It was nearly twelve moons after our fight with the buffaloes, that some
strange Caffres came down to our village, and had several long
conversations with Inyati. I soon heard what these talks were about,
and I ascertained the following facts:--
Considerably to the north of our village, and about five days' journey
from us, there were some high mountains called the Quathlamba Mountains;
these mountains broke in spurs, and spread out like fingers of a hand
till they came down to the plains. On these plains some of the tribe of
our people had kraals and cattle. Within the past two moons some
Bushmen had come down to the ravines and rocky precipices near these
kraals, and had stolen the cattle. It was impossible to catch these
Bushmen, as they could scamper up the rocks like baboons, and when they
reached a position safe from the range of an assagy, they would sit and
chatter at the Caffres who had followed them, hurl great stones down at
them, and if near enough would discharge poisoned arrows, which were so
deadly that if one hit a man he was sure to die. These Bushmen were so
feared, and their attacks had become so daring, that the Caffres had
come down the country to try and procure aid to drive these people away.
The difficulty of punishing them was great, and Inyati pointed out
that, if the Bushmen were so quick and active as to scamper up the rocks
like baboons, he did not see what was to be done. These conversations
used to take place in the evenings, and I listened to all that was said,
and began to think of some plan by which to outwit the Bushmen.
Suddenly I thought of something which I was surprised had, never
occurred to me before. So on the following morning I told Inyati that,
if he could help me, I thought we could drive off these Bushmen. He
called me into his hut, and I then carried on with him the following
conversation. I said:--
"When the white men were assagied some of them had long iron instruments
that we call `guns:' where are they?"
"Hidden."
"I know how to use them, and if you could get me two of these I would go
with you and our people, and kill some of these Bushmen."
Inyati said, "Do you know how to use these things? Because once we did
have a gun, and it went all to pieces, and killed the man who held it."
"He put in too much powder."
"Perhaps, but we have feared to do anything with such things since."
When in India I had often seen my father clean and load his guns, and I
knew all about them. I knew too that the captain had a double-barrelled
rifle, which had reached the shore on the raft. If I could procure this
and some ammunition, I knew I should astonish the Bushmen if they gave
me a chance. I explained to Inyati that if I could get one particular
gun, I would be able to kill the Bushmen.
Inyati said very little, but on the next evening he brought me the rifle
and a large bag of ammunition. The rifle was rusty and dirty, so I set
to work to clean it; the women being all afraid to come near the weapon,
whilst the men were at first very cautious. Inyati now had faith in me,
and sat down beside me whilst I explained to him the use of the weapon
and how to pull the trigger. The powder was in a large flask, and was
quite dry, as were also the caps; and I found forty bullets in the bag,
so I had plenty of ammunition. I told Inyati that this gun would kill a
man at a distance more than ten times as far as he could throw an
assagy. He shook his head at this; but I asked him if I had not told
him truth about the glasses, and he would find I was true about this
gun.
I was very anxious to go against the Bushmen, for now that I had seen
the buffaloes killed, I was like a tiger that had tasted human blood,
and felt a longing for such exciting scenes as those I was likely to
experience, if I went against the Bushmen.
Inyati sat thinking for a long time without speaking, and at length
said, "We will go." He then walked to his hut, and shortly afterwards
sent messengers to call his people together, informing them that on the
morrow we would start for the Quathlamba Mountains.
About fifty men assembled at our kraal at daybreak on the following
morning, each man armed with five assagies, and a knob-kerrie, and
provided with a shield made of ox-hide. The shields might be useful
against a Bushman's arrows or against an assagy, but were useless
against a bullet. We each carried a bag of Indian corn, and several
boys who accompanied us also carried bags of corn. I afterwards found
out that if Inyati succeeded in driving off the Bushmen, he was to
receive a reward of cattle from the people he had assisted, and they
were to be bound to help him in any expedition that he undertook against
his enemies.
Our journey was over a beautiful country well watered with little
streams, and with plenty of fine trees. We found that a buck, called by
the Caffres "_Umseke_" (the riet-bok), was plentiful here, and we
surrounded and assagied two or three of these every day, and so had
plenty of meat during our journey. On the fifth day we reached the
nearest kraal of the tribe who were being plundered by the Bushmen.
These kraals were situated on an open plain near some wooded ravines,
the mountains being about five miles from them. The people received us
with shouts, and gave us _amasi_ and plenty of corn, and we then held a
council of war.
From the information given at this council, I learned all about the
Bushmen. There was a perpendicular rock about a hundred times the
height of a man, on the top of which the Bushmen would assemble and defy
the Caffres; to ascend this rock there was a narrow ravine, like a cut
in the mountains that only one man at a time could ascend. The Bushmen
guarded this, and had large stones ready to drop on the men who came up,
and their poisoned arrows to discharge from their bows, so that it was
impossible to attack them there with any chance of success.
The Caffres saw no means by which they could kill the Bushmen, as the
rock could not be climbed, and was too high for an assagy to be thrown
to the top from the plains below. I, however, thought this just the
place that would be suitable for my plan; so, after the council, I told
Inyati I had heard all that had been said, and everything was just as I
wanted it to be. The only thing I feared was, that the Bushmen might
come down from their rock and attack me in the plain; but if I had a
hundred Caffres with me they would not do this.
As is usual with Caffre expeditions, we started before daybreak, guided
by a Caffre who knew the way; and by the time the sun had risen and the
mist had cleared from off the plains, we were within sight of the
Bushmen's rock. Inyati here took out his glasses, and after looking at
the rock for some time, informed us that there were ten or more Bushmen
on the top of the rock looking at us. We advanced quickly till within
about four throws of an assagy from them; at which distance we were
told, their arrows could not reach us. The Caffres then called to the
Bushmen, and asked why they killed the cattle. The Bushmen danced and
yelled, and fired two or three arrows at us, all of which fell short of
us by many paces. Seeing a large ant-hill a little nearer the rock, I
moved up to it; and, resting my rifle on the top, aimed at the group of
Bushmen on the hill. Having taken a good aim I pulled the trigger, and
when the smoke of my rifle cleared away I saw a Bushman tumbling down
the rock, whilst another was lying on the ground kicking, evidently
badly wounded. The other Bushmen were so astonished that they gathered
round the man who was on the ground, and looked at him, thus giving me
another good shot. I fired again, and another man fell down the rock
quite dead. The remainder of the Bushmen did not wait for anything
more, but retreated at full speed, climbing up the rocks like baboons,
and evidently frightened. We waited some time and then the Caffres
rushed on to the two men who had fallen and stabbed them with their
assagies. They were, however, quite dead, but Caffres like to make sure
there is no shamming. The bows and arrows of these men were taken, and
also some lion's teeth and claws that they wore; for these little
Bushmen will kill lions with their poisoned arrows, and also elephants.
The Caffres then all came round me and looked at my rifle with evident
signs of admiration. The distance at which I had killed the Bushmen was
to them a subject of profound astonishment, and also to see that the
bullet had gone completely through the men.
Our return to the village was a triumphant march, the men dancing,
singing, and brandishing their assagies. Inyati walked beside me
carrying the rifle, and asking me questions about the gun; how often it
could be fired, how far off it would kill, and how it was made. I was
the great hero of the day, child as I was, and these men now looked up
to me as to a chief. Our reception at the village was most
enthusiastic; men, women and children danced round us, shouting and
singing. Unless one had been persecuted as had these people, it would
be difficult to realise the importance of such an event as killing two
of their enemies. The people at this kraal assured us that the Bushmen
would now desert the country. They were very superstitious, and
wherever a Bushman died or was killed, that place was at once deserted,
as it was considered unlucky; so they felt certain that the Bushmen
would now leave that part of the country. Some of the Caffres who had
been out with me described to the people at the village how I had fired,
and how the Bushmen tumbled down the rock. They were capital actors,
and imitated the Bushmen very well. A young ox was killed for a feast,
and we had a great supper, many songs, and a large dance; and on the
following day returned towards our kraal, which we reached in seven
days--a longer time than we occupied on our journey from the kraal,
because now we drove with us ten cows, the reward given to Inyati for
his assistance.