CHAPTER XVIII
ISANDHLWANA
We had crossed the Tugela by what is known as the Middle Drift.
A mile or so on the further side of it I was challenged by a
young fellow in charge of some mounted natives, and found that I
had stumbled into what was known as No. 2 Column, which consisted
of a rocket battery, three battalions of the Native Contingent
and some troops of mounted natives, all under the command of
Colonel Durnford, R.E..
After explanations I was taken to this officer's head-quarter
tent. He was a tall, nervous-looking man with a fair, handsome
face and long side-whiskers. One of his arms, I remember, was
supported by a sling, I think it had been injured in some Kaffir
fighting. When I was introduced to him he was very busy, having,
I understood from some one on his staff, just received orders to
"operate against Matshana."
Learning that I had come from Zululand and was acquainted with
the Zulus, he at once began to cross-examine me about Matshana, a
chief of whom he seemed to know very little indeed. I told him
what I could, which was not much, and before I could give him any
information of real importance, was shown out and most hospitably
entertained at luncheon, a meal of which I partook with gratitude
in some garments that I had borrowed from one of the officers,
while my own were set in the sun to dry. Well can I recall how
much I enjoyed the first whisky and soda that I had tasted since
I left "the Temple," and the good English food by which it was
accompanied.
Presently I remembered Kaatje, whom I had left outside with some
native women, and went to see what had happened to her. I found
her finishing a hearty meal and engaged in conversation with a
young gentleman who was writing in a notebook. Afterwards I
discovered that he was a newspaper correspondent. What she told
him and what he imagined, I do not know, but I may as well state
the results at once. Within a few days there appeared in one of
the Natal papers and, for aught I know, all over the earth, an
announcement that Mr. Allan Quatermain, a well-known hunter in
Zululand, after many adventures, had escaped from that country,
"together with his favourite native wife, the only survivor of
his extensive domestic establishment." Then followed some wild
details as to the murder of my other wives by a Zulu wizard
called "Road Mender, or Sick Ass" (i.e. Opener of Roads, or
Zikali), and so on.
I was furious and interviewed the editor, a mild and apologetic
little man, who assured me that the despatch was printed exactly
as it had been received, as though that bettered the case. After
this I commenced an action for libel, but as I was absent through
circumstances over which I had no control when it came on for
trial, the case was dismissed. I suppose the truth was that they
mixed me up with a certain well-known white man in Zululand, who
had a large "domestic establishment," but however this may be, it
was a long while before I heard the last of that "favourite
native wife."
Later in the day I and Kaatje, who stuck to me like a burr,
departed from the camp.
The rest of our journey was uneventful, except for more
misunderstandings about Kaatje, one of which, wherein a clergyman
was concerned, was too painful to relate. At last we reached
Maritzburg, where I deposited Kaatje in a boarding-house kept by
another half-cast, and with a sigh of relief betook myself to the
Plough Hotel, which was a long way off her.
Subsequently she obtained a place as a cook at Howick, and for a
while I saw her no more.
At Maritzburg, as in duty bound, I called upon various persons in
authority and delivered Cetewayo's message, leaving out all
Zikali's witchcraft which would have sounded absurd. It did not
produce much impression as, hostilities having already occurred,
it was superfluous. Also no one was inclined to pay attention to
the words of one who was neither an official nor a military
officer, but a mere hunter supposed to have brought a native wife
out of Zululand.
I did, however, report the murder of Anscombe and Heda, though in
such times this caused no excitement, especially as they were not
known to the officials concerned with such matters. Indeed the
occurrence never so much as got into the papers, any more than
did the deaths of Rodd and Marnham on the borders of Sekukuni's
country. When people are expecting to be massacred themselves,
they do not trouble about the past killing of others far away.
Lastly, I posted Marnham's will to the Pretoria bank, advising
them that they had better keep it safely until some claim arose,
and deposited Heda's jewels and valuables in another branch of
the same bank in Maritzburg with a sealed statement as to how
they came into my possession.
These things done, I found it necessary to turn myself to the
eternal problem of earning my living. I am a very rich man now
as I write these reminiscences here in Yorkshire--King Solomon's
mines made me that--but up to the time of my journey to Kukuana
Land with my friends, Curtis and Good, although plenty of money
passed through my hands on one occasion and another, little of it
ever seemed to stick. In this way or that it was lost or melted;
also I was not born one to make the best of his opportunities in
the way of acquiring wealth. Perhaps this was good for me, since
if I had gained the cash early I should not have met with the
experiences, and during our few transitory years, experience is
of more real value than cash. It may prepare us for other things
beyond, whereas the mere possession of a bank balance can prepare
us for nothing in a land where gold ceases to be an object of
worship as it is here. Yet wealth is our god, not knowledge or
wisdom, a fact which shows that the real essence of Christianity
has not yet permeated human morals. It just runs over their
surface, no more, and for every eye that is turned towards the
divine Vision, a thousand are fixed night and day upon Mammon's
glittering image.
Now I owned certain wagons and oxen, and just then the demand for
these was keen. So I hired them out to the military authorities
for service in the war, and incidentally myself with them. I
drove what I considered a splendid bargain with an officer who
wrote as many letters after his name as a Governor-General, but
was really something quite humble. At least I thought it
splendid until outside his tent I met a certain transport rider
of my acquaintance whom I had always looked upon as a perfect
fool, who told me that not half an hour before he had got twenty
per cent. more for unsalted oxen and very rickety wagons.
However, it did not matter much in the end as the whole outfit
was lost at Isandhlwana, and owing to the lack of some formality
which I had overlooked, I never recovered more than a tithe of
their value. I think it was that I neglected to claim within a
certain specified time.
At last my wagons were laden with ammunition and other Government
goods and I trekked over awful roads to Helpmakaar, a place on
the Highlands not far from Rorke's Drift where No. 3 Column was
stationed. Here we were delayed awhile, I and my wagons having
moved to a ford of the Buffalo, together with many others. It
was during this time that I ventured to make very urgent
representations to certain highly placed officers, I will not
mention which, as to the necessity of laagering, that is, forming
fortified camps, as soon as Zululand was entered, since from my
intimate knowledge of its people I was sure that they would
attack in force. These warnings of mine were received with the
most perfect politeness and offers of gin to drink, which all
transport riders were supposed to love, but in effect were
treated with the contempt that they were held to deserve. The
subject is painful and one on which I will not dwell. Why should
I complain when I know that cautions from notable persons such as
Sir Melmoth Osborn, and J. J. Uys, a member of one the old Dutch
fighting families, met with a like fate.
By the way it was while I was waiting on the banks of the river
that I came across an old friend of mine, a Zulu named Magepa,
with whom I had fought at the battle of the Tugela. A few days
later this man performed an extraordinary feat in saving his
grandchild from death by his great swiftness in running, whereof
I have preserved a note somewhere or other.
Ultimately on January 11 we received our marching orders and
crossed the river by the drift, the general scheme of the
campaign being that the various columns were to converge upon
Ulundi. The roads, if so they can be called, were in such a
fearful state that it took us ten days to cover as many miles.
At length we trekked over a stony nek about five hundred yards in
width. To the right of us was a stony eminence and to our left,
its sheer brown cliffs of rock rising like the walls of some
cyclopean fortress, the strange, abrupt mount of Isandhlwana,
which reminded me of a huge lion crouching above the
hill-encircled plain beyond. At the foot of this isolated mount,
whereof the aspect somehow filled me with alarm, we camped on the
night of January 21, taking no precautions against attack by way
of laagering the wagons. Indeed the last thing that seemed to
occur to those in command was that there would be serious
fighting; men marched forward to their deaths as though they were
going on a shooting-party, or to a picnic. I even saw cricketing
bats and wickets occupying some of the scanty space upon the
wagons.
Now I am not going to set out all the military details that
preceded the massacre of Isandhlwana, for these are written in
history. It is enough to say that on the night of January 21,
Major Dartnell, who was in command of the Natal Mounted Police
and had been sent out to reconnoitre the country beyond
Isandhlwana, reported a strong force of Zulus in front of us.
Thereon Lord Chelmsford, the General-in-Chief, moved out from the
camp at dawn to his support, taking with him six companies of the
24th regiment, together with four guns and the mounted infantry.
There were left in the camp two guns and about eight hundred
white and nine hundred native troops, also some transport riders
such as myself and a number of miscellaneous camp-followers. I
saw him go from between the curtains of one of my wagons where I
had made my bed on the top of a pile of baggage. Indeed I had
already dressed myself at the time, for that night I slept very
ill because I knew our danger, and my heart was heavy with fear.
About ten o'clock in the morning Colonel Durnford, whom I have
mentioned already, rode up with five hundred Natal Zulus, about
half of whom were mounted, and two rocket tubes which, of course,
were worked by white men. This was after a patrol had reported
that they had come into touch with some Zulus on the left front,
who retired before them. As a matter of fact these Zulus were
foraging in the mealie fields, since owing to the drought food
was very scarce in Zululand that year and the regiments were
hungry. I happened to see the meeting between Colonel Pulleine,
a short, stout man who was then in command of the camp, and
Colonel Durnford who, as his senior officer, took it over from
him, and heard Colonel Pulleine say that his orders were "to
defend the camp," but what else passed between them I do not
know.
Presently Colonel Durnford saw and recognized me.
"Do you think the Zulus will attack us, Mr. Quatermain?" he said.
"I don't think so, Sir," I answered, "as it is the day of the new
moon which they hold unlucky. But to-morrow it may be
different."
Then he gave certain orders, dispatching Captain George Shepstone
with a body of mounted natives along the ridge to the left, where
presently they came in contact with the Zulus about three miles
away, and making other dispositions. A little later he moved out
to the front with a strong escort, followed by the rocket
battery, which ultimately advanced to a small conical hill on the
left front, round which it passed, never to return again.
Just before he started Colonel Durnford, seeing me still standing
there, asked me if I would like to accompany him, adding that as
I knew the Zulus so well I might be useful. I answered,
Certainly, and called to my head driver, a man named Jan, to
bring me my mare, the same that I had ridden out of Zululand,
while I slipped into the wagon and, in addition to the beltful
that I wore, filled all my available pockets with cartridges for
my double-barrelled Express rifle.
As I mounted I gave Jan certain directions about the wagon and
oxen, to which he listened, and then to my astonishment held out
his hand to me, saying--
"Good-bye, Baas. You have been a kind master to me and I thank
you."
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"Because, Baas, all the Kaffirs declare that the great Zulu impi
will be on to us in an hour or two and eat up every man. I can't
tell how they know it, but so they swear."
"Nonsense," I answered, "it is the day of new moon when the Zulus
don't fight. Still if anything of the sort should happen, you
and the other boys had better slip away to Natal, since the
Government must pay for the wagons and oxen."
This I said half joking, but it was a lucky jest for Jan and the
rest of my servants, since they interpreted it in earnest and
with the exception of one of them who went back to get a gun, got
off before the Zulu horn closed round the camp, and crossed the
river in safety.
Next moment I was cantering away after Colonel Durnford, whom I
caught up about a quarter of a mile from the camp.
Now of course I did not see all of the terrible battle that
followed and can only tell of that part of it in which I had a
share. Colonel Durnford rode out about three and a half miles to
the left front, I really don't quite know why, for already we
were hearing firing on the top of the Nqutu Hills almost behind
us, where Captain Shepstone was engaging the Zulus, or so I
believe. Suddenly we met a trooper of the Natal Carabineers
whose name was Whitelaw, who had been out scouting. He reported
that an enormous impi was just ahead of us seated in an umkumbi,
or semi-circle, as is the fashion of the Zulus before they
charge. At least some of them, he said, were so seated, but
others were already advancing.
Presently these appeared over the crest of the hill, ten thousand
of them I should say, and amongst them I recognized the shields
of the Nodwengu, the Dududu, the Nokenke and the Ingoba-makosi
regiments. Now there was nothing to be done except retreat, for
the impi was attacking in earnest. The General Untshingwayo,
together with Undabuko, Cetewayo's brother, and the chief Usibebu
who commanded the scouts, had agreed not to fight this day for
the reason I have given, because it was that of the new moon, but
circumstances had forced their hand and the regiments could no
longer be restrained. So to the number of twenty thousand or
more, say one-third of the total Zulu army, they hurled
themselves upon the little English force that, owing to lack of
generalship, was scattered here and there over a wide front and
had no fortified base upon which to withdraw.
We fell back to a donga which we held for a little while, and
then as we saw that there we should presently be overwhelmed,
withdrew gradually for another two miles or so, keeping off the
Zulus by our fire. In so doing we came upon the remains of the
rocket battery near the foot of the conical hill I have
mentioned, which had been destroyed by some regiment that passed
behind us in its rush on the camp. There lay all the soldiers
dead, assegaied through and through, and I noticed that one young
fellow who had been shot through the head, still held a rocket in
his hands.
Now somewhat behind and perhaps half a mile to the right of this
hill a long, shallow donga runs across the Isandhlwana plain.
This we gained, and being there reinforced by about fifty of the
Natal Carabineers under Captain Bradstreet, held it for a long
while, keeping off the Zulus by our terrible fire which cut down
scores of them every time they attempted to advance. At this
spot I alone killed from twelve to fifteen of them, for if the
big bullet from my Express rifle struck a man, he did not live.
Messengers were sent back to the camp for more ammunition, but
none arrived, Heaven knows why. My own belief is that the
reserve cartridges were packed away in boxes and could not be got
at. At last our supply began to run short, so there was nothing
to be done except retreat upon the camp which was perhaps half a
mile behind us.
Taking advantage of a pause in the Zulu advance which had lain
down while waiting for reserves, Colonel Durnford ordered a
retirement that was carried out very well. Up to that time we
had lost only quite a few men, for the Zulu fire was wild and
high and they had not been able to get at us with the assegai.
As we rode towards the mount I observed that firing was going on
in all directions, especially on the nek that connected it with
the Nqutu range where Captain Shepstone and his mounted Basutos
were wiped out while trying to hold back the Zulu right horn.
The guns, too, were firing heavily and doing great execution.
After this all grew confused. Colonel Durnford gave orders to
certain officers who came up to him, Captain Essex was one and
Lieutenant Cochrane another. Then his force made for their
wagons to get more ammunition. I kept near to the Colonel and a
while later found myself with him and a large, mixed body of men
a little to the right of the nek which we had crossed in our
advance from the river. Not long afterwards there was a cry of
"The Zulus are getting round us!" and looking to the left I saw
them pouring in hundreds across the ridge that joins Isandhlwana
Mountain to the Nqutu Range. Also they were advancing straight
on to the camp.
Then the rout began. Already the native auxiliaries were
slipping away and now the others followed. Of course this battle
was but a small affair, yet I think that few have been more
terrible, at any rate in modern times. The aspect of those
plumed and shielded Zulus as they charged, shouting their
war-cries and waving their spears, was awesome. They were mown
down in hundreds by the Martini fire, but still they came on, and
I knew that the game was up. A maddened horde of fugitives,
mostly natives, began to flow past us over the nek, making for
what was afterwards called Fugitives' Drift, nine miles away, and
with them went white soldiers, some mounted, some on foot.
Mingled with all these people, following them, on either side of
them, rushed Zulus, stabbing as they ran. Other groups of
soldiers formed themselves into rough squares, on which the
savage warriors broke like water on a rock, By degrees ammunition
ran out; only the bayonet remained. Still the Zulus could not
break those squares. So they took another counsel. Withdrawing
a few paces beyond the reach of the bayonets, they overwhelmed
the soldiers by throwing assegais, then rushed in and finished
them.
This was what happened to us, among whom were men of the 24th,
Natal Carabineers and Mounted Police. Some had dismounted, but I
sat on my horse, which stood quite still, I think from fright,
and fired away so long as I had any ammunition. With my very
last cartridge I killed the Captain Indudu who had been in charge
of the escort that conducted me to the Tugela. He had caught
sight of me and called out--
"Now, Macumazahn, I will cut you up nicely as I promised."
He got no further in his speech, for at that moment I sent an
Express bullet through him and his tall, melancholy figure
doubled up and collapsed.
All this while Colonel Durnford had been behaving as a British
officer should do. Scorning to attempt flight, whenever I looked
round I caught sight of his tall form, easy to recognize by the
long fair moustaches and his arm in a sling, moving to and fro
encouraging us to stand firm and die like men. Then suddenly I
saw a Kaffir, who carried a big old smooth-bore gun, aim at him
from a distance of about twenty yards, and fire. He went down,
as I believe dead, and that was the end of a very gallant officer
and gentleman whose military memory has in my opinion been most
unjustly attacked. The real blame for that disaster does not
rest upon the shoulders of either Colonel Durnford or Colonel
Pulleine.
After this things grew very awful. Some fled, but the most stood
and died where they were. Oddly enough during all this time I
was never touched. Men fell to my right and left and in front of
me; bullets and assegais whizzed past me, yet I remained quite
unhurt. It was as though some Power protected me, which no doubt
it did.
At length when nearly all had fallen and I had nothing left to
defend myself with except my revolver, I made up my mind that it
was time to go. My first impulse was to ride for the river nine
miles away. Looking behind me I saw that the rough road was full
of Zulus hunting down those who tried to escape. Still I thought
I would try it, when suddenly there flashed across my brain the
saying of whoever it was that personated Mameena in the Valley of
Bones, to the effect that in the great rout of the battle I was
not to join the flying but to set my face towards Ulundi and that
if I did so I should be protected and no harm would come to me.
I knew that all this prophecy was but a vain thing fondly
imagined, although it was true that the battle and the rout had
come. And yet I acted on it--why Heaven knows alone.
Setting the spurs to my horse I galloped off past Isandhlwana
Mount, on the southern slopes of which a body of the 24th were
still fighting their last fight, and heading for the Nqutu Range.
The plain was full of Zulus, reserves running up; also to the
right of me the Ulundi and Gikazi divisions were streaming
forward. These, or some of them, formed the left horn of the
impi, but owing to the unprepared nature of the Zulu battle, for
it must always be remembered that they did not mean to fight that
day, their advance had been delayed until it was too late for
them entirely to enclose the camp. Thus the road, if it can so
be called, to Fugitives' Drift was left open for a while, and by
it some effected their escape. It was this horn, or part of it,
that afterwards moved on and attacked Rorke's Drift, with results
disastrous to itself.
For some hundreds of yards I rode on thus recklessly, because
recklessness seemed my only chance. Thrice I met bodies of
Zulus, but on each occasion they scattered before me, calling out
words that I could not catch. It was as though they were
frightened of something they saw about me. Perhaps they thought
that I was mad to ride thus among them. Indeed I must have
looked mad, or perhaps there was something else. At any rate I
believed that I was going to win right through them when an
accident happened.
A bullet struck my mare somewhere in the back. I don't know
where it came from, but as I saw no Zulu shoot, I think it must
have been one fired by a soldier who was still fighting on the
slopes of the mount. The effect of it was to make the poor beast
quite ungovernable. Round she wheeled and galloped at headlong
speed back towards the peak, leaping over dead and dying and
breaking through the living as she went. In two minutes we were
rushing up its northern flank, which seemed to be quite
untenanted, towards the sheer brown cliff which rose above it,
for the fighting was in progress on the other side. Suddenly at
the foot of this cliff the mare stopped, shivered and sank down
dead, probably from internal bleeding.
I looked about me desperately. To attempt the plain on foot
meant death. What then was I to do? Glancing at the cliff I saw
that there was a gully in it worn by thousands of years of
rainfall, in which grew scanty bushes. Into this I ran, and
finding it practicable though difficult, began to climb upwards,
quite unnoticed by the Zulus who were all employed upon the
further side. The end of it was that I reached the very crest of
the mount, a patch of bare, brown rock, except at one spot on its
southern front where there was a little hollow in which at this
rainy season of the year herbage and ferns grew in the
accumulated soil, also a few stunted, aloe-like plants.
Into this patch I crept, having first slaked my thirst from a
little pool of rain water that lay in a cup-like depression of
the rock, which tasted more delicious than any nectar, and seemed
to give me new life. Then covering myself as well as I could
with grasses and dried leaves from the aloe plants, I lay still.
Now I was right on the brink of the cliff and had the best view
of the Isandhlwana plain and the surrounding country that can be
imagined. From my lofty eyrie some hundreds of feet in the air,
I could see everything that happened beneath. Thus I witnessed
the destruction of the last of the soldiers on the slopes below.
They made a gallant end, so gallant that I was proud to be of the
same blood with them. One fine young fellow escaped up the peak
and reached a plateau about fifty feet beneath me. He was
followed by a number of Zulus, but took refuge in a little cave
whence he shot three or four of them; then his cartridges were
exhausted and I heard the savages speaking in praise of
him--dead. I think he was the last to die on the field of
Isandhlwana.
The looting of the camp began; it was a terrible scene. The oxen
and those of the horses that could be caught were driven away,
except certain of the former which were harnessed to the guns and
some of the wagons and, as I afterwards learned, taken to Ulundi
in proof of victory. Then the slain were stripped and Kaffirs
appeared wearing the red coats of the soldiers and carrying their
rifles. The stores were broken into and all the spirits drunk.
Even the medical drugs were swallowed by these ignorant men, with
the result that I saw some of them reeling about in agony and
others fall down and go to sleep.
An hour or two later an officer who came from the direction in
which the General had marched, cantered right into the camp where
the tents were still standing and even the flag was flying. I
longed to be able to warn him, but could not. He rode up to the
headquarters marquee, whence suddenly issued a Zulu waving a
great spear. I saw the officer pull up his horse, remain for a
moment as though indecisive, then turn and gallop madly away,
quite unharmed, though one or two assegais were thrown and many
shots fired at him. After this considerable movements of the
Zulus went on, of which the net result was, that they evacuated
the place.
Now I hoped that I might escape, but it was not to be, since on
every side numbers of them crept up Isandhlwana Mountain and hid
behind rocks or among the tall grasses, evidently for purposes of
observation. Moreover some captains arrived on the little
plateau where was the cave in which the soldier had been killed,
and camped there. At least at sundown they unrolled their mats
and ate, though they lighted no fire.
The darkness fell and in it escape for me from that guarded place
was impossible, since I could not see where to set my feet and
one false step on the steep rock would have meant my death. From
the direction of Rorke's Drift I could hear continuous firing;
evidently some great fight was going on there, I wondered
vaguely--with what result. A little later also I heard the
distant tramp of horses and the roll of gun wheels. The captains
below heard it too and said one to another that it was the
English soldiers returning, who had marched out of the camp at
dawn. They debated one with another whether it would be possible
to collect a force to fall upon them, but abandoned the idea
because the regiments who had fought that day were now at a
distance and too tired, and the others had rushed forward with
orders to attack the white men on and beyond the river.
So they lay still and listened, and I too lay still and listened,
for on that cloudy, moonless night I could see nothing. I heard
smothered words of command. I heard the force halt because it
could not travel further in the gloom. Then they lay down, the
living among the dead, wondering doubtless if they themselves
would not soon be dead, as of course must have happened had the
Zulu generalship been better, for if even five thousand men had
been available to attack at dawn not one of them could have
escaped. But Providence ordained it otherwise. Some were taken
and the others left.
About an hour before daylight l heard them stirring again, and
when its first gleams came all of them had vanished over the nek
of slaughter, with what thoughts in their hearts, I wondered, and
to what fate. The captains on the plateau beneath had gone also,
and so had the circle of guards upon the slopes of the mount, for
I saw these depart through the grey mist. As the light gathered,
however, I observed bodies of men collecting on the nek, or
rather on both neks, which made it impossible for me to do what I
had hoped, and run to overtake the English troops. From these I
was utterly cut off. Nor could I remain longer without food on
my point of rock, especially as I was sure that soon some Zulus
would climb there to use it as an outlook post. So while I was
still more or less hidden by the mist and morning shadows, I
climbed down it by the same road that I had climbed up, and thus
reached the plain. Not a living man, white or black, was to be
seen, only the dead, only the dead. l was the last Englishman to
stand upon the plain of Isandhlwana for weeks or rather months to
come.
Of all my experiences this was, I think, the strangest, after
that night of hell, to find myself alone upon this field of
death, staring everywhere at the distorted faces which on the
previous morn I had seen so full of life. Yet my physical needs
asserted themselves. I was very hungry, who for twenty-four
hours had eaten nothing, faint with hunger indeed. I passed a
provision wagon that had been looted by the Zulus. Tins of bully
beef lay about, also, among a wreck of broken glass, some bottles
of Bass's beer which had escaped their notice. I found an
assegai, cleaned it in the ground which it needed, and opening
one of the tins, lay down in a tuft of grass by a dead man, or
rather between him and some Zulus whom he had killed, and
devoured its contents. Also I knocked the tops off a couple of
the beer bottles and drank my fill. While I was doing this a
large rough dog with a silver-mounted collar on its neck, I think
of the sort that is called an Airedale terrier, came up to me
whining. At first I thought it was an hyena, but discovering my
mistake, threw it some bits of meat which it ate greedily.
Doubtless it had belonged to some dead officer, though there was
no name on the collar. The poor beast, which I named Lost, at
once attached itself to me, and here I may say that I kept it
till its death, which occurred of jaundice at Durban not long
before I started on my journey to King Solomon's Mines. No man
ever had a more faithful friend and companion.
When I had eaten and drunk I looked about me, wondering what I
should do. Fifty yards away I saw a stout Basuto pony still
saddled and bridled, although the saddle was twisted out of its
proper position, which was cropping the grass as well as it could
with the bit in its mouth. Advancing gently I caught it without
trouble, and led it back to the plundered wagon. Evidently from
the marks upon the saddlery it had belonged to Captain
Shepstone's force of mounted natives.
Here I filled the large saddlebags made of buckskin with tins of
beef, a couple more bottles of beer and a packet of tandstickor
matches which I was fortunate enough to find. Also I took the
Martini rifle from a dead soldier, together with a score or so of
cartridges that remained in his belt, for apparently he must have
been killed rather early in the fight.
Thus equipped I mounted the pony and once more bethought me of
escaping to Natal. A look towards the nek cured me of that idea,
for coming over it I saw the plumed heads of a whole horde of
warriors. Doubtless these were returning from the unsuccessful
attack on Rorke's Drift, though of that I knew nothing at the
time. So whistling to the dog I bore to the left for the Nqutu
Hills, riding as fast as the rough ground would allow, and in
half an hour was out of sight of that accursed plain.
One more thing too I did. On its confines I came across a group
of dead Zulus who appeared to have been killed by a shell.
Dismounting I took the headdress of one of them and put it on,
for I forgot to say that I had lost my hat. It was made of a
band of otterskin from which rose large tufts of the black
feathers of the finch which the natives call "sakabula." Also I
tied his kilt of white oxtails about my middle, precautions to
which I have little doubt I owe my life, since from a distance
they made me look like a Kaffir mounted on a captured pony.
Then I started on again, whither I knew not.
