Chapter Twenty Three.
Mashona and Matabeleland continued, with notes on the country and people, which is within the Zambese basin.
When I arrived at Umkano kraal on the 30th December, it was Sunday; when I had drawn up my waggon in a nice snug nook to be away from the native kraals, and outspanned, it was 4 p.m. Dinner was soon prepared and despatched, and then I sent my two warrior guards to the king to announce my arrival, and that I would call on his majesty to-morrow. A short distance from my camp, four waggons were drawn up abreast, no one to be seen, except a white lady sitting on the waggon-box of one of them. I therefore lost no time in going over, and found it was Mrs Sykes, wife of the Rev. Mr Sykes of Inyatine, who was then holding service in an adjoining hut to a few natives. The other waggons belonged to the Rev. Mr Coillard of the French Missionary Society, in Basutoland, who had come up to Matabeleland to endeavour to found a few native mission stations; and instead of coming up by the main transport road and reporting himself in the usual way, he passed through the Transvaal, crossed the Limpopo at Zoutpans drift, and entered the Mashona country as it were by the back door, and as he travelled north, he was seen to pick a few flowers, which was reported to Lo-Bengulu, when he sent immediately eighty of his warriors to bring him and his belongings prisoners to this station, and he arrived the day previous to my arrival. This brought Mr Sykes over from Inyatine to intercede and get him released, as also his waggons, wife, and wife’s sister, who were accompanying him; a rather dangerous journey for two ladies, when the husband had never been in before and knew not the country, to go exploring unknown regions, and it was a great surprise to us all that they came out safe. When gaining all this information from Mrs Sykes, the gentleman himself, his wife and sister came strolling in from a ramble, when we all made ourselves comfortable round Mrs Sykes’ waggon to enjoy a cup of tea, the most refreshing drink in a climate like this, thermometer standing at 92 degrees at six o’clock in the evening, and a cloudless sky. Mr Sykes soon joined us after the conclusion of his service. When Europeans meet in a region so remote as this from civilisation, surrounded by savage tribes, naked as when they were born, and as wild as nature can make them, knowing no law but that of their king, who rules at the point of his assagai, we at once become brothers and sisters, and friendship is then and there established; so it was with us, chatting and talking as if we had been old and dear friends. It is true, I had known Mr and Mrs Sykes a long time, when I first met them in 1867, and afterwards. Having spent a pleasant evening listening to Mr Coillard’s account of his adventures through that wild region, I returned to waggon and to bed at 10 p.m.; a calm hot night, flies by the million, mosquitoes by the thousand round my waggon. At all Kaffir stations it is the same; the cattle kraals breed the flies, and the water the mosquitoes. At the present time the water is so full of them, that it has to be strained through a piece of muslin before being used.
Mr Fairbourne from Gubuluwayo came in the evening to tell me that Lo-Bengulu intends leaving this station for Gubuluwayo to-morrow, as his great military dance comes off on Tuesday. He informed us all that the party at Ujiji had been laid up with the fever, except the Rev. Mr Price, and some had died. Most of them we all knew. Lo-Bengulu and his Indunas will not allow any white men in the country through which Mr Coillard proposed going, as they state, “If we permit them to reside there, where are we, the Matabele people, to go to, to get cattle and slaves?”—in other words, to rob the Mashona people of their property and cattle; if not peaceable, to slaughter them, take the young children as slaves, and bring them up to incorporate them in the army.
Early on Monday morning, Mr Phillips, old John Viljuen, and Mr Frewen rode over. The latter was going further in, and had proceeded some distance, when he was obliged to turn and come on to this station, and left this morning on his way down country, my two guards returning to Makobis with him.
Height of this station by aneroid barometer, 4970 feet above sea-level. The country round is well-wooded, but the trees are small. 20 degrees 25 minutes South latitude, 28 degrees 35 minutes East longitude.
I went to call on Lo-Bengulu; he was sitting on his waggon-box naked, all but his cat-tail kilt. After shaking hands and passing the compliments of the day, I told him, as he expected one of his regiments over to escort him to the military kraal, I would defer my talk with him until after the grand dance. He asked me to follow him when he started; that meant, I was to fall in with the other waggons of the white people composing the cavalcade.
We started about 11 a.m., Mr Sykes taking the lead behind the king’s waggons, which were surrounded by about twenty Zulu women and girls. One waggon held his sister Nina and the Kaffir beer; next followed Mr Coillard and his waggons, then my waggon, Phillips, Viljuen, and other white men on horseback, and about a hundred of the king’s body guard, about as unique a turn-out as one could desire to see—an African king on his travels—it would have graced Regent street.
After a seven-mile trek, we outspanned for the day at a small kraal, on the road to the military camp—as a messenger had been sent to say five regiments would be sent out the next morning, inviting the king home, being the usual custom on the king returning after a long absence; therefore we selected a suitable place to remain the night, away from the crowd of blacks, and made ourselves comfortable the remainder of the day.
Tuesday, January 1st, 1878.—A lovely bright morning. Thermometer at 9 a.m., 87 degrees. After breakfast the Matabele regiments came over, some four hundred, dressed in their war dress, black ostrich feathers for head-dress, a tippet and epaulets of the same, tigers’-tails in profusion round the loins and hanging down to the ground behind, with anklets of the shell of a fruit the size of an egg, with stones inside to make them jingle as they move their feet; armed with shield and several assagais. So they came on, singing their war songs, jumping up, striking their shields. With their black skins, white teeth, and the white part of their eyes, they were fit representations of imps issuing from a certain place known to the wicked. On arriving at the king’s waggon, where the king was sitting on his waggon-box, they went through a kind of dance, singing the king’s praise, Lo-Bengulu quietly looking on. The king’s wives, between thirty and forty, dressed only in black kilts down below the knee, open in front; the kilt is made of black sheep or goat-skin; some, I think, are made of otter-skin; others had mantles of the same; several had their heads shaved; many cut quite close. After the dance, we all inspanned, and followed the king’s waggons in the same order as yesterday; until we arrived at Gubuluwayo, the military kraal. I took my waggon and outspanned alongside of Mr Wood’s waggons, on the opposite rise to the kraal, to be free from the people, and have some peace; and remained the day. All round the kraal is open, every available piece of ground is under the hoe.
Wednesday, I went in the morning, with Mr and Mrs Sykes, Mr and Mrs Coillard and her sister, who seems to be about twenty, to the king’s kraal, to see the soldiers reviewed by the king, in the open space between the town huts and the king’s enclosure. It was a novel sight, and one seen in no other part of the world. The regiments formed an immense circle, eight and ten deep; there appeared to be about 4000, all dressed in their war dress similar to those of yesterday. Each regiment contains about sixty, and is distinguished by different coloured shields. When they sing their war songs in their deep bass voices, keeping time with stamping on the ground with their right and then left foot, striking their shields with their assagais, the effect is grand—the earth appears to tremble. Occasionally, one or two come out into the centre of the circle, and go through the performance of fighting the enemy, advancing, retreating, then in close combat, striking out with their assagai in imitation of stabbing his foe, and making as many stabs as he has killed victims; others come out when these retire, and this performance goes on during the war songs. It is considered a great feat if a warrior can jump high in the air, and strike his shield several times with both ends of his short stabbing assagai, before touching the ground and knocking his knees and feet together. Then come the king’s wives, old and young, and all the young royal girls, wearing a black goat-skin kilt down to the knee, dressed out with yellow handkerchiefs, the royal colour, profusion of many-coloured beads, many-coloured ribbons, long sashes of broad yellow ribbon, all entering the arena at the same time. Advancing to the centre with slow measured steps, they raise first the left then the right leg, and put it down, keeping excellent time, chanting native songs, the warriors remaining perfectly still and silent, they then turn and retire in the same way; all this time the king is not seen, he is in the cattle kraal with his medicine-man, examining the intestines of two bullocks that have been killed for that purpose. After a time, a clear road is made, and large baskets filled with the intestines are brought out from the kraal: it is death for a native to touch, it; or be near when it is passed away to the king’s enclosure. Then comes out the chief medicine-man, enveloped in long ox-tails that completely conceal his tall figure, reaching to the ground, with a little jockey cap on having fur in front and a long crane’s feather, when he marches up and down in the centre of the arena, and in front of where the king is known to be, singing his praise. After a time, the king makes his appearance, advancing from the kraal with a towering head-dress of black ostrich feathers, an immense cape of the same, a kilt of cats’-tails, with an assagai poised in his right hand, advancing slowly in a stooping position; his fat sister Nina, dressed out with a long kilt half-way down the leg, any number of yellow handkerchiefs over her shoulders, and gold chains hanging down in front and behind, with the feathers from the tail of the blue jay stuck into her woolly hair, and a knobkerry in her hand, also advances beside the king, until they both reach the centre of the arena. The warriors singing their war songs, stamping their feet to keep time, rattling their shields, the scene becomes quite exciting. Poor Nina becomes exhausted, has to kneel on the ground several times, supporting her body with her hands, also on the ground, and looks anything but an elegant figure. The five royal daughters, whose ages average from sixteen to six, advance again, and chant a native tune; then the king calls for silence; order is given that each regiment is to march out on to the open plain and have a sham fight, which lasts an hour, each army advancing, retreating, and fighting. They then return to the enclosure and form themselves in line, when forty black bullocks are brought in for the young braves to slaughter, by stabbing them behind the shoulder so that the skin should not be injured to make shields; some become maddened by the smell of blood, break loose and escape into the open country, the young braves following, and a regular race and uproar follows, creating quite a sensation; and when the night has come, great feasting takes place, and the sports of the day are at an end, and we return to our waggon, wondering what the people in England would think of such a sight of savage grandeur, as was never seen out of Africa. The young Intombies (girls) are all excitement to see their sweethearts so brave. These Zulu maids are most of them good-looking, with teeth as white as snow, well-made in every limb, and graceful in their movements, very scantily dressed, a slight fringe in front being their only covering, but it is the fashion of the country. For several days these dances go on; those who have paid their respects to the king retire to their distant kraals, and fresh regiments arrive to go through the same performance. The English who may be at the station are allowed to be present, but they must keep out of the way, not to be mixed up with the troops, but they can take up any position they like, to have a good view of the proceedings.
Thursday, a lovely day. Went up again to see the review with Mr and Mrs Sykes and the Coillards; found the king sitting on a chair in a bell-tent alone, facing the troops, who were in a circle as yesterday; he was naked with the exception of the tailed kilt. A few braves from his favourite regiment composed his bodyguard; the chief Indunas were with their respective regiments of which they held command; the medicine doctor, clothed in a tiger-skin kaross and a large fur cap with ears of the same, marched up and down before the tent, proclaiming to the warriors the greatness of the king. The English ladies were invited into the tent, and stood beside and behind this dreaded monarch of this dreaded nation, for all other native tribes fear him. The military performance was similar to that of yesterday; rain came on and we returned to our waggons.
Ironstone and iron-conglomerate are plentiful over this part of the country; blue metamorphic rocks crop up between slate shale and quartz, similar to that of the Tati gold-fields, in all directions. Fine gold-dust is found in the rivers to the north, but no one is allowed to prospect. There are at the present time thirty traders at this station, and many hunters both English and Boers are in the hunting-field, who must obtain permission from the king, and pay a licence in the form of a gun, horse, or any other article the king may accept. Several of the Boers have been abusing this privilege, which has caused the king to be very severe on the white man going in; some also have gone in under a shooting licence, and have been found prospecting for gold. This has offended Lo-Bengulu with the English, and makes him suspicious of all who visit his country. He is naturally partial to the English, and his sister Nina is their champion if any get into trouble; many have been robbed up-country lately by the natives; amongst the number are Byles, Kirton, Scott, Webster, Phillips, Jacobs, and many others.
Friday. I saw the Rev. Mr Sykes, showed him my official letter, and went with him to the king to ask permission to pass through his country to the eastern boundary. He was sitting on an old champagne box, leaning back against the cattle kraal fence in his usual undress; immensely fat and tall, he looks every inch an African king. He heard my statement, but made no remark. Mr Sykes sat on the ground by his side, and I took up my position in front, and began to smoke, waiting for an answer. Some ten minutes later a little Mashona boy brought on a piece of grass matting four large pieces of bullock’s lights, that had been broiled over a fire, and a fork, advancing on hands and knees to his dreaded master, and placed them on the grass in front of his majesty, who took the fork, transfixing one after the other as they disappeared from sight in his capacious mouth, asking at the same time many questions on down country news, and how the Queen was, and numerous other remarks.
Finding he did not intend to give any answer, I told Mr Sykes we would leave him to say yes or no at some future time, that I did not come begging, but only asked for what I had a right to expect he would grant, and shaking hands we departed from his sable majesty, who was enjoying the heat of the sun as he sat on his old wooden throne. It was a very hot morning. Thermometer 97 degrees in my waggon, and in the sun must have registered at least 140 degrees, but these black skins can stand any amount of heat; it seems to absorb it without creating any inconvenience. On my return I found Mr Wood, with his two waggons outspanned close to mine, had pushed two of the chief Indunas into a thorn hedge for calling him a dog; this has caused great commotion in the Kotla, the king’s kraal. Mr Wood went to see the king, but he would not say a word, but I expect to-morrow something will be done.
I visited some of the traders’ stores and met Mr and Mrs Elm there, who invited me over to visit them at their mission station, Hope Fountain, four miles distant, most pleasantly situated on the spur of the hill overlooking a vast stretch of country to the east; it is a most healthy locality.
Saturday, up all night, annoyed by wolves and dogs. Mr Wood’s affair came to nothing, as Lo-Bengulu would not interfere. He left this morning for Umcano, also Messrs Sykes and Coillard with him, as he has not yet released the latter. I received a letter from Rev. Mr Thomas, of Shiloh, enclosing letters for Messrs Elm and Coillard, and wishing me to visit him.
Three months ago Lo-Bengulu sent in an Impi into the Mashona country on a marauding expedition, where they attacked several kraals, killing the people, bringing back sixty slave children and all the cattle and goods belonging to them. A month previous a large Impi went into the same district, where, as far as it can be ascertained, they killed all the old people, making some of the women and big girls carry the plunder to the boundary; then they made them put the things down on the ground and then killed them, because they might run away if brought into Matabeleland; preserving the little children who were brought in because they soon forget the country they have left.
The weather is rather warm, 98 degrees, with heavy showers, storms round in every direction. Several euphorbia trees are close to my waggon, that make a nice shade, and not far away there is a tree where a few months back three women and five children were hung for witchcraft, because one of the king’s wives and two of his children had died the night previous, and a wolf was killed within the king’s enclosure by his dogs; a Kaffir supposed to have bewitched them was killed also. This occurred just before my arrival. At last year’s dance, when 7000 warriors met, a black bull had his shoulder cut off when alive; this is a custom with the tribe on some occasions, but I could not ascertain the particulars.
The king’s wives do not pick in the corn gardens, but his children do, and also carry water the same as others; his reason is they must learn to do such things; and his daughters go naked like the other girls, and frequently pay my waggon a visit for tufa or tusa (present); sometimes they are seen walking about with black skin kilts. Most of them are young, but they, as well as the women, wear few or no ornaments; very few beads are used, mostly pieces of leather strips round the neck and wrists, none on their legs or head, as is seen on other tribes. The Matabele women do not seem to take so readily to clothes as all the other tribes, who are eager to be dressed up in petticoats, because I presume it gives them greater liberty of action in their loins, from their present cramped and bound-up state in their leather coverings.
I was surprised one day, soon after my arrival here, on returning in the afternoon to my camp, to find four Zulu girls sitting under my waggon, chatting and laughing with my Hottentot driver and forelooper, having with them three fine bunches of beautiful ostrich feathers. When I looked under the waggon and they saw me, they all gave a yell of delight, and came out, when I recognised them as old friends who had frequently washed my clothes when I went to Barkly, in Griqualand West, two years back, and always admired their clean neat appearance in their white European clothes. They told me their mother, who was a widow woman, wanted to go back to her nation in Matabeleland, and they had only lately arrived, having been on the road six months; and having heard of my arrival, they came to see me, and had brought me some ostrich feathers as a present, and as they knew my two boys they seemed to be at home again.
I asked them what they had done with their clothes. They said they had them tied up in bundles and were in the hut occupied by their mother, where they lived, and as they were amongst their own people they dressed or undressed as the other girls. I found them to be very convenient, as they did my washing and other things for me. I took the feathers and paid them in beads, kerchiefs, tobacco for snuff, and such things they wanted as presents; they would not take them in payment, showing these people have some kind feeling; and during my stay at this station they remained with me the greater portion of every day, their old mother coming occasionally to pay me a visit. They could speak English perfectly; they told me they would like to go back with me if their mother would let them, but four grown-up girls in my waggon would have been too much of a good thing. I should occupy many months in returning, if I ever did, and it turned out that I did not visit Barkly again for three years. If there had been women at this station wearing clothes, these girls would have retained theirs; it only shows the force of example.
Thursday, 17th. I arrived yesterday from exploring the country round, much delayed by the wet weather and heavy thunderstorms, which have lowered the temperature of the atmosphere down to 67 degrees, and yet this is the height of summer up in the tropics, a difference of 30 degrees in a few days; a great-coat is comfortable. I obtained a Mashona blanket made of native cotton, also three battle-axes. Lo-Bengulu, last Tuesday, himself took a burning piece of wood and destroyed the eyes and nose of one of his men because he threw a stone at a child and knocked out its front teeth; this was witnessed by one of the traders. And a short time previous he had one of his chief Indunas and his three wives and three children killed, as it is stated, for witchcraft, but other reasons are supposed to have been the cause; their bones are lying a short distance from my waggon, having been picked clean by wolves; they are very plentiful here and visit us nightly, being on the look-out for human food, as all who are killed are thrown outside the station for them and the dogs to eat. Lo-Bengulu, at the same time, is very fond of children and will not allow them to be annoyed; he will not allow any milk to be sold by his people, but it is given to the slave children.
A curious custom prevails amongst these people at the death of a relative. When any member of a family dies, he or she is immediately taken out of the kraal to some adjacent land and buried, sometimes in a sitting position. Then for a week, and sometimes for a month, a fire is kept burning every night close to the grave, and two or more of the family have to remain there during that time. Another curious custom is in existence in the king’s kraal; there is a hut within the king’s enclosure which no one is allowed to touch, not even to pull a straw from the thatch. If any one commits such an offence the king tells some of his people to take him out of the kraal, which is tantamount to ordering him to be killed. A short time ago a young Kaffir was killed for committing this offence, and the wolves and dogs had a good feast that night.
Lo-Bengulu has no heir to take his place when he dies, not having a royal wife, but if one of his wives should have a son, and he does not take to wife a princess, she with the child, immediately after its birth, will be banished, and have to live in a distant country; but still a watch is kept upon her, and in the event of the king dying, the mother and child will be brought back, and the child adopted by the people as their king.
20th. Lo-Bengulu came into the station this morning, and about 500 warriors went out to meet him, dressed in all the pomp of war. His sister Nina came in, in a horse-waggon, and the king with three waggons and forty loose horses, men, women and children following on foot, as the great national dance takes place on Tuesday; all the other dances being rehearsals previous to this, which is the most important and imposing of all.
Tuesday, a very hot day. Many divisions of the Impi coming in from all quarters and marching up to the great camp; as this is the last day of the old year with this nation, they commemorate it by great national rejoicings. About twelve o’clock I walked up with several of the hunters and traders, and took up our position close to the entrance of the king’s private grounds, when regiment after regiment came marching up, dressed in their war dress as before described, with shield and assagai, and took up their position so as to form an immense circle of ten and twelve deep, within the enclosure close to the king’s kraal, who came out to show himself for a few minutes and retired. In the mean time, his wives, dressed in beads and bright yellow kerchiefs over their shoulders, and long black kilts or skirts down below the knees, young girls dressed in short kilts, and a profusion of ornaments round their loins, arms and heads, stepped into the open space within the circle of troops, and chanted songs, moving forward at the same time, the warriors singing and raising their shields up and down, keeping time with their feet. Nina, the king’s sister, came forward also, dressed in beads of many colours round her waist, back, and skirt, brass and gold chains, gold watch and chain. After a time Lo-Bengulu came forward with a dancing gait, and took the lead out of the station at the head of his own particular regiment or bodyguard, whose dress and shields are all black, each soldier not less than six feet, followed by the other regiments, when they formed into three sides of a square. Then the king came forward, surrounded by his bodyguard, and threw an assagai at an imaginary enemy, when all the troops were instantly in motion and returned to the open space in the enclosure, when the rain came down so fast that it put a stop to further proceedings. But previous to the king’s leaving, about 100 oxen were driven out of the circle where they had been kept by the whole of the Impi, and were soon slaughtered for the great feast that was to come off that night. Altogether it was a pretty and novel sight, and if the weather had been fine, the effect would have been most singular and striking. Some 500 women and girls stood in groups to witness the performances. The women who danced held sticks ten feet in length with the bark peeled off; the slave population looked on at a distance. I made the best of my way to Mr Peterson’s store, where I found Mr and Mrs Elm, Mr and Mrs Coillard and the sister, and took cake and coffee with them, and then to my waggon which was outspanned on the opposite hill. The programme for this review was upon a much grander scale than the former already described. The next day the troops returned to the respective military camps, and the last of the military dances ended in a downpour of rain, amidst crashing thunder and flash after flash of the most vivid lightning I have seen for a long time.
On the 27th January, I called on Lo-Bengulu for an answer to my request; he was sitting under his verandah on a chair. We shook hands, and he stated he could not allow me to cross his country, because if I attempted to do so the people would kill me and he would be blamed by the English for the cause of my death; that if I wanted the things I wished to go in for he would try and get them, and send them down to the Governor; that I should never return if I went in, for the Mashonas would destroy me and he could not help it.
This I saw was mere excuse; he had stated the same thing to others, but it was useless to argue the point with him, and to go in without his sanction would have been madness, as the country at the present time is in a very unsettled state, as Colonel Saltmarsh, whom I met on the Maclutsie river, as I was going in and he was coming out, told me how he had been treated by the people, and his boys became frightened, he was obliged to return; that he was disgusted with his trip and was glad to get away. He also told me Lo-Bengulu will not allow any one to go beyond his station. Messrs Bray and Wood took a letter from Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the administrator of the Transvaal, to the king, asking as a favour to allow them to go in, but the king refused point blank, and stated while he is king no one shall ever go into the Mashona country.
One hunter had his waggon turned over and all his things stolen, and when complaining to the king of his people’s conduct, his reply was he did not tell them to do it, and he got no satisfaction; not very encouraging for my success, therefore I was prepared in some degree for a refusal. I believe the Colonel had a gun stolen from him also. At any rate he did not intend to go without his Christmas pudding if he had proceeded, for on the banks of the Maclutsie where I met him, he was preparing a very fine one, and asked me to join him in disposing of it. The next day we parted, the Colonel for the South and I for the North, to try my luck with this powerful and despotic monarch. And as affairs turned out it was a lucky refusal for me, for a few months after, as I was exploring the western portion of the Mashona country, reports came to us by a native that three white men had been killed in the Mashona country, not so many miles away, by the natives, but they could not give the names. But afterwards, on my return to the Tati, I found they were Captain Patterson, Mr Sargeant, son of Sir W. Sargeant, the Crown Agent, and formerly Colonial Secretary of Natal, and a son of the Rev. Mr Thomas, of Shiloh, who had left the Transvaal a few months before with a letter from Sir Theophilus Shepstone on a mission from him to the Matabele king. At the time there was great mystery concerning their death; it was first reported they had been poisoned by drinking from a pond that had been poisoned by the Bakalahari Bushmen, but that was absurd. It appears that Captain Patterson had entered into some agreement with Lo-Bengulu which was not pleasing to the Indunas, therefore to put an end to the agreement it was arranged to put an end to them. Rumours of foul play got abroad, and young Mr Thomas, son of the missionary at Shiloh, who was one of the three, went as guide; he was warned, but would not believe the report. Mr Palmer, who was going to accompany them, also heard strange rumours, and he declined, which saved his life. The very fact of rumours of foul play going to be perpetrated was proof that their death had been planned before they were on their way to the Zambese to visit the Victoria Falls, and as confirmation of this, Lo-Bengulu said afterwards to some of the white people, “Now Captain Patterson is dead, the agreement goes for nothing.” It is supposed the three were killed when they were bathing, but no document was found amongst Captain Patterson’s effects to throw light on this matter, and Mr Thomas, the father, was afraid to express any opinion, or to have a full inquiry made in the affair, as he was living in the country and would have been killed if he had said what he thought. He died last year.
That they were murdered there is no question. Captain Patterson was in the employ of the British Government, and was in Matabeleland on official duties, therefore it was the duty of the Government to investigate the matter and to have sent up an officer competent to carry it out, instead of making inquiries of the British residents on the spot, who dare not speak what they knew, and to have given Lo-Bengulu to understand that British subjects were not to be murdered in his territory with impunity. It is this shirking of responsibilities that lead to dire results, and is unbecoming the dignity of a great nation like Great Britain. This has been the fatal policy of the British Government in South Africa, which has caused the misery and bloodshed that has swept over South Africa these last few years, and paralysed the whole trade of the country. It is not only detrimental to the Colony, but our British workmen at home suffer, from the stoppage of the trade to those regions that so largely consume British merchandise. If the people of England were to look a little more into these matters, instead of wasting their time in that petty party spirit which seems to be on the increase, and devote that time in improving and developing our trade in our colonies and elsewhere, it would be more conducive to their welfare than employing it in quibbling over who should have votes or not, and woman’s suffrage, that will not bring one penny more into the pockets of the people; and such other trifling matters, unprofitably employing the time of the House of Commons, which should be devoted to the general interests of our country abroad, and in our colonies, that are the main source of our prosperity and wealth, which means, in other words, full employment for our workpeople; for no other policy will put bread into their mouths. If this contemptible party spirit, which has now grown rampant, should increase, England’s greatness is on the wane, for where a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. This spirit, of opposition in time becomes a mania, and the most vital interests of our country are sunk in the glory, as they imagine, of turning out their opponents from office. I hope all who wish for the prosperity of Great Britain will rise to the occasion and become what their forefathers were, staunch and determined upholders of British interests, which means prosperity to her people, where the weal of Great Britain is concerned, and sink that petty and unpatriotic spirit. My fate most probably would have been similar to those unfortunate men, as it was known I was on a mission into that country also. I might have gone and never been heard of more, a satisfactory conclusion to arrive at.
The Mashona country in the north is but little-known, from the difficulty thrown in the way of exploring it, particularly along the south side of the river Zambese; gold in large quantities is known to be there, as also other minerals. On the north side of the river gold has been found, but until some better mode of transit is adopted, such as a single line of railway, with shuntings at stated distances, the richness of these regions cannot be developed. A railway would revolutionise the whole country, to the immense advantage of our Cape Colony and Great Britain, and the civilisation of the native tribes.
When Lo-Bengulu became king, in January, 1870, it was supposed the rightful heir to the throne, “Kuruman,” born from a royal wife of Moselikatze, was dead, killed by order of his father, as it appears there was a conspiracy amongst the Indunas to dethrone him, and place Kuruman in his place. Moselikatze, hearing of this, as he was out with an army making conquest in the northern part of the Mashona country, immediately returned and made an attack on a kraal where these Indunas had assembled, Inthaba Inisduna, and slaughtered them and all the people, except Lo-Bengulu, who was his son by another wife, but made a royal child—and with those slaughtered, it was supposed Kuruman was one, but it was found afterwards he had escaped. Moselikatze sent for him, and ordered a Basuto to take him away and destroy him, but he was not to injure his person, that one belonging to royalty should not be mangled.
Kuruman’s servant was also commissioned to assist in the murder. When it was accomplished, as is supposed, these two men returned to the king and reported his death, but it is supposed by others that he was allowed to escape, and that he found his way down to Natal, and became a servant of the Honourable Theophilus Shepstone, the minister of native affairs in that colony, and nothing more was heard of him for some years. Still the Matabele were much divided respecting Lo-Bengulu becoming king, and many military stations would not acknowledge him; the consequence was, a general slaughter took place, and kraal after kraal were visited by the king’s troops, killing man, woman, and child, depopulating large districts, and after some time reduced the number of his opponents to a few, but still never entirely crushing them out, or destroying all who still clung to the hope of getting rid of Lo-Bengulu. Many of the men spared in these fights were incorporated in the army that remained true to the king. Soon after it was reported that Kuruman was alive in Natal; messengers were sent down to ascertain the fact; and also some refugees stated he was Kuruman. He denied he was the Kuruman, but afterwards, in 1871, acknowledged he was, and departed for the north to claim his rights. The last time I heard of him he was at Rustenburg in the Transvaal. The doubt that has hung over Lo-Bengulu, as to his really being the right man, has made him very watchful, and it seems this supposed Kuruman is still looking out for an opportunity to enter the Matabeleland and try his luck, but Lo-Bengulu is too securely settled on his throne to be easily deposed.
At the death of Moselikatze, waggon-loads full of presents of every description, presents from those who had visited his country, and payments for the privilege of hunting in his veldt, became the property of Lo-Bengulu, and were thatched to preserve them from the weather, never to be used, because the great king had ridden in them; the empty ones were destroyed at the burial of the king; taking those loaded to Gebbeklaiko, now called Gubuluwayo or Bulowaiyo, where the royal widow of Moselikatze went to reside after the death of her husband, and also where Lo-Bengulu took up his royal residence, which he has occupied up to the time when it was recently destroyed. He has several kraals in different parts of the country that he visits from time to time, for a change. Mr and Mrs Coillard are still here, not yet having obtained their release, but expect it daily. Mr Sykes has been indefatigable in the affair, and clearly explained the object of his visit to establish several French missionary stations throughout the Mashona country under native teachers. But Lo-Bengulu, although very kind to the English missionaries, is not a believer in their faith, and his people are very much of the same opinion, consequently there are few converts. All the districts are visited by them. Mr Sykes and also Mr Thomas have for the last twenty-eight years been at much trouble, but cannot convert them. They have their great spirit, Molemo, and with their medicine-men to make rain for them, they seem contented to remain.
In the afternoon I left for Thabo Induna, which is the place where the massacre of the Indunas took place under Moselikatze previously mentioned, and then on to Umzamalas town to Inzalion, but as Mr and Mrs Sykes were with the king, went on to Mr George Wood, an old traveller and hunter, who showed me several pieces of gold he had procured from the near quartz reef, and some gold-dust he had himself washed from the Changani river. The whole of this region down to the Zambese is a gold-bearing country.
But what seems very remarkable, no instruments or anything has been found to lead to the time when this part of the Mashona country was overrun by this supposed white race, but a time may come when prospecting may be allowed, that will throw more light upon this subject. These old diggings may have been worked by the Queen of Sheba’s people, and subsequently by a white race. It is very clear, there must have been a different race from the present, that worked the ground for gold in these parts, several hundred years ago; from the ruins now standing, I think proves they may have been the same under the name of Abbalomba.
Besides the gold-mines in other districts, which will be described in dealing with the adjoining kingdom of Umzela, there are other indications of the presence of a civilised people in remote times; throughout this region known as the Royaume du Quiteve, and Etats du Monomotapa, the residence of the Emperor Quiteve, and also to the north is the Ville Royal du Monomotapa, which is situated in ancient Portuguese maps as being in the northern division of the Mashona country, on the south side of the Zambese, under the name Monomotapa, in the Abutua and Banyai regions; the emperor of whom, in 1550, was conquered by the Portuguese, so they say, and ceded his dominion to them. Now it is an interesting question, what tribe or nation did these emperors spring from? It appears certain that they must have been in possession of the country long before the Portuguese rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and proceeded as far north up the east coast to Mozambique, including Quillimane and Delagoa Bay, in 1497, under Vasco de Gama; but he made no settlements on the coast at that time. Bartholomew Diaz, in 1486, rounded the Cape and proceeded as far east as Algoa Bay, and planted a cross on St. Croix Island, then on to the Great Fish river, and returned. Sofala was visited by a Portuguese traveller from Abyssinia in 1480. In 1500, the Portuguese began to form settlements on the west coast; 1506, town of Mozambique taken by the Portuguese under Tristan d’Acunha; 1507, Portuguese proceed with their conquests on east coast, and in 1508, conquer Sofaia. Therefore it was impossible for the Portuguese to establish themselves to any great extent on the coast-line, much before the time it is stated they conquered the Emperor of Mouomotapa.
A Venetian map published in 1546 gives an outline of the Zambese river and the Central African lakes, and I have an ancient map of Africa showing several lakes in that region, particularly Lake Tanganyika, which very correctly shows its true position, clearly proving that it was discovered long before Livingstone or any other modern explorer ever visited that central region.
Were these Monomotapa people black or white, and from whence did they come? They were evidently a separate people from those who now occupy the country. May not an Arab tribe have passed down along the east coast, and established themselves in the Mashona region, and formed a kingdom? for the word Emperor is not a word used by any African races south of the Zambese, and none, I believe, except they are of Arab blood, or closely connected with that race. There is at present that tribe mentioned in my description of the northern Kalahara desert, on the Quito and Cubango, to the north of my explorations, that are termed white; may not this remnant be descendants of the Monomotapa people, and those white the Mashonas call “Abbalamba,” who may also have formed a part of the Emperor Quiteve’s people?
The broad Zambese river would have been a very enticing stream for any tribe to follow up, who were coming down south to settle, and they may have introduced the Arab customs, and also Jewish customs, amongst the people. Now it is well known the Mashonas are excellent mechanics, workers in metals, excellent blacksmiths, and they manufacture blankets from the cotton fibre, which no other nation in the south of Central Africa does—may not this knowledge have been handed down from this white race? Give one of these Mashonas a piece of gold, and ask him to make you a ring; it will soon be done, and done well.
I am surprised no Englishman has ever thought of exploring the Zambese from its mouth to the Victoria Falls, with canoes; it could be accomplished without much difficulty, and a most interesting and pleasant trip it would be, returning by road to the Colony by the transport road the whole way; much valuable information would be obtained that might throw some light on this interesting subject. To do it by land would be much more difficult, the many rivers to cross, swamps and thick jungle to pass through, sleeping at night on the ground would cause fever, and as my map and others will show, it has never been explored. Livingstone followed it down part of the way, and there he lost his wife. The distance from the mouth to the falls is about 900 miles.
The old forts on the Umvuli, with the old gold-diggings, along the base of the Leputa and Lobolo mountains on the Mlebka river, Kambesa, Nuntigesa, Mandou, Zimbo, Piza and many others in the Mashona country on the east; and to the west of the Sabia river, near each, are extensive old diggings, and on the Ingwezi river there are very perfect ruins, but completely enclosed in bush; the walls are extensive and thick, all of them built of hewn granite, and laid in regular courses; another on the Nuanettie river, to the west of the Woohu mountain, is a very good specimen of these ancient forts, situated on a rocky eminence, well defended on all sides, and also covered in by trees and bush. The Zimbo, or Zimbase, ruins of an old fort are situated on a small branch of the Sabia river, in 20 degrees 16 minutes South latitude. A short distance from its banks there are several low walls on an open space, but the most extensive is that situated on a low granite hill; the walls are about eight feet thick and five feet in height in the lower portion, the upper part measures twenty feet, and forms a sort of round tower very similar to the ruins on the Tati, which have been described; the walls are built of hewn granite stone, and in regular layers; on the inside there are several beams inserted in the walls projecting eight feet, composed of a hard and fine-grained stone of a dark colour. Upon one of them are carvings, diamond-shaped, one within another, separated by wavy lines; they are much overgrown by shrubs and creepers, and seem to be of the same date, and erected by the same people as those already described. Several old gold-diggings are in the vicinity. Altogether these ancient forts, that are so largely distributed over these regions, are most interesting, and when this country is more developed and better understood, they may lead to discoveries that may throw more light upon the subject. That the Portuguese did deal largely with the natives in gold is clearly established, and if all these ruined forts were their work, they must have occupied the country in very considerable numbers, which seems hardly likely, because there is no record of their having done so to the extent which these ruins show.
The kingdom of Tarva is supposed to have been in these regions. I have not met with any ruins yet that would lead me to suppose they were once the palace of the Queen of Sheba. I do not think that walls six or eight feet thick, built of small hewn stone without mortar, would stand as perfect as they are the wear and tear of four thousand years, in a country subject to such storms as sweep over this region in the rainy season.
The only relics I have found are broken pieces of pottery, containing much mica, and the well-worn stones the natives used to crush their corn, which must have been in use many years, as they are hollowed out almost like basins, and the round stone the size of a cricket-ball, much worn on one side in pounding the grain. One ancient grave I opened, but found nothing but a spear-head of iron, that crumbled to pieces when handled; the bones had disappeared. I may mention, when prospecting in the channels worn in the beds of the rivers by the water, I have found a great many copper beads mixed up in the gravel and sand, and a piece of silver, that looks like part of a bar, about half an inch square and an inch in length, that was also lying in the bed of the river close to the ruins of the old fort on the Ingwazi river.
The watershed that divides the Zambese and Limpopo basins runs in a north-east and south-west direction, like the backbone of an animal; the spurs representing the ribs, but in places the hill is broken up, as at Gubuluwayo and the country round. The rivers that drain each basin take their rise within a few yards of each other, on the south of the king’s kraal. All the elevated portions of the country are healthy, the lower parts are subject to fever to Europeans in the rainy season, but when the country is occupied by an industrious race, and cleared of bush and drained, it will become as healthy in time as any other portion of Africa, being so elevated above sea-level, viz. 3300 feet. It cannot be so very unhealthy, when Mr and Mrs Sykes have lived at Inyatine twenty-eight years, and have enjoyed good health; Mr and Mrs Thomas, also, for the same time; and at Hopefountain, the two missionaries and their families have enjoyed good health for many years, and at Gubuluwayo the traders have no more sickness than if they lived in any other part of the country considered healthy.
Since my last journey into Matabeleland, Lo-Bengulu has taken to himself a royal wife, the sister of the Zulu chief Umzela, whose territory adjoins the western boundary of the Matabele king, and occupies all the country down to the east African coast, not in the occupation of the Portuguese. This naturally was not very agreeable to his sister Nina, who ruled supreme in her brother’s court, during the time he had no royal wife, which must have made it unpleasant for both parties. I am not acquainted with the particulars, but I suppose the king deemed it expedient to get rid of this annoyance, adopted his usual plan, for he gave orders to some of his people to take his sister away, which is tantamount to ordering her to be killed, but no royal blood must be spilt or the body mutilated; consequently she was taken away and smothered. His royal residence at Gubuluwayo has been destroyed, and a new military camp formed at some distance from it. His new residence is built in the European style, much larger than the former, containing several fine rooms; the principal apartment is capable of holding over 100 people, substantially built of brick, with thatched roof, erected by Europeans. The Matabele who calls himself Kuruman, the son of Moselikatze, and was supposed to have been killed previous to his father’s death, has claimed the kingship, and has many followers, which may eventually lead to much bloodshed.
A railway will do more to civilise the people in the interior and increase trade than any other means that could be adopted to improve the natives and open up the country.
Lo-Bengulu is very favourably disposed towards the English, as I have before stated; what has made him severe on some, is his having lost confidence in many who have gone into his country, and abused the privileges granted to them, which naturally has shaken his good faith in all who visit Matabeleland. When he knows he can depend on any, he is exceedingly friendly, and will do much for them, as in the case of the late Mr Thomas Baines, the traveller, who from his honourable, upright, and straightforward conduct, gained the king’s confidence. The result was, he granted a large concession of his country to him, for working and exploring for gold, and signed a document to that effect, showing that if properly treated he will do good to those who act fair towards him. There are a few old hunters who have for years lived up in Matabeleland, and have the king’s confidence, from acting towards him in an upright and honest way, and have become almost natives of the country; they belong to the old stock of hunters that are fast passing away; only a few are now remaining that could be called hunters of the old days of Moselikatze time, and which formed a little community in themselves. Those were days of real enjoyment, when game was plentiful, and the country not overrun as it is now by a different class of people altogether. Those good old times were before the discovery of diamonds, when even Griqualand West was an unknown land to the colonist. Mr G. Westbeach is now living on the banks of the Zambese; Mr G. Phillips is, I believe, there also; Messrs Byles, Wood, Lisk are now in other parts, and one or two more are all that are left of the old stock of bonâ-fide hunters. At that time they formed a little society in themselves, hired a small farm called Little England, where they would meet once a year or as often as circumstances would call them down from the interior, to procure fresh stock in exchange for ivory, feathers, and other articles. Each member had to undergo fresh baptism in the way of a souse in a large bath made in the water sluit in front of the house, clothes and everything on, and pay his footing in the way of a certain quantity of brandy or square face (gin). When I entered the brotherhood I was suffering with a severe attack of influenza, and consequently was excused the bath, by paying double footing in spirits; keeping up commemoration night till late in the morning, which cured me of my cold.
All is changed now—the country has been of late overrun by traders from the diamond-fields; Boers from the Transvaal, who have unscrupulously abused the native laws of Matabeleland, and made the king doubly severe on all who enter his dominions, and caused the Indunas to look upon all white men as dogs, which has damaged the prestige of the white man in the eyes of the natives, and Lo-Bengulu, who is ruled to a certain extent by them, cannot always do as he would wish. Natives are very susceptible of insult, and as the Boers treat all black men as dogs, and in some way insult them, which they do not forget, this has frequently brought the English traveller or hunter into trouble.
Lo-Bengulu respects the English nation, and has a loyal feeling towards her Majesty the Queen, and as all Bechuanaland has been brought under her protection, now is the time for the British Government to show this sable monarch and his people, by our acts in Bechuanaland, that England’s policy is not to exterminate the black man, but to protect, assist, and benefit him, which policy is the only one to bring Lo-Bengulu and his people into a better frame of mind regarding England’s views towards them, and the only course to eventually open up that country to civilisation. At the present time they fear a Boer invasion, and as they are renowned for their political sagacity, they will be too wise to offend the English people, who may shortly be living on their borders. But if Boers are allowed to settle in Bechuanaland then we may say farewell to peace in that region.
All now depends on the course the British Government adopt in this new protectorate. Lo-Bengulu and his Indunas, I believe, will not interfere or be troublesome on the border of this protectorate, if they see we respect the rights of the black man in the future of that country, and, instead of having the Matabele in any way troublesome, they will become our friends. I see a great future open for that country, which will materially benefit the native races, and be the means of developing that vast region now closed to British merchandise, for that is the great civilising power by teaching the native mind the advantages they will derive from commerce. Whatever cruelty Lo-Bengulu may perpetrate in his own country, will not extend further; he was brought up under the dreaded chief, his father, who ruled his people through their blood, for no other mode of governing them would have availed. But the people are beginning to understand the English ways, in the same manner as the Zulus do in Zululand.
Thursday, 21st May. Walked over to old John Viljoen’s waggon, where he was outspanned under some large trees surrounded by a thick bush, completely concealing the waggons from view; his son and a Boer were making kameel biltong, having shot one yesterday. He is now waiting for the weather to clear up, to have some elephant shooting, his son having seen eight, about six miles away, in the morning. Talking of elephant shooting, he said he had shot seventy-nine at different times, and he told me, a Scotchman, Mr Thackery, had shot ninety-nine, and in shooting the hundredth, when the animal laid apparently dead, he climbed up him over his head, when the elephant gave him a blow with his tusk and killed him on the spot. We arranged to go out together on Monday. He also told me he shot a python, a few days ago, measuring eighteen feet in length, and twenty-eight inches round; he saw several others, but they got away. On returning to the waggon I found a trader, Mr Mussenden, with his waggon outspanned close to it, who was surprised to see me, having long ago heard that I had been murdered by Bushmen up in the interior, that it was reported throughout all the country, and everything stolen; he said he had often heard of my being in the interior, and through the Desert, when he was up-country, but never expected to see me alive again, and was very glad we had met, as he often wished to know me. Many such reports get about of explorers and hunters being murdered or lost in the bush; and it requires great care to avoid some of these dangers in so extensive a region, particularly to those who have not the bump of locality. When leaving your waggon, in the saddle or on foot, before starting, be particular to take bearings of mountains or any prominent objects. When the sun is perpendicular at mid-day, it is difficult to know the north from the south, and if you have left your compass behind, those unaccustomed to be in a wooded region soon become confused as to the direction to be taken to regain their waggon. Several, whom I knew, have lost their lives in this way, and were never heard of more. A young man, William Hancock, I had with me as my driver, when outspanned in a level country, with dense bush, took his gun early in the morning to look after game, and never returned all that day, and night coming on, I began to fear for his safety; the whole of that night I was in a fearful state of alarm, firing shot after shot to let him know our position, but no reply; I got no sleep that night. At daybreak I saddled-up and started in the direction he took, firing shots frequently, and I sent my loop-boy out in another direction. After calling and shouting until nearly losing my voice, up to 2 p.m., a distant report came to my last shot; starting off in the direction at as great a speed as I could make in the thick forest for at least a mile, I fired again, when a reply came at no great distance. Going towards it and shouting, I heard a faint voice in amongst the trees, and Hancock came towards me; he was nearly demented, and looked as if he had grown ten years older. Before asking any questions, I gave him a flask full of brandy and water, and some biscuits which I brought with me. He told me he had been in a pursuit of a koodoo he had wounded, and in the chase had lost the direction of the waggon, and in his endeavour to reach it had wandered in the opposite direction and became so confused that he did not know where he was, firing off his rifle at times to let us know, but the distance prevented the reports being heard, and as night came on he gave himself up as lost, and climbed a tree, where he passed the night, as many lions were about; some of them came almost under the tree. In the morning he got down, fired off several shots, until he had only two charges left. He said his anxiety made him lose his strength, and from want of water and food he was nearly exhausted, and when he heard the report of my rifle he felt he was saved from death, and obtained renewed strength and fired his last cartridge, which brought me to him. Mounting him in the saddle, we returned to the waggon, distant at least four miles. Now this young man, born in the Colony, accustomed all his life to being out in the open air after game, had no knowledge of taking bearings from time to time, to see the direction he was going; the poor boy—for he was only nineteen—felt he had gained a new life. I gave him a few lessons on woodcraft for his future guidance if placed in a similar position. He was a most willing lad and of great assistance to me in my wanderings; he was a son of one of the early settlers of 1820.
Finally, we may conclude, in leaving this region, that the knowledge already obtained of the richness of the Matabele and Mashona country by exploring parties that have been allowed to prospect, only in certain districts, and by others who have travelled through it in other parts, and from my own observations, there is not a shadow of a doubt that eventually this part of the continent will surpass all others in Southern Africa as a gold-producing district, in the cultivation of cotton, and other valuable products, that cannot but prove most beneficial to the power who may obtain it; and to the benefit of its people, instead of its remaining in its present barbarous state, where the slaughter of its inhabitants depends on the present whims of its despotic monarch.
From what has already been discovered of its richness, we see plainly the ancients, who extracted the gold, have only done so to a limited extent—what may be termed surface workings; for their numerous pits, after all, are mere scratches in the ground at places, but when they are properly worked and greater depth attained, the mines may be found almost inexhaustible. And if the gold-dust, found in the sand of the rivers, can be procured by a few single washings from a small dish, what may be expected when the whole of these rivers have been properly worked?