Kafir Stories

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The Limpopo river was reached one evening after a hot, waterless march
of over forty miles. The summer floods had subsided, and the lovely,
forest-fringed stream, with crystal-clear currents swirling and eddying
amongst the rocks, lay before them, full three hundred yards in width.
The meat was nearly finished, the little remaining being putrid from
the heat, but Kondwana rested his men for a couple of days amongst the
shady trees on the bank. They knew that the Makalaka cattle were not
far off, and a couple of days' hunger was, to Zulu soldiers, not very
much of a hardship. On the morning of the third day after reaching the
river, the expedition crossed. The crossing was not easy work, as many
of the swirling channels were deep and rapid; moreover, on almost every
rock crocodiles basked. But the men linked arms, four abreast, and
dashed into the water singing their regimental war-song, and in spite
of all difficulties reached the opposite bank without the loss of a
man.

II.

A somewhat awkward circumstance was this;--a number of the men had lost
their spears, and the loss of his weapon by a Zulu soldier was a crime
admitting of no palliation or pardon. The Zulu soldier carried only one
spear--a frightful weapon, with a broad blade and a short, thick
handle. The use of this weapon (ikempe) had been introduced by Tshaka,
who substituted it for the light throwing assegai (umkonto). Although
quite discarded in war, the assegai was still used in the chase, and
the men and boys were encouraged to keep up the practice of assegai
throwing. Many of Kondwana's men had brought assegais with them; for
the expedition not being a purely military one, discipline was not kept
up so strictly as otherwise it would have been.

It was found, however, in hunting, that the light assegai was not
effective in bringing down game. When used in stabbing, the weight was
not sufficiently great, nor was the blade large enough to inflict a
fatal wound; when hurled, the weapon was often lost through the animal
escaping with it sticking fast, and being seen no more.

On some occasions the droves of game were so dense that no difficulty
was experienced in killing animals by stabbing them at close quarters,
but often such could not be done, only a few being driven into the
ambush. Then the men had to choose between growing hunger and the risk
of losing their spears through the wounded animals escaping, spears and
all. As a matter of fact this had often happened, so much so, that by
the time the expedition reached the Limpopo, nearly a fourth of the men
were either weaponless, or else were armed only with light assegais.

After crossing the Limpopo, the expedition trended slightly to the
westward, towards the hilly country where, according to the Balala,
many of the cattle of the Makalakas were to be found. On the afternoon
of the second day after crossing, troops of cattle and afterwards
scattered villages were sighted. The alarm had evidently been given,
for it could soon be seen that the cattle were being hurriedly driven
off, and when the first village was reached, it was found to be
deserted, However, by probing with their spears in the dung of the
cattle kraal, the men easily found the flat stones covering the mouths
of the underground corn-pits, and in these a fair supply of millet was
found. So the men lit fires and cooked the grain. It was dark before
they had finished eating, and then they built up the fires, piling on
heavy logs which were lying near. Certain faint, twinkling lights were
visible on a hillside very far off, and in the direction in which they
had seen the cattle being driven in the afternoon, and towards these
Kondwana led his men silently, and at a swinging trot.

About an hour before dawn the vanguard suddenly stopped, and the rest
of the force formed up slowly in wings, as had been directed. The
barking of dogs was heard some distance ahead. The Zulus were now in a
comparatively open Country. A grassy expanse between two shallow,
forest-filled valleys sloped up gently in front. Kondwana sent scouts
ahead. These soon returned with the report that they had found a
number of armed men sleeping around some huts close to a kraal which
was filled with cattle. The dogs barked incessantly, out as much on
account of the Makalaka strangers at the kraal as the Zulus. As a
matter of fact, after the alarm was given late in the afternoon, as
many of the Makalakas as could be communicated with had assembled here.
Scouts had reported in the evening that the strangers were looting the
corn from the pits, and only a couple of hours before Kondwana called a
halt in the darkness, the fires that the Zulus had lighted were still
to be seen burning brightly. Moreover, Kondwana had been very careful
in preventing the huts being burnt, lest the Makalakas should infer
that his force was moving on. By abstaining from burning the huts he
completely deceived the Makalakas, who could not conceive it possible
that a hostile force would pass a hut without setting it alight, so
they slept in fancied security, little deeming what was in store for
them.

Kondwana divided his force into three, each division numbering nearly a
hundred men. These took up positions at equidistant points, lines
connecting which would have formed an equilateral triangle, the little
cluster of huts surrounded by the sleeping Makalakas being in the
centre. The dogs, tired of barking at the different parties of
Makalakas which had arrived during the night, did not make so much of a
disturbance as might have been expected under the circumstances. The
three divisions formed themselves into double lines, and then advanced
slowly inwards until, at a signal from Kondwana, they yelled out the
war cry and rushed forward. In a few minutes all was over. The
unfortunate Makalakas were an easy prey; they hardly attempted to
resist, but rushed from one side to the other, vainly attempting to
escape from the ring of spears. By sheer weight of numbers, they at
length broke through on the one side, and then about half of them
escaped to the forest. They left over two hundred bodies on the field.
The Zulus did not lose a man.

Some women and children rushed out of the huts. Most of them were
slain, but some few were taken prisoners. Morning soon broke, and
showed the dead lying in every direction, and the ground strewn with
weapons which had been cast away in the rout. A few copper ornaments
were found upon some of the women, who, upon being questioned, pointed
to the north and said that the metal had been brought from there long
ago.

The kraal was found to be full of cattle, some of which were at once
slaughtered and eaten. Shortly after sunrise, a party of about a
hundred Makalakas approached to within a short distance of the huts.
When they caught sight of the dead bodies they turned and fled, body
pursued by the Zulus for a short distance. None were, however, caught.
Kondwana had again given the strictest orders that no huts were to be
burnt, so as to avoid spreading the alarm to a distance, for as long a
time as possible.

Next morning, large bodies of Makalakas appeared on the surrounding
hills, but they were evidently afraid to come near. About midday three
men approached to within hailing distance, and asked that three of the
Zulus might come out for the purpose of parleying. So Kondwana and two
of his men went out, and when they arrived within about a hundred yards
of the others, stuck their spears into the ground and called out to the
Makalakas to do the same, which they did. The two parties then met, and
began to discuss matters.

The Makalaka spokesman inquired of Kondwana who he and the men were,
and why they were making war on the Makalaka nation. Kondwana replied
to the effect that he and his men were Zulus sent by Tshaka to obtain
copper; that they did not want to make war, and had only done so
because they found armed men assembled to oppose them.

It could at once be seen that the mere name of Tshaka made a
considerable impression. The spokesman replied that the Makalakas did
not want to fight with the Zulus, that the copper ore was found in the
country of the Balotsi, to the northward, and that a party which the
Makalaka chief had sent in the previous year for the purpose of
fetching a supply of the ore, had never returned.

It was finally agreed that Kondwana's explanation should be
communicated to the Makalaka Chief, and then the two parties separated,
after arranging to meet again on the following day.

Next morning the three Makalakas returned, and the spokesman told
Kondwana that guides would be provided by the Chief to lead the
expedition to the place in the Balotsi country where the ore had been
found, and that food for the use of the Zulus on the journey would be
provided. All this was due to the fact that the terror of Tshaka's name
had penetrated even thus far. Moreover, up to this, none of the
Makalakas had come near enough to the main body of the Zulus to be able
to see in what force the latter were, and those who had escaped from
the slaughter of two nights previous, had greatly exaggerated the
number of the assailants.

So on the following day, the Zulus started for the Balotsi country,
under the guidance of five old Makalakas, who were stated to have
accompanied a copper-seeking expedition many years back. A large herd
of cattle, a few of which were pack oxen, had been sent down by the
Chief. They loaded the pack oxen with their picks, and with the
remainder of the millet which they found in the grain pits at the
captured kraal.

The men who had lost their weapons re-armed themselves with the best of
those of the slaughtered Makalakas. Such were, however, but poor
substitutes for the terrible broad-bladed, thick-handled spears which
had been lost, yet they were better than nothing.

The guides led Kondwana and his men through a part of the country which
was very thinly populated, so they saw hardly any human beings and no
cattle--nor were any signs of cultivation visible. They passed far to
the eastward of the populated areas. One day two strange men joined the
guides, and after traveling for a short time with the expedition,
disappeared. This roused the suspicions of Kondwana, but the guides,
although questioned apart from each other, each declared that the
strangers were only casual travelers. As a matter of fact, these men
were messengers laden with the doom of Kondwana and every man in his
force.

This is what had happened. Until the Zulus started from the captured
kraal, the Makalakas were under the impression that they had to deal
with a full Zulu regiment, numbering probably two thousand men, but
when the expedition moved off, and its numerical weakness thus became
apparent, the Makalaka Chief at once determined on its destruction. So
messengers were at once dispatched in every direction to collect the
Makalaka forces, and the two "casual travelers" had been sent to tell
the guides to desert two days after crossing the mountain range
separating the Makalaka from the Balotsi territory, and, if possible,
to take the cattle with them.

Weak as the Zulus were in point of numbers, the Makalakas did not yet
dare to attack them.

The gigantic forms, the red shields and the gleaming, broad-bladed
spears of Kondwana's small band, and the terrible evidence of prowess
as shown in the night attack, had inspired great dread. Moreover, the
Makalaka Chief determined on making sure that not a single man should
escape to tell the tale to Tshaka. So as the Zulus marched on, a large
army, collected from all available quarters, followed on their track at
a respectful distance. Fleet runners had been sent on ahead to
endeavour to arouse the Balotsi, and thus the Makalaka Chief trusted to
being able to crush his foes as though between the jaws of a vice. The
guides had been told to delay the march as much as possible by avoiding
the direct route wherever such could be done without creating
suspicion.

Kondwana and his men reached the mountain range which is a continuation
of the great Quathlamba or Drakensberg chain, and saw great frowning
precipices rise over steep slopes covered with dense forest. One long
winding valley, overhung by precipitous cliffs, cleft the range, and
through this the guides led them. At the head of the valley the range
was slightly depressed, and a saddle was thus formed between two high
peaks. Elevated tablelands, gently sloping to the north-west, and
intersected by narrow, shallow valleys, stretched away from the level
of the saddle. Each valley carried its stream of water, running between
low banks covered with a thick growth of reeds. It was now May, and the
cold at night on these high plains was very severe. Fuel was scarce,
and the Zulus consequently suffered very much. They had now for some
days been passing through a totally uninhabited country. Game was very
plentiful, but impossible to capture in the open.

They pressed forward along an old disused foot-path, or rather a number
of such, running parallel. As a matter of fact they were on the route
which had been traversed lay the Makalaka expedition sent for copper
ore in the previous year, and which had not returned nor been heard of.

On the morning of the third day after crossing the saddle, it was found
that the guides and the cattle had disappeared during the night.
Kondwana found that, overcome by fatigue, the two sentries had fallen
asleep at their post, so he speared them with his own hand. He then
called the men together, and they deliberated as to what course they
should pursue. With one accord it was decided to go forward.

Taking up the track of the cattle, parties were sent out to endeavour
to recover them, and between twenty and thirty head, which had become
foot-sore and were thus unable to proceed, were brought back in the
afternoon. These were at once killed, and the expedition moved on next
morning, the men carrying the meat.

The men were now very footsore, in spite of the sandals which they had
from time to time made out of the skins of the slaughtered cattle. They
were gaunt and haggard from nearly three months of hardship and
exposure. Their faces were sunk and their limbs emaciated. Yet no
thought of returning before the object of the expedition should have
been accomplished occurred to them.

Three days after that on which they had discovered the desertion of the
guides, they began to pass human skeletons lying on the path, the bones
scattered about and broken, evidently through the agency of beasts of
prey. All those that had contained marrow had been cracked, apparently
by the jaws of hyenas. Late in the afternoon they reached a spot where
about forty or fifty disjointed skeletons were lying indiscriminately.
Kondwana noticed scattered about, a quantity of mineral similar to the
specimens shown to him at Tshaka's when he received his instructions.
"Ah ha!" said he, "this accounts for their not having returned."

The unfortunate copper-carriers had evidently been surprised,
surrounded, and killed to a man--probably by the Balotsi. The Zulus,
delighted at obtaining evidence of the bare existence of the thing they
were seeking, walked about, picking up fragments of the ore, which they
put into their skin wallets. It was evident that the greater part of
the ore had been removed, yet every man of the expedition was able to
secure a piece which he looked upon as a kind of amulet to bring him
good fortune. There was a little fuel obtainable where they camped for
the night, and the weary, haggard men went to sleep feeling in better
spirits than for a long time past.

Just at daybreak next morning the sentries gave the alarm, and the
Zulus sprang to their feet to find themselves surrounded by foes. A
large Balotsi impi had been sent to intercept them.

The attack began at once, and for a time the struggle was fierce. But
at close quarters one Zulu was a match for ten Balotsi, so the
assailants were soon glad to retire, leaving nearly a hundred dead
behind them. The Zulus lost about five or six men. It was broad
daylight when the Balotsi drew off, and the Zulus could see their
enemies massed round them in every direction, and outnumbering them
excessively. Both parties paused for a time, each watching the other.
The sun rose up over the mountains, the sky was clear as a dewdrop, and
a bracing breeze swept down the valley, making music through the
quivering reeds. Herds of eland, hartebeests, gnu, and other game,
stood on the slopes afar off, and looked down on the dark masses of men
standing still in grim silence after their desperate struggle.

Then Kondwana gave the order to retreat. There was no other course
possible. Hardly any food was left, and the Balotsi were in such force
as to render it impossible to cope with them successfully.

So the Zulus began to retire along the course by which they had
advanced, and thus their travail entered into its final stage of long
agony.

III

Back towards the saddle at the top of the pass through the mountain
range marched Kondwana and the Zulus, the Balotsi force accompanying
them at a respectful distance on each side. The Balotsi had had a
severe lesson, and were not anxious to come again to close quarters.
They found, moreover, that throwing the assegai was not of much avail
on account of the large shields which the Zulus carried. Besides, the
Zulus made a practice of picking up the assegais falling near or
amongst them, and returning these, often with deadly effect, for, being
physically much stronger than the Balotsi, their effective range with
the assegai was correspondingly greater.

The Zulus stalked on in grim silence, the Balotsi shouting at them in
an unknown tongue. At this stage the Balotsi had no intention of
attacking.

They knew, what the Zulus did not know, that the Makalaka impi was
waiting just on the other side of the saddle. They, the Balotsi, would
just keep the Zulus in view, and then assist in their annihilation
after the Makalakas had tamed them somewhat. So the Balotsi gave way
consistently whenever the weary and footsore Zulus showed a disposition
to charge.

The Zulus had thus little save hunger to fear so long as they were in
the open country. They marched on, breaking into a trot whenever their
course led downhill, during the whole of the day on which their retreat
began. Each man still had a small supply of meat left, and portions of
this they ate raw as they proceeded. At dusk the foremost of the
Balotsi were some distance behind, and after marching for about two
hours longer the weary fugitives lay down and rested. Sentries, which
were relieved after very short watches, kept guard all night. Before
daylight next morning they again started, and the previous day's
average of speed was kept up until sundown, when they reached the
saddle. They had seen nothing of the Balotsi all day. In fact the
latter were a fair day's march behind.

Kondwana halted his men on the north-western side of the saddle, and
then went forward with another man for the purpose of reconnoitering.
When he looked down the valley, what he saw caused even his brave heart
to sink. About a mile from him was massed the advance division of the
Makalaka army, and as far as he could see beyond, the smoke was arising
from numberless fires.

Kondwana returned to his men, and then the situation was discussed. The
majority were in favour of making a dash down the valley and cutting a
road through their foes. But the young man Senzanga made a suggestion
which soon met with general approval.

All had seen that the Makalaka guides had not led them by a direct
route from the captured kraal to the pass, but had made a considerable
detour to the eastward. The object of this was now apparent. Senzanga's
suggestion was to the effect that they should avoid the pass, striking
boldly through the mountains to the south-west, trusting to being able
to force their way through the forest on the coast side of the range.
They could then make direct for some point on the Limpopo, higher up
than where they had crossed. By going straight, they could reach the
river by a much shorter journey than the previous one. Senzanga's plan
was adopted, so after a cheerless rest of a few hours they started,
working slowly up a long spur to the westward of the high peak flanking
the saddle on the right-hand side.

As a matter of fact, the Zulus, by their extraordinarily rapid march,
had reached the saddle exactly twenty-four hours before their arrival
was thought possible by the Makalakas. The fact that the Zulus had
begun to retreat had been signaled back by means of fires along the
mountain tops, but they were not expected to be seen for another two
days. When the Balotsi next day reached the saddle, expecting to find
that the Zulus had been already slaughtered, they found, to their
astonishment, that nothing had been seen of the fugitives. But the
mystery was soon solved--the trail was found leading up the spur, and
the intention of the Zulus became immediately clear to the Makalaka
Chief, It was now his turn to be seriously alarmed, for if these men
should succeed in reaching Zululand, an impi of Tshaka's terrible
destroyers would soon be on its way to wreak vengeance. Therefore, at
any cost, the fugitives must be intercepted and destroyed to a man. So
the Makalakas hastened down the pass, after instructing the Balotsi to
keep on the trail of the Zulus over the mountains, harass their rear,
and notify their whereabouts by lighting fires on the nearest hills
surrounding them every night. But this was a service for which the
Balotsi had no stomach. They were a long way from home, and were almost
without food; they had tasted of the Zulu spear, and it was bitter. So
after making a pretence of obeying, they turned round and hurried
homeward as fast as they could.

Kondwana and his force found the mountain range to be less formidable
than they had anticipated, but nevertheless their sufferings were
awful. Food, they now had none, and hunger gnawed at them with
incessant and increasing violence. Their feet were so sore that every
step over the rough, stony ground caused torture. Every now and then
men dropped, unable to proceed further, and were at once speared by
their companions.

On the evening of the day after they had struck into the mountains, the
Zulus reached the forest-belt on the coast slope, and in front of them,
distant about two days' easy march, could be seen the shining,
wood-fringed reaches of the Limpopo, beyond which lay their only chance of
salvation. But between them and the Limpopo was the Makalaka army.

That night the Zulus lay close to the upper margin of the forest,
keeping neither watch nor ward. When the darkness set in, they could
see below them the watch-fires of their foes, and they were thus able
to tell approximately where the Makalakas were in greatest force.

It now became quite apparent to Kondwana that there was still a slender
chance of escape if the men could only hold on a little longer without
food. The left wing of the Makalaka army was slightly to the left of
the Zulus, and if the latter could only manage to trend off a little
more to the right, and find a passage through the forest, they might be
able to creep past the Makalakas and even reach the river before being
overtaken. As a matter of fact, the Makalaka Chief had again
underestimated the marching capacity of the Zulus, and had not come far
enough along the foot of the mountain range to the south-west, to
intercept them.

Kondwana expounded his view of the situation to the men, who were
almost in despair, and then called for volunteers to cross a valley and
ascend a spur to the left, and there kindle fires. This spur was almost
in front of the main division of the Makalaka army. Ten men volunteered
for this service, and returned late in the night, after having
performed it effectively.

Towards morning the Zulus again moved on, bearing down cautiously
through the forest to their right. The Makalakas thought that
Kondwana's fires were signals from the Balotsi to indicate that the
fugitives were in the forest below the spur. They never supposed that
the Zulus would indicate their whereabouts by lighting fires. So when
daylight came, the Zulus had succeeded in outflanking their foes, and
were making, as fast as starvation and their lacerated feet would let
them, for the river.

Towards noon, a herd of cattle was seen. This was at once taken
possession of, and soon a number of the beasts were slaughtered. The
starving men tore the raw, smoking flesh, and drank the blood greedily.
They then cut up the hides and bound pieces around their feel. After
this, and a short rest, they felt like new beings. Hope took the place
of the blank despair which had overwhelmed them a few hours previously.
Another effort and they would reach the river beyond which lay safety.
So they started again, driving the remainder of the herd of cattle
before them, and each man carrying a small quantity of meat. Their
number was now reduced to but a little over two hundred.

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