There was much news which Inyoni told me that was interesting. One of the English ladies had died: I could not find out which, but Inyoni said she was not very young. He also told me that elephants had again come down near the kraal in which I had lived, and that there was a lion not far off. He was very anxious to kill this lion, not only on account of the honour that would attend the performance, but also to obtain a necklace of its teeth and claws. He suggested that when I came back to the kraal, he and I might make an expedition and shoot this lion.
After the escapes I had passed through among the Zulus, and the manner in which I had been treated by the English sailors, I felt quite at home among my old companions, and thought, as I have often done since, that the so-called savage is superior in many ways to the imperfectly educated Englishman. The Zulus and the Caffres on the south-east coast of Africa were what would be called gentlemanly men if they had resided among civilised beings. They were most considerate in all their proceedings one to another, and there was a ready acknowledgment of superiority when this had been demonstrated; whereas, amidst so-called civilisation, men too often attempt to claim merits which they never did and never will possess, and thus to claim to command when they are only fitted to obey. I soon discovered that my adventures and escapes had raised me in the opinions of my old companions. They addressed me now always as inkosi (“chief”), and listened with great attention to all I said.
After we had finished our meal, two Caffres were sent on to the hill-tops to keep a look-out, and the remainder of our party lay down in the shade and slept, till we felt ready to start on our journey down to the Umzimvubu country.
I felt quite safe now that I had so many armed and watchful men with me. We walked on over the hills and through the bush, occasionally stopping for an hour or two, to hunt duiker or red bush-buck, both of which were plentiful about this part of the country. We never neglected keeping watch whilst we were hunting; because, knowing how rapidly the Zulus move, and how fond they are of surprises, we never were certain that a party of these men might not be concealed somewhere and might suddenly attack us. Had the commanders on the English side, during the late Zulu war, been as well acquainted with the habits of these men as we were, such disasters as befell us would have been guarded against or avoided; but it seems as though men were selected for that war because they knew nothing either of the Zulus, their country, or language, but because they had crammed successfully at the Staff College.
When we arrived at the first kraal in our own country and among our own tribe, I was welcomed with shouts and congratulations by the men, and with pleasant smiles by the females; and certainly for a time I felt very glad that I had not sailed in the ship from Natal Bay, but was again among my friends who knew me, and where my past acts had caused me to be respected and admired. There are few things—as I have found in after-life—so painful as being among strangers, where the past of which we may be proud is unknown, and unthought of, and where we occupy the same position as though in our previous career we had acted like fools or rogues.
Chapter Sixteen.
Almost immediately after my return to my old kraal, I went to see the English ladies who had been on board the ship. I found that Mrs Apton was dead, but the others seemed to have become quite reconciled to their lot. They were now the mothers of several children, and they told me that they would not now leave the country if they could. What they most wished for were some clothes in which they might dress like Englishwomen. Their knowledge of dress, however, had enabled them to form, out of the skins of antelopes, very ornamental dresses; and although some people might have laughed at their attire, yet the Caffres thought their ornaments most becoming. It seemed singular how very quickly these females had become accustomed to the strange life they were compelled to lead. They did not work in the gardens as did the Caffre women, but were treated just the same as the wives of the greatest chiefs. The other Caffre women were not jealous of the English females, but treated them kindly, and seemed to regard them as strangers deserving of hospitality. What was most admired was the long hair of the English ladies, the Caffre women having only woolly locks.
There was no restriction now placed upon my movements. I had fought for my tribe, and had shown that I was true to the men who had saved my life; so I was trusted just the same as though I had been born a Caffre. Although I had been so well-treated by my present companions, and the life I now led was very pleasant, yet the fact of having seen and conversed with Englishmen had caused a feeling of restlessness to take possession of me; and I was always thinking of where I should be, and what I should be doing, if I had succeeded in getting away in the ship from Natal Bay. It was now a common thing for me to leave my hut and go down to the hills near the coast, and watch the sea, in order to find out if any ships were near. I knew enough of English habits to be certain that the slaughter of the captain of the vessel would be revenged, though I did not know by what means this would be accomplished.