On the following morning, when I turned out and walked down to the river
to bathe, I debouched a little from the direct road in order to take a
peep at the dead leopard by daylight, the carcass having been left where
it had fallen. As I approached the place I saw that Piet and Jan, my
two Hottentots, were already busily engaged upon the task of removing
the skin; and I observed that both were looking, as I thought, very much
annoyed, and a little apprehensive. I was not long in discovering what
was the matter, for as I halted beside them Piet held up first the two
front paws and then the two hind paws of the beast, when I instantly
saw, to my intense annoyance, that every one of the claws had been
removed, and that therefore, as a trophy, the skin was quite useless.
Of course I knew that this was a common practice among the Kafirs, the
claws of the lion and the leopard being either worn by them as potent
amulets, or converted into muti, that is to say, medicine, which is
implicitly believed by them to impart the quality of courage to the one
who takes it; but I had been foolish enough to think that, having
solicited me to destroy their enemy for them, they would have regarded
the carcass as sacred from mutilation. They had not done so, however,
and that ended the matter, for I knew that it would be quite useless to
make a fuss about it: not a soul in the village would ever admit the
least knowledge of the theft.
While I was taking breakfast, about an hour later, 'Ngaga came up from
the village to express the hearty thanks of himself and the rest of the
inhabitants for the service which I had rendered them by destroying the
leopard; and when we had chatted for half an hour or so, and 'Ngaga had
accepted a present of a yard of brass wire, a handful of parti-coloured
beads, and a cotton handkerchief gorgeously emblazoned in red, blue,
green, and yellow, he said:
"'Nkos', after I left you last night I went to the hut of Mafuta and was
permitted to enter. I told the nyanga that you had undertaken to slay
the leopard that had been troubling us, and after I had spoken many
words concerning the greatness of the boon you would thus confer upon
us, I ventured to mention that you were desirous of consulting him in
relation to a certain quest which you have undertaken. I think, 'Nkos',
that if you would go now with me to Mafuta's hut, perhaps taking with
you as a gift another handkerchief such as this, the nyanga would be
willing to grant your request."
"You think so?" I said. "Then in that case let us go." And,
extracting from the voorkissie a handkerchief distinguished by a
particularly startling combination of colours, which I tucked into my
belt in such a manner that it could not fail to attract attention, I set
out for the village, accompanied by 'Ngaga, who, I understood, proposed
to act as a sort of sponsor for me, and to introduce me personally to
the great man.
The nyanga's hut was, as is generally the case, built at some little
distance--in the present instance about a quarter of a mile--from the
village proper, standing quite by itself, close to the stream, and close
under the shadow of a great clump of bush. Apart from this circumstance
there was nothing to distinguish it from the rest of the huts, it being
of the usual beehive shape, constructed of closely interwoven wattles,
thickly thatched with reeds and grass, and having an entrance so small
that it was necessary to bend double and stoop low in order to pass
through it. Also it was windowless, the only illumination of the
interior being derived from such light as came through the low door;
consequently when one first entered such a hut the contrast between the
obscurity of the interior and the glare of the blazing sunlight outside
produced an impression of profound darkness, this only passing away as
the eye gradually accustomed itself to the gloom, after which one found,
somewhat to one's surprise, that there was light enough to see
everything with a very tolerable degree of distinctness.
As 'Ngaga preceded me into the hut I heard a low murmur of greeting pass
between him and someone else, which told me that the owner was at home;
then I followed and stood upright in what was, to my eye, inky
blackness.
"S'a bon', 'mlungu (I see you, white man)!" said a deep, resonant voice
from the depth of the darkness.
"Yebo (yes), Mafuta," answered I, that being the usual interchange of
salutations between the native and the white when the former esteems
himself the equal of the latter; and I stood, blinking and striving to
penetrate the obscurity. Gradually the darkness melted into a sort of
sombre twilight, which by imperceptible degrees grew stronger, and
presently I saw that I was in a hut the sole furniture of which
consisted of a pallet, raised about a foot from the floor, and covered
with rich karosses or skin rugs--one, I observed, being made entirely of
leopard-skins. On one end of this pallet was seated a man of perhaps
forty years of age, wearing a keshla, or head ring, and a mucha, or
apron, made apparently of monkey skins. The man's shield and sheaf of
assagais stood close at hand against the wall of the hut, and a
ponderous knobkerrie hung just overhead, slung by a loop of rimpi; but
the hut contained nothing to distinguish it from that of any other
native, and I confess that my first feeling was one of disappointment,
for I had never before been in the hut of a nyanga, and I had been led
to believe by those who had that I should see all sorts of strange and
weird-looking objects if I ever happened to penetrate to the interior of
a Kafir witch doctor's hut. The owner seemed to read my disappointment
in my eyes, for he laughed softly as he waved his hand, indicating the
emptiness of the hut.
"I do not need the things for which you are looking, 'mlungu," he said;
"my magic is different from that of all other nyangas--and much more
potent, as mayhap you shall see for yourself. Be seated," he continued,
waving me toward the other end of the couch; "and as for you, 'Ngaga,
having brought the 'mlungu hither, your task is accomplished, and you
may depart."
So, while I deposited myself upon the pallet, 'Ngaga bade us both a
somewhat ceremonious farewell, and vanished through the opening into the
blazing sunlight without.
Then Mafuta began to talk to me about my journey and the incidents, such
as they were, that had thus far marked it; and I confess that I was
astounded at the intimate knowledge of these matters which he displayed.
Of course I knew that my "boys" might have, and very possibly had,
spoken of them to 'Ngaga and the other Basutos during their gossip round
the fire on the previous evening; yet this man, Mafuta, seemed to know
more about the details of them than was likely to have transpired during
such a conversation, which was probably of an exceedingly desultory and
general character. Yet even this was not so surprising as the knowledge
he displayed of the twofold object of my journey, which I knew he could
not have acquired from my "boys", because even they were ignorant of it,
all that they actually knew being that the journey was ostensibly
undertaken for the purpose of collecting ivory. But without questioning
me at all upon the subject, the nyanga made it clear to me that he was
fully aware of the fact that one great object of my journey was to get
gold rather than ivory.
"Yet even that," said he, "is not all that you seek upon this journey;
important as it is that you should find the yellow metal which the white
man values so greatly, you are even more anxious to find something else:
is it not so? And so anxious are you to find it that, although you
doubt Mafuta's power, you have come to him to see if he can help you."
"It is true," I admitted; "and the fact that you know so much of my most
secret desires and intentions inclines me to hope, and almost to
believe, that you can help me. Do you think you can?"
"It may be, 'mlungu; it may be," he answered. "The white 'ntombozaan
(girl) still lives and is well, for I last night took the trouble to
seek for and find her; but where she is I cannot say, for the place is
strange to me, I having never seen it with my bodily eyes."
I fairly gasped with amazement, for this was the first time that Nell
Lestrange had been mentioned since my arrival in the village, and it was
not I who had spoken of her, but a savage to whom even the bare fact of
her existence might be supposed to be unknown--unless--unless those who
originally carried her off had chanced to pass this way. Yet, even
then--
"Tell me," I shouted, seizing the nyanga by the arm, rather roughly, I
am afraid, in my excitement, "what do you know of her? How long is it
since you saw her? And who are they who carried her off?"
"Gahle (gently), white man! gahle!" returned Mafuta, snatching his arm
out of my grasp. "I know nothing of the 'ntombi save what I saw last
night. But you came hither to procure my help to find her, and such
help as I can give shall be yours. As I told you, I know not where she
is, for I never saw the place with my bodily eyes, but I will show it to
you, so that if ever you come to the place you may know it. Will that
satisfy you?"
"But," I objected, "if you are able to show me the place, surely you can
tell me the name of it, and in which direction I should travel to reach
it?"
"Nay, 'mlungu, I cannot do that," answered Mafuta. "My power is not so
great as that. I can but show you the person whom you desire to see; it
must rest with you to note that person's surroundings so carefully that,
should you ever arrive at the place, you will recognise it again. Or
perhaps by describing it to others you may be able to find someone who
has been there and who, recognising it from your description, will be
able to tell you its name and where it is."
"Very well, then," said I; "do what you can to help me, Mafuta, and I
will be for ever obliged to you."
"Muchli (good)!" exclaimed Mafuta. "Sit where you are, and do exactly
as I bid you." He rose from his seat, groped among the thatch of the
hut for a moment, and presently produced a small, circular object about
the size of an ordinary coat button. It was as brightly burnished as
the surface of a mirror, and he placed it upright on the floor of the
hut in such a position that, while itself in deep shadow, it strongly
reflected the light which entered through the doorway right into my
eyes, dazzling them to such an extent that, for a few moments, I could
scarcely bear to look at it. Presently, however, that feeling passed
away, and I was able to gaze upon it without discomfort.
"Now," said Mafuta, "look steadfastly at that, never removing your eyes
from it for a moment, and see what happens." And, thus saying, the man
went and squatted himself upon his heels in the centre of the floor, and
began to chant, in a low, monotonous voice, certain words the meaning of
which I could not comprehend.
For a few minutes nothing particular seemed to happen: the disk
continued to shine strongly in the midst of the deep shadow, and
Mafuta's low, monotonous song went on. Then, so gradually that I knew
not when the change began, I lost consciousness of everything except the
gleaming disk and the sound of Mafuta's voice, from which all semblance
of words had passed. Then the disk seemed slowly to fade out of sight,
Mafuta's voice died away to silence, and I found myself seemingly
standing upon gently rising ground, with a native village, of such
dimensions that it deserved rather the name of a town, about a quarter
of a mile distant on my left front. The first thing that I particularly
observed about this place, apart from its exceptional size, was that it
was built in the shape of a circle, and was entirely fenced in with a
strong, high palisade. There was a gate in the fence, nearly opposite
me, and a number of people, mostly men, were coming and going through
the gateway. They were splendid specimens of the South African savage,
but, look as I would, I could discover nothing either in their cast of
features or in their trappings by which to identify them.
The town was built upon the top of the slope on which I stood, and about
a quarter of a mile distant from it I noted a rather remarkable kopje
which I thought would surely enable me to recognise the place if ever I
should chance to set my bodily eyes upon it. It was perhaps seventy or
eighty feet high, and at its summit it measured, as nearly as I could
guess, about two hundred yards long. It was hog-backed in shape, and
was strewn here and there with great, tumbled masses of dark-coloured
rock, among which grew a few straggling bushes. The most remarkable
thing about this particular kopje, however, was that, notwithstanding
its close proximity to the town, it appeared to be the haunt of
innumerable vultures, some forty or fifty of which were perched upon the
rocks at that moment. The landscape on which this unknown savage town
was set was of the usual South African type, namely, gently undulating,
the hills retiring one behind the other into the extreme distance until,
toward the west--I got my bearings from the sun, of course--they merged
into what might almost be termed mountains, while eastward the land
stretched away in a vast plain. The soil was densely covered with long,
thick grass, which was already beginning to look bleached and parched
here and there for want of rain; and scattered pretty thickly over the
country were the usual patches of bush. On my right the land fell away
to a spacious flat, a thousand acres or more in extent, upon which vast
herds of cattle were grazing, and through which a stream some thirty
feet in width gently meandered.
As I stood noting all these details, three young girls emerged from the
main gate of the town, two of them being dark-brown, while the third was
white--Nell Lestrange! I recognised the dear child instantly, although
she had altered greatly--as I thought, for the better--since I had seen
her last. She was talking and laughing gaily with her companions, I was
glad to see, for that indicated that she was well and happy; yet, even
as this thought flashed through my mind, she fell silent for a moment
and a look of sadness clouded her face. She was bareheaded and
barefooted, the garment which she wore being a sort of frock apparently
modelled from those which she had worn while at Triannon, and made of a
peculiar kind of cloth the nature of which I could not recognise.
Instinctively I stretched out my hands toward her and strove to call her
name, but no sound passed my lips, and, to my intense disappointment, I
found that I could not move. The trio passed me about a hundred yards
distant, and I distinctly heard their voices, but could not catch the
words they spoke, otherwise I might possibly have recognised the
language and thus gained a clue to the locality; and although, just as
they were passing before me, Nell looked straight in my direction, and
even paused for an instant, she immediately went on again, casting a
single glance back over her shoulder and then continuing on her way
until she disappeared beyond a clump of bush near the river. And with
her disappearance the whole scene vanished and I found myself back in
Mafuta's hut, with the disk still gleaming brightly out of the deep
shadow, and Mafuta still squatting on his heels in the centre of the
floor.
"Well, white man," he said, as I came to myself, "have you seen aught?"
"I have," said I, "and I feel bound to admit that you are the possessor
of most extraordinary powers, Mafuta. Yes, I saw the 'ntombozaan; and,
as you said, she seems to be both happy and in the enjoyment of
excellent health. But what I now want to know is where she is. Surely
there are not so many big kraals scattered about in Kafirland that the
one which you have just shown me should be difficult to find?"
"What did it look like, 'mlungu?" demanded Mafuta.
"What did it look like?" I repeated. "Is not that a quite unnecessary
question to ask, Mafuta? You must have seen everything that I saw,
otherwise--"
"Nay," interrupted Mafuta, "I saw nothing; nor do I know what you saw,
excepting that I willed you to see the 'ntombi. Tell me everything that
you beheld, and maybe I can help you to find the place."
Thereupon I proceeded to describe minutely the entire scene as I had
beheld it, the big town with its huts, to the number of two thousand or
more, symmetrically arranged within its circle of stout, high palings;
the kopje close by, with its scattered piles of rock interspersed with
straggling clumps of bush, and its vultures; the great plain with its
herds of grazing cattle beside the stream--in short, every feature of my
vision, as I vividly recalled it. And when I had finished, Mafuta sat
for several minutes ruminating deeply. At length, however, he looked
up, and, shaking his head, said:
"White man, I have never seen the place you describe, otherwise I am
sure that I should recognise it. The kopje with its rocks and its
aasvogels would alone suffice for its identification. That kopje is
doubtless the place where criminals are executed; the presence of the
aasvogels seems to indicate that. And the size and general importance
of the place lead me to believe that it is where a king sits; but what
king I know not. Of one thing, however, I can assure you; it is not
Moshesh's Place."
"Well," said I, "that at least is something to know, for it is one place
the less to trouble about. And that is all the help you can give me?"
"That is all the help I can give you," repeated Mafuta.
"But surely it is much, is it not, 'mlungu? You have seen the place
with the eyes of your mind, seen it as plainly as if you had beheld it
with your bodily eyes; and you will remember what it looks like. You
will be able to describe it minutely to others; and as you go upon your
way you will have opportunity to speak of it to others, and--yes, it
comes to me that eventually you will meet with one who will enable you
to find it."
"Thanks, very much," said I. "That is a most comforting thing to know,
and, since you say that such a thing will happen, I quite believe it
will, after the exhibition of your powers which you have already given
me. Will you accept this as a gift from me?" I added, producing the
brilliantly marked handkerchief from my belt and offering it to the
nyanga.
"My thanks, 'mlungu," answered the man, taking the handkerchief and
depositing it upon the pallet. "And now," he continued, "I think you
will do well to proceed without undue delay to Moshesh's kraal. 'Ngaga
has already dispatched a messenger apprising the king of your presence
in his country, and, if you ask permission to pass through and hunt in
it, the Great One will doubtless give it, especially as you have
rendered his people the service of slaying the leopard that has been
preying upon them. But the king is jealous of his own authority, and is
apt to resent intrusion into his country without permission first asked;
also he is a little distrustful of the white man, whom he suspects of a
desire to steal the black man's land. Therefore present yourself before
him as early as may be."
"Thanks, Mafuta, I will do as you say. Farewell, and may all prosperity
attend you," said I, as I took my leave.
"Sala guhli (farewell), 'mlungu!" replied the Kafir, following me out
and standing by the door of the hut. "I see much trouble and many
dangers before thee; but be of good heart, for thou shalt overcome them
all."
Two days later I arrived at the king's kraal.
It was near mid-afternoon when I halted the wagon and ordered Jan to
outspan at a point about half a mile from the kraal: and I immediately
dispatched Piet with a message to the effect that I, Edward Laurence, an
Englishman, had arrived at the kraal for the purpose of personally
soliciting permission from King Moshesh to hunt in and pass through his
country; and that for this purpose, and that I might crave His Majesty's
acceptance of certain presents, I might be granted the favour of an
early audience. Then I opened the voorkissie and proceeded to select
the presents which I would offer for the savage king's acceptance.
Gaudily coloured handkerchiefs, and, more particularly, brilliantly hued
articles of costume have from time immemorial strongly appealed to the
taste of the untutored savage, and I had kept this fact prominently in
mind when purchasing the goods which I intended to use as presents and
for the purposes of barter; therefore, among other things, I had bought
several cast-off British uniforms of various descriptions, these being
designed especially for presentation to the several savage monarchs with
whom I expected to be brought into contact. So now, after due
consideration, I drew forth a drum-major's scarlet tunic, stiff with
tarnished gold braid, minus its regimental buttons, shockingly soiled,
and otherwise very much the worse for wear; a pair of ditto blue
trousers, with gold braid running down the outer seam; a naval
lieutenant's cocked hat, in which I inserted a bunch of cock's tail
feathers; an infantryman's white leather belt, with bayonet and sheath;
and a small round shaving mirror in a metal frame, which had cost me
sixpence, if I remember rightly: and made up the whole into a neat
bundle, in readiness for the moment when I should be summoned to the
royal presence. Then I proceeded to take particular note of the capital
of Basutoland.
It was a place of considerable importance, consisting of about a
thousand huts enclosed, like the place of my vision, in a very strong
and high palisade, rendered unclimbable by having the upper extremities
of the palings trimmed into long sharp points. It was built upon the
summit of a low knoll, was rectangular in plan, and covered an area of
about twenty acres of ground; and that was about all that I could
discover concerning it in the meantime, since the palisading was much
too high to permit of my seeing anything inside it.
After an absence of nearly an hour Piet returned with the information
that he had been detained at the outer gate of the kraal while my
message was conveyed to the king, and that during his detention he had
been subjected to a pretty severe cross-examination by an induna or
chief, respecting the purpose of my journey, my destination, and so on;
that, finally, a message had been returned by the king that when he was
ready to see me he would send for me, and meanwhile I was to remain
where I was and not attempt to enter the kraal. I confess that I was a
trifle disappointed at this reception, which I regarded as distinctly
chilly; but Mafuta had afforded me a little insight into the king's
character, and I trusted that a personal interview, coupled with a sight
of the resplendent drum-major's tunic and the rest of the outfit, would,
arouse a feeling of greater geniality in the breast of the savage
autocrat. So I hung about the wagon for the remainder of that day,
waiting for a summons which did not come. Nevertheless, although the
king did not condescend to manifest any undue eagerness to see me, I was
not exactly left to pine in solitude, for several of the inhabitants of
the town came out to gossip with my "boys", while no less than three
indunas suffered their curiosity to overcome their dignity so far as to
pay me an informal visit and ask me countless questions--for it must be
remembered that, at the time of which I am now writing, it was very
unusual for a white man to cross the border of his own territory into
the wilds, and one of the men who on that occasion spoke to me had only
once before seen such an individual.
It was amusing to note the rapid change of manner in these men as they
conversed with me. Upon their first approach they began to question me
with a certain curt abruptness which I easily interpreted as being
intended to convey the idea that their visit was more or less of an
official character; but all the while their eyes were wandering hither
and thither, taking in every detail of my dress and equipment, as well
as the wagon and its contents, and it was not very long before they
began to enquire what was the use of this, that, and the other. Of
course I answered all their questions as fully as I could, and not only
so, but I also exhibited a few of my gewgaws, hinting that certain of
them might become their own property before long, although I did not
then offer any presents for their acceptance, it being contrary to
savage etiquette to do so before the king had been interviewed and
propitiated. They were, of course, intensely interested in my guns, and
were full of amazement when I bowled over a carrion crow at a distance
of six hundred yards with a rifle bullet; and they did not hesitate to
hint plainly that nothing could possibly be more acceptable to the king
than the gift of one of my fire weapons. I explained, however, that the
fire weapon was very powerful and very dangerous magic, subservient only
to the white man, and that I dared not allow any of them even to touch
one, lest it should turn upon and slay them. But they were quite as
profoundly impressed by my exhibition of the powers of the
burning-glass, several of which I had taken the precaution to include in
my stock; and when they saw me kindle a fire with its assistance they
could find no words in which to express adequately their wonder and
admiration.
It is more than probable that, upon their return to the kraal, they
found means to convey to the king's ear some impression of the wonders
which the white man had revealed to them, for I had scarcely finished my
breakfast on the following morning when a messenger arrived at the wagon
with the intimation that King Moshesh commanded my immediate presence
before him.
I at once arose and, unarmed, accompanied the messenger, with Piet in
close attendance, bearing the parcel containing the presents which I
designed to offer for His Majesty's acceptance. As I approached the
open gate in the palisade a number of people, both men and women, were
passing in and out, all of whom regarded me curiously. A few of the men
saluted me with upraised right hand and the exclamation "'Nkos'!" but
for the most part they seemed undecided whether to regard me as a friend
or an enemy, and therefore preferred for the moment to maintain an
attitude of neutrality. Immediately inside the gate there stood a guard
of twenty men, fully armed with shield, assagai, and knobkerrie, under
the command of an induna, and here we were stopped, for the induna
seemed indisposed to allow Piet to accompany me; but I explained that he
was my body servant, and that the bundle which he bore contained
presents designed for the king's acceptance, whereupon we were, somewhat
reluctantly, permitted to pass on. Naturally, we were no sooner inside
the gate than I began to look about me, and the first thing that struck
me was the admirable arrangements which had been made for the defence of
the place in case of attack. For while the top of the palisade was, on
the outside, about fifteen feet above the surface of the ground, on the
inside it had been backed up with earth forming a platform about twelve
feet wide and just high enough for a man of average height to see
between the sharpened points; while at a height of about four feet above
the level of the platform there was a continuous row of slits, about
eight inches high by two inches wide, and about nine inches apart, the
obvious purpose of which was to afford the occupants of the platform an
opportunity to thrust with their spears at a foe attempting to scale the
palisade from the outside, without unduly exposing themselves. Approach
to the summit of the platform was obtained by a continuous flight of
rough steps cut in the earth all along its face, and next the foot of
the steps was a road of about twelve feet wide. Then came the outer row
of huts, between which and the next row was another road, about eight
feet wide. There were four rows of huts running entirely round the
enclosure, inside of which again was another palisade, equally as strong
and as high as the first. And, as in the case of the first palisade,
this also had a single gate, guarded by twenty fully armed men under the
command of an induna. We were permitted to pass through this second
gate unchallenged, and having done this I found myself in an open square
of about five acres in extent, near the far side of which were seven
huts, or houses, rather, for they were considerably larger and in every
way more important than the ordinary Kafir hut. Six of these--square
structures built of "wattle-and-daub" and roofed with thatch, the
largest of them measuring about twenty feet by twelve, and about seven
feet high to the overhanging eaves--were built in a row, with spaces of
about six feet between them; while the seventh, which I rightly
conjectured to be the itunkulu, or King's House, stood about twelve feet
in front of the others, and was about the same size as the largest of
them.
We were now upon what may be termed sacred ground, that is to say,
ground reserved for the exclusive use of the king himself and the
members of his immediate household; nobody being permitted to enter here
except persons belonging to the royal family, those especially invited
by the king, the chief witch doctor, and the king's own bodyguard,
consisting of one hundred specially picked men, under the command of an
induna who also filled the office of chief adviser, or prime minister,
to the king. At the moment of our entrance not a person but ourselves
was visible in the square, except the guard at the gate; but a few
seconds later twenty soldiers under the command of a very
splendid-looking officer emerged from one of the buildings and took up a
position on either side of a chair hewn out of a solid block of wood and
draped with a magnificent lion-skin kaross, which stood some half a
dozen paces in front of the itunkulu.
These men were the finest-looking body of savage warriors that I had up
till then ever seen, every one of them being quite as tall as, and far
more firmly knit than myself; while the chief was a truly magnificent
man, standing at least six feet two on his bare feet, with the limbs and
frame of a Hercules. They were all dressed in leopard-skin muchas, with
bracelets, armlets, garters, and anklets of cows' tails; all wore
keshlas; and each man carried a long shield and three throwing assagais
in his left hand, while in his right he held a stabbing assagai with a
terrible double-edged blade about six inches wide and eighteen inches
long. Their commanding officer was similarly armed; but in addition to
the leopard-skin mucha he wore a leopard-skin cloak, a necklace of
lions' teeth and claws, and a headdress made of beads and ostrich
feathers. Every man of these twenty-one savage warriors showed upon his
person the scars of many wounds, and carried himself with a pride of
bearing which forbade him to display the slightest sign of consciousness
of our presence.