Eswatini

“ When the last man was sacrificed, the witch-doctor made another speech. It was about what heroes the ten indunas had been and what a great king they had lost. One sentence I remember.
"So long as warriors are willing to die for Swaziland," he shouted, "our country is safe! So long as our [116] best face death without fear, we need not fear the Zulus, Boers, or British. The white men fear death. They can never stand against our impis if our warriors are led by such men as those who died to-night!" ”

“ When Tzaneen had finished Oom Tuys made a little speech.
"Sebuza, son of Buno and of Tzaneen, rightful Queen of Swaziland," he said impressively, "your father at his death made me your guardian, and I promised him that [290] I would watch over and protect you. I am 'The White King of Swaziland' and the government holds me responsible for all that takes place here. With my nephew, Mzaan Bakoor, I have come to see you placed on the throne of your father. We have pledged ourselves to assist you in every way, except to provoke war. We shall remain here until you have been made king." ”

“ My impi backed me up, and it began to look as though some one would be badly hurt when Oom Tuys dashed out of the house and scattered us.
"Mzaan Bakoor, you little devil!" he shouted, catching me by the ears. "Why do you make so much fight? Why do you tell such lies? 'Black Hand Tom' will only eat the dust of these Johannesburg horses. They are race horses!"
Now this was sacrilege. To hear my uncle, the great "White King of Swaziland," say such a thing gave me such a shock that I forgot to kick his shins for tweaking my ears. ”

“ The Swazi is a very primitive savage; he has no hell or heaven and, under normal circumstances, no god. Their only supernatural belief is in a sort of evil spirit or devil. This devil, however, is under the control of the ruler and usually is most active in sending or holding back the rain so necessary to the scanty crops grown by the Swazis.
In connection with this devil it is important to know that Queen Labotsibeni was the "rain-maker" of Swaziland. This gave her great power, since the natives fully believed in her supernatural powers. ”

“ When they drew closer we could discern Lomwazi in their midst. He was not bound, but carried no arms and wore no ornaments. All the men guarding him were indunas. They marched their prisoner in front of Sebuza, and we came nearer so that we might hear.
"Lomwazi, brother of Buno and traitor to his son," Sebuza began. "You have lost in the war you started against me and now your life is mine. Labotsibeni is dead and I have sent for you to surrender the throne to me so that the people of Swaziland may know who is king. Do you give up the throne?" ”

“ In fact, the Dutch and the English are as like as Heaven can make them, and the only thing that keeps them apart is man's prejudice. The one thing to do is to bring them together. How can you help that end? Not by girding at them, and writing against Boer ways, but by recognising the fact that they have been pioneers in South Africa, and that they are the only people who will settle on the land. I see there is a great agitation about Swaziland, which is entirely surrounded by the Transvaal Republic. ”

“ Buno's death had left the throne vacant. Queen Tzaneen could not reign because she was not a native-born Swazi. Her child, if a man, could not become king until he became of age. Hence the throne was vacant, and Labotsibeni wanted Tuys to use his influence to have her recognized as queen by the British and Boers.
"The old lady is right," he said. "She is the only one able to rule Swaziland. Every one knows that she practically ruled as the royal queen of King Umbandine and during Buno's reign she was always the power behind the throne. ”

“ Tuys went on. "He is a great king and has as many warriors as the blades of veldt grass. His impis are countless, and just recently he has married Tzaneen, a princess of the Zulus.
"Here is how it happened that we Boers must pay him tribute. His father, Umbandine, built up the Swazi power until he had enough warriors to be dangerous to us and to all the surrounding tribes. Even the Zulus feared him. Now Buno, guided and advised by his mother, Queen Labotisibeni, has kept the Swazi impis up to the greatest possible fighting strength, and he is the one savage chief we Boers have to reckon with. ”

“ Queen Labotsibeni had gathered all her warriors, and it was understood that she would fight to keep Umzulek from becoming ruler. Queen Tzaneen, on her side, had mustered all the men who remained faithful to the memory of King Buno, and it was said that she would take the throne if she could muster enough force to do it. Taking it all in all, the stage was set for a bloody civil strife in Swaziland.
"It looks as though we had work ahead," Tuys said to me in Dutch, after the induna had related these events. "Well, we have our job to do and the sooner we get it over the better." ”

“ Sebuza's indunas tried to put up a fight and resisted for a short time. Then the enemy overpowered them and stabbed them to death.
So it was war after all! In spite of my efforts to prevent it, the question of who should be ruler of Swaziland was to be settled in the old-fashioned way.
Tuys and I went to the royal kraal and found Tzaneen and Lochien already up. Thousands of warriors and scores of indunas were on guard and the whole place was in whirl of excitement. ”

“ Wishing before leaving the country to gain as intimate a knowledge as possible of the different railway routes to the coast, of which I had now seen all but one, I made up my mind to walk to Delagoa Bay, through Swaziland, see Steynsdorp, the headquarters of the Komati diggers, glance in passing at the formation of the country and the gold reefs, which Umbandini, the Swazi king, was so liberally giving away in concessions, and witness, if possible, the yearly dance of the Swazis, which is a red-letter day throughout the whole of their country. ”

“ She is the best liked woman in Swaziland without a doubt, and this is strange, since it is seldom that these savage women display any affection for one another.
We asked her how soon Sebuza would be made king. Her face darkened at the question and I could see that it touched a sore spot.
"Until my son, Sebuza, returns from the mountains this matter is in the hands of Queen Labotsibeni, whom the government recognizes as regent," she answered. "But when the prince is a man and is ready for the throne, perhaps there will be a change!" ”

“ Tuys listened without interruption until I had finished. Then he asked, "Are you sure there were ten indunas sacrificed?"
I told him I was sure, because I had mechanically counted them when they stood before the fire.
"Then I am safe," he replied. "If ten have been killed, there will be no more. Ten is the royal number, and there must not be one more or less. Good!"
Then he told me about Queen Labotsibeni's visit. It seems she had called on "The White King of Swaziland" for his help in a matter of importance to the state. ”

“ Tuys prediction about war continuing proved only too true. For weeks after the fall of Zombode there were killings in the neighboring districts. The only battle of any importance took place at Stegea, the kraal of Umzulek. Needless to say, the forces of that much-married potentate were victorious. Of course many of these killings were due to personal feuds, the war being only an excuse for them. It is safe to say that Swaziland was in a ferment for some time after Sebuza seized the throne, and this came to the notice of the authorities in Mbabane and Johannesburg. ”

“ Next day we visited Tzaneen, and I found that she was much interested in my sudden trip to Mbabane. Her indunas had told her that I had received a summons to visit the Commissioner and she was curious to know all about it. I told her why Mr. Honey wanted to know about me and then repeated his advice.
"Yes, Mzaan Bakoor, I know all about the government opposition to my son becoming king," she said. "He has so many followers that they are afraid of him. The British fear Sebuza because they would sooner have a weak old woman like Labotsibeni in Swaziland than a strong man and a son of Buno." ”

“ We have shown Queen Labotsibeni and Lomwazi that their nonsense must end. They know now that a majority of the loyal warriors of Swaziland are behind the son of Buno and they are afraid! Let us take our impis back to Lebombo, and to-morrow we will send to Labotsibeni and demand that she give up the throne. She is afraid that she will be killed, according to the ancient custom, and for that reason refuses to abdicate. We white men will pledge ourselves to guard her and escort her to Portugese territory, where she will be safe. ”

“ I would have you make a paper which would tell all the world that you are the guardian of the people of Swaziland. When you die you can make Mzaan Bakoor the guardian. He will be a man then and will care for my poor people. Swaziland has many enemies—the Boers, the English, the Zulus, and others. All desire our land. You can prevent them from taking it. Will you be their guardian when I am gone?"
Tuys met the feverish eyes of the dying monarch and then his deep voice rumbled. I remember noting how different it was from that of Buno. ”

“ Nkoos, the queen mother sends to you in her trouble. Her son, the late King Buno, gave you guardianship over Swaziland and Queen Labotsibeni wants your counsel. Even now Queen Tzaneen, the royal widow, gives birth. We do not yet know whether it will be a man-child or not. Umzulek plots to take the throne by force and is mustering his impis. Thousands are flocking to his support and the impis of the queens are gathering at Zombode. If you do not come quickly, there will be war in our country. Queen Labotsibeni prays that you come and prevent war. ”

“ Tuys sent for several of the leaders, men who headed the commandos of their districts, and told them about the political situation in Swaziland.
"Oom Paul's orders are that we must secure the throne for the rightful heir," he said. "Labotsibeni must [138] be appointed regent until the new prince comes of age, and it is our job to pacify the people and prevent war. If, however, war there must be, we shall strike first and strike hard! We must remember that death is the only argument that a kaffir understands and must make a clean job of it." ”

“ On the south-east boundary is a native territory called Swaziland, or the Amaswasi country, belonging to a Zulu tribe; it is situated between the Republic, Zululand, and the Portuguese possessions at Delagoa Bay. It is a very hilly and well-wooded district, thickly populated with a warlike race. The Transvaal Republic say it is within their boundary, but the natives deny it; at any rate the Boers at present have no authority over them, and the chief rules quite independent of the Transvaal. ”

“ Labotsibeni had not lost her sight this first time I saw her, and she looked me over for a full minute before speaking. Then she motioned to me to be seated and addressed me:
"Nkoos, little white induna," she said, "you come to Pungwane (the native name for Swaziland) as the friend of our great white leader. Oom Tuys is the trusted friend of my son, the king, and you shall be trusted likewise. Our friend always brings presents; thus do we know that his heart is true to us!"
I accepted the hint and produced the quart bottle of gin I had brought for her. ”

“ He will find that I am a bad witch-doctor and will know that it is not good to refuse an order!"
Then Tuys delivered his ultimatum, and it was the arrangement by which peace was preserved in Swaziland for nearly a score of years. It was a striking scene. Each of the queens sat in front of her bodyguard, while behind Tuys stood the keen-eyed Boer leaders. Except for their plumes and colored trappings, the armies of the two queens almost blended into the barren brown veldt. Over all was the crystal-clear sky of South Africa, with the bright sun throwing clean-cut shadows. ”

“ I could see that Tuys was interested and saw him shift his feet, his right hand carelessly resting on the butt of his revolver. He, too, was watching Umzulek. Finally Tzaneen spoke.
"Queen Mother," she said, addressing Labotsibeni, "Our king is dead! You have lost your son and I my husband, the father of my unborn child, who is to be king of Swaziland."
[108] "What if your child be a woman?" snapped back the old queen, who had evidently been thinking along practical lines. "Who is to rule Swaziland until your child is born?" ”

“ When Tuys and I got back to our camp we immediately held a council of war. Our position was dangerous. If Labotsibeni's men attacked Lebombo, we might have to fight for our lives. We were known as friends of Tzaneen and Sebuza, and our taking part in the "demonstration" of the day before had shown all Swaziland that we were not friendly to Labotsibeni and Lomwazi. Realizing that we might have to fight and not caring to take advantage of the slim protection of the kraals, we built up the sides of the great wagon so that it became more like a fort than anything else. ”

“ Lucia Bay, on the Indian Ocean, in 1884, and a treaty with the Tonga tribes, binding them to make no treaties with any other power than the English, completed the hold of the British crown on the eastern coast line up to the southern border of the Portuguese possessions.
The Africanders, denied expansion on the north, sought compensation in the acquisition of [184] Swaziland, to the east of the Transvaal republic—a small but fertile region and possessing considerable mineral wealth. It was inhabited by some 70,000 Kaffirs, near of kin but hostile to the Zulus. ”