Three days only had elapsed since my escape from the Zulus, and the
fight between them and the men of Eondema, and I had been living with
the young chief, and considering what I should do in order to rejoin my
own people, when, at daybreak on the fourth day, a great noise was
heard, and before we had time to do more than wonder what this was, a
war-party of the Zulus was upon us. From facts which we afterwards
learnt, we knew that the few Zulus who escaped from the men of Eondema
had met a war-party of the Zulus not many miles east of the Umganie
river, and had told the chief of this party that I was among the Umlass
Caffres. This chief concluded that if he could capture me, and take me
back to the Zulu king, he would be well rewarded. He also knew that
there were cattle in plenty belonging to these people, and so, by a
surprise, he hoped to capture me, and also carry off some cattle.
Their plans had been well arranged, for they had kept to the bush until
within a short distance of our kraal. They had then rushed on it, and
were upon us before we could prepare for them. Eondema and I were in
the same hut, and we both made for the doorway, to get out and see what
the noise was caused by. Eondema had scarcely moved a foot out of his
hut before he was knocked on the head with a knob-kerrie, and instantly
killed. Fearing the same fate, I did not follow him; but, seizing my
gun, fired a shot among the Zulus who were round the doorway. In an
instant they retreated, but I heard the call for "_umlilo_" ("fire"),
and I knew they were going to burn the hut down. Now a hut set on fire
from the outside would burn inwards, and roast any one who remained in
the hut; but if the fire were applied to one part of the inside, it
would, if properly kept down, burn outwards and make a hole through
which a man might escape. There was no time to lose. So I blew up the
embers of the fire, and lighted the grass on the inside of the hut
opposite the doorway, and by help of some milk which was in the
calabashes in the hut I prevented the fire from rushing all over the
hut. In the meantime, the Zulus had set fire to the hut near the
doorway, and I could hear the crackling of the flames above me. As soon
as the smoke was very thick I threw the milk on the fire I had lighted,
and pushing against this part, found I had made an opening large enough
to creep through. I wished much to take my gun with me, but this I knew
was impossible; and, besides, it would have been useless as a means of
preservation, for although I might have shot one or two Zulus, yet I
should have been assagied immediately after. My only chance of escape
was that of getting out of the hut without being seen, and being able to
move in the smoke without being recognised.
Having forced my way through the opening in the hut, I lay down outside
for an instant to look round; and, hearing all the Zulus near the door
on the opposite side of the hut to that from which I had made my escape,
I rose and walked slowly away, still keeping in the thick smoke caused
by the fire of the hut.
Now people not accustomed to hunting game such as antelope, leopards,
and other like creatures, would probably have started off and run, as
soon as they got clear of the hut. I knew better than to do so stupid a
thing. If I had run, I should at once have attracted attention, and
been followed, and my race for life would have commenced immediately.
By moving slowly I was not noticed, and thus had gone more than a
hundred yards from the hut before a Zulu, who was running towards the
kraal which was burning, passed close to me, and seeing me, stopped;
and, recognising me, hurled an assagy at me. The practice I had gained
with Inyoni and Tembile stood me in good stead on this occasion, or I
should have been speared. I dodged the assagy, which stuck in the
ground near me, within reach of my arm, and seizing it threw it at my
enemy. He was not as quick in escaping as I had been, and my assagy
struck him in the chest and the blade passed through his body. I closed
with him at once, and with one of his own knob-kerries struck him on the
head, and I believe killed him. I did this so that he might not tell
any other Zulus that he had seen me. Possessing myself of his shield,
assagies, and knob-kerrie, I started off at a run towards the bush; for
it was there I hoped to conceal myself, and possibly escape the keen
eyes of the Zulus; for although they might follow my spoor as correctly
as a dog will follow a buck, I still hoped I might defeat all their
cunning.
The attention of all the Zulus was taken up with the kraal from which I
had escaped; for they expected me to rush out as soon as I found that
the smoke and fire would destroy me. That I should escape from the back
part of the hut had not been thought of.
The distance from the kraal to the Berea bush was about a mile, and this
distance I passed over at a rapid walk, and succeeded in entering the
bush without being recognised by any of the enemy. The Berea bush was
at this time visited annually by one or two herds of elephants which
came down from near the Zulu country. They stayed in the bush during
several months, and made paths through the thick jungle, along which a
man could walk easily. The bush was nearly impenetrable except along
these elephant tracks; so I thought I might easily conceal myself in
this bush for two or three days, unless my footprints were seen, when I
should certainly be tracked and probably caught or assagied. Having
entered the bush without having been recognised, I made my way along an
elephant-path, where the tracks of the elephants were quite fresh. I
knew that in this bush there must be a herd of these animals, and if
they would only walk along the same path that I had travelled they would
rub out the print of my footprints, and I should be safe. I walked on
into the densest part of the bush; and then, finding a large tree, I
climbed into it; so that, if the elephants scented me and became savage
and hunted me, I should be safe in this tree.
I knew I might have to remain in the bush during two or three days, and
that I might remain all that time without food; but I had been
accustomed to this trial, and people who in civilised countries take
their three meals a day are not aware how long a man in health can last
without food, especially if he is in the open air and can obtain water.
From the tree into which I had climbed I could see the sea beyond the
bay, so that if a ship came off the harbour I could see it, but how to
reach it would be the difficulty.
I had been but a short time in the tree when I heard a noise as of
branches being shaken. At first I imagined that the elephants were
moving through the bush, and consequently shaking the trees; but I soon
saw in the topmost branches a number of small grey monkeys, which were
leaping from branch to branch, and peeping at me whenever they could
obtain a glance. They seemed to consider me an invader of their
property, and to be angry in consequence, as they came within a few
yards of me and screamed loudly. Now I did not fear the monkeys, as
they were small, and having an assagy, I could easily have defended
myself; but I knew that if any Zulus were in the bush they would at once
suspect that the monkeys were making this noise because some strange
creature was in the bush, and they would come to see what it was; and
so, though they might not be able to trace me by my footprints, yet they
would be attracted to my concealment in consequence of the noise made by
the monkeys. Breaking off some branches, I threw these at the creatures
when they came near me; but they did not seem frightened, and screamed
and jumped about more than before. Suddenly, however, their attention
seemed to be attracted by something else, as they left the trees around
me and became greatly excited as they watched something on the ground.
I feared that perhaps the Zulus had followed my footprints, and had
traced me to where I then was; but I soon heard a noise which I
recognised as that made by an elephant, and it was this creature to
which the monkeys were giving so much attention. The elephant I soon
saw as he moved slowly through the bush; he was a large bull-elephant,
and was alone, no others being near him. When this is the case an
elephant becomes very savage, as he has usually been driven out of the
herd by a combination of younger bull-elephants. He then wanders about
in the bush, and is ready to attack anything that he comes across. I
was rather pleased to know that such an elephant was in this bush; for I
knew the Zulus had a great dread of a solitary bull-elephant even in the
open country, whilst in the bush he was still more to be feared. It
would therefore be probable that, if (as they soon would) they knew of
the presence of the elephant, they would not like to traverse the bush
in search of me. As long as I was up a tree as high and as strong as
that in which I now was I was safe from an elephant.
During two days I remained in the bush, passing the night in a tree, and
by day gathering fruit and drinking water. People in civilisation eat
and drink either at stated hours or when hungry and thirsty. I had long
been accustomed to do both when I could. If not thirsty, and I came on
a stream of good water, I drank, because by so doing I prevented myself
from becoming thirsty; so that probably I might have managed to pass a
month in this bush, without suffering from want of food or water. I
had, however, found a tall tree from which I could see a great part of
the flat and marsh of Natal, as also the bay and sea beyond; and on the
afternoon of the second day I saw two sights which rejoiced me. The
first was a large party of Zulus moving from near the bay towards the
Umganie river: these men were driving some cattle before them, and were
apparently leaving the country. The other sight was a ship which was
sailing up the coast, and was evidently making for the anchorage
opposite the harbour. Having taken up a safe position in this tree, I
passed the night quietly, and when the first light of day enabled me to
see distant objects, I perceived that the ship which I had seen sailing
was now at anchor, with no sails set. Immediately I saw this I
descended from the tree, and worked my way out of the bush; and,
exposing myself as little as possible in the open country, made my way
across the marsh and through the bush to the beach. I there procured a
large branch of a tree, and waved it so as to attract the attention of
any one looking out from the ship.
I incurred some risk in doing this; for if any outlying party of the
Zulus were near they would have seen me and I could not easily have
escaped. But I was obliged to show myself on the beach, so as to
attract attention, or I feared the ship might leave without sending a
boat on shore. I watched with considerable anxiety for some sign of a
boat from the ship, but it must have been several hours before I saw a
sail set on the vessel, and she began to move. I now noticed that the
tide was high, and that there was but little surf on the bar, so that it
was possible the vessel, which was small, might intend coming into the
bay. My doubts were soon set at rest, for she headed towards the bluff,
and came slowly on, and after being washed by one or two breakers as she
was on the bar, she came into smooth water, and glided into the harbour
and cast anchor.
I did not wait for a boat, but jumped into the water and swam to the
ship, from which a rope was thrown me and I climbed on board. The
sailors and captain looked at me with much surprise, and I now found an
unexpected difficulty, viz., to speak English readily. I, however
managed to improve as I went on, and told the captain what had happened
at Natal; and how the white men had been massacred by the Zulus, except
those who had escaped in the ship. The captain had heard nothing of
what had happened here, as he had come from the Mauritius, and the ship
that had sailed out of the harbour had gone down the coast to Cape Town,
and the communication then between various places was not as rapid as it
is now. This ship required fresh meat, and the difficulty was how to
procure it. All the cattle had been swept off by the Zulus, except that
which had been concealed by my friends across the Umlass river; and
there would be difficulty in communicating with these men, as it was not
certain some strong force of the Zulus might not be in the bush
concealed.
The captain of the ship was very kind to me, and fitted me with a suit
of sailor's clothes, and assured me he would take me down to Cape Town,
from whence I could obtain a passage to England. He told me that
nothing had ever been heard of the _Madagascar_, the ship in which I had
sailed from India, and which had been wrecked; but it was supposed she
must have gone down in the gale which had visited the Isle of France
about that time. When I told him there were white women prisoners among
the Caffres, or at least their wives, he said that he would go into the
country with his men, and bring these women away. I told him that such
an attempt would cost him his life and would be useless, because the
white women were now contented with their lot, and probably would not
leave; and the Caffres were not likely to allow their wives to be
carried off by half a dozen men whom they could assagy without
difficulty. The captain, however, like many ignorant Englishmen,
underrated the power of the Caffres, and asserted that a dozen armed
Englishmen, especially sailors, would be more than a match for a
thousand niggers. I told him he did not know how skilful and cunning
these natives were, and that if the country were bushy, an equal number
of Caffres, though armed with assagies only, would be more than a match
for him and his sailors. The captain merely laughed at me, and said he
would like to try them.