At this time the Matabele kingdom was only second in power to any of the native tribes south of the Zambesi, and now, since the subjugation of the southern Zulus, it must rank as absolutely the most powerful of all. It is considerably more than 300 miles long, and from 250 to 300 miles broad. According to Mr. Mackenzie, Moselikatze, the founder of this extensive kingdom, was the son of Matshobane, a Zulu captain in Natal; he was taken prisoner by Chaka, the most powerful of the Zulu chiefs, who subsequently, when he found out the courage of his captive, gave him the command of one of his marauding expeditions; but Moselikatze, instead of returning with his booty, carried it off to the heart of what is now the Transvaal country, subdued the Bakhatlas, Baharutse, and other Bechuana tribes, and finally settled in the highlands round the Marico and its tributaries. Here he was attacked by the Griqua chief, Berend-Berend, whom he defeated and killed. All this, however, was but the beginning of a series of engagements. Two Zulu armies in succession were sent after him as a recreant, one by Chaka, and the other by his successor Dingan, but both failed to dislodge him. His next assailants were the Boers, who were most anxious to get rid of such a dangerous neighbour, and to drive him from the beautiful Marico country, which they coveted for themselves. To accomplish their aim they sent out a considerable force in 1836, and attacking the Zulu at the foot of one of the hills, completely defeated him. Moselikatze gathered together the little remnant of his force, including only forty “ring-heads” (full grown warriors), and quitted the district, making his way to the north, and laying waste the whole country as he proceeded. It was his plan to found a new settlement on the other side of the Zambesi; but the tsetse-fly did what it seemed forbidden to human hand to do, and checked his career. He was in consequence obliged to fall back, and began to attack first the Makalaka villages, and then to carry his ravages on to the Manansas and others. His mode of dealing with these agricultural settlements was to set fire to them in the middle of the night, to kill the men as they rushed out of their burning huts, and to carry off the women and children, as well as the cattle. In this way his power began again to increase, until after a while South Africa had a new Zulu empire. All the stolen boys were brought up as soldiers, and such as were capable of bearing arms were at once incorporated into the army; the women were given to the warriors, the cattle being deemed the king’s special property, and serving to maintain his ever increasing regiments. Whenever Moselikatze observed any signs of his warriors treating the women better than their cattle he came to the conclusion that the men were growing effeminate, and at once gave peremptory orders for the dangerous women to be slaughtered. During his annual marauding expeditions into the neighbourhood, thousands of helpless creatures lost their lives, for besides the men, all people incapable of work, young children, and babies, and some of the women, were relentlessly massacred.
From my own observation, and from what I gathered from Mr. Mackenzie, Westbeech, and the traders, I should describe the Matabele Zulu government as a military despotism, with supreme control over every man and beast, and every acre of land in the country. Each division of the army is under the command of an “induna” or chief, with several sub-chiefs holding commission as officers. The rank and file fulfil their commanders’ orders with blind obedience, but the superior and inferior chiefs are always at rivalry, and if they fail to win the approbation of the king by their feats of bravery, they try and curry favour with him by carrying him tales of slander against each other. The king keeps several executioners, who perpetrate their deeds under cover of night; and as the kaffir-corn beer which is served out with the meat at supper rarely fails to induce a sound sleep, the opportunity is readily found for what is known as “the king’s knife” to do its work.
Mr. Mackenzie told me of an instance that will serve as an illustration of what I have been saying. The bravest man in Moselikatze’s army was Monyebe, one of the superior chiefs, who in acknowledgment of his services had been rewarded by the king with a number of presents. This so far aroused the jealousy of the other chiefs that they conspired to accuse him to the king of witchcraft and treachery. Moselikatze allowed himself to listen to their slander, and without giving Monyebe a chance of exonerating himself, kept the accusation a thorough secret from him, and gave permission to the chiefs to kill him. Next morning nothing more remained of the king’s favourite than a few ashes smouldering at the door of his hut.
MASARWAS DRINKING.
When Mr. Mackenzie visited Matabele-land in 1863, he found very few real Zulu soldiers; the flower of the army consisted of Bechuanas, who as boys had either been stolen or exacted as tribute by Moselikatze during his residence in the Transvaal, the younger regiments being principally composed of Makalaka and Mashona lads recently enlisted.
In times of peace the boys are sent out to take care of the cattle, but on their return home they are always carefully instructed in the use of weapons. This constant exercise makes them so strong and muscular that a Masarwa straight from the Kalahari Bushveldt, and another having undergone his training with the Matabele, could not be recognized as belonging to the same tribe. The Matabele warriors live in barracks, and domestic life is quite unknown; only in very exceptional cases is it allowable for any one but a chief to treat his wife otherwise than as a slave, though it must be allowed that there is hardly any appreciable difference between the two conditions. The king does not prevent people of other tribes from practising their own religious and superstitious ceremonies, subject to the general prohibition that no subject of his may be a Christian. The ivory-traders followed the missionaries into the country; they found a ready sale for guns and ammunition, but the natives were little disposed to purchase any articles of clothing.
Every year before starting on their expeditions of plunder the Matabele perform their Pina ea Morimo, or religious war-dance. The warriors assemble on the parade-ground in full military costume, their heads, breasts, and loins being adorned with coverings made of black ostrich feathers. A black bull is led forward and baited till it is angry; it is then chased by the soldiers, until, covered with blood, it sinks lame and exhausted to the ground; a few practised strokes then sever the muscles; the flesh is stripped off in cutlets and held for a few minutes before a fire, and the men proceed eagerly to devour the half roasted meat, convinced that in swallowing it in this semi-raw condition they are acquiring the strength and courage that will equip them for their undertaking.
The European settlement on the Tati was surrounded by low hills, partly formed of ferruginous mica, quartz, and granite, some being isolated mounds, whilst others were portions of the slope of the river-valley. I made excursions to them in all directions, although I was warned to be on my guard against the lions that haunted the neighbourhood.
On arriving at the settlement I found that Pit Jacobs, like Mr. Brown, was away from home. He had gone elephant-hunting with one of his sons.