Bertram Mitford

“ It seemed as though a warrior who had fought right hard before only began to fight after he had been beaten down, for then it was that, fierce and desperate, and in the throes of death, he would grip and stab, and even tear with his teeth, those who were slaying him. Haul I was mad that day! I was bleeding from wounds, but at this I laughed, even though they might be the poison wounds for which there is no cure. I struck till my heavy knobstick was painted with gore. I slashed with my broad umkonto, and it seemed that my arm was shivered beneath the blows that rained upon my great war-shield. ”

“ Whau, Nkose! How shall I tell what followed? We had reached the top of the slope, albeit somewhat breathless, and saw nothing before us but the cliff face. Then suddenly the mountain seemed to crack and totter, and there fell forward upon us with a sound as of thunder such huge masses of rock that we thought the whole cliff had come away upon us. Hau! that was a sight! Clouds of dust rose from the slope and towered aloft to the heavens as these immense rocks struck the ground and went tearing and crashing downward as though the earth were rent up by the roots ”

“ But I was young then, and I hated Gungana beyond describing. I thought of Nangeza, and how he would have robbed me of her; I thought of his continual designs to compass my ruin and death, and I knew there was not room in this world for him and myself together, and my heart became hard and ferocious as that of a wild beast.
“‘Is it comfortable down there, induna of the King?’ I jeered. ‘Ha! It is not much of a death for a warrior, for a brave commander of the King’s armies, to die like an ant-bear in a dark hole. ”

“ I fear nothing. I am a warrior of the Amazulu,’ I answered boastfully.
“Masuka eyed me strangely.
“‘Of múti were we speaking just now, warrior of the Amazulu who knows not fear,’ he said. ‘Now see. Are you sufficiently devoid of fear to dare to look into the future?’
“Then, Nkose, I felt that I had spoken like a liar and a braggart. Even the burning of the old magician’s spider-like eyes in the half-gloom of the hut caused me to quail. What would it be when I should follow him into the dark mysteries as yet unveiled? ”

“ We Zulus, you know, Nkose, like not to kill a serpent, for the guardian spirit who watches over us often takes that shape, and how can we make war upon it? So when these two mambas rose up against us I lifted no weapon. I only prayed, ‘O’zinyoka, do us no hurt,’ and the two of us withdrew. But as we did so the serpents slowly followed us, with crests erect, and hissing. At last they ceased to follow us, and we could hear the rustle of the bushes as they returned. Then we sat down again—and— Whau!, Nkose! when people are young, and the talk is of love, time goes upon eagle wings. ”

“ Fair and rolling plains lay beneath us, stretching as far as the eye could behold, dotted with kraals and cattle, and away in the distance coursed herds of game—elands and springboks and gnus and many other kinds. Then our eyes and our hearts were glad, and great and mighty was the acclamation with which we greeted him who had thus led us forth, and with one voice we all cried the royal ‘Bayéte!’ A new nation hailed Umzilikazi as King. ”

“ As we drew near Ekupumuleni we passed by the mound where the slayers were wont to do their work, and which robe at no long distance from the great kraal. I could see skulls glistening white among the grass on the mound, and I knew that in a very brief space my bones would lie there too, picked clean by the wild beasts of the waste. But even then I cannot say that I exactly feared. Too often had I gazed upon Death’s face and laughed—for, indeed, to look for death was the daily portion of a warrior. ”

“ An impi was sent in pursuit, and, coming up with the robbers, slew many, and, indeed, not one would have escaped but that darkness came on, and thus a few slipped away. Yet those who were slain did not lie down and beg for mercy. They fought—oh yes, they fought, dying hard like trapped lions; moreover, their little arrows, being tipped with a strong and subtle poison, caused the death of those who received so much as a scratch. Then Umzilikazi, enraged, ordered out a powerful impi to scour out the mountains and utterly destroy these vermin, that not one should be left on the face of the earth. ”

“ This custom, you must know, Nkose, is one which consists of warriors who have performed deeds of distinction during the recent battle being pointed at by their commanders and called forward out of the ranks to dance before the King, while narrating their claims to notice for especial valour—who they have killed and how it has been done. They dance and leap with a quickness and to a height that would astonish you white people, springing from the earth more than their own height in the air, clashing their shields with both feet while leaping, and so on—the while telling of their deeds. ”

“ My news, however, caused Nangeza to clap her hands delightedly.
“‘You are indeed a man, Untúswa!’ she cried. ‘Keep well within the favour of the King. One day you will be an induna. Who knows? One day you may command the whole army in battle.’
“‘Why not propose that one day I may reign as King?’ I said banteringly. ‘The one is as likely as the other.’
“‘Well, what then? Even that may be,’ was her cool reply. ‘A man who is brave and cautious may climb to any height; and did not the King promise you his dark-handled assegai? ”

“ In such black and horrible holes, among the bats and baboons, did these abatagati dwell; and then we thought of the deadly little poison sticks coming at us in clouds from these dark dens, and our hearts were filled with rage and hatred against these miserable cowards, who would not fight fair, man to man and spear to spear, but met us with such unsoldierlike weapons as poisoned darts thrown from behind stones, and we vowed utterly to destroy, to the very last living thing, the whole of this evil and foul-dealing crew. ”

“ The old men took snuff and listened, and saw that the words were wise. To remain was certain death; to fly would mean possible safety and wealth. The young men listened and gripped their weapons. The prospect of conquering out a new kingdom, of the enemies we should meet and slay—this it was that fired our blood. Besides, we would have gone through flame at the bidding of our chief, who had led us so often to victory. Moreover, it was darkly whispered that the iron yoke of Tshaka, in the matter of earlier marriage being permitted, and such-like, would be relaxed. ”

“ In those days, Nkose, we thought no more of slaying a lion with spears than you white people do of shooting it with a gun; and in hunting lions the King took an especial delight, and more than once have I seen Umzilikazi slay with his own spears, and all unaided, the largest and fiercest of lions. In this sport he would often have me to accompany him, and, indeed, on one occasion it would have gone hard with me, in my rashness and anxiety to show my valour under the very eyes of the Great Great One. ”

“ It was a sight to live in a man’s memory. By the red light of a thousand huge fires there was assembled the whole might of a nation, of a new nation, of a nation of warriors. The King sat in the midst of his indunas, an open space before him. On either side stretched a monster crescent of armed men, the glint of their spears, the sheen of their great hide shields, flickering in the wavy glow. Up the middle of this space our impi advanced, singing a battle-song, even the war-song of Umzilikazi ”

“ A powerful induna has no more lives than an ordinary warrior, and the life of this one is between two deaths—that dealt out by the King’s enemies, and that by the King’s soldier whose bravery thou hast stolen, and whose bride thou wouldst fain steal also. Be careful, Gungana, be careful!’ Thus, with the fire of vengeance in my heart, I marched forth with the impi, and re-echoing in full chorus the fierce notes of the battle-song which the girls had led, we left Ekupumuleni far behind us, taking our way on and on into the enshrouding mist. ”

“ Au, Nkose! you would have laughed aloud to have seen the scare on the faces of those men when they turned round to behold—not the dead carcase, their expected cannibal feast, but a big live Zulu warrior, fully armed with shield and weapons, charging upon them like lightning, roaring out the war-shout with all the power of his lungs! ”

“ Now, of all this killing I and many others of the younger warriors soon grew tired. It was too much like cattle-slaying, falling upon these unresisting people, who had no fight in them. What we desired was to meet an enemy in arms, and some, fired with all this blood-shedding, even whispered of turning back to meet the impis of Tshaka in fair fight. ”

“ Then came another cloud of dust, and the steady tramp of marching feet, and the hum of deep-toned voices; then a wavy shimmer of spear-points, like the sunshine on the blue sea. Spread out over the plain in four dense black columns the regiments marched, and as I, looking neither to the right nor to the left, sped between these, the confused wonder which had greeted my first appearance was succeeded by a dead expectant silence.
“Umzilikazi was riding on horseback near the rear of the army, surrounded by a group of indunas, among whom was my father. ”

“ Stumbling, rolling, catching our footing again, choking with the dust and hot foetid atmosphere, we beat them backward step by step, the now black gloom ringing with a deafening and hideous clamour, the roar of our war-shout, the shrill, vengeful yells of the maddened Baputi, and the shrieks and groans of the wounded and dying. ”

“ Then it flashed across me that Nangeza must have been put to the torture and questioned, for how otherwise could my ambitious dreams and intentions have become known, since I had breathed no word of them to any other, not even to old Masuka?
“‘Behold him, ye people!’ went on the King. ‘Behold him, my shield-bearer, my inceku, my chief runner! The confidence which I placed in him as the first has moved him to try to be greater than I; his opportunities as the second he has used to rob the Isigodhlo; while his powers as the last have enabled him to flee fast and far. ”

“ And the whole nation joined in, and, indeed, even in the far mountains the foul Izímu and such abatagati must have quaked in their dens, for even thither must have reached the vast roaring chorus of the praises of the King.
“‘It is well, my children,’ said Umzilikazi when he again spoke. ‘Never before has such a deed met with other reward than death, never shall it again; and here my “word” will stand as fast as it did in my promise to Untúswa. And thou, son of Ntelani. ”

“ By the time a man could have counted fifty from the moment the fighting had ceased not one who had inhabited that kraal, even to the last dog, was left alive.
“‘Hau!’ cried Gungana, the second induna in command of our impi, as he stood gazing upon a heap of the slaughtered women, among whom were several who were young and pleasant to look upon. ‘Hau! I think we have made too much of a mouthful of the King’s enemies. Now, some of these would have been better alive than dead, for of girls among us we have none too many. ”

“ Know, then, that the Elephant, whose tread shaketh the world, has heard much of these Basutu izanusi, who learn their magic in dark caves of the mountains—has often wished to converse with them and test their skill. Here is one of them at last, and go to the King he shall. I would not give much for the life of the man who slays him.’
“Standing over the old witch-doctor with my assegai in my hand confronting that riotous, roaring crowd, flushed with victory and bloodshed, I know not how things might have gone even then. ”

“ But it did not enter. It halted—motionless but for a slight quiver—within a hand’s-breadth of my heart. Still, my eyes left not those of the King, and for a moment thus we stood. Then Umzilikazi spoke:
“‘Once more I grant thee thy life, Untúswa, son of Ntelani, for I think thou art the bravest warrior that ever lived, and fearest death in its cold form no more than in the heat and shock of battle. ”

“ The ground was wet with blood, alive with falling, writhing bodies. The heights rang back our screams of rage, our defiant war-cries, and the clangour of our blows. Foot by foot we gave way; but they never got above us, never got around us. Thus shone forth the generalship of our chief in choosing this for our fighting-ground. ”

“ Now, Nkose, a portion of my gloom came of the knowledge of what would happen to the sentinel whom we had overpowered. Death would be his lot as surely as though I had driven my spear through his heart. I had a mind to go back and loose him, but that would mean giving my life for his, and I was not tired of life just yet. Moreover, it would mean the sacrifice of Nangeza also, and it were better that one person should perish than that two should. ”

“ At night we would creep into some crevice or hole in the rocks, but it was seldom we dared make a fire, lest its light should be seen afar. Sometimes, however, we would find a deep cleft where the light would be screened by the rock in front, and then we would rejoice in the warmth while we roasted our game at the comforting blaze, for the mountain—side abounded in several species of small buck, which I had no difficulty in obtaining at any time with assegai or knobstick. ”

“ Even in all our pride of war we felt some stirring of misgiving as we looked upon those great rock walls, grim and threatening in the moonlight, and pierced with black fissures and caves, at those steep, rugged slopes strewn with stones and loose boulders. ”

“ That is a great tale!’ he cried. ‘In truth, Untúswa, thy doings have been strange. But these Baputi—they fought well! Think you that the Izimu are of their tribe?’
“‘That I know not, O Great Great One. They seemed to me of the same race.’
“‘Ha! I like not these wizards who hide behind rocks. I lose too many warriors for their wretched cattle and women, and their own miserable carcases slain. ”

“ The great pile of rocks which filled the gap was far too high for men to leap over, too loose to be pulled down, lest the entire mass should fall upon and crush them. Such was the strategy of our chief.
“And now upon those of our enemies who were thus walled in with us there bore down the whole of our force, led by Umzilikazi in person. Those of us who were in flight turned, re-formed, and sprang like lightning to the charge; while others of us, who had been lying concealed, leaped from our ambush, and, forming a dense half-circle, we rushed upon the warriors of Tshaka. ”