"When I told Nangeza that we had seen but the beginning of the night's
doings, _Nkose_, I spoke no more than the truth. The sentinel whom we
had overpowered was found towards morning just as we had left him--tied
and gagged; yet not, for he had managed to roll over and over until he
came near enough to another outpost, who was about to fling a spear
through him, thinking it an enemy approaching in the darkness. Better,
indeed, if he had.
"Now, if there was one thing upon which Umzilikazi was strict, one rule
the punishment of violating which, in the very smallest degree, was
certain and merciless, that, was military discipline. By such
discipline the great King Tshaka had become great, and with him the Zulu
people; and it Umzilikazi, the founder and first King of a new nation,
was resolved to maintain at its highest. So when heralds went round at
an early hour crying aloud that all must assemble before the
King--_indunas_ and fighting men, women and children, boys and old men
who were past bearing arms; not one of whatever estate was to be absent
on pain of death--when the people heard this, I say, many feared, but
none were surprised. All thought there was to be a great `smelling out'
of _abatagati_, and, indeed, it ended in such. Only I and Nangeza knew
the principal reason of the assembly, and secretly we feared.
"_Whau_! it was a sight, that muster! The warriors, crouching behind
their shields, formed two immense half-circles, and behind them the
women and children, the cloud of fear lying heavy upon their faces. The
_izinduna_ sat in a group a little distance from the King's hut.
"It happened that I was appointed shield-bearer to the King, and this
went far to remove my fears, for had any suspicion attached to me, I
should not have been the man told off to stand behind the Great Great
One on such an occasion as this. As Umzilikazi came forth, I walking
before him with the great white shield held aloft, two _izimbonga_ ran
before us in a crouching attitude shouting aloud the names of the Great
Great One; and the rattle of assegai hafts was as the quiver of the
forest trees in a gale as the great half-circles of warriors bent low,
echoing in a mighty rolling voice the words of the _izimbonga_.
"`_Ho, Yisobantu! Indhlovu 'nkulu! Ho, Inyoka 'mninimandhla! Ho,
Inkunzi 'mnyama! Ho, 'Nkulu-'nkulu_.'"
[O Father of the People! Great Elephant! O All-powerful Serpent! O
Black Bull! O Great One!]
"The King seated himself upon a carved block of wood which was covered
with a leopard's skin, I taking up my position behind him, holding the
white shield. On either side were ranged the young men of the royal
body-guard, fully armed. Then he gave orders that the defaulting
sentinel should be brought before him.
"In the midst of four warriors of his own regiment, unarmed, of course,
but not bound, the man drew near. He was a young man, tall and strong,
and a feeling of profound pity was in the hearts of all; for, fine
warrior as he was, all knew he was doomed. His offence was one which
the King could not pardon. He did obeisance, uttering one word, `Baba!'
[Father!] But as he rose one look at his face, which, though sad, was
full of the dignity of fearlessness, caused my heart to stand still--for
I recognised my brother, Sekweni. I had doomed to death my own father's
son. Then the Great Great One spoke:
"`When a soldier of the King is set to guard the safety of the King, he
has eyes to see with and ears to hear with. He has weapons to fight
with, and strength wherewith to use them. Yet all these are of no use
to him, since, being in full possession of them all, the King's sentinel
is found at his post tied up, and gagged, and useless as a wooden log.'
"Umzilikazi paused a moment, looking the young warrior full in the face
with a bitter and scornful expression. Then, in that quiet and stinging
tone, which he adopted when in the most terrible of his moods, he went
on:
"`When a soldier of the King allows himself to be turned into a log for
one night, is it not meet that he should be turned into one for ever?
Now a log has no eyes to see with and no ears to hear with; it has no
hands, no arms, no legs.'
"Then, _Nkose_, it seemed to me that I had come to the end of my life.
Here was I obliged to stand by while my own father's son was put to a
most hideous and disgraceful death, through my means, and keep silence.
I was on the point of speaking, of proclaiming myself the offender,
when, from my position behind the King, I caught sight of Nangeza
standing among the women, so tall and stately and splendid, and the
recollection that if I spoke the lives of two would be taken instead of
the life of one came back to me. Nay, further, I remembered that though
Nangeza and myself would certainly be adjudged to die the death, the
King would, not any the more on that account spare the life of my
brother, Sekweni, whose offence was an unpardonable one.
"`A sentinel who is surprised and overpowered at his post is clearly of
no use at all,' went on the King. `We do not keep anything that is of
no use, not even a dog. What hast thou to say, son of Ntelani?'
"`This, O Black Elephant,' answered my brother. `I was bewitched!'
"`Ha! that is not much of a story,' said the King; `though a stout hide
thong may bind about a man a powerful spell. Yet, tell thy tale.'
"`The spell was a female spell, O King!' replied my brother. And then
he went on to tell how his seizure and binding had been done by feminine
hands. The forms of those who had thus made him captive were the forms
of women, and most perfectly moulded women, he declared. Of this he had
been assured during the struggle, and the spells they had woven round
him had rendered him powerless. Was not this ample proof that he had
been bewitched? since what living woman would undertake to overpower and
bind one of the King's sentinels? Wizardry of the most dreaded kind was
at work here.
"Now, when I heard this, I trembled for Nangeza. Why would she stand
forth thus, so prominent among the other women, in all the splendid
vigour of her symmetrical frame? What if the King's eye should fall
upon her? What if a new idea should arise in his mind?
"`Thy story seems to hang together well, Sekweni,' said the King. `But
this thong,' holding up the one wherewith Sekweni had been bound,
`savoureth rather more of mortal hands. It is such as would be used to
place around the horns of cattle, or as women would tie up burdens
with--or firewood.'
"At these words, _Nkose_, my eyes well-nigh leaped from my head with
fear. He who knew all things had spoken those words.
"`Here, too, is what was rent from a skin kaross,' went on the Great
Great One, holding up a small strip of spotted skin. `It is as a
fragment of a woman's garment. So far thy tale holdeth, son of
Ntelani.'
"At this my eyes again sought Nangeza. But she did not meet my glance.
There was the same half-amused and wholly fearless expression in her
face. What a wonderful girl she was! I thought, my own fears vanishing
as I saw how full of courage she was.
"`Now, confess, _umfane_!' said the King suddenly, speaking quickly and
bending upon my brother a terrible frown. `Are not these all lies?
Hast thou not been the author of thine own undoing, by having dealings
with a woman while thou shouldest have been watching at thy post?'
"`No lies have I told, O Great Great One, in whose light we live,'
answered Sekweni steadily. `It is as I have said--I was bewitched.'
"`Good,' said the King. `Now will we get to the root of this. Come
forth, ye snakes of the darkness!'
"At these words the doors of three of the huts opened, and there burst
forth from them the whole company of the _izanusi_. They were smeared
with blood and napping with entrails, and with their charms of
bird-claws and human bones, snakes' skins and cow-tail tufts, rattling
around them, came dancing and leaping before the King, whistling and
howling, a most hideous company.
"`Behold this thong--this bit of skin,' said Umzilikazi, holding up the
articles. `Find the owner, ye ringed snakes! Find the owners!'
"The _izanusi_ went howling round the circle as is their wont, and all
hearts quailed. Not a man could tell but that a wizard rod should be
turned his way; yet on this occasion it was the women who had the most
cause to fear, for had not Sekweni declared that his captors wore female
shape? All, however, as the witch-doctors ran howling before them, kept
up a most doleful song, calling for the speedy finding and punishment of
the witch. Still, the _izanusi_ ran twice round the circle without
naming anybody, and, indeed, I, among others, thought I knew the reason
of this; for it happened that at the last `smelling-out' they had named
one of the King's favourite fighting chiefs, which had so enraged
Umzilikazi, whom it had put to so much difficulty in finding a pretext
for sparing the denounced man's life, that he had more than half vowed
the death of the witch-doctors the next time they should accuse the
wrong person. This, then, was the cause of their hesitation, the more
so that they suspected the old Mosutu had been spared in order to
supersede themselves.
"But now indeed I had cause to quake, for the _izanusi_ had stopped, and
with renewed vigour were howling and dancing in front of the group of
women among whom Nangeza was the most prominent. I could see the faces
of these women quivering with fear, but not so hers. She echoed the
witch-finding song louder than any, seeming to fling it back defiantly
into their faces.
"`We name--' they shrieked, flourishing their arms and rattles, and
leaping high in the air. The rods were already extended.
"`We name--'
"`Hold!' cried the King. `Go no further. I have a new idea. Where is
Masuka? Where is the old Mosutu?'
"`Here, lord,' said the old man, coming from a hut close by.
"`Hast thou been making _muti_ alone, Masuka?' said the King.
"`I require no _muti_, O Black Elephant. That may be needful to such as
these.'
"`I hear thee, Masuka. Look, now. Twice have these _izanusi_ gone
round the circle, and yet have named no one. Let them stand aside now,
and go thou around it once; for I believe their _muti_ is worn thin, and
thy power without it is greater than theirs with it.'
"`The King shall be satisfied,' answered the Mosutu.
"Now, although he had been well treated and kept in abundance, the old
man had affected no superiority over any of us, great or mean. He had
worn only one or two `charms,' and, indeed, there was little about him
to denote his estate, unlike our own magicians, who were ever performing
strange and mysterious rites. When the time came, he would say, then
his power would be proved; meanwhile he was under no necessity to do
anything to keep it from tottering. And this was the first time since
the fire-making that he had been called upon to exercise his power.
"Now, as he paced round the ring, with nothing in his hand but a short
pointed stick, and no ornaments save three black wooden beads suspended
to his neck and two gnu's tails on his left arm, I felt no fear, for he
was aware that I, and not Gungana, had saved his life, and I knew he
would do nothing to harm me. So I breathed freely and watched the
proceedings.
"Unlike the others, Masuka, as he went round the circle, looked at
nobody. With his head thrown back, he stared skyward, muttering the
while in a strange language, and every now and then breaking into a
short yelling chant. But when he returned before the King he had named
no one.
"`Well, Father of the Fire-spirit?' said Umzilikazi. `Who is to die?'
"We saw that blank look come over the old man's face which had come upon
it that other time when we thought him dead. It was as if his spirit
had suddenly left his body. Then he fell over and lay on the ground,
still, motionless as a stone.
"All gazed upon him with awe and dread, gazed upon him in a silence
which was only broken by the deep breathing of the multitude. At length
his lips were seen to move. Words came forth:
"`Who has bewitched the soldier of the King?'
"The voice was so strange and far-away and hollow that it seemed to come
from the very depths of the earth. Moreover, the eyes of the old Mosutu
were so turned inwards that nothing but the whites were visible at a
time. As he proceeded with his questions and answers he would roll his
eyeballs around in a manner that was dreadful to behold. It was as if
they were quite loose in his head.
"`Who has bewitched the soldier of the King? Is it Nkaleni?'
"`It is not Nkaleni.'
"`Is it Matupe?'
"`It is not Matupe.'
"`Is it Nangeza?'
"At these words, _Nkose_, and the pause that followed them, I was so
startled that I nearly let fall the shield upon the royal head-ring,
which would have meant my instant death. As it was, I found I was
holding it in such wise as to allow the sun to scorch one of the King's
ears; but Umzilikazi was, fortunately, so interested in the
witch-finding that he failed to notice it. Then, to my relief, the
answer came:
"`It is not Nangeza.'
"In this way old Masuka ran through a number of names, and the terror
upon the countenances of the women named, for they were all women, until
the answer came, was something to witness. Then he changed the form of
question.
"`Were there two in it?'
"`There were two in it.'
"`Was it Shushungani?'
"Such an exclamation of amazement broke from all, for Masuka had named
one of the royal wives. It gathered in intensity as, after a longer
pause than before, the answer came:
"`Shushungani--Shushungani! It was Shushungani!'
"A wild shriek burst from the owner of the name, who was standing among
the royal women.
"`He lies! he lies!' she screamed in her terror. `The stranger
_isanusi_ lies!'
"`Peace, woman!' thundered the King. `Proceed, Masuka.'
"Again followed a number of names, one at last being fixed upon as
before. She, too, was of the royal household, though not of the King's
wives, and was called Pangulwe. With her the naming ceased, and for
long the old man lay in death-like silence, nor would the King suffer a
word or a sound to be uttered. Then suddenly Masuka returned to life,
and, sitting up, looked wonderingly around, as a man waking from a dream
who finds himself in a strange place.
"To us there was something especially terrible about this method of
`smelling-out,' the old man's spirit seeming to leave his body thus and
to talk with those of the unseen air--so different to the hideous
clangour and wild dancing wherewith our own _izanusi_ were wont to
proceed--and resulting as it did in the naming of two of the royal
women, our awe and wonder was without bounds.
"At a sign from the King the two named were brought forward.
Shushungani was a tall, straight woman, very black, and with a sullen
countenance and evil eyes. The other, Fangulwe, was young and rather
pretty. On the faces of both was a dreadful look of terror over their
coming fate.
"`Is the King bewitched himself,' cried the former wildly, `that this
dog of a stranger dares lift his tongue against the royal House?'
"`It seems that tongues are often lifted _within_ the royal House,
Shushungani, and that too much. Even the royal House is not always free
from _abatagati_,' replied the King, with a sneer. `_Hambani gahle_!'
[`Go in peace,' the Zulu form of farewell to anybody leaving.] `A
peaceful night awaits you both. Take them hence. Stay, though. They
are of the Royal House. Let them die the death of the spear!'
"The despairing shrieks of the two women whom the executioners had
seized to drag forth to the place of death were completely drowned in
the great chorus of _bonga_ that arose by reason of this act of mercy on
the part of the King. For he had ordered them the nobler death of the
assegai instead of having their brains clubbed out with knobsticks, as
the usual method was.
"`Now that the witches have gone to sleep,' said the King, `it seems
right that the bewitched should join them; for in good truth a sentinel
at his post should be proof even against the spells of witchcraft.'
"`I welcome death at the King's word,' said Sekweni, who knew he was
doomed. `But I would first ask a favour of the Great Great One.'
"`Speak on,' said the King.
"`I would ask that I, too, may die the death of the spear--the death of
a warrior, of a soldier of the King.'
"`Ha! thou askest that form of death, son of Ntelani? Yet it is the
more painful of the two.'
"`It is the death of a man, O Black Elephant.'
"`So be it,' said Umzilikazi, making a sign to those who stood by for
the purpose.
"Then my poor brother was made to sit down on the ground, and in this
posture his left arm was drawn high above his head and held there, while
a thin-bladed assegai was inserted below his armpit and pressed slowly,
slowly downward until it reached the heart. Not a word, not a groan,
escaped him in his agony, and at length, with a gasp, he fell over dead.
"In truth, _Nkose_, my heart was sore; yet had I spoken I could not have
saved Sekweni's life.
"`_Ou_! he died bravely,' said the King, who had been narrowly watching
my poor brother's face, but had failed to detect any sign of shrinking.
`I love not to order the death of such. Yet he who sleeps while en
outpost will surely sleep for ever, be he whom he may. Draw near,
Masuka.'
"`Thou art an _isanusi_ indeed!' went on Umzilikazi, taking snuff.
`Thou hast rid the people of two pestilent witches, whose spells have
robbed me of one of my bravest fighters. Five cows shalt thou have, old
man, to start thee as one of ourselves. Now go.'
"And all the people shouted aloud in praise of the justice and
generosity of the King.
"Now, it failed not to be whispered abroad that the naming of the two
royal women was a pre-concerted thing, else had even a witch-doctor not
dared to name one of the royal House, and, indeed, I at the time
believed it. But afterwards I knew it was not so, and that no word had
passed, the real truth being that Masuka, since his instalment among us,
had made himself all eyes and ears and no tongue. Thus he had divined
that Umzilikazi desired not the naming of warriors at the
witch-findings, and was displeased with his own _izanusi_ for denouncing
such; further, that the woman Shushungani was sharp-tongued and
evil-tempered, while the other by her conduct had incurred suspicion,
and the King would gladly be rid of them both. So he won great praise
from the King for ridding him of these two, and the people felt grateful
to him in that he had denounced no one else. As for myself, _Nkose_, I
rejoiced greatly; for Shushungani hated me, and was ever talking into
the King's ear against me."