EARLY HISTORY OF THE ZULU NATION AND OF NATAL.

Two different races met in Southern Africa about the middle of the seventeenth century. One had migrated from the centre of the continent; the other sent out settlers from one of the most civilized and prosperous countries of Europe. These races were the Kafirs and the Dutch. The former arrived at the banks of the Great Fish River about the same time that Surgeon Van Riebeek landed on the shores of Table Bay for the purpose of establishing "a place of refreshment for the outward and homeward bound fleets of the chartered Dutch East India Company." The progress of the new colony was so gradual and slow that it was not until the nineteenth century that Kafir irruptions were effectually checked, and then the British Government had assumed sovereignty over the Cape of Good Hope. Different causes, to which it is not necessary to refer, made the descendants of the Dutch settlers so dissatisfied with our rule that a portion of them, in the year 1837, passed into that easterly portion of Southern Africa styled Natal. There they came in contact with the bravest and best-organized portion of the great Kafir race. The Ama-Zulus were originally a small and despised tribe. They were "tobacco sellers," or pedlars, and carried on this occupation at the beginning of the present century in the country between the Black and White Umvolosi rivers. In contradistinction to the nature of their employment, and as an emblem of the ambition of the people, the name they gave themselves was one of the proudest they could have chosen, as "the Zulus" in the Kafir tongue signifies "the Celestials." At an early period in this century a great leader arose among them, who became the Genghis Khan of Southern Africa. This chief was fitly named "Utskaka"—"Chaka," or "Break of Day;" and it was in consequence of his efforts and of his success that a new era commenced for his countrymen.

Chaka was never defeated, and never fled before a foe. Having ascended the throne by means of the murder of his uncle, he proceeded at once to convert a nation of pedlars into a nation of warriors. Immense care was taken with military training, and the weapon by means of which the Roman soldiers conquered the world was adopted for the use of the army. The short sword, or stabbing assegai, was supplied, with the command that each warrior should carry but one, and either bring it back from the battle-field or be put to death as a coward. Marriage was forbidden, although the gratification of brutal lust was allowed. No warrior could have a wife or child to imbue him with any tender sentiment. The practice of circumcision, although one of the most ancient and important rites, was abandoned, so that everything, no matter how sacred or how important, was sacrificed in order to create invincible legions. The army consisted of three divisions. The first was composed of veterans, styled "amadoda," or men; the second of youths, "ebuto;" and the third of "ezibuto," or carriers. It was in the last division that conquered enemies were frequently enrolled. The king was the commander-in-chief, and under him were the principal indunas, or ministers of state. Each regiment was at least 1500 strong, and was led by a captain, who had under him numerous subalterns. Military kraals were scattered over the country, generally of an oval shape, and of large dimensions. Reviews took place at the great place of the king, where songs, dances, and chivalrous games were all made use of to increase the military enthusiasm of the warriors. When war was determined upon, extreme secrecy was observed, spies were sent out, and the usual incantations and sacrifices performed by the priest or witch-doctor. A herald, dressed in the skins of wild beasts, so as to present a terrific appearance, then was sent to the army, and cried with a loud voice, "Maiku-puke!"—"Go up!" An inspiring oration was delivered by the king, and they went forth to conquer or to die, fifty thousand well-organized, determined savages, giving no quarter, slaying men, women, children, and even domestic animals. Thus has a warrior described the onset of one of these savage armies:—"The Matabele lions raised the shout of death, and fell upon their victims. It was the shout of victory. Their hissing and hollow groans told their progress among the dead. A few moments laid hundreds on the ground. The clash of shields was the signal of triumph. They entered the town with the roar of the lion; they pillaged and fired the houses, speared the mothers, and cast their infants to the flames. They slaughtered cattle; they danced and sang till the dawn of day; they ascended and killed till their hands were weary of the spear."

Chaka not only led his army in person, but was accustomed himself to seize the first victim, and to kill him with his spear. After subduing the petty tribes around, he bore his victorious arms further, and carried fire and sword along the slopes of the Drakenberg Mountains. One of his greatest conquests was over the Undwandwa people, and this was followed by the destruction of the Umtetwas. An attack was then made upon the brave Amaquabi, who occupied both sides of the Tugela river, which forms the present boundary of Natal. Merciless slaughters followed victory, and the tide of conquest only ceased on the banks of the Umsimvoboo.

In the year 1828, Lieutenant Farewell, Mr. H. Fynn, and a few others, were permitted to visit Chaka, who then resided at a distance of about 150 miles in a north-north-east direction from D'Urban, Port Natal. The Englishmen were received by the mighty Zulu potentate with great ceremony. Nine thousand armed warriors stood around, and the despotic character of the monarch was reflected in the servile submission with which he was treated by his subjects. Chaka munificently granted a large tract of country to Mr. H. Fynn, and subsequently conferred a similar favour upon Lieutenant King. These grants—and all grants of this nature—were, strictly speaking, mere feudal investitures, paramount rights being retained by the monarch. The first European settlement in Natal was thus formed. An act of treason on the part of one of Chaka's greatest lieutenants alienated him from his native land, and became the means of carrying fire and sword north of the Drakenberg Mountains as far as Bamangwato. Moselekatsi, whom Captain Harris styles the "Lion of the North," was this lieutenant. Wherever he moved destruction and death marked his path, and he soon succeeded in rearing another cruel military despotism over the graves of those whom he had conquered.

The last army of Chaka which went forth to destroy was itself destroyed by one of those strange judgments which bear analogy to that inflicted on the hosts of Sennacherib. A nation dwelling close to the Palula river had to be conquered, but before this place was reached a frightful disease, styled "blood sickness," broke out, and was so fatal in its results that only a few men of the great army were able to return to tell the tale. Scarcely had this event occurred, when the tyrant was himself assassinated. Chaka was seated peacefully in his kraal, near the Umvoti river, surrounded by his councillors and principal officers, when a band of desperate men, headed by his brother Dingaan, rushed among them, and each, seizing his victim, plunged a spear into his heart. Thus perished the Napoleon of the Zulu race, by the hand of his own nearest relative, and at a moment when he did not suspect treachery or dream of any insurrection against his well-consolidated power.

Dingaan—"poor fellow!"—was no doubt secretly encouraged by a large portion of the Zulu people. A number of the principal captains and friends of the late monarch fled, and several were put to death. The new capital was removed from the Umvati river to the White Umvolosi river, distant 45 miles in a direct line from the sea, and about 160 miles from D'Urban. The favour that had been extended by Chaka to the few Englishmen who arrived in Natal with Mr. H. Fynn was a sufficient reason for the adoption by his successor of an exactly opposite policy. An army of 3000 men was sent to D'Urban, and the few English settlers escaped with the utmost difficulty. Every vestige of property was destroyed. Quietness was, however, restored in a few years afterwards, and in the year 1833 Dingaan sent down spies to find out what progress had been made by the intruders.

Captain Allen Gardiner arrived in 1835, and proceeded to the great place of the king. This missionary traveller mentions incidentally that, according to treaty, he brought back several men who had fled from the cruel despotism of the Zulu monarch. These captives fully calculated upon being put to death. Captain Gardiner pleaded for them, and was able to assure them that the king had promised to spare their lives. Nowha, one of the unfortunate prisoners, mournfully replied, "They are killing us now;" and they were all cruelly tortured to death by starvation.[2]

In consequence of various causes, among which discontent with British rule requires prominent mention, a number of Dutch farmers left the Cape Colony in 1835, and, under the command of Pieter Retief, crossed the Drakensberg Mountains in 1837, and entered Natal. Their leader proceeded to Dingaan's capital, for the purpose of negotiating a treaty of peace and obtaining a formal cession of territory. In the last week of January, 1838, Pieter Retief, accompanied by seventy picked horsemen, crossed the Buffalo river, and on the 2nd of February arrived at Dingaan's kraal. The Zulu monarch fixed the 4th of February as the day for signing a formal cession of an immense district in Natal to the emigrant Boers. The necessary document, drawn out by the Rev. Mr. Owen, missionary, with Dingaan, was duly signed, and business having been satisfactorily concluded, the Dutchmen were invited into the king's kraal to take leave of Dingaan. As requested, Retief and his followers left their arms outside. The Zulu monarch, surrounded by his favourite regiments, conversed in the most friendly manner, and while a "stirrup cup" of maize beer was in course of being drunk, suddenly cried out, "Bulala matagati!"—"Kill the wizards!" These words were the signal for a cruel massacre. More than 3000 savages beat to death, with knobkerries, the unfortunate Dutchmen who had been weak enough to trust to Zulu promises and Zulu honesty. The corpses of the slaughtered men were dragged out of the kraal to an adjacent hillock, and there allowed to become the prey of wolves and vultures.

Dingaan looked upon the massacre of the farmers who had vainly trusted to his honour as only a commencement of hostilities. Ten regiments were immediately ordered out to exterminate all the Dutch emigrants. While these people were, without suspicion, waiting for the return of their husbands and relatives, a Zulu army crawled up to their nearest camp, near the Blaauwkrantz river, close to the present commemorative town of Weenen, or "Weeping." A sudden surprise at the dawn of day was effected, and then ensued the barbarous murder in cold blood of every man, woman, and child. Other detachments surprised other parties, and few escaped. The destroying army moved swiftly southward and towards the sea. Wherever the "laager" plan was adopted, it was successful; and at "Necht Laager," on the Bushmans river, a few determined men succeeded in defending themselves against an overwhelming force of savages. The engagement lasted all day, but when the farmers' ammunition was nearly exhausted, the fire from a 3-pounder, rigged at the back of one of the waggons, killed several Zulu chiefs, and caused a precipitate retreat. The men who were afterwards able to visit the principal scenes of slaughter discovered frightful scenes of horror and misery. Waggons were demolished, and by their ruins lay the corpses of men, women, and children abandoned to the wild beasts. Among the heaps of dead found at Weenen two young girls were picked out, one of whom had been pierced by nineteen assegai stabs, and the other by twenty-one. Both survived, although they remained cripples for life. It is estimated that in one week 600 white settlers were sacrificed as victims to the savage treachery of Dingaan.

Vengeance was determined upon by the Dutch emigrants, and a party of 400, having placed themselves under the command of Piet Uys and of Hendrik Potgieter, advanced from the Klip River Division against Dingaan. This took place in April, 1838; but unfortunately, shortly before, a party of Englishmen from D'Urban, with 700 friendly Zulus, having crossed the Tugela river near its mouth and destroyed a native town, the army of Dingaan, which had been kept in reserve, suddenly surrounded them and killed nearly every European.[3] The conquerors followed up their success as far as D'Urban, and forced the few white people then resident there to take refuge on board a vessel named the Comet, fortunately lying at anchor in the bay. Dingaan, with his principal forces, watched the Dutch emigrants, and learned that Piet Uys and Hendrik Potgieter had placed themselves at the head of 400 men, with the object of invading Zululand. The wily savage allowed the Dutchmen to advance to a place closed in between two hills, within a few miles of his capital, and thence led them to a valley, where a desperate hand-to-hand combat took place. The farmers had been accustomed to fight by firing from horseback, and then falling back rapidly to reload. They were so hemmed in by their position, that this mode of procedure was impossible, and they were at last, in desperation, compelled to concentrate their fire on one portion of the Zulu host. They then charged through the gap thus made, and escaped. Unfortunately, Piet Uys did not succeed in cutting his way through, and died with his son, fighting bravely against terrible odds. After this disastrous engagement, the Boers were so disheartened that hostilities were for some time suspended. They were renewed in August, 1838, when Dingaan attacked the Dutch in their laagers, but was in all cases repulsed with loss. Towards the close of that year, an army of 10,000 Zulus attacked the Dutch farmers in a strongly intrenched position at the Umslatoos river. The engagement took place on Sunday, the 16th of December. For three hours overwhelming masses of natives endeavoured to force the emigrant camp, until Pretorius, finding that ammunition was beginning to fail, ordered 200 men to sally forth on horseback, and take the enemy in flank. This manoeuvre was successful, and the forces of Dingaan were compelled to fly, after leaving a large number on the field.[4] After this decisive battle 5000 head of cattle were captured, and an advance was made to the hillock where lay the mortal remains of Retief and the brave men who perished with him. A frightful and ghastly spectacle was beheld: broken skulls, on which could be seen the marks of the knobkerries and stones with which they had been fractured, bones of legs and arms, and, strange to say, the skeleton of Retief, recognizable by a leathern pouch or bandoleer, in which was found the deed signed by Dingaan, resigning to the emigrant farmers "the place called Port Natal, together with all the land annexed; that is to say, from the Tugela to the Umzimvoboo river, and from the sea to the north, as far as the land may be useful and in my possession."

On the return of the emigrant Boers from this very successful attack on the Zulus, they were surprised to find that a small detachment of Highlanders, under the command of Major Charteris had taken possession of the Bay of Natal. This was done by order of Sir George Napier, Governor of the Cape Colony, from a desire[5] "to put an end to the unwarranted occupation of parts of the territories belonging to the natives by certain emigrants of the Cape Colony, being subjects of his Majesty." No conflict, however, took place at this time. The Dutch were busily employed during the year 1839 in laying out the towns of Pietermaritzburg[6] and D'Urban, as well as in appointing landrosts or magistrates, and establishing regulations for the government of the country. Dingaan frequently sent in ambassadors charged with messages of peace, but it was soon discovered that this was merely a plan for carrying out a system of espionage.

A brother of Dingaan, named Panda, who had been generally looked upon with contempt as a mere sensualist who was undisposed for the fatigues of warfare, became an object of jealousy to the king, in consequence of a large party among the Zulus, who were tired of constant fighting and bloodshed, showing some disposition to prefer him to his brother. An attempt to capture and kill Panda was followed by his flight across the Tugela into Natal, and his application to the Dutch emigrant farmers for assistance. Such an opportunity was gladly seized upon; and in the next year (1840) an army of Panda's, 4000 strong, was joined by 400 mounted farmers, under the command of Andries Pretorius. While the forces were mustering in Pietermaritzburg, an ambassador from Dingaan, named Tamboosa, arrived, bringing proposals for peace. Upon being seized and questioned, this messenger admitted that one of the objects of his mission was to obtain every possible information, with a view of reporting it to his master. This, however, by no means justified the blunder and crime committed by the Dutch farmers, who put Tamboosa to death, and would not even listen to his prayer for mercy on behalf of his young attendant, who suffered with him. Scarcely was this execution over when the armies of Dingaan and Panda met in battle. In this fierce encounter two regiments were entirely destroyed, and the fortune of the day declared in favour of Panda, merely in consequence of a portion of his brother's army deserting in his favour. The Dutch farmers vigorously followed up this success, and forced Dingaan to take shelter among a small tribe close to Delagoa Bay, who killed him in order to secure the favour of his conquerors.

On the 14th of February, 1840, and on the banks of the Umvolosi river, the emigrant Boers proclaimed Panda king of the Zulu people, and at the same time declared that their own sovereignty extended from St. Lucia Bay to the Umzimvoboo (St. John's). Shortly previous to this date, Sir George Napier had ordered the British garrison to abandon D'Urban, and Captain Jervis, who held the local command, said, on the occasion of his departure, that he wished the inhabitants peace and happiness, hoping that they would cultivate these beautiful regions in quiet and prosperity, "ever regardful of the rights of the people whose country you have adopted, and whose home you have made your own." We cannot be surprised that, under all the circumstances, the emigrant Boers looked upon Natal as rightfully their country, and that the British Government had even abandoned it in their favour. Having assisted in conquering Dingaan, and placed Panda upon the throne, there was no reason to fear native aggressions. No fewer than 36,000 head of cattle were given in by the new monarch as an indemnity, so that the Boers were able to settle down not only in peace, but with considerable additional means at their disposal.

The government adopted by this society of farmers was of an exceedingly ill-concerted character, and soon proved to be essentially anarchic and unworkable. The legislative, executive, and judicial powers were centred in a Volksraad of twenty-four members, who were required to assemble every three months at Pietermaritzburg. All the members performed their duties gratuitously, but landrosts, each of whom enjoyed a salary of £100 per annum, were appointed at the chief town, as well as at D'Urban and Weenen. Two or three members of the Volksraad, who happened to live near Pietermaritzburg, formed what was styled the Commissie Raad, to whom executive functions requiring immediate despatch were entrusted; but whatever they did had to be submitted for approval to the entire Volksraad. Besides, a federal bond of union existed with the Winburg, Caledon, and Madder districts of the Orange Free State, from which places delegates were sent. The acts of the Commissie Raad, as well as those of the permanent officials, were so assailed in the Volksraad, and such personal and offensive attacks were indulged in by this body, that good government became impossible; and so little was law respected, that Judge Cloete informs us that when he arrived as Commissioner in 1843, the landrost of Pietermaritzburg informed him that a judgment which he had passed several months before, against a respectable inhabitant living only a few miles from that town, ordering him to return cattle which he had illegally withheld from a Hottentot, was still a dead letter, as the defendant had openly declared he would shoot the first messenger of the law who should dare to come on his premises.

The Volksraad of the Boers had applied to the Governor of the Cape Colony for acknowledgment and recognition of the State as free and independent, and Sir George Napier had returned an answer by no means unfavourable, but their conduct soon made it evident that it would be impossible to grant their petition. Stock was stolen from Natal farmers towards the end of the year 1840, and armed burghers, under Andries Pretorius, were instructed to pursue the thieves. Traces of cattle, supposed to be those stolen, were followed to some kraals of the Amabaka tribe, and without any delay these people were attacked, several killed, 3000 head of cattle and 250 sheep and goats carried off. At the same time seventeen children were seized—in fact, captured as slaves. The conduct of Pretorius was approved by the Volksraad, but Sir George Napier found himself obliged to reprobate it in the strongest language. British troops were immediately sent to the Umgasi river, between the Kei and the Umzimvoboo, and his Excellency declined any further intercourse with the emigrant Boers, unless they distinctly acknowledged that they were subjects of the Queen of England. Although the Home Government was at that time very reluctant to extend its colonial possessions, a despatch was sent to Sir George Napier, in which he was informed that her Majesty could not acknowledge the independence of her own subjects, but that the trade of the emigrant Boers would be placed upon the same footing as that of any other British settlement, upon their receiving a military force to exclude the interference with the country by any other European power. It was then within the option of the Boers to secure all the substantial advantages of self government; but as in the Transvaal now, so in Natal at the period in question—obstinate folly animated the councils of the people, and an ultimatum was sent, stating their intention "to remain on the same footing as heretofore." Upon this, Sir George Napier issued a proclamation, in which it was stated that as the emigrant farmers had refused to be recognised or treated as British subjects, and had recently passed a resolution by which all Kafirs inhabiting Natal were to be removed, without their consent, into the country of Faku (Pondoland), military occupation of the colony would be resumed. Shortly afterwards, the troops stationed at the Umgazi camp were ordered to march to Natal. This small force, consisting of 250 men, besides a small party of the Cape corps and two field-pieces, arrived safely at D'Urban, and a few days afterwards the brig Pilot came to anchor in the bay, bringing them stores and provisions, as well as two 18-pounders and ammunition. This vessel was soon afterwards followed by the schooner Mazeppa.

The Volksraad of the emigrant Boers was astonished and indignant at the military occupation of D'Urban, and more than 300 men, under Andries Pretorius, were immediately ordered out. The capture of some cattle, and the receipt of a letter ordering him to quit Natal, so enraged the commander of the small English force, that he led a night attack against the Dutch camp at Congella. So ill managed, however, was the expedition, that Captain Smith was repulsed and his guns captured. Out of 140 men whom he led in this unfortunate affray no fewer than 103 were killed, wounded, and missing. He then saw that his little force was reduced to extremities, but exerted himself most indefatigably and perseveringly to resist to the last. A fortification something similar in character to a laager was formed at D'Urban, by means of the numerous waggons in the camp, with the requisite trenches and mounds. The Dutch Boers fortunately allowed the time in which they should have taken advantage of their victory to pass by, and soon saw that, in consequence of their inertness, a conquest which in the first instance would have been easy was now converted into a siege. In the mean time Captain Smith was able to send off for assistance to the Cape Colony. Richard King, then living in a hut at D'Urban, volunteered to carry the despatches. Mr. G. C. Cato conveyed him and his horses across the channel to the Bluff, and then he rode off, leading a spare horse, and before daybreak succeeded in passing the Umcomas river. There he was safe from the danger of pursuit, but had to face the perils of crossing two hundred rivers, and of traversing a wild country inhabited by savages. Upon this slender thread hung the destinies of the British in Natal.

Encouraged by their success, the Boers overpowered the detachment of British troops stationed at the Point, and took most of the English residents prisoners to Pietermaritzburg.[7] Then all their efforts were directed against the fort, in which Captain Smith had been able to mount an 18-pounder and to secure provisions and ammunition. The farmers, who had three field-pieces, carried on a heavy cannonade for three days, and when they had exhausted their ammunition, turned the siege into a rigorous blockade. Two sorties made by the garrison were unavailing, and at last the rations were reduced to the smallest quantity sufficient to sustain life; dried horseflesh became the principal article of food, and the utmost anxiety prevailed as to the success of Richard King, and the arrival of reinforcements from the Cape Colony. Many a time eyes were strained for some sign of assistance; at last, on the night of the 24th of June, they saw, with inexpressible relief, the rockets and blue lights which announced that a vessel with reinforcements had arrived.

Dick King had succeeded. After a ride of many hundreds of miles over trackless, unknown, and savage regions, he had safely reached the Cape Colony. It was on the ninth day after he left the Bluff at Natal that he arrived, almost exhausted, in Graham's Town. Colonel Hare, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern Province, immediately sent the grenadier company of the 27th Regiment, in the schooner Conch, from Port Elizabeth, and when Sir George Napier heard the news in Cape Town, he lost no time in persuading Admiral Percy to despatch the flagship Southampton, with the 25th Regiment on board, under the command of Colonel Cloete. The ship of war arrived at Natal only one day after the Conch. A landing was immediately effected with very trifling loss; the Boer force was driven back to the Congella. A gale of wind drove the Southampton to sea, and supplies became so scarce that Colonel Cloete was obliged to obtain the services of Zulus to secure cattle. Some of these killed two Dutch farmers, and this gave occasion to a panic among the Boers, who precipitately fled to Pietermaritzburg.

Amidst great consternation and great confusion, a meeting of the Volksraad was held in the church at Pietermaritzburg, when recriminations, quarrelling, and loud talking occupied the entire Sunday. At last it was resolved to propose terms of peace to Colonel Cloete; but the ignorance and simplicity of the Boers were displayed by their holding out as a threat the succour they might receive from the King of Holland, to whom letters had some time previously been sent by the hands of a trader named Smellekamp. After negotiations, Colonel Cloete granted an amnesty to all except four ringleaders, and Natal was peaceably once more under the rule of the British Crown. These transactions took place in 1842; and in the following year the Honourable Henry Cloete, afterwards a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Cape Colony, was sent to Natal as her Majesty's Commissioner, with ample authority to inaugurate a settled system of government, and to put an end to the anarchy and confusion which prevailed. By the exercise of great tact and judgment he was successful. A powerful radical faction in the Volksraad opposed submission in the most outrageous and foolish manner. They even adopted a plan to assassinate the leading members of the peace party; but Andries Pretorius, one of the latter, and a wise, true friend of his adopted country, having discovered the plot, exposed it publicly, and brought its authors to shame. Judge Cloete tells us that this patriot addressed the meeting in a strain of impassioned extemporaneous eloquence not unworthy of Cicero when denouncing Cataline, and turned the tide so powerfully against the would-be assassins as to entirely defeat their plot. Entire submission to the British Government followed. Major Smith was succeeded by Colonel Boys, of the 45th Regiment, as military commandant, and his Honour Martin West, resident magistrate of Graham's Town, was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor of Natal.