Kaffar

“ Voltaire's marvellous knowledge was held at a discount. "But does Mr. Blake mean to insinuate that Mr. Kaffar and myself have learnt such a code as this?" said Voltaire at length.
"I insinuate nothing," I replied. "I am simply showing how your performance can be done by those possessing no knowledge of the occult sciences."
"But does Mr. Blake decline to believe that we know nothing of the mysterious—that we have not dived into subjects of which the ordinary mind can know nothing?" said Kaffar. ”

“ There, in the quiet of my room, all this mesmerism and clairvoyance seemed only so much hocus-pocus, which no sensible and well-educated man should have anything to do with. Still, it was my only hope, and it only wanted eight days to Christmas Eve. Only one little week and a day, that was all, and then, if I did not produce Kaffar, all was lost. It would be no use to go to Miss Forrest's house in Kensington and tell her that Simon Slowden had, while in a mesmeric sleep, seen Kaffar in Italy. No, no; that would never do. I must produce him, nothing else would suffice. ”

“ Arrived in Alexandria, I again set inquiries on foot, but with far less chance of success. Kaffar was not a marked man here. In this town, where almost every nationality was to be seen, no notice would be taken of him. A thousand men answering to Kaffar's description might be seen every day. Still I did all I could, and then hurried on to Cairo. ”

“ I awoke to consciousness, fighting. At first it seemed as if I was fighting with a phantom, but gradually my opponent became more real to me. It was Kaffar.
I had only a dim hazy idea of what I was doing, except that I sought to wrest from his hand a knife. We clutched each other savagely, and wrestled there on the edge of the pond. Weights seemed to hang upon my limbs, but I felt the stronger of the two. ”

“ Kaffar," said Tom Temple, "really this cannot be allowed. You must remember you are among gentlemen and ladies. Please act accordingly."
"Ladies there are, gentlemen there are," shrieked the Egyptian; "but he"—pointing at me—"is no gentleman. He is at once a viper, a villain, and a coward. I leave this house; I renounce pleasant society; I leave this country—for ever ”

“ I had determined to tell this little man every circumstance which might lead to Kaffar's discovery, especially those which happened in Yorkshire. It seemed my only resource, and I felt, that somehow something would come of it.
I therefore briefly related what I have written in this story.
"That man who mesmerized you is very clever," said the professor quietly, when I had finished. "It was very unfortunate for you that you should have matched yourself with such a one. His plot was well worked out in every respect. He only made a mistake in one thing." ”

“ Immediately he left, followed by Kaffar, I experiencing a sense of relief. "Did I do anything very foolish?" I asked, recollecting the events of the evening.
"Oh no, Justin," replied Tom. "And yet that Voltaire is a terrible fellow. Half the young ladies in the room were nearly as much mesmerized as you were. You acted in pretty nearly the same way as Simon here, but nothing else. Do you feel quite right?"
"I am awfully weak," I said, "and cold shivers creep down my legs." ”

“ Were not my thoughts concerning Voltaire's schemes about Miss Forrest all fancy? Was not I the victim of some Quixotic ideas? Was not the creation of Cervantes' brain about as sensible as I? Surely I, a man of thirty, ought to know better? And yet some things were terribly real. My love for Gertrude Forrest was real; my walk and talk with her that day were real. Ay, and the hateful glitter of Voltaire's eyes was real too; his talk with Kaffar behind the shrubs the night before was real. ”

“ The Kaffir whose property they had become by right of the first wound—though the chief being present I found they were to be presented to him—was a great hunter, as could be seen by the leopard tails which formed his aprons and the teeth of wild beasts of which his necklaces and bracelets were composed; for in Caffraria, if a man wants to dress in these much-prized ornaments, he cannot purchase them, but must first slay their natural possessors. So proud is the hunter of these trophies of his prowess, that he will rarely part with them save to his chief or the exacting witch-doctor. ”

“ Like the lion, the tiger, the panther, and all the roaming tenants of the bush, the mountain, or the kloof, the Kaffir has become identified with the country to which he now belongs; and, though here and there one or two may be brought to understand the meaning of good principle, as a body, the Kaffirs will fulfil the destiny of their great progenitor, Ishmael, of whom it has been decreed by God, that his descendants shall “have their hands against every man, and every man’s hand against them.” ”

“ The Kafirs are described as strong athletic men with a language of their own, the features and complexions of Europeans, and fond of dancing, hunting, and drinking. They also play at leap-frog, shake hands as Englishmen, and cannot sit cross-legged on the ground. When a deputation of Kafirs came to Sir William Macnaghten at Jalalabad, the Afghans exclaimed: 'Here are your relations coming!' From the days of Alexander the Great the Siah-posh Kafirs have never been conquered, and they have never embraced Islam. ”

“ The Kaffir has neither generosity nor gratitude, which are invariably the attributes of a brave nature; he will not meet his adversary openly, unless he has the advantage immensely in numbers, as in Captain Sandes’s case. When there are some thousands, to one helpless or unarmed man, they will annihilate him without mercy. The Kaffir has no genuine pride, for he will submit to any personal degradation to obtain his ends; in short, he is an ignoble foe, and we gain no more credit, or profit, in fighting such an enemy than if we were endeavouring to circumvent an army of baboons. ”

“ Before us, advancing down the hills, was Umhala, mounted, and surrounded by his followers, also mounted, in number about two hundred. As soon, apparently, as they had obtained a full and fair view of us, enabling them to estimate pretty accurately our number, they dismounted. Away went their horses, none being saddled, nor, apparently, bridled, to enjoy the sweets of the fresh grass. Then the Kaffir chief and his people formed themselves into a phalanx, certainly of most warlike appearance; each man bearing his war allowance of seven assegais, and carrying a musket in his right hand. ”

“ An immensely big Kaffir was noticed rushing down the opposite ridge, which was not more than 800 yards distant, and running at full speed across our line of fire; unmindful of a shower of balls that fell around him, and at his very feet, he kept straight on towards our right as though he bore a charmed life, shouting, and encouraging the others to follow, as he headed them in an attempt to gain the Pass, and turn our right flank by moving [89] along the edge of the forest. ”

“ The mode of warfare of these two tribes, for they cannot be considered distinct nations, is in some respects different. The Kaffir goes forth to battle besmeared with red clay, simply arrayed with his kaross, armed with his musket and assegai, and accoutred with his pouch and sack, for ammunition, plunder, and provisions.
The appearance of a body of Fingoes, if less terrific, is more imposing. Their heads are ornamented with jackals’ tails, ostrich plumes, beads, wolves’ teeth, etc. Across their shoulders is flung a skin, and around their waist is girt a kilt of monkeys’ tails. ”

“ The word “kraal” applies either to the group of huts forming a village, to a single hut, or the fold for the cattle.
Part 1, Chapter V. The Kaffirs—their Superstitions.
The Kaffirs have no idea of a future state, and many can hardly be taught to believe that there are countries beyond their own. Some have a crude idea that Europeans, particularly the English, live on the waters in ships. Even to their own chiefs, and people who have been in England, they will give no credence. A Kaffir believes only what he sees. ”

“ If there is any one trait which distinguishes the true Kaffir race, it is the innate genius for warfare. The Kaffir lives from his childhood to his death in an atmosphere of war. Until he is old and wealthy, and naturally desires to keep his possessions in tranquillity, a time of peace is to him a time of trouble. He has no opportunity of working off his superabundant energy; he has plenty of spears which he cannot use against an enemy, and a shield which he can only employ in the dance. He has no chance of distinguishing himself, and so gaining both rank and wealth ”

“ The Kaffirs are in the habit of burying their chiefs, but no other dead.
Note 2. It is the general custom of the Kaffirs to leave an old woman in a kraal as a spy. They manage to keep up a constant communication with her, and supply her with food.
Note 3. Captain Donovan nearly lost his life on the banks of the Gwanga, on the day of the memorable action there. On reaching a drift, whither he had led his horse to drink, four or five Kaffirs suddenly rushed upon him. His rifle was on the ground, and there was no time to draw his sword, before the musket of a savage was levelled at his head. ”

“ We had gone but a few hundred yards, our eyes hardly yet accustomed to the gloom, when a dark figure crossed the road a little in front, and disappeared in the bush. To have fired would only have been to betray ourselves; so we held on our course, keeping a sharp look out. When half way down we came suddenly on a Kaffir fire in the bush on our left, not more than five or six yards from the path; round it lay several black fellows, rolled in their red blankets and karosses, sleeping soundly, after watching probably the greater part of the night. ”

“ The Kaffir, at the first onset, is perhaps less ferocious than cunning, and more intent on serving his own interests by theft than on taking life from the mere spirit of cruelty; but once roused, he is like the wild beast after the taste of blood, and loses all the best attributes of humanity. ”

“ Such a speech was not surprising, when it is remembered that the Kaffir regards himself as a very superior being to a woman, whom, though termed wife, he knows only as a servant to fulfil his behests, and wait upon him in all minor offices. The only things a Kaffir does being to attend to his beloved cows, which often he values far more highly than his wives,—for polygamy is practised in Caffraria—to hunt, to smoke, and to sleep. ”

“ The influence of the unseen world is ever acting upon the Kaffir. Far nearer to him than Qamata or the spirits of his ancestors is a whole host of water sprites and hobgoblins, who meet him turn which way he will. There is no beautiful fairyland for him, for all these fanciful beings who haunt the mountains, the plains, and the rivers, are either actively [22] malevolent, or mischievous and addicted to playing pranks. To protect himself from them he carries on his person charms in numbers, only to find himself still exposed to their attacks. ”

“ It is by these means that the Kaffirs have been enabled for years to collect it, and it is still to be feared that there are many men among the “pale faces,” wicked enough to traffic, not only in the articles named above, but in arms and ammunition. Magazines have long been stored with the latter; and as the traveller passes through a village of Kaffir huts, he little imagines that two or three of these rude edifices, standing side by side, were unceasingly and jealously watched by as many idle-looking savages, whose listless air well conceals the importance of their real occupation. ”

“ That the frontier Kaffir is, in nearly every case, a rogue, a thief, and a liar, no one will, I believe, deny; there is a great deal, however, to be said in excuse for him. He is a savage, uneducated, and misled by the bad example of his forefathers, and he is gradually encroached upon by the white men, who, after a war, most unceremoniously appropriate a certain number of square miles of territory, and tell the original owner that he must either move on, or that he is only a squatter on sufferance. ”

“ We have dealt too mercifully with the treacherous and cruel foe; cruel he is by nature; witness his brutality even among those of his own colour, nay, his own blood. Some say he is not cowardly; it is certain he meets death at the last moment calmly, and he has a peculiar pride in bearing pain and annoyance at all times with apparent indifference. A Kaffir will not raise his hand to remove a fly from his face ”

“ Alas! within the last twelve months how many have ‘died and made no sign,’ who, with hearts crushed under the weight of sorrow and anxiety, and toil-worn and dispirited, have sat down at last, awaiting their release from present misery, in dull, absolute despair! ‘Ha!’ exclaimed the Kaffir scouts one day from the hills, ‘ha! ha! Umlunghi, we will put the cold hand upon you!’ Truly, they have kept their word, in more ways than one. ”

“ Men would start suddenly from beside their fellows and gaze expectantly out upon the approaches to the kraal, or now and again the heads of a whole group would turn in eager scrutiny of the surrounding veldt. For strung out upon the hillsides in twos and threes, or in parties of ten or a dozen, some mounted, some afoot, come a great number of Kafirs. On they come: those who are mounted kicking their shaggy little ponies into a headlong gallop; those who are not, starting into a run, leaping into the air, singing, or now and again venting a shrill and ear-splitting whistle. ”

“ As at the last farm, we found all the people sitting up in a state of fear and excitement, the Boers and roers as before. Several Kaffirs had shortly before been seen hovering about; the dogs giving tongue in a manner not to be mistaken; but after making a circuit of the whole place, we found no one, and having shown ourselves sufficiently in case any of the enemy should be lurking about, we returned to the house. The people were delighted to have the troops with them in such an isolated position, and were very anxious that a part at any rate should remain all night ”