Wearisome delay in coronation--War suggestions from Umzulek--My plan
to bluff Labotsibeni--The bluff is called--A ticklish situation--
Labotsibeni refuses to surrender the throne--Our demonstration
fails--Night murders provoke war.
During the next two months Tuys and I had almost daily interviews with
Tzaneen and Sebuza, but we got no nearer the coronation. The situation
was becoming a scandal in Swaziland and was hurting the prestige of
the royal family at Lebombo. Indunas kept coming in from the outlying
districts and asking how soon the coronation would take place. With
them came their warriors, and there was much murmuring because of the
delay.
We, too, were growing more and more impatient, and to add to our
distress Rossman, my camera-man, became ill. I could do little for
him, and he was thoroughly disgusted with the lack of action. Finally,
on his urgent request, I sent him out through Portuguese territory to
Delagoa Bay, where he caught a steamer for his home in America. Oom
Tuys took him to the coast and was gone nearly two weeks. He returned
to find us just where we had been when he left, except that the
population of Lebombo was increased by several hundred more expectant
warriors. These had all come for the coronation and were unable to
understand why Tzaneen did not go ahead with it.
Tuys brought word from some one he had talked to at Delagoa Bay that
there was a general understanding among the Portuguese that Sebuza
intended taking the throne by force. In fact, traders were warned not
to go into Swaziland for fear that they might get mixed up in the
impending civil war. Rumors of war always lead to "gun-running" in
South Africa, just as they did in Cuba in the old days, and I asked
Tuys if he had heard whether anything of this nature was taking place.
"The authorities there are not taking any chances," he said. "They are
not anxious to become embroiled with the British and have posted extra
guards at many places along the border. If anyone tries to get guns to
the Swazis, he will have to be very clever or he'll be caught."
It is absolutely forbidden to sell guns to the kaffirs anywhere in the
Transvaal, but there are always venturesome traders who find it
impossible to overlook the chance of making a big profit, for a gun is
worth more than its weight in silver to any native able to pay for it.
I remembered my experience with King Buno years before, when Oom Tuys
allowed me to present him with a Mauser rifle.
The monotony of the delay in the coronation was hard to bear. As
already stated, we visited Tzaneen and Sebuza nearly every day, but it
was weeks before anything happened.
It was about four months after we came to Lebombo that Tzaneen sent
for us one day. We found her surrounded by a number of strange indunas
who seemed to be friendly with Vilakazi, one of the sons of Buno and
therefore an uncle of Sebuza. It seemed that we had been summoned to
attend an important conference. I was glad of this, for it might mean
that some action was about to be taken. We entered the royal hut with
the usual formalities, and the strange indunas saluted respectfully.
"Nkoos, these great chiefs have come from Stegea," the queen said.
"They have been sent with a message from Umzulek. They are the leaders
of his impis and he has directed them to counsel with me for the
purpose of taking the throne by force. Umzulek has talked much with
Vilakazi, who has explained to him all the difficulties that surround
us. Umzulek declares he will send all his warriors to our assistance,
if we will drive Labotsibeni from the throne and make my son king."
During this speech Tuys watched me keenly. I could feel that there was
war in the air. The people of Swaziland had come to the end of their
patience and were determined to set up their king whether Labotsibeni
and Lomwazi liked it or not. On my part, I was practically pledged to
keep peace in Swaziland and could not be party to a war, even if it
meant the success of my enterprise. Keeping this thought in mind, I
addressed the queen before Tuys could reply.
"Nkosikaas, Mother of the King," I said as impressively as I could,
"this is talk of war! We must not have killing. Your son must not gain
his throne through bloodshed.
"This would be a poor business, Nkosikaas. The government would not
sanction his taking the throne by force and he would be driven out by
the rifles of the English. War must be avoided at all costs, since
Sebuza would lose, even if he won!"
I went on at length, pointing out the foolishness of war and trying to
get the queen and the indunas to change their minds. I could see that
the indunas were set on war, and they had convinced Tzaneen that it
was the only way. Down in my heart I had a sort of feeling that they
were right.
Tuys also backed me up and talked of the mistakes made by the Swazis
when he was young. He explained that they must obey the government and
told them how impossible it would be for them to wage war against
Labotsibeni without its consent. He made a good argument against
killing and practically converted the queen.
Then Sebuza came in! With him was Lochien and a number of the younger
indunas. Immediately the debate became heated. Lochien took our side,
but Sebuza and his men sided with the indunas from Stegea. The queen
remained neutral, though I felt she would have liked to come out for
war. It was Sebuza who made the deciding speech.
"Who am I that I am kept out of my kingdom?" he almost shouted. "I,
the son of Buno and grandson of Umbandine! I have thousands and
thousands of warriors, and all the people of my country wait for me to
become king. All my indunas and warriors wait for me to give the word,
when they will sweep over the land and crush Labotsibeni and Lomwazi!
"I call for war! I call to my people to come to me and destroy those
who hold the throne from Sebuza, son of Buno!"
With this kindly thought the prince sat down, and I could see that
practically all the indunas were in favor of his suggestions. It
looked as though we were to have a civil war whether we wanted it or
not. But I thought of Commissioner Honey's remarks and decided to make
another effort to avoid a conflict.
I suggested to the queen that the indunas be dismissed and that we
hold a conference to decide the question of whether or not there
should be war. When the indunas had gone, there was a sort of
"executive session" attended by the queen, Sebuza, Lochien, Vilakazi,
Oom Tuys, and myself.
Tuys and I brought up the question of what would happen to all present
if the indunas of Tzaneen and Sebuza were allowed to precipitate war.
We told them of the misery it would cause their people, and finally
reminded them that the British Government would take a hand and that
they would either be driven out of their country or executed. This
last thought struck home. Nevertheless, they were so exasperated at
the state of affairs that it looked as though they were almost willing
to take a chance.
"But we have more than five thousand warriors here now," Sebuza
objected. "These brave men are loyal to me and came here to see me
crowned. They are willing to die for me, and I dare not send them home
to their kraals to say that I, the son of Buno, am afraid to take my
throne. Labotsibeni has few warriors, and I have heard that these will
desert her if there is a war. We could seize the throne with little
killing. Only Lomwazi, perhaps, need be killed!"
That last statement came from the heart. I could see that Sebuza had
hard feelings for his uncle and he looked as if he would enjoy the job
of removing Labotsibeni's able counsellor.
His remark about there being so many warriors at Lebombo gave me an
idea. It flashed through my troubled head that it might be a good idea
to "pull a bluff" on Labotsibeni, as the Americans say.
"You say you have more than five thousand warriors here waiting for
you to give the word for war," I said, turning to Sebuza. "Are you
sure that Labotsibeni has few warriors and that these will not remain
faithful?"
Sebuza repeated his statement, and both Lochien and Vilakazi agreed
with him.
"Then let us make a demonstration on Zombode," I went on. "Let us get
all the warriors of Sebuza and the queen, and also those of Umzulek,
and march on the royal kraal of Labotsibeni. When we arrive there, let
the impis deploy so that their number is so many that it cannot be
counted."
[Illustration: CROWN PRINCE SEBUZA IN FESTIVAL DRESS
The headdress consists of anything that is colored, perhaps a few
colored feathers or colored paper (probably removed from a jam-tin).
The necklace consists of beads worked into various ornaments and
patterns. The anklets are made from the hides of wild beasts]
[Illustration: CROWN PRINCE SEBUZA
This picture was taken immediately after his return from the mountains
where he attained his manhood. During the space of two moons, or two
months, he lived in complete isolation among the barren mountains. He
was later subjected to various religious rites, including
circumcision, and went through all the ceremonies incidental to his
sanctification for the throne]
"When all is ready, the warriors will dance as though for war. After a
little we shall send messengers to Labotsibeni and demand that she
abdicate. Lomwazi will see that we have an overwhelming force and will
advise her to do so, and thus Sebuza will receive the throne of his
father!"
My suggestion met with the unqualified approval of all the Swazis,
particularly Sebuza and his mother. Oom Tuys, however, spoke quickly
to me in Dutch.
"Remind them that this is only a demonstration, Owen, and that there
must be no killing," he said.
I turned to the others again.
"Nkosikaas, you must instruct your indunas that this is to be only a
peaceful demonstration," I told the queen. "You must tell them that
the warrior who makes an attempt to kill will be executed. There must
be no mistake about this. Prince Sebuza must also tell his indunas
this, and they must understand fully that this is not war--it is only
make-believe."
All promised to see that these instructions were carried out, and then
we arranged the details of the demonstration. It was set for the day
after the next new moon, or about ten days hence. In the meantime all
the warriors that could be notified were to be rallied at Lebombo, so
that the impis of the queen and Sebuza would be as large and imposing
as possible. At the time I did not realize that this last suggestion
was a mistake. I ought to have remembered that it would be impossible
to muster the warriors loyal to our faction without those of the
opposite persuasion knowing about it.
The day of the demonstration dawned bright and fair. It was also very
hot. Tuys and the rest of our party were up early, and even then the
kraals of Lebombo seemed alive with fighting men. Lochien came over
before breakfast and said that they would set out so as to reach
Zombode before noon. This meant about half-past nine, since
Labotsibeni's kraal was about a two hours' march distant.
It was an imposing spectacle to see the various impis assemble in such
formation as they knew. Tzaneen and Sebuza each had their own impis,
wearing a distinguishing headdress. In addition, the men from Stegea
wore plumes that showed they were the "household troops" of Umzulek.
The other impis were more or less nondescript, but their warriors were
picked men. Every man had on his full war costume and they made a
brave array. The indunas could be distinguished by their more splendid
regalia and bearing, and even I was surprised to see what fine types
of savages these were.
Sugden, Crespinell, Tuys, and I bore our rifles and side-arms so as to
carry out the semblance of war, and we four marched at the head of the
army. The impis were strung out along the roadway, and when I looked
back I felt certain that we had many more than five thousand fighting
men behind us. With us at the head of the troops went L'Tunga,
Vilkazi, Lochien, and Makets, the latter the head induna of Umzulek's
impi.
We halted at the little stream that marks the dividing line between
Zombode and Lebombo and I took occasion to again impress on the
indunas the fact that we were about to make a peaceful demonstration.
I knew that word must have reached Lomwazi that we were coming, and I
hoped his spies had exaggerated our numbers so that he would realize
how hopeless it was to resist.
Sebuza had remained with his mother at Lebombo. This was to show that
he had nothing to do with our warlike strategy. He was to stay there
until sent for by his people to take over the throne.
I had one bad moment when we deployed in front of Zombode. We were
stretched out for more than a quarter of a mile--it must have been
nearer a half--and the formation was made while we were at least five
or six hundred yards from the kraals. With my field-glasses I could
see great numbers of warriors lying or sitting in front of the
village. The grass was high, so that I could make no actual estimate
of how many there were. I could glimpse thousands of headdresses above
the grass, however, and there appeared to be a bank of men on the
ground surrounding the kraals.
Now it had been planned that our army should advance in solid
formation right across the little plain until it came within about two
hundred yards of the huts. When it halted a signal was to be given,
and then the war dancing would begin.
We went forward, our little party between the impis of Tzaneen and the
prince, and I could feel the excitement growing. On both sides of me
grim warriors fingered their weapons and their eyes flashed. I had the
feeling that I was on top of a powder-magazine with lightning striking
all around.
Lochien was several paces in the lead, and it was he who was to give
the signal. On we went, until I began to think he had lost his head
and forgotten the orders. Suddenly he threw up his hands, his shield
gleaming dully in the sun, and halted. Instantly the whole army
stopped--and then came my bad moment!
Diamond-points of sunlight flashed from a thousand spearheads as impi
after impi rose from the ground around Zombode. In that brief moment
there seemed to be countless warriors, fully armed, standing guard at
the old queen's kraal.
We fairly gasped with astonishment. Tuys threw his rifle forward and I
heard the breech-lock click. He was as amazed as the rest of us, and
his instinct warned of trouble.
"What a surprise!" he said, turning quickly to me. "Now we're in for
it! Keep close, lad, and we'll win through!"
Before I could reply, Lochien began dancing. In another moment our
entire army was chanting and springing up and down like madmen.
"Soukbulala! Soukbulala!--I will kill you! I will kill you!" they
shouted. From individual shouts this quickly fell into a sort of rude
rhythm, its heavy bass rolling away across the plain.
Immediately the warriors at the kraals commenced their dance, and
their shouts reached us with the snap of gunshots. Our men waved their
knob-kerries, assegais, and shields in the air, and Labotsibeni's home
guard did the same. The air was full of murderous tools and we were
surrounded by giant savages who seemed to have suddenly gone mad.
This awful bedlam lasted for some time. Actually, it was six minutes
by my watch, but such a six minutes! Every second I expected to see
some of our warriors dash forward and attack the enemy.
L'Tunga came to himself first. He sprang out to Lochien, who still
danced in front of us all, and caught him by the arms. Lochien stopped
dancing, and a second later he turned to our army and threw up his
arms. Like a statue he held the great shield above his head, standing
there as though suddenly turned to bronze.
This was a signal for the dance to cease. In a little time our
warriors saw him and quieted down, only their agitated plumes showing
that their excitement was not wholly dead. Labotsibeni's warriors
caught the change, and soon they, too, became quiet. They swayed to
and fro in front of the kraals, but remained as silent as our impis.
L'Tunga and Lochien came back hurriedly to us for a conference.
"Nkoos, this is not what we expected," Lochien said to me in an
anxious tone. "We didn't believe Labotsibeni could muster so many men.
What shall we do now? Shall we go through with the plan, or fight?
Perhaps it is better to fight. We have more than five thousand
warriors, and they cannot have more than about three thousand. Shall
we fight?"
"No! No!" I replied most emphatically. "Go through with the plan as
arranged. Tell Labotsibeni that you have many more warriors than she
has. Tell her that you don't want to have any killing, but that she
must surrender the throne."
"Wouldn't it be better to fight?" Lochien insisted, and I could see
that the blood-lust had him.
I threw my rifle to my shoulder with the muzzle dangerously close to
his head.
"I shall kill the first man who tries to fight," I said. "If he is a
warrior, I'll shoot him once; if an induna, twice; and if he is one of
the royal blood, I'll fill him full of holes!"
This settled the question. Lochien thought my threat was real--and he
was not fooling himself much, either.
L'Tunga, who had a wide reputation throughout Swaziland as a
witch-doctor, then went forward, accompanied by Lochien, Makets, and
several others. They made the peace sign and went halfway across the
debatable ground between the two armies. Here they waited for a few
moments only, and then Lomwazi and half a dozen indunas came to meet
them. I would have given much to have heard that conversation. After a
short talk Lomwazi led our envoys into the village.
No sooner were they out of sight than Labotsibeni's men again began
dancing and shouting their war-cries. I could feel our warriors
tightening up, and shouted for Vilakazi. I told him to watch closely
and prevent any warrior from breaking ranks, and demanded that he stop
them from dancing. He went along the ranks and spoke to the indunas,
who turned and yelled at their men. In spite of this, I could see the
plumes beginning to sway and felt that it would not be long before
they were at it again. This time I doubted whether we could stop them
if the "enemy" began taunting them.
Labotsibini's men shouted and jumped, and presently one or two began
running forward a short distance. A warrior would seemingly be
overcome by his emotions and would make a quick dash into the "No
Man's Land" between the forces, using up his energy by a particularly
violent fit of dancing. When this was spent he would hop back to his
place near the kraal, yelling all the while.
I realized the danger of this sort of thing. If these enthusiastic
savages came far enough, they would tempt some of our men to dance out
and meet them. This would mean a killing. There would be some rapid
blows with the knob-kerries, accompanied by the hollow thud when the
shields caught the strokes, and finally one blow would go home and the
victim would drop. Like a flash would come the stab of the assegai and
there would be a dead man on the ground!
Our indunas knew this better than I did, and they walked up and down
before their excited warriors watching for the first man to break
ranks. Tuys and I held our rifles ready, fully intending to shoot the
first warrior who started for the middle ground. It was a ticklish
position and my white companions stood nervously waiting for the break
they felt was coming.
At the moment when it seemed as though the dam must burst and our men
get beyond control, a sudden silence came over the shouting lunatics
at the kraals. I understood the reason when I saw our envoys coming
out of the royal kraal, still escorted by Lomwazi and his indunas.
Amid deep silence they walked slowly to the spot where they had met
before and stopped long enough to ceremoniously salute each other.
Then Lomwazi and his bodyguard returned to the village and L'Tunga and
the others came to where we stood.
They appeared angry and worried. Lochien also looked dejected, and
Tuys and I listened while L'Tunga made his report.
"Queen Labotsibeni sends word that she will not surrender the throne,
Nkoos," he said. "She told me to tell our queen that she must die
before the throne passed to Sebuza, and not after."
Evidently the old queen had made up her mind that the government could
not protect her from the sacrifice if she allowed Sebuza to become king.
"When I told her that we had many more warriors than she had," the
witch-doctor went on, "she declared that her indunas would fight to
the death, that so long as she held Zombode she was Queen of Swaziland!"
I could picture the old queen when she delivered this defiance. Blind,
too weak to stand, and more than one hundred years old, her spirit was
still unbroken, her courage undiminished! She had lived like a queen
and evidently had made up her mind to die like one.
Both armies remained quiet while we held a council of war. Makets
insisted that we attack Zombode; he thought we could rush the village
and take it. I could see that he was carrying out instructions that
Umzulek had given him when he sent him to Lebombo. His advice was
given in a torrent of words that I had difficulty in stopping. He had
the attack all planned.
"Attack with fire!" he almost yelled, for he was much excited and in
deadly earnest. "First the impis of Tzaneen, Sebuza, and Umzulek will
attack those on guard. After them will come the others, carrying fire.
While we fight, the torch-bearers will break through and burn the
kraals!"
He had it all planned out and I could perceive the cunning mind of his
chief at work. Makets wanted a bloody holocaust that would bring back
the old days with a vengeance. I had heard of such attacks when the
Boers and British wiped out offending tribes, and I knew what such a
thing meant--a massacre, with the women and children burned to death!
I finally silenced Makets, but barely in time. He had almost fired the
others with his bloodthirstiness, and for a moment I was afraid they
would bolt and start the carnage. L'Tunga came to my assistance, and a
moment later Lochien joined the anti-war party which Tuys and I
headed. Our argument lasted a long time, but finally we prevailed.
"Indunas and leaders of the true king's impis," I said at the
conclusion of our council. "We have shown Queen Labotsibeni and
Lomwazi that their nonsense must end. They know now that a majority of
the loyal warriors of Swaziland are behind the son of Buno and they
are afraid! Let us take our impis back to Lebombo, and to-morrow we
will send to Labotsibeni and demand that she give up the throne. She
is afraid that she will be killed, according to the ancient custom,
and for that reason refuses to abdicate. We white men will pledge
ourselves to guard her and escort her to Portugese territory, where
she will be safe. When she hears this, she will have no hesitation in
permitting Sebuza to be crowned."
This reasoning seemed good to Lochien, L'Tunga, and the others, except
Makets, who grumbled a bit and still wanted to end the business then
and there. I suspect that he hated the thought that he would have to
report to Umzulek that there had been no fighting and that Lomwazi had
escaped.
Our warriors were squatting on the ground when the command was given
for the return to Lebombo. They rose at once, and Labotsibeni's
watch-dogs also sprang to their feet. These expected that we were
about to attack, and so were greatly puzzled when our army turned
about and started off slowly for Lebombo. Their silence lasted only a
few minutes, however. Then they broke out into revilings and taunts
that would have made a saint fight. Our impis grew more and more
sullen under this volley of insults, and went away from Zombode with
murder in their hearts and the feeling that they would have many
explanations to make when they returned to the home kraals.
I was sorry that our bluff had failed, but very thankful that we had
pulled through without bloodshed. Tuys walked along beside me, silent
and thoughtful. When Lebombo's kraals came in sight he told me what
was on his mind.
"Owen, my lad, I know these people," he said, "and I'm afraid that
your peaceful ruse will cause trouble. The Swazi warrior is a proud
man and does not like to be called names. I pray that we may get
through the next few days without an explosion."
I made light of his forebodings, though probably my attitude was due
to our having withdrawn without a battle. Had I known what was going
to happen, I would not have been so lighthearted.
Tzaneen and Sebuza were angry at our failure. The prince, of course,
was indignant that we had accepted the insults of Labotsibeni's troops
and was quite rude to Oom Tuys and me for preventing the capture of
Zombode.
"It would have all been over by this time," he said, "and I would be
king! My impis have lost faith in me for permitting you white men to
do this thing. I shall lose my warriors. They will go over to
Labotsibeni and Lomwazi because they are not afraid."
Then I explained to him and his mother about our plan to send a
message to Labotsibeni on the following day. When they heard that we
white men would guard the old queen and escort her to safety, they
thought that it might succeed. Sebuza, though, very pointedly
mentioned the fact that according to custom the old queen ought to
die. I protested that she was too old and feeble to do him any harm
after he became king, and he agreed that I was right.
He was insistent, however, that Lomwazi should die. He felt that
Lomwazi would be a menace to the throne and, it seems, had some old
scores he wanted to pay off. We argued over this for some time, and
Sebuza, on the urging of his mother, finally came around to our point
of view. Yet I had the feeling that we would have to move fast to
prevent an accident happening to Lomwazi.
I little realized that all this talk was for nothing. My nice little
plan, which sounded so simple, would never even be tried!
That night Tuys and I arranged the details of the next day. We planned
to take the wagonette and use it to transport Labotsibeni and Lomwazi
to Portuguese territory. We would walk beside it with our rifles ready
and protect the old queen with our lives. We both felt that the safest
thing to do with Lomwazi would be to hide him inside and we spent some
time arranging the vehicle so that he could be concealed within. Of
course he would be found easily if the wagonette was searched, but we
intended to prevent that, even if we had to fight off curious kaffirs.
In high hopes that we had reached the end of the trail and that the
coronation was at last in sight, we went to bed. Sugden and Crespinell
were glad, too, since they had had their fill of Swaziland and wanted
to go home.
But our real troubles were only beginning.
Tuys waked me roughly next morning before day-break. He was much
excited, and I could see that he was fully dressed and had his rifle
in his hand.
"Get up! Get up at once, Owen!" he said hoarsely. "There is the devil
to pay! War has broken out and there has been killing already!"
I jumped out of bed and into my clothes in one motion. While I pulled
them on he told me what had happened.
"Some of Sebuza's indunas started for their kraals last night," he
said. "They went by way of Zombode, and when they passed the little
hill just before you reach the plain they were attacked by several
score of Labotsibeni's warriors and every one of them was killed! It
was cold-blooded murder. They must have been outnumbered about ten to
one!"
It seems that an induna and his men had lagged behind the others and
had seen the ambush. From their description it was a most unexpected
and brutal attack. Sebuza's indunas tried to put up a fight and
resisted for a short time. Then the enemy overpowered them and stabbed
them to death.
So it was war after all! In spite of my efforts to prevent it, the
question of who should be ruler of Swaziland was to be settled in the
old-fashioned way.
Tuys and I went to the royal kraal and found Tzaneen and Lochien
already up. Thousands of warriors and scores of indunas were on guard
and the whole place was in whirl of excitement. As we forced our way
to the royal hut, Sebuza came marching in surrounded by his young
indunas, all of whom were officers in his impis. The prince pushed by
us into his mother's hut and a second later Lochien came out and
beckoned us to enter.
As soon as she saw us, Queen Tzaneen motioned us to her side.
"It is war now," she said decisively. "There is no other way! Our
indunas have been murdered and my warriors cannot be restrained. You
white men did everything you could to keep peace, but Labotsibeni
makes war against us and we cannot help ourselves. It is war!"
The others echoed the word "war," and I could see that they were all
pleased at the prospect. Even Lochien, peace-loving though he was,
realized that there was no help for it and counselled quick action to
secure the capture of Zombode. Makets was in his glory and I knew that
the smell of blood was already in his nostrils.
But I would not give up. I could not see these people go to war and I
made one last attempt to prevent it.
"The government will avenge the murder of your indunas, Nkosikaas," I
declared. "The government will send rifles to Zombode and will hang
all those who did the killing. There is no need for you to meet murder
with murder--then you will be also punished by the government's
rifles! Thousands will be killed, and needlessly, for those at Mbabane
will send white troops to catch the murderers and hang them."
They listened while I spoke, but I could feel that I was talking
against a flood that was irresistible. Tzaneen answered me, and her
words met the hearty approval of all the others.
"We do not need the government to avenge our dead," she said, holding
her head erect with pride. "Our dead are our own and their blood cries
to us for revenge!"
That seemed to settle it. They asked us to take part in the war, but
we flatly refused. We told them that it was not a "white man's war"
and that we would have nothing to do with it. Then Sebuza, with his
customary impudence, asked me to lend him my rifle. I refused, and he
grew quite huffy about it.
"You gave my father, King Buno, a rifle," he retorted. "I shall soon
be as great a king and then you will be sorry you refused!"
I realized he might be speaking the truth, but nevertheless would not
let him have the gun. I would have felt guilty of any killing he did
with it and I know the government would have taken the same view.
When Tuys and I got back to our camp we immediately held a council of
war. Our position was dangerous. If Labotsibeni's men attacked
Lebombo, we might have to fight for our lives. We were known as
friends of Tzaneen and Sebuza, and our taking part in the
"demonstration" of the day before had shown all Swaziland that we were
not friendly to Labotsibeni and Lomwazi. Realizing that we might have
to fight and not caring to take advantage of the slim protection of
the kraals, we built up the sides of the great wagon so that it became
more like a fort than anything else. In addition, we arranged for
night watches, so that there would always be at least one white man on
guard, with several of the black boys to assist him. Of course I had
Sibijaan assigned to my watch, while Tuis was to watch with Oom Tuys,
with whom he had become a favorite. Crespinell and Sugden each had
their boys, and we felt that there would be little chance for a
surprise attack on the wagon, if matters worked out as planned.
An interesting development in our preparations for defense was the
sudden discovery that "Gunga Din" was a soldier. He came to me, asked
for one of the spare rifles, and handled it like a veteran. Like all
Indians, he had a great contempt for negroes, and he seemed delighted
over the prospect that he might have a chance to shoot a few Swazis.
Instead of being worried about the turn of affairs, Din was bucked up
by it and produced a large crooked knife from among his effects,
sticking in his belt where it could be readily reached. It developed
that our chef was a fighting man, after all.
[Illustration: LOCHIEN, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF PRINCE SEBUZA'S IMPIS
On either side stand two of his indunas, or captains]
[Illustration: WARRIORS OF PRINCE SEBUZA'S IMPIS STARTING OUT TO BATTLE
The enemy was but a short distance away and his warriors were coming
forward in like manner to meet those of the Prince]
[Illustration: ONE OF THE ROYAL IMPIS
These regiments of about one thousand men are led by indunas, or
captains. These soldiers are preparing to go into battle. They are
beginning the excitement-producing dance, to be followed by a
succession of single combats which are always fought to the death]
All that morning excitement prevailed at the kraals. There was much
dancing, and the chanting was continuous. I could see thousands of
warriors on hand and during the afternoon a fresh impi arrived from
the direction of Stegea. These, however, did not look like Umzulek's
men, for they wore no distinguishing mark.
We were all curious to know what was going to happen. I made another
visit to the royal kraal late that afternoon and was met by Vilakazi.
He was friendly enough, but professed to be ignorant of what was
planned and ended by advising me to return to my camp. He gave me to
understand, politely but firmly, that only those who intended fighting
were desired at the royal kraal. Finding that I was not wanted, I took
his advice and returned to camp to tell Tuys about it.
"Vilakazi has more sense than you have, Owen," he commented. "You said
that this was not a white man's war and you'd better live up to that.
Don't worry about what's going to happen; it will be bad enough when
it gets here."
So I decided to mind my own business and try to meet whatever trouble
was coming our way when it arrived. It was as well that I did. I could
do nothing except hope that the conflict would be as short and
bloodless as possible. I had done everything possible to keep peace.
Late that afternoon I saw a number of small impis--bands of warriors
numbering about one hundred and fifty men--leave the kraals and take
to the hills in the general direction of Zombode. These, Tuys
explained to me, were ambush parties whose work it was to lie in wait
for warriors who might be rallying to the assistance of the old queen.
"They are murder parties," he repeated, calling them by their right
name, "and they will also act as scouts and spies. If they can waylay
parties of inferior numbers, they will do so and kill every one of
them. Of course there are undoubtedly a number of such parties abroad
now who belong in Zombode. There will be a carnival of murder and
assassination until one side gets up nerve enough to attack the
headquarters of the other. All I hope is that Tzaneen's indunas screw
their courage to the attacking point first. I'd prefer to have this
war fought out at Zombode, and not here!"
We all agreed with him and turned in that night "all standing." I did
not go to sleep until very late, and it seemed only a few minutes
before Tuys routed me out to take my watch. I was on duty from about
midnight until dawn, but nothing disturbed us.