The whole of the next morning was devoted by us to the task of cutting
out the ivory from the three big tuskers killed in the forest, and the
exceptional size of the elephants may be judged from the fact that the
weight of ivory taken from them amounted in the aggregate to four
hundred and forty-seven pounds. Then, about two o'clock in the
afternoon, we inspanned the oxen and trekked in a north-easterly
direction, with the range of hills cut through by the curious gorge
about a quarter of a mile on our left and the Drakensberg range of
mountains towering aloft on our right some fifty miles distant. We
trekked until within half an hour of sunset, by which time we had
rounded the north-eastern spur of the range of hills, passed the
northern extremity of the gorge, and "struck" another river, about one
hundred and twenty yards in width, flowing northward, on the right bank
of which we outspanned for the night. Two days later, trekking
northward along the course of the last-mentioned river, we arrived at
its junction with the Limpopo, on the farther side of which lay my goal,
Mashonaland; and here we again outspanned, while Piet and I went on a
prospecting tour in search of a drift by means of which the wagon might
be safely taken across.
Leaving the wagon, our spare horses, and the zebras in charge of Jan,
the Hottentot driver, with strict injunctions that he was to take the
utmost care of the captives, and treat them with the greatest kindness,
Piet and I set out at daybreak--the former mounted upon Punch, while I
rode Prince as usual--taking with us the elephant gun and my rifle, with
a sufficiency of ammunition for each, and provisions for four days. The
dogs Thunder and Juno accompanied us as a matter of course. We were on
the right or southern bank of the mighty stream, and this we followed
closely, mile after mile, anxiously scrutinising every foot of the
turbid flood for signs indicative of a sand bar extensive enough to
enable us to transport the wagon to the opposite bank; but although we
found no less than four shoals in the course of our first day's search,
three of them extended less than halfway across the river, while the
fourth proved to be a quicksand in which we narrowly escaped losing both
our horses, saving them at last only by the skin of our teeth and after
nearly an hour's hard and strenuous labour. This occurred about three
o'clock in the afternoon, and when at length we were all once more safe
on solid ground we were, horses as well as men, so utterly fagged out
that there was nothing for it but to off-saddle for the remainder of the
day in order to recover. A good night's rest, however, completely
restored us all, and enabled us to resume our search on the following
morning.
Our experiences on the morning of this day were simply a repetition of
those of the previous day, except that, profiting by experience, we took
care not to allow ourselves to be trapped in any more quicksands; and I
began to fear that our search was going to be a much more protracted one
than I had anticipated. But shortly after midday we arrived at a spot
where, on the opposite side of the river, another river, about a hundred
yards wide, discharged into the main stream. At this point also the
Limpopo widened out until it was fully a quarter of a mile in width, the
combined effect of these two circumstances being the formation of
numerous eddies and so much slack water that the soil held in suspension
by the two streams was here afforded an opportunity to settle and form a
shoal extending right across the main river, with a maximum depth of
water over it of barely four feet. This shoal we thoroughly tested both
on foot and on horseback, with the result that we found it to be an
ideal crossing place.
Having satisfied myself as to this, my next business was to arrange for
the dispatch of Piet as my ambassador into the Mashona country. I had
been considering the matter very carefully during the past two days,
recalling to mind all that my friend, Major Henderson, had told me with
regard to his experiences among the Mashona, and the advice that he had
given me; and I finally determined that my most prudent course would be
to send Piet into the country absolutely empty-handed, with a message to
the effect that I desired the permission of the king to cross his
borders, traverse the country, and visit him at his Place, hunting and
trading with his people on the way. I was at first somewhat undecided
as to whether or not I should entrust Piet with a present for the king,
but I finally decided that it would be better to wait until I should
obtain audience with His Majesty and then personally hand him the gift;
otherwise, for aught that I could tell to the contrary, the sable
monarch might seize the gift and then do away with poor Piet in some
horrible manner, while if the Tottie went empty-handed there would be no
inducement for the king to destroy him, or rather there would be the
prospect of the gift to deter him from doing so. Therefore, upon the
following morning, after charging the man with my message, and making
him repeat it over and over again to me until there was no possibility
of his forgetting it, I sent him across the river on foot with all the
provisions that we had left, and then, riding Prince and leading Punch,
to whose saddle I had securely strapped the elephant gun and my stock of
ammunition, I set out, accompanied by the dogs, on my return to the spot
where I had left the wagon.
Upon my arrival I found Jan, my Tottie driver, in great tribulation, it
appearing that he had been beset by lions during the second night of my
absence, and that the brutes had killed no less than three of the oxen
and both zebras, despite the utmost efforts of himself and 'Ngulubi, the
Bantu voorlouper; while two other oxen had died through eating tulip, a
poisonous plant which he had too late discovered grew in profusion in
the immediate neighbourhood of the outspan. Furthermore, it appeared
that four of the other oxen had suffered severely from the same poison,
but had been saved by the prompt administration of a decoction made from
the roots of the plant. This was serious news, because I had promised
Piet that he should find us outspanned at the spot where he and I had
parted, and I knew not how soon he might return; therefore it was very
desirable that we should reach that spot without delay. After
considering the matter, therefore, I finally decided to cache all the
ivory which I had with me, abandon the pelts, and go forward to the
rendezvous with nothing in the wagon save the "truck" which I had
brought up with me as presents and for trading, the ammunition, and the
remains of our stock of provisions, which by this time was becoming
pretty well depleted. And this I did, arriving at the arranged meeting
place three days later, without suffering any further loss.
It was well on in the afternoon of the tenth day after Piet's departure
when he turned up again, dusty, leg-weary, and somewhat footsore, but
otherwise not very much the worse for wear. He reported that the
country was pretty densely populated, the kraals being very extensive,
and dotted over the country at intervals of, in some cases, not more
than twenty miles apart, the first kraal at which he arrived being
within ten miles of the river bank. He described the Mashona as being a
very fine race of people, almost if not quite equal in physique to the
Zulus, but of a much more suspicious and unreliable character than the
latter, and apparently exceedingly averse to the intrusion of strangers.
Nevertheless, upon stating the nature of his mission, he had been
passed on from kraal to kraal until finally he had arrived at Gwanda,
the Place (or town) of King Lomalindela, which, it appeared, was
situated among a rather curious group of mountains, five days' march
from the river. Lomalindela, it seemed, had received my envoy with a
very considerable display of austerity, and had submitted him to a most
rigorous cross-questioning; but, luckily, the Tottie had nothing to
conceal, and was therefore able to tell a perfectly straightforward
story, which, as Piet believed, had not only allayed the monarch's
suspicions, but had also aroused in him a very lively curiosity to see
the white man and his wonderful fire tubes which slew from afar. The
result of the mission was therefore, on the whole, quite satisfactory,
the king having not only accorded me permission to enter his country and
kill game in it, but also entrusted my messenger with an invitation to
me to visit him at Gwanda, and remain there as long as I pleased. This
being the case, and the river having fallen nearly a foot since Piet and
I had first arrived at the ford, I seized the favourable opportunity,
and safely transferred the wagon and all my other belongings to the
Mashona side of the river upon the afternoon of the day of Piet's
return; and, following the course of the stream to which I attributed
the formation of the ford--and which, Piet informed me, led direct to
Gwanda--outspanned for the night some six miles to the northward of the
Limpopo.
The next day we continued our trek, and shortly before noon arrived at
the first Mashona village on the route. It was a place of some
importance, containing about a thousand huts of the usual beehive shape,
but somewhat larger than those usually built by the Zulus, and with
entrances large enough to enable a man to pass through by merely bending
his body instead of having to go down upon his knees. The village was
circular in plan, and was protected by a solidly constructed stockade,
built of stout tree trunks driven deeply into the ground, with a slight
outward slope; the stockade being about sixteen feet high on the
outside, with the tops of the piles sharpened to render it unclimbable.
There were four gateways in the stockade, giving access to the two
principal streets, which crossed each other at right angles,
intersecting in the centre of the village, at which point there was a
spacious open square, where the public business of the village was
transacted and where the village sports were held. We did not enter the
village, but outspanned at a distance of about half a mile from its
eastern gate.
The cattle had scarcely been turned loose to graze, under the
guardianship of 'Ngulubi, the voorlouper, when the headman of the
village, accompanied by some half a dozen minor dignitaries, and
followed by ten women bearing baskets containing preternaturally skinny
fowls, eggs, green mealie cobs, sugar cane, and calabashes of milk,
emerged from the village and advanced upon the wagon. The men were
unarmed, and the presence of the women with the baskets--the contents of
which were of course a present to us--showed that the visit was to be
one of ceremony and compliment; therefore with Piet's assistance I at
once proceeded to unpack one of my bales of "truck", and withdrew
therefrom the articles which I proposed to present in turn. I had
hardly completed my preparations when the little party arrived, and I
had an opportunity to study the first Mashonas I had ever seen.
Both men and women were finely built and well proportioned, but their
best friends could not conscientiously pronounce them handsome; and
their unattractiveness was further increased by the expression of their
countenances which seemed to be compounded of suspicion, craftiness,
greed, and cruelty. They saluted me respectfully enough, however,
offered their presents, and then sat down, at my invitation, squatting
upon their heels in the usual native fashion, while I sorted out the
gifts which I intended to give them. These consisted of a bandana
handkerchief or two, a few yards of gaudily printed calico, a few yards
of copper wire, and a handful of mixed beads to each of the women; and
from the grins of appreciation of the recipients I concluded that they
were all well satisfied. Then, with the inquisitiveness of the lower
type of savage, they began to question me, not in a straightforward
fashion, but covertly and by roundabout processes, with the view of
discovering my motive for journeying so far from my own people;
whereupon I told them frankly that I was a hunter and trader, seeking
for ivory and gold. They did not seem to understand what I meant by
"gold" until I spoke of it as the yellow metal that shines when
polished, and showed them the ring that I wore; whereupon they nodded
their heads in comprehension, and shortly afterward rose and returned to
the village. But about half an hour later the headman and three others
came back to the wagon, bringing with them a number of rough-shaped
nuggets of a dull, ruddy-yellow gold, which looked as though they might
have been crudely smelted out of the quarried ore, and wanted to trade
them with me for beads and printed calico. The quantity which they
brought amounted to about twelve pounds avoirdupois altogether, which I
estimated to be worth between six and seven hundred pounds sterling; but
they fixed such an exorbitant value upon the metal that had I acceded to
their demands my stock of trade stuff would soon have been exhausted.
Of course the gold was worth far more than my entire stock of "truck",
but when I purchased the latter I had quite reckoned upon being able to
obtain for it as much gold as I could possibly load upon the wagon, and
still have "notions" enough left to supply all the presents that I
should probably find it necessary to make; therefore as soon as my
visitors pointed out to me what they required in exchange for their gold
I laughed at them, waved them away, and proceeded--not too hurriedly--to
repack my treasures. The result was what I had anticipated and
intended; they refused to leave the wagon, and gradually reduced their
demands until finally I obtained the whole of the gold for about two
yards of calico, a bandana handkerchief, four yards of copper wire, and
a handful of beads; and even these prices, I explained, were far higher
than I could possibly afford to give in future!
I fully anticipated that the result of this transaction would be to
bring out the remainder of the villagers with proposals to barter such
gold as they might possess; but although so many of them turned out that
by sunset I estimated that every man, woman, and child in the village
must have visited the wagon, I saw no more gold that day. And for a
very good reason; for it afterwards appeared that the headman had spent
a busy afternoon going round the village, buying up every particle of
gold he could lay hands upon, doubtless with much profit to himself: and
on the following morning, while we were inspanning the oxen, he turned
up, accompanied by a couple of women bearing between them nearly sixty
pounds of gold, and detained me more than two hours while he haggled
with me over the sale of it. But I had by this time come fully to
understand that gold possessed absolutely no value for these people,
except as a plaything for the children; and the result was that when at
length I bade the man goodbye, and gave the order to trek, the fellow
was glad to let me have the whole at my own price, and I secured it upon
very favourable terms.
I was now in high feather, for I had already secured, from one village
alone, more than seventy pounds of gold, which I estimated must be worth
close upon four thousand pounds sterling; and if I could do so well at
only one village, what might not I achieve by the time that I had traded
away all my "truck"? Already, in imagination, I saw myself back at
Bella Vista, with the house rebuilt and furnished in luxurious style,
the land amply restocked, and plenty of money in the bank as well!
Alas, I little guessed what lay before me; and it was just as well,
perhaps, that I did not; otherwise--But I must not get ahead of my
story.
With my head full of pleasant visions, and my imagination busily
employed in the construction of _chateaux en Espagne_, we proceeded upon
our journey, travelling over undulating country which ahead manifested a
disposition to become hilly, and still closely following the course of
the stream, until, about noon, we arrived in the midst of what in the
distance had appeared to be a cluster of curiously shaped kopjes, but
now proved, to my great surprise, to be ruins, thickly overgrown with
vegetation. Here, my curiosity being powerfully aroused at so
unexpected a sight, and it being also time to outspan, I called a halt;
and while Piet busied himself in the preparation of my midday meal, I
took my rifle and sauntered off to examine the ruins.
They proved to be very much more extensive than I had imagined, for when
I came to inspect them at close quarters I found that the structures
which had at first attracted my attention formed but a very small part
of the whole, the greater portion of the buildings having been razed to
the level of the ground, large heaps of rubbish and the foundations
being all that now remained, with the exception of the ruins
above-mentioned, of a town or village that had originally covered more
than a hundred acres of ground.
But it was to the ruins which had originally arrested my attention that
I now chiefly devoted myself, entirely forgetful of the fact that a meal
was awaiting me at the wagon. And these remains I found to be
extraordinarily interesting, for I had not been among them ten minutes
before I became convinced that they were the work of a people of far
higher intelligence than the Mashonas--that they must indeed have been
built by a race having some pretensions to civilisation. For, while the
walls were for the most part built of dry rubble masonry, the lintels
and doorposts were of dressed stone, and--most remarkable circumstance
of all--were in many cases adorned with sculptures in low relief, of a
character strongly resembling those which I had seen portrayed in
pictures of Egyptian ruins. For example, there were figures of men
ploughing with oxen, driving laden asses, leading by the horns antelopes
which were perfectly recognisable as the oryx and springbok, others
leading baboons, leopards, giraffes, dogs, lions, and elephants, human
figures with heads of birds, lions, and rams, and figures of sphynxes
with human heads, or the heads of rams. And these figures were not by
any means the rough efforts of uncultured savages; on the contrary, they
were distinguished by a precision of line, a delicacy yet firmness of
touch, and an artistic beauty that could only have resulted from a very
high state of civilisation and culture.
The buildings appeared to be mostly circular in plan, ranging from about
thirty to fifty feet in diameter, with walls averaging three feet in
thickness, one or more of these being surrounded by an outer wall,
approximately elliptical in plan, of some five feet in thickness. There
were five of these structures still standing in a sufficient state of
preservation to render them recognisable at a distance as buildings, and
a great many more--the precise number I did not trouble to ascertain--of
which nothing but the foundations remained. I prowled about among these
intensely interesting remains for several hours, until close upon sunset
in fact, examining them and striving to puzzle out their origin, and
then made my way back to the wagon, where I found Piet and Jan rapidly
working themselves into a fever of anxiety about my prolonged absence,
and earnestly debating the propriety of instituting a search for me.
So profound were the interest and curiosity aroused within me by these
remarkable and mysterious relics of a lost and forgotten civilisation
that when Piet awakened me on the following morning with my early cup of
coffee and the enquiry whether it was my pleasure that the oxen should
be inspanned, I determined to devote at least a few hours to their
further examination, and issued my instructions accordingly. Then, as
soon as we had all breakfasted, I ordered Piet to take the sporting
double-barrel while I carried my rifle, and, with the two dogs
accompanying us, set out to complete my inspection. But, beyond the
finding of an elaborately sculptured stone sarcophagus, which we took
the liberty of breaking open, and which contained a mummified human body
and several earthenware utensils decorated with exquisite paintings--one
of which I appropriated and carried away--we discovered nothing further
that was worthy of particular mention; and about two o'clock in the
afternoon we inspanned and resumed our journey.
An hour later, however, at a distance of some three miles from the
ruins, we arrived opposite a hill of solid rock some four hundred feet
in height and about a mile long, in the face of which I observed what I
at first took to be the mouth of a cave; but, looking at it more
closely, I presently perceived alongside it a great mass of debris. My
curiosity again got the better of me, and, calling a halt, I walked over
to it and proceeded to examine it at close quarters, with the result
that I soon convinced myself that the "cave" and its accompanying mound
of debris could be nothing else than an ancient working; while upon
entering the opening, which extended inward and downward for a distance
of nearly half a mile, I discovered evidence enough to prove that the
working was that of an extraordinarily rich gold mine, visible gold
showing everywhere in the worked face of the rock! And at once the idea
seized me that if I could but contrive to ingratiate myself sufficiently
with Lomalindela, His Majesty might be induced to grant me a concession
to work the mine, and so place me in possession of wealth "beyond the
dreams of avarice". I thought at first that possibly this might be the
identical mine from which the gold in my wagon had come, but a close
examination of the working at length convinced me that the rock had
remained untouched for ages; and then it occurred to me that perhaps the
dead and forgotten inhabitants of the ruined village which I had so
recently left might have been the miners.
And now, with every mile of our progress, the country became more broken
and hilly, and at the same time more open and park-like, the great
masses of bush and scrub with which we had so long been familiar giving
place to trees of handsome appearance and noble proportions, growing for
the most part singly, but occasionally in clumps of from three or four
to a dozen or two, while occasionally the clumps magnified themselves
sufficiently to justify the term of a wood, or even a small forest;
moreover, the grass was in places profusely dotted with beautiful
flowers, while where the trees grew most thickly they were often
enwreathed with parasitic growths which, if they were not actually
orchids, very strongly resembled them, the blooms they abundantly bore
being of the most remarkable and often most beautiful shapes and
colours. Thus the broken character of the country, with its
accompanying features of swelling hills, scarred here and there with
foaming rivulets, ravines, and gorges hemmed in and overhung by lofty
trees garlanded with flowering parasites, and intermingled in places
with luxuriant shrubs--some of which bore leaves of such curious shapes
and brilliant colours that they might easily have been mistaken for
flowers--and with birds of strange forms and gaudy plumage flitting
hither and thither, was a most agreeable change from the characteristic
scenery of South Africa. It was a beautiful and very fertile country,
taken as a whole, and the nearer that we drew to Gwanda the more
forcibly was this fact borne in upon me, as also was the further fact
that the Mashonas were a very powerful nation, so far at least as
numbers were concerned; for every kraal at which we arrived was bigger
and more important in every way than the one that preceded it.
The evening of the sixth day after we had crossed the Limpopo found us
outspanned upon the left bank of the stream which we had been closely
following from the moment of our passage of the river, with a lofty,
flat-topped mountain range, some fifty miles long, on our left hand,
springing from the plain close to the opposite margin of the stream, and
on our right two enormous mountains, some twenty miles apart from peak
to peak, and remarkable for their exceptional height--which I estimated
at fully fourteen thousand feet--as well as from the fact that they were
identical not only in shape, but also apparently in size and altitude.
In shape they were almost hemispherical, and to add to their similarity
each bore on its very summit a protuberance very much resembling in
appearance a beehive-shaped Kafir hut, but much larger, being probably
quite two hundred feet in height. The tops of these remarkable
mountains were covered with snow for a distance of about two thousand
feet from the summit, and very beautiful they looked, blushing a soft,
delicate pink in the last rays of the setting sun. The ground between
the two mountains--which I took to be a pair of long-extinct volcanoes--
and the range on our left rose steadily, and therefore somewhat retarded
our progress when we continued our trek on the following day; but about
two o'clock in the afternoon we reached the summit of the slope and saw
before us a valley or basin, roughly circular in shape and some twenty
miles in diameter, hemmed in on all sides by hills, some of which were
lofty enough to be snow-capped on their summits; and in the very centre
of this valley lay Gwanda, the Kraal or Place of Lomalindela, the king
of the Mashona nation.
It was an immense place, far exceeding in dimensions the biggest native
kraal that I had ever yet seen. It was circular in plan, like the other
Mashona kraals that I had passed on my way, and, also like them, it was
intersected by two main roads or streets, crossing each other at right
angles in the centre of the kraal, one road running due north and south,
while the other ran east and west. Each of these roads was about two
and a half miles long, with a great gate at either extremity, pierced in
the high and strong circular palisade which completely surrounded the
kraal; and at the point where these two main roads intersected in the
centre of the kraal each was widened in such a manner as to form a great
square about one hundred and sixty acres in extent, this doubtless being
the spot where all business of a ceremonial character was conducted.
That some such business was impending we shortly afterward became aware,
for during the descent of the wagon into the valley we were overtaken
and passed by regiment after regiment of warriors, all decorated in full
war paraphernalia; and the induna of one of these informed me that a
general muster was proceeding, in preparation for the annual festival,
which was to be held on the day after the morrow. During the remainder
of that day we beheld an almost continuous stream of armed men
converging upon the town, not only by way of the road along which we
were travelling, but also from passes in the mountains all round the
valley.
When the wagon had arrived within about a mile of the southern gate of
the town I was met by an official, who bore me a formal message of
welcome from the king, with an intimation that His Majesty would see me
on the morrow. The officer also indicated a certain spot, about half a
mile outside the south gate and near the bank of the stream, where he
suggested I should outspan the wagon, explaining that the king was of
opinion that I would be more comfortable out there, in comparative
seclusion, than in the overcrowded town, an opinion with which my own
completely coincided. And this opinion was strengthened to absolute
conviction when, as the sun sank behind the western mountains and the
soft, tropical night settled down upon the valley, our ears were
assailed by a perfect babel of sound emanating from the town, which,
even at the distance of half a mile, rendered sleep almost impossible.
What it would have been like to be lodged in the midst of the storm
focus I trembled to think.
The din above hinted at was kept up until such a preposterously late
hour that it was not until early in the morning of the following day
that I finally fell asleep, with the result that I rather overslept
myself; and when Piet brought me my usual cup of coffee he at the same
time brought me an intimation that envoys had already arrived from
Gwanda with a message from the king, to the effect that His Majesty was
now prepared to grant me an interview. I did not hurry, however, but
rose and dressed with more deliberation than usual, for my experience is
that a savage--even although that savage happens to be a king--respects
a white man in direct proportion to the time that the latter keeps him
waiting; therefore I directed Piet to inform the messengers that I was
not yet ready to receive them, but would do so as soon as I had partaken
of breakfast. I kept the men--it required six of them, it appeared, to
bring the king's message--about an hour, and then condescended to
interview them, sending them back with an intimation that I was about to
select from among my treasures certain articles which I intended to
offer as gifts to His Majesty, and that when I had done so I would so
far honour him as to call and make the presentation in person.
I delivered this message with all the aloofness and dignity of manner
that I could muster, and was gratified to observe that it was not
without its effect upon the king's envoys, who accorded me the salute of
"'Nkos'!" upon their departure. Then, as soon as they were gone, I
unpacked my bales and proceeded to sort out and set aside the gifts
which I intended to offer for His Majesty's acceptance. By dint of a
little artful questioning I had contrived to gain the information that
King Lomalindela was a man of about my own stature and build, and I kept
this information in mind when selecting my gifts. I assumed that, as in
the case of King Moshesh, a military uniform would prove the most
acceptable gift that I could possibly offer a savage monarch; and upon
examining my stock in trade I discovered that I possessed the complete
uniform of a sergeant of hussars--tunic, pelisse, trousers and boots
combined, shako with red and white horsehair plume complete, and a
sabre--which, upon trial, seemed to fit me pretty well, if perhaps just
a shade tight. I therefore decided upon this, together with a length of
some two and a half feet of brass chain, the ends of which I united by a
split ring, to which I attached one of my small circular shaving
mirrors; and to this I added a dozen little brass boxes full of mixed
beads, these last being intended as gifts for the king's favourite
wives. Then, putting the whole in a parcel which I entrusted to Piet's
care, I mounted Prince, and, accompanied by my trusty Hottentot henchman
on foot, set out to traverse the short distance between the wagon and
Gwanda.
The arrival of a white man in the Mashona country was evidently a quite
unique event, exciting the utmost curiosity in the minds of the
inhabitants--indeed, I subsequently learned that such a thing had never
happened since the memorable visit of my friend Major Henderson and his
partner, Van Raalte, consequently it was only a very few of the older
men who had ever beheld a white man before; for as I rode along at a
foot-pace, with Piet respectfully walking in my rear, the whole way was
lined on either side by thousands of men, women, and children, who had
turned out for the express purpose of beholding such an astonishing
spectacle, this, it appeared, being rendered all the more extraordinary
by the fact that horses were unknown to the Mashonas, and not one of
them, save the half-dozen or so elders above-mentioned, had ever so much
as heard of a mounted man! Therefore my slow progress was marked by a
continuous volley of "Au's!" uttered with the hand held over the mouth,
indicative of the utmost astonishment and awe. The same sort of thing,
only in a very much more marked degree, prevailed inside the town, every
one of the inhabitants of which appeared to have made a point of turning
out to witness my arrival. I rode right up through the main street of
the town as far as the great square of which I have spoken as occupying
its centre, and there, finding that the entire square was lined with
troops in full panoply of war--from which I surmised that my visit was
intended to be regarded as a state function--I dismounted, and, still
carrying my trusty rifle, turned my horse over to the care of a savage
who seemed to be more than half-afraid of the animal. Then, with Piet
following close at my heels, I passed through a gap which had been
hastily made in the line of troops, and found myself in the great
square--and in the presence of King Lomalindela.