On the following morning Grenville was admitted to an Indaba (council)
with the chiefs of the Undi, and learned that Amaxosa had induced them
to come through the "great black hole" by promising them endless
plunder; and they now waited, they said, for their "great white father"
to lead them to the Mormon town.
At this juncture our friend had fearful evidence of the difficulty of
controlling the savage instincts of these wild natives. Their one
desire was to put all that remained alive of the Mormons--man, woman,
and child--to a cruel death; but this Grenville would not hear of, and
the discussion waxed so hot that it was only with infinite difficulty he
restrained their lust for slaughter, and obtained a promise from the
chiefs that if a wholesale and unconditional surrender and capitulation
was made they would spare every soul now left alive in East Utah; but
the Mormons must leave the country within two days, and should receive
safe conduct through the Undi territory. Of their goods and chattels
they might take whatever Grenville saw fit to let them have, but the
country should be the property of the Zulus, under "their Mother, the
Great White Queen; and in it their father, the great and wise white
chief, the renowned and invincible warrior, would ever find a home in
the hearts of his faithful children, and hands ready and willing to help
him in his battles with the cunning witch-finders, or other low people
against whom he might wish to make war."
The end of all this was that Grenville and Amaxosa, accompanied by a
score of active Zulus, went down to the Mormon town next day--the
intervening time being occupied in burying the dead, to prevent the
place from becoming plague-stricken, an idea abhorrent to the Europeans
when they remembered that in a peaceful corner close by their dear
ones--Winfield and Rose--slept their eternal sleep under the protecting
shadow of the great trees, where the little brook, which yesterday ran
red with rivers of human blood, now sang its peaceful lullaby, and
threaded its sinuous course through the forest and out into the rolling
veldt, looking like a tiny riband of moving glistening silver.
On arriving within eye-shot of the town, Grenville was surprised to
notice an unusual quiet about the place; and on hailing the place to
surrender, received no reply.
Apprehensive of a surprise, the band gradually approached and cautiously
entered the town, only to find it untenanted by a living soul.
The Mormons had evidently taken flight hurriedly, fearing the vengeance
of Grenville and his Zulu allies, for the streets were strewed with
their household goods in every direction; and on further examination it
proved that the whole community had crossed the river by the central
bridge, which they had closed against pursuers, and had betaken
themselves to the great stairway with multitudinous ladders.
On discovering this voluntary capitulation, Grenville gave a sigh of
relief, for he had feared lest some overt act of imprudence on the part
of the Mormons should draw down upon them prompt and unsparing vengeance
on the part of his bloodthirsty allies, when he well knew that man,
woman, and child would have gone down "in one red slaughter blent."
The main body was soon called up, and that night, for the first time for
many months, our friends slept with a genuine roof over their heads.
The Zulus, under the direction of Amaxosa, sacked the town, taking all
they wanted, but bringing to Grenville all the gold they came across,
which was to be the share of his party--and a very fair quantity they
found, too--and as there was still some little time before the setting
in of the rains, Grenville and his cousin visited the river near their
old Table Rock, and going higher up the stream found it, as poor
Winfield had predicted, a veritable El Dorado.
"You see, Alf," said Grenville, "you're going back to England, and you
mean to be married; and take my word for it, old chap, you'll get a
dusting from your governor for getting spliced without his consent. Not
that I would advise you otherwise; you've got a sweet little woman for a
wife, and may God bless you both; but remember that every thousand
pounds you can take home with you will lessen the old man's wrath, so
take my advice and carry in a decent `pile.'"
For ten days the cousins toiled, whilst Dora Winfield resided with them
in their old quarters at the rock; and when the time came for them to
say farewell to East Utah, they had amassed an enormous quantity of the
precious metal, for which their friend Amaxosa gladly provided bearers.
Grenville said a last farewell to the grave of the girl who had loved
him so well, and turned away with an aching void in his breast. The
grand self-sacrifice of this poor young creature had stirred his noble
nature to its very depths, and had he a hundred lives he would willingly
have relinquished them all to bring her back again to her place, which,
alas! would henceforth know her no more. As he moved dejectedly on
towards the western bridge, a hand was laid upon his arm, and the voice
of Amaxosa softly said, "Will my father turn aside and do the final
honours to him who loved him, and who died for him?"
Without a word Grenville turned and followed the chief, only to find, in
the very centre of the Mormon town, the body of Myzukulwa--or, rather,
what was left of it--placed upon a funeral pyre, surrounded by a hundred
of the chiefs and headmen of his tribe.
Seeing he was expected to say something, Grenville stepped forward, and
laying his hand upon the cold brow of the dead warrior, he said--
"Amaxosa, my brother, children of the ancient race of Undi, my faithful
sons, here you behold all that remains of him who was the bravest man in
a nation where all are warriors and mighty men of renown. As he lived,
so he died, with his face to the foe, and his victorious foot upon their
stricken necks. My brothers, let us live as he lived, so that when our
time comes we may die even as he died--ever faithful to the death--
Myzukulwa, the son of Isanusi, the son of Undi."
Not another word was spoken; the warriors filed slowly past the corpse,
and the last man lighted the funeral pyre as all left the town, leaving
it in lonesome possession of the ashes of the mighty and unforgotten
dead; but looking back some time later, Grenville saw that Zulu artifice
had evidently set fire to the town in several quarters at once, for East
Utah lay behind him one mass of smoke and flame, forming a glorious
monument to the memory of the departed chief whom such a fiery couch for
his final sleep befitted to a degree.
The descent into the bed of the river was accomplished with difficulty,
but once down, the party--Dora mounted on the quagga--pushed steadily
forward and reached the outer world just before the sun set, all heaving
a sincere sigh of relief on finding East Utah at lost shut out from
view, and belonging only to the memories of the bitter past and the
shadows of the hereafter.
Grenville that night asked Amaxosa how he accounted for the herds of
game going through the water and all along the dark tunnel. For reply
the chief signed to our friend to follow him. Gliding to the
river-brink, they sought cover, and soon Grenville by the light of the
moon saw several head of game enter the water and apparently commence
_to browse there_, and he at once realised what was going on as the
animals, feeding on the mosslike weeds which floated on the surface,
gradually entered the tunnel and disappeared from view.
In this way they were undoubtedly led through the mountain, and on
arriving at the further side, with their appetites satisfied by the
luscious moss, did not care to face the tunnel, but took the first way
that presented itself up to the daylight. How Amaxosa's rhinoceros had
ever got through was a marvel to all, but he had probably accomplished
the journey during an abnormally low state of the river.
Next morning Grenville and his friends set out for Natal, taking with
them their bearers, and bidding an affectionate good-bye to Amaxosa.
The chief was too much affected to speak; and when Dora Winfield clasped
a gold bracelet of her own round his sinewy wrist as a keepsake, he
fairly broke down, and with a final wave of his hand turned dejectedly
away, following the last of his men back into the tunnel.
Little did the cowardly Mormons imagine that this wild and savage
spirit, which for years had brooked their blows, their curses, and their
ignominious service, would one day rise and crush them out of
remembrance, and hold undisputed sway in their own kingdom, which would
henceforth know them no more.