the great city
gate in safety, but there a sad scene of confusion met their eyes.
Crowds of people were trying to get out, and, in the darkness, many of
the feebler ones were killed. It was dreadful to listen to their cries
and groans. Mou-Setse saw that little children would have no chance
whatever in such a crowd. He wondered could they climb the wall, but
its smooth, hard side, twenty feet high, he soon saw would be utterly
impracticable.
Very sadly the children returned home, and most bitter tears did they
shed in each other's arms. Poor little children! they little guessed
that never again would they kiss each other, or play together, or be
happy with that innocent happiness that the good and loving God gives to
little children. Cruel men who followed the devil, not God, were soon
to part them the one from the other. In the morning a truly fearful
sight met their eyes. The huts were nearly empty; parties of the enemy
walked about the streets; the gardens, that used to be so beautiful,
were torn and ruined; many aged men, who had killed themselves in their
dread of slavery, were lying dead in the streets. A little farther on
they heard the crackling of burning wood, and soon the flames of their
beloved city burst upon their sight. The enemy had set Eyeo on fire.