A general assent followed Mr Bilderjik's remarks, to which, however,
the farmer made no reply. A silence of some minutes ensued, which was
broken by George.
"Mr Baylen," he said, "I was much interested in the history you gave us
the other day of the colony, and King Chaka and his brother Dingaan.
But all that you told us occurred forty years ago. I should like to
know something of what has happened since."
"Well, the last thing I told you of, was the murder of Pieter Retieff
and his followers," said Mr Baylen, "wasn't it? Well, the natural
consequences ensued; there was war for some years between the whites and
the blacks. The English settlers invaded Zululand, and carried off a
quantity of women, children, and cattle. But they were attacked by ten
thousand Zulus, and a hot fight followed. The English shot them down in
such numbers, that they formed high banks over which their comrades had
to climb. In spite of this, they advanced and overpowered their enemies
by mere force of numbers!"
"Ah," interposed Hardy, "and it would be a good job if our English
generals remembered that fact. They persist in despising their enemies,
and may take a lesson from the Dutchmen, who are too wise to do so. But
go on, Baylen; I beg pardon for interrupting."
"The Zulus," resumed the other, "drove the English beyond the Tugela,
overran Natal, and for the second time turned it into a desert. The
colonists took refuge in an island in the Bay. There they were
personally safe, but their houses and goods were utterly destroyed, and
their cattle driven off. We had contrived to take away with us
everything of value that could be carried off to the island, and no
great injury was done to the farmhouse and buildings. But all the
cattle, horses, oxen, sheep, and goats were driven away. If we had not
recovered them a few months afterwards, I should have had to begin life
again."
"How did you manage to recover them, sir?" asked Margetts.
"Through my brother-in-law, Cornelius Schuylen. He had joined the main
body of Dutch settlers from the Cape, and was a leading man among them,
and a friend of the Dutch General, Praetorius. They found it necessary
to go to war with Dingaan, and there was a pitched battle, in which the
Dutch were the conquerors. I agree with Mr Rivers, that the Dutch are
no cowards; but that they think that a whole skin is better than a
slashed one, and they conduct their campaigns accordingly. I was
present at the battle myself, having gone up to the Boer camp about my
cattle. The natives outnumbered us, ten to one, I should think, and
they fought as bravely as men could fight. But we gained a decisive
victory, with very little loss."
"How did you manage it, sir?" inquired George. "I have heard that the
Dutch have very little discipline in their armies."
"Very little, but their tactics are the thing. When they knew that a
battle was imminent, they laagered their waggons together, and stationed
their foot-soldiers in and behind them. The mounted men, of which their
force principally consisted, waited at some distance until the Zulu
assault on the waggons had begun. Then they opened a fire upon them
with their rifles, which killed great numbers, and at last obliged them
to turn off and attack them. They waited until the Zulus were almost
but not quite within what was called assegay distance, and then fired
volley after volley into them. When the Zulus advanced nearer, they
galloped off to a little distance, and fired as before, repeating the
manoeuvre until the blacks were obliged to retire, with immense loss of
killed and wounded, while hardly a man on their own side was touched.
It wasn't much better with the Zulus on their attack on the laager.
They managed to fling a few assegays into, and under, the waggons; but
the Boers fired upon them, under almost complete shelter, and shot them
down by hundreds. Dingaan was obliged to make peace, and restore the
cattle, mine among the rest."
"That must have been near about the end of Dingaan's reign," observed
the Swedish clergyman.
"Yes, in less than two years afterwards the Dutch deposed Dingaan, and
made his brother Panda king. Dingaan fled to the Amaswazis, and they
put him to death. Panda had a long reign of more than thirty years, and
during that period there was very little fighting with the European
settlers. He was a different kind of character altogether from his two
brothers, and loved ease and quiet. But I believe his disposition was
almost as cruel as theirs."
"You are right, sir," said Mr Bilderjik. "He was as bloodthirsty as
either of them, though he shed the blood of his own people only. He
would inflict the most frightful penalties for the smallest offences.
If one of his oxen was over-driven or hurt, he would order the cowherd
to be impaled. Even for slighter offences than this, if the smallest
thing occurred to annoy or cross him, he would sentence the offender to
death, and his soldiers were always ready to execute his commands
without hesitation. His barbarity drove his subjects away in such
numbers, that Natal was almost peopled with them. He was a weak ruler,
however, and for the last twenty years of his reign his son Cetewayo,
who is now on the throne, was virtually king."
"Cetewayo!" observed George. "Ah, I want to know about him! We hear
plenty in England. There is great alarm, is there not, that he will
invade this country? I heard them talking of it at Maritzburg."
"There is great alarm, no doubt," said the farmer, "and it is no great
wonder, seeing that Natal has twice been invaded and devastated by the
Zulus. But I do not myself believe that he will ever cross the Tugela,
unless he himself is first attacked, and drives his enemies before him.
But I should like to know what you think about him, Hardy. Living so
near to him as you once did, your opinion must be valuable."
"Yes, I lived in Zululand for several years after I left the army," said
Hardy, "and I saw and heard enough of Cetewayo during that time, to form
a decided opinion about him."
"And what was that opinion, Mr Hardy?" inquired George.
"If I remember right, the English agreed to place him on the throne, on
condition that the lawless and indiscriminate shedding of human blood
should be put a stop to, and that no one should be put to death, until
after a trial and sentence. There are those that say that this compact
was faithfully kept to."
"And it was," said Hardy, "so long as Cetewayo was insecure of his
throne. At first this was the case, and he knew that the best hope of
establishing his power lay in the support of the English. For the first
few years of his reign, therefore, he did, as a rule, loyally carry out
the promises he had given. But those who watched him most closely know
that he never intended to be a tributary sovereign to any one. From the
first he revived and developed his uncle Chaka's military policy. He
reinstated the old regiments, and formed new ones, carefully choosing
men to lead them who were qualified to carry out his designs. He
rebuilt the military kraals, and obliged his soldiers to live unmarried,
as his uncle had done."
"Ay," interposed George, "as Sultan Amurath did, when he instituted the
Janissaries."
"I daresay you are right, sir," said Hardy, "though I never heard of
him. Well, the only difference Cetewayo made in his dealings with his
men was that he armed them with guns. In all other respects it was the
reproduction of Chaka's army--the same enormous numbers, the same close
and jealous discipline, the same absolute devotion to the king's will,
without hesitation or question. If Cetewayo had ever intended to be
faithful to his engagements with the English, of what use could this
enormous and costly army have been to him? It is ridiculous to say it
would be needed to put down the Tongas or the Swazies, or even to resist
the aggressions of the Boers. There is but one use to which he could
have intended to put it, and that is to drive the white man out of the
land."
"Well, there are many, at all events, that think that," observed Mr
Baylen. "You think, then, that he is going to declare war."
"I doubt his doing that," said Hardy. "But I think he will provoke the
English to attack him--to invade Zululand, in fact."
"Why should he want them to do that?" asked Redgy.
"He will then fight greatly at an advantage," said Hardy. "In fact, he
thinks that he sees his way to victory. I don't say I agree with him in
that--indeed, I don't. But there is a good deal to be said on his side.
Zululand is a difficult country for an army to traverse. He knows
every inch of it, and they do not. The climate is often very unhealthy
to white men. Disease would probably break out among them, if he could
keep them any time there, whereas his own men are thoroughly inured to
it. His numbers, again, are vastly in excess of theirs, and if he could
attack them when off their guard, he might inflict frightful loss upon
them. All these chances are in his favour, and he knows them well."
"In fact, he is trying to pick a quarrel," said Redgy.
"And he may succeed," added Hardy. "Indeed--" He checked himself and
went on, "Then as to his natural disposition--you asked me what I
thought about that too. I think he is just like his ancestors, quite as
merciless and bloodthirsty, and even more crafty. It was said that
during the first few years of his reign he _never_ put any one to death
unless he had really been guilty of some great offence, and that there
was always a regular trial and conviction. How much truth there is in
that, you may judge from what I am now going to tell you.
"When I first settled in Zululand, there was a Wesleyan missionary
living near me, whose name was Garnett. He was a very good man, and the
people about there respected him much. He had made several converts,
amongst others an Induna named Usumanzi, a man of means and some local
importance. Now it is certain that Cetewayo did not like the
missionaries--one can very well understand why. The entire submission
to his pleasure, right or wrong, which was the first thing he insisted
upon, was a thing which no Christian could fall in with. Is it not so,
Mr Bilderjik?"
"Of course he could not," assented the clergyman. "A Christian's first
law is obedience to God's commandments, not man's. If the two came into
collision, the obedience to human authority must give way."
"Exactly so, sir," pursued Hardy. "Well, then, there is no difficulty
in understanding Cetewayo's aversion to the missionaries. But at the
same time he knew that the missionaries were strongly upheld by the
English, and that any persecution of them on religious grounds would be
sternly resented. Cetewayo therefore sent a message to Mr Garnett,
desiring him to pay a visit to the royal kraal. He wanted, he said, to
talk to him about the good things which he taught the people. Mr
Garnett was only half deceived. The king really might have been moved
by some desire to know the truth. But it was far more likely that he
was only pretending such a feeling, in order to get him entirely into
his own power. Usumanzi earnestly advised him not to go. He said he
knew that the king had been greatly provoked by his conversion,
regarding him, as he did, as a valuable servant lost to him. Cetewayo
would either banish him from the country, or, what was more likely,
accuse him of some imaginary crime, and put him to death for it.
"But Mr Garnett resolved to go. He said there was a hope of doing a
great work for his Master, and he was not to be deterred by the danger
to himself. I offered to accompany him, as I thought my presence might
be some protection. You see, though I was living in Zululand, I was
employed by the Natal Government to collect taxes from the native chiefs
every year. As an agent of the British Government, I knew Cetewayo
would treat me with consideration, and possibly Mr Garnett on my
account."
"Well, you were right, I expect," observed Baylen.
"I was to some extent," assented Hardy. "As soon as I made it
understood that I was an officer in the employ of the Governor of Natal,
there was a difference in the demeanour of the councillors towards me,
and Mr Garnett too. A civil reception was given us, and a good hut
assigned for our accommodation. Then there followed a long delay, and
at last I was told I was to be sent with letters to Sir Henry Bulwer;
and the next day I set out, attended by two of Cetewayo's soldiers. I
suspected at the time--and subsequent events confirmed my opinion--that
the king wanted to get rid of me, because I stood in the way of his
carrying out his designs against Mr Garnett. I was no sooner gone than
he was informed there was an accusation made against him of practising
witchcraft. The king would inquire into the matter himself. This I
learned from the Zulu who was sent with me. But what ensued I could
never learn with any certainty. Mr Garnett, I believe, underwent a
kind of mock trial, being charged with bewitching several persons. He
was found guilty, and was sentenced to be banished from the country.
Cetewayo had possibly thought that it would be dangerous to put him
publicly to death. But it came eventually to the same thing. Mr
Garnett set out, in company with two Zulus, who were directed to convey
him to Delagoa Bay, whither his wife and children had already been sent.
But he never reached his destination. His guides came back with the
story that he had been killed by a lion. The general belief was that he
had been murdered, and his body left to be devoured by the hyenas.
"But that was not the worst," resumed Hardy after a pause. "There was
something like a trial in his instance, and, besides, he might really
have been killed by a wild beast, though the circumstances were full of
suspicion. The usage of Usumanzi was a much grosser outrage. No charge
was made against him, nor did he receive so much as a hint that the king
was displeased with him. But the Isamisi, or prophets, whom, to do them
justice, both Chaka and Dingaan had discouraged, had gained considerable
influence with Cetewayo, and they resented Usumanzi's conversion, and
more particularly when they found that he still adhered to his new creed
after Mr Garnett's disappearance."
"I wonder he didn't leave the country," remarked Ernest Baylen.
"He was advised to do so," said Hardy, "but he was a brave man, and said
he had done no wrong, and that he put his trust in the God he had newly
learned. Nothing was heard about him for some time. But one morning,
quite early, I was roused by a number of Zulus living in an adjoining
kraal, who told me that the king had sent an Impi to eat up Usumanzi.
His house had already been surrounded, and himself, and every one
belonging to him, even to the infants in arms, assegayed. The cattle
were being driven off at that moment. In an hour or two Usumanzi's
kraal had been entirely destroyed by fire, and the ashes scattered in
all directions. In a short time not a trace was left of his
habitation."
"And was no complaint made of such an outrage?" asked Margetts.
"Who was there to make it?" inquired Hardy. "Usumanzi's relatives, if
there were any of them left, were too thankful to have escaped notice,
and were little likely to do anything that might cause them to share his
fate. Perhaps you think that I might have made some representations to
the Governor of Natal; but I had already incurred suspicion, and
received a hint to keep quiet. The Government were unwilling at that
time to come to a rupture with Cetewayo. I knew, too, that I should be
required to produce witnesses; and not one of the Zulus, who knew the
facts, could have been induced, by love or money, to say a word on the
subject. Most probably they would have said, if they had been brought
into a court of justice, that Usumanzi's kraal had caught fire
accidentally. No. He knew in this instance that he was safe, and you
may be assured that, let him profess what he will, there is no
possibility of inducing Cetewayo to respect the rights of his own
subjects, or those of other nations, except by putting him down by force
of arms. And as for that--" He appeared to be about to add something
more, but checked himself, and addressed his host. "It must be time for
us to go to bed, Mr Bilderjik," he said. "We have a long day's work
before us to-morrow, and must start early. I suppose you mean to set
off for Helpmakaar the first thing in the morning?"
"Helpmakaar?" repeated the farmer. "No, I shall not set out for that in
the morning, if I do it at all to-morrow. You have forgotten that we
have left one of our waggons in a damaged condition on the other side of
the Mooi."
"To be sure, so I had. How stupid of me! But if we are not going to be
fellow-travellers to-morrow, I should like to have a little talk with
you, Baylen, before we turn in for the night. Will you walk with me to
the hotel in the village; I can say what I want while we are on the way
there."
Mr Baylen assented. They said good-night to their host, and stepped
out into the porch, and thence passed through the little garden into the
wide street of the picturesque little town, with its white houses--each
shaded by its green verandah--and its double row of fruit trees already
beginning to spread a pleasant shade. At that hour it was quite
deserted, and Hardy presently began,--
"I thought it better not to tell you my reason for riding over from
Umvalosa to meet you. I did not want to alarm the ladies."
"What has happened?" asked Baylen anxiously.
"No injury has been done to your property or your servants," said Hardy.
"But beyond Umvalosa, from a little distance outside the town, as far
as Utrecht, or nearly as far, there is nothing but ruin and
destruction."
"The storm two days ago, do you mean?" suggested Baylen.
"No; this storm has been of man's making," said Hardy. "Umbelini--you
know him?"
"Every one knows him too well," was the answer. "If he fell into my
hands, I should be disposed to make short work with him."
"He wouldn't come off much better in mine," said Hardy, "if I caught him
`redhanded,' as the saying is. He pretends to act independently of
Cetewayo; but nobody doubts he is really under his orders. Well, he has
made a raid on the district we have been speaking about, with a large
force of Zulus. They have burnt to the ground every house in it; driven
off the whole of the cattle, and murdered every man, woman, and child
that came in their way."
"The district between Utrecht and Umvalosa?" said Baylen. "What can
have made Umbelini, or rather Cetewayo, choose that? Why, that is the
very district which was in dispute, and which the English have awarded
to him! That is strange!"
"Well, the English have awarded it to him, no doubt," assented Hardy.
"But they didn't give it to him out and out, as he expected perhaps.
The rights of the settlers living in it were to be respected. Probably
Cetewayo wishes to show his contempt for their decision. At all events,
there is no doubt that he is showing studied disregard of Sir Henry
Bulwer's demands. There is this business of the violation of the
English territory, and the murder of the two women by Sirayo. His
answers about that amount really to an insult. It is what I have long
supposed, that, although he will not himself attack the English, he
wants to provoke them to attack him."
"I suppose it must be so; and the English will be driven to declare war.
But about this raid by Umbelini. How far has it spread? Is it likely
to spread further? Will it reach Umvalosa?"
"It has not got there yet, and I don't think it will. The place is
incapable of resisting an attack; but I think Umbelini has already got
as much spoil as he can carry away. Besides, the English forces are
advancing to Rorke's Drift, and he will avoid any collision with them."
"If Umvalosa is not attacked, we might rest as usual on our way there.
It is one day's journey, you know, from Horner's Kraal."
"Rest? What, at Rogers' station, Dykeman's Hollow?"
"Yes; we always rest there. I know Mr Rogers is away in England. But
we should be made welcome all the same."
"Not a doubt of it. But you would find his station deserted. When they
heard of Umbelini's approach, his head men packed his waggons with his
household goods and valuables, and drove away his cattle."
"And where have his waggons and cattle been driven to?" inquired Mr
Baylen. "To my station--to Horner's Kraal?"
"No; Rogers' men thought of going there; but the cattle and the contents
of the waggons would be a tempting plunder. Umbelini, who is notorious
for his rapacity, might have sent some of his men in pursuit. No; they
have gone off to Rorke's Drift, to be under the protection of the
British force assembling there. And that is where Mrs Baylen and all
your party and waggons must go, if you take my advice--as soon, that is,
as you have recovered the one which has been left on the bank of the
Mooi."
"The troops assembling at Rorke's Drift! Ah, so you said just now.
Then what we heard at Durban must be true; and an ultimatum has been
sent to Cetewayo."
"So I am told; and that thirty days have been allowed him in which to
send an answer. If he does not do so, Zululand is to be invaded at
three different points. One column, under Colonel Pearson, is to cross
the Lower Tugela, and move on by Ekowe. A second, under Colonel Evelyn
Wood, is to enter by crossing the Blood river, near Kambula. The third,
commanded by Lord Chelmsford himself, will set out from Rorke's Drift,
and penetrate to the interior by Isandhlwana Hill. If Cetewayo falls
back, as they expect, before them, the columns will meet at Ulundi.
There he must fight them or surrender. That is what I am told; but of
course it is only rumour."
"Well, Cetewayo certainly intends to fight us, and I hope the plan of
operations may be successful. But it does not concern me, and I am
anxious to be out of it. Can't we go on, resting at any place where we
can find shelter,--at Umvalosa or elsewhere,--and get to Horner's Kraal?
There we shall be well out of it all."
"I really don't think you can, Baylen. I don't think you'd be troubled
by Umbelini and his Zulus. As soon as Wood and his men move to their
station on the Blood river, he is sure to take himself off, and will not
return while Wood and his troops remain in that neighbourhood. But the
country is full of lawless characters of all kinds,--escaped convicts,
bush robbers, and adventurers who have lost everything at the diamond
fields. There is no legal authority to keep them in control--no
sufficient authority, at all events, and they would murder any one for
the value of a tobacco pipe. It would not be safe for the ladies of
your party, at all events, to attempt the journey, unless with a
military escort, until order has been restored."
"And I suppose there is a general flight to Rorke's Drift?"
"There were a great many on their way there yesterday. I passed young
Vander Heyden and his sister, accompanied by Frank Moritz, as I rode
out."
"Vander Heyden and Moritz! Why, they were in Durban a week or so ago!"
"Yes; but they travelled faster than you. They reached Vander Heyden's
house--Bushman's Drift, as it is called--just in time to see it all in a
blaze, and the Zulus plundering and killing every one they encountered.
Henryk and the others had just time to escape. If they had got there a
few hours earlier, they would have been shot or assegayed too."
"And they have gone now to Rorke's Drift?"
"Yes; I exchanged a few words with Moritz. He was hot enough about what
he had witnessed. But he was calmness itself to Vander Heyden. _He_
did not say a word; but he looked like a man who meant to do something
terrible, when the time came. I fancy some one, of whom he was very
fond, must have been killed. But I did not like to ask. I gathered,
however, that he was not going to Rorke's Drift for protection, but for
revenge on those miscreants. Bitterly and notoriously as he dislikes
the English, he means to join their army as a mounted volunteer. The
Lord have mercy on the Zulus that come in his way, for he will have
none. He is an experienced soldier, and will be a valuable recruit."
"Well," said Baylen, "I don't know that I can greatly blame him. I
shall not be at all surprised if a great many should be found to follow
his example. It is certainly high time that a stop should be put to
these atrocities. Well, Hardy, I shall follow your advice. I shall
send off the waggon with Mrs Baylen and Clara, with Matamo to take care
of them, to-morrow morning, and I shall follow with the other as soon as
we have got it out of the Mooi. I suppose the road to Rorke's Drift is
open and safe, is it not?"
"Well, for it to be that, Umbelini and his Zulus must have withdrawn. I
expect to hear with certainty about that to-morrow morning, and will
come down and tell you about it before I start. Mrs Baylen must not
set off until the road is safe."
"Many thanks. By-the-bye, I forgot to ask whether you have suffered
much loss yourself from this Impi?"
"Not very much, thank you. I had fortunately sold off my stock a short
time ago, and I had the money with me. My servants also got notice in
time, and made their escape, with most of the articles of any real
value. The house has been burnt and wrecked; but I daresay I shall get
compensation when the war is over. Meanwhile, I mean to follow Vander
Heyden's example, and take service with the mounted volunteers."