It was about a moon and a half, or six weeks, after I had returned to the Umzimvubu district, that one morning I saw from my look-out station a large ship sailing, and not very far from the land. I remembered that the sailors had told me that when a vessel was going round the Cape to the east, she always kept about sixty or seventy miles from the land, to avoid the strong current that ran from east to west. When, however, a ship was travelling from east to west she kept nearer the coast, so as to get the benefit of the stream in her favour. The vessel I now saw was going eastwards, and yet was close inland; so I thought it very likely she was coming to Natal. She was of too large a size to come over the bar; and I believed she must be a vessel of war. As she came nearer the land I could see guns looking out, as it were, of her ports; and I then knew she was a man-of-war. Before the sun set this ship had anchored opposite the harbour of Natal, and had furled all her sails. I returned to my kraal and kept silence as to what I had seen. I wanted to think during the night what I should do as regards this ship. If I told the men of the kraal that a ship had come to Natal, they might object to my going there, for fear I should tell the tale about the slaughter of my shipmates. Silence therefore was the most prudent plan. Just before sunrise, I, with a large bag of boiled corn and armed with my pistols and an assagy, started for Natal Bay. The journey was a long one, but I was in such training that I could run and walk very fast, and I believe could manage fifty miles a day, without much fatigue. It was near sunset, however, before I reached the high land on the west of the bay: from this high land the ship was seen, and when first viewed I saw two boats rowing to the vessel. There was a great deal of surf on the bar, so I felt certain that no boat could have entered the harbour that day, and that probably the boats I had seen had been to look at the bar to see if it were practicable.
I found my old hut on the bluff just as I had left it; so, making a meal of my boiled corn, I lay down and slept well after my long journey.
I was awoke in the morning by the screams of a sea-eagle, and found, on looking out, that the sun had risen many times its own diameter in the sky. The wind had changed, and was now blowing from the north, and the surf on the bar was much less than it was on the previous day, and seemed to be decreasing. On looking towards the ship I saw two boats full of men pulling towards the harbour; and these, I saw, would, if properly managed, be able to cross the bar and enter the harbour. Descending the bluff, I went down to the shore, and, breaking off a large branch of a tree, waved it over my head, hoping that some one either on the ship or in the boats would see me. It was exciting work seeing these boats approach the bar and wait for some time as they saw the wives break and curl at this spot. After some time the oars flashed in the water. I saw the boats first on the crest of a wave, then lost sight of them, then saw them reappear and glide along in comparatively smooth water as they passed the dangerous breaking water on the bar. The boats were now so near that I could count the men in the boats, and could see they were all armed, and were dressed alike, which was not the case with the crew of the small vessel that had previously visited Natal. As the boats approached the shore several men stood up in the front part of the boat, and seemed to be on the look-out for an enemy, as they had guns, which they held ready for firing. I called out that there was no one on the shore but me, and saw that surprise was caused by my speaking English, because I was in dress like a Caffre, and my skin had become very brown.
On approaching the rocks on which I stood the boat stopped, and a young-looking man at the stern of the leading boat called out—
“Who are you?”
“I am an English boy who was shipwrecked here some years ago.”
“What is your name?”
I was about to answer “Umkinglovu,” but I remembered that I was called Julius by my father, so I replied, “My name is Julius.”
“Are there any Caffres about here?” inquired the officer, for such I found afterwards that he was.
“I do not think there are; but if there should be, I don’t think they would do you any harm.”