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a nation of conquerors; but there is no proof that he ever really contemplated an invasion of Natal. He certainly seems to have been very sensitive to the opinion which the colonists had of him, for on one occasion, it having been stated in a colonial paper that he was at the work of bloodshed again, and might at any moment break into the colony, he caused a letter to be written to the editor, denying the truth of the accusation, and expressing his desire of maintaining friendship with the English. But he was not believed, and he was more than once said to be contemplating and preparing to invade the British territory.

In 1861, for instance, there was a great scare amongst the colonists. The rumour of an imminent invasion of the Zulus under Cetywayo interrupted all business transactions for several weeks, and fired the Europeans with military ardour. The native servants and labourers forsook their employments in great numbers; some went away to care for their wives and children, others to defend the cattle of the kraal of their own relatives, others to muster under their chiefs as soldiers, whilst not a few candidly professed that they were going to see the fight, and intended to govern themselves accordingly. The alleged reason for Cetywayo's invasion was said to be the capture, or murder, of two of his brothers, of whom he was jealous, and who had taken refuge in Natal; and there was, without doubt, a mustering of his forces on the northern frontier of the colony. The Lieutenant-Governor issued a proclamation to the effect that sufficient information had reached him from Zululand to warrant apprehension of evil intentions towards the colony from Cetywayo and the Zulu army, and as a preliminary measure he had ordered the military volunteers to march to the frontier, which was done.

That was the condition of things in Natal; in Zululand the alarm was equally great, but it was founded upon the impression that the English were about to attack the Zulus, and take possession of the country; and, in consequence, almost all the fighting men of the nation assembled at Ondini (Cetywayo's kraal). One who was living in Zululand at the time writes :

'The excitement is very great. Yesterday the people were burying their hoes and other valuables, and messengers were rushing about in all directions. It is said that a great army of English and natives is on its way, had reached the Amati Kulu on Saturday, and were only prevented by the next day being Sunday from reaching Ondini. The traders are taking themselves out of the country as fast as they can ; one has left his waggon and goods here in my care.

I wish the Natal Government knew how much danger they have to apprehend from the Zulus being mismanaged. I could not have believed them to be so numerous. They are most confident, too, in

their strength.'

It was proved beyond doubt that this scare was caused by the following circumstance. One of the sons of Moshesh, the Basuto chief, made a present of several horses to Cetywayo, who, knowing how much the Basutos prized leopard skins, resolved to make a suitable present in return, and gave orders for a great leopard hunt, to take place on the banks of the Tugela river. His people assembled at the appointed time, and soon dispersed again on hearing that the British troops were coming to attack them; but only to reassemble in greater numbers to resist the English, should they attempt to cross the river.

That war was averted at this juncture was really owing to the prudence and goodwill, rather than to the fears of Cetywayo. Had he pronounced for war, instead of making peaceful explanations, he would have delighted the Zulus, and though he would have been defeated ultimately, there was much reason for fearing that he could have beaten the force that was immediately arrayed against him. It was satisfactory to find that none of the natives in the colony, many of whom were fugitives from Zululand, had any sympathy with Cetywayo's supposed intentions, and that most of them rested with an undoubting confidence in the protection which the English afforded them, a confidence, however, which would have probably proved misplaced had the Zulus crossed the border, and been directed by anything like generalship.

There can be no doubt that at this time Cetywayo had the power to use the whole of the warlike force of the Zulus, and that he himself had been instrumental in raising that force to a strength greater than it had possessed at any time since his father had to succumb to the Boers; but there is not an atom of proof that he wished for other than peaceable relations with ourselves, or that he was doing anything more than making himself strong against his enemies.

The fact is, he had, at this period of his career, a difficult part to play. His father reigned, but he ruled, and though, to his credit, he did not molest his father in any way, and personally regarded him with much deference, and in many ways upheld his authority as king, yet, for his own safety, and for other reasons, he had to make it felt throughout the country that he himself was the real ruler. Therefore, he used to muster his forces, sometimes for a great hunt, when

little hunting was really done; at other times for some other ostensible purpose; but, in reality, at all times to keep his soldiers in training, and under his control, and to exhibit his strength to all those whom he thought likely to dispute his way to the chieftainship; and above all to intimidate the Transvaal Boers, whom he cordially disliked, and not without reason. For though the Transvaal afforded the Boers an ample field for agriculture and pasturage, they were continually endeavouring to encroach upon the Zulu territory, and perpetual strife, on a small scale, between them and the Zulus resulted.

In 1862, a friend of the present writer visited Cetywayo, at Ondini, in order to intercede with him on behalf of a young woman, who was threatened with death by a man who had taken her from the Amaswazi, because she had left his kraal without his consent, and his narrative will serve to show what sort of man Cetywayo was at this time, and the irritating nature of his relationship with the Boers:

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'On reaching Ondini, at sundown,' says he, 'I told the Induna in waiting to report my arrival to the prince, and to say that I was too tired then to do anything but rest. Upon his return, the messenger said "The Child says we shall meet to-morrow." Panda's children, while he lived, though they had long reached maturity, were called Abantwana, or children.) Early next morning, before I had finished dressing, Umzuzo, one of Cetywayo's great servants, came to say that the "child" was ready to see me. had ordered that I should be taken to a place at some distance from the great kraal, where we should meet. After waiting there a few minutes, he arrived, accompanied by three or four men, one of whom carried a bundle of spears. Cetywayo came up to me, and shook hands very heartily. He then ordered one of his attendants to bring a block of wood forward for him to sit upon, and then they all retired to a respectful distance. Of course I stood, and was gratified by his asking me to sit down on the block of wood beside him. After the usual preliminaries, I began about Unosapi (the girl), detailing fully to him all the particulars, and dwelling strongly upon the wickedness of shedding innocent blood. I told him also that it was the duty of every ruler to maintain order among his people, and especially to protect the weak against the strong. When I had ended, he replied " She shall not be killed; he had better not attempt it; he will not do it; no one is so killed in the Zulu country." I thanked him for his word, and then he asked me if I had heard that the Boers had come. I said that I had heard that they had arrived at Kanodwenga; upon which he replied-" Yes; and they are coming to this place also. They slept at the Umhlatuzi last night." I inquired what they wanted, and he answered-"They come to beg a tract of country." Upon my saying in reply, that I

had heard that he had promised to give it them, he said with much animation-"That is not true. In the late affair (a dispute about land, when blood was shed), they asked for the country Encome, but I refused to let them have it. I do not wish to see the Boers located in the midst of my country. I will not allow them to build in the land. They are not good; they are bad in all their dealings. They wish to find a road to the sea through the Zulu country. If I gave them one piece of land now, they would only wait for another affair to get more. It would be like putting in one finger to-day, another to-morrow, next day the whole arm, and by-and-by the whole body."

"Several messengers now arrived to say that the Boers had come, and that they were very hungry. He gave directions concerning them, and having ordered his attendants to give me an ox, I took my leave.

'As I was sitting outside my hut after breakfast three of the Boers stumbled upon me. They were exceedingly surprised. I seemed to them like a man from the clouds, and they said as much. One of them told me that they belonged to the Transvaal, and that Pretorius had come to settle with Cetywayo about their boundaries. I replied that I did not know that their boundaries reached to the Zulu country; upon which they laughed and went away.

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'In the afternoon Cetywayo had a review of the regiment, Undi, in honour of the Boers. The soldiers marched, or rather ran past the visitors in companies, and then formed themselves into a semicircular body for a dance. They sang several war songs, dancing of course at the same time, and ended with Chaka's famous song. front of the dancers there was a large concourse of people, men, women, and boys of all ages. During the singing of the other songs they all remained sitting, but when Chaka's song was sung, they all stood up and joined in it. The effect was at once striking and solemn.

Up to the time when the review commenced Cetywayo had been engaged with the Boers, not alone, but surrounded by his Izinduna. They asked for a large tract of the upper part of the country, which he refused. In the discussion that followed he proved himself to be quite equal to the occasion, showing anger when they manifested it, answering threats with calm defiance, and becoming quiet and friendly in his demeanour when their excitement abated.

'The Boers went away much disappointed at not having gained their object, and took back with them the presents they had brought for Cetywayo.

'A few days after these events I heard that a large party of Boers from the Free State were driving away the people from the upper districts, and that Cetywayo had sent a considerable force to remove them.'

This narrative gives a fair idea of the state of things between Cetywayo and the Boers, who were continually encroaching upon his territory, and claiming as their own the land of which they had possessed themselves against his will.

A volume might be filled with instances of this. Added to this, reports frequently reached him of their proceedings against tribes with whom he was in alliance; of their treacherously murdering friendly natives, for the sake of their women and children, whom they enslaved. Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that he nursed his wrath against them, and resolved when his army was sufficiently strong, and an opportunity presented itself, to clear them away, at least from the positions which he, and many others also, considered they unjustly held in Zululand.

The execution of this design was frustrated by the British annexation of the Transvaal, which had long been urged upon the Home Government by the Natal Legislative Council, as absolutely necessary in the interests of the Transvaal itself, as well as of the colony, and essential also to the protection and welfare of the native races. Whether the substitution of British authority for that of the Republic of the Transvaal was as necessary as the Natal Legislature thought it to be, is beyond the province of this paper to discuss; what, however, is certain is, that the misgovernment of the Transvaal by the Boers and the atrocities committed by them on the natives, at length led to a war, which, in the opinion of those most qualified to judge, constituted a serious danger to Natal. The Boers made an expedition against Sekokuni, a powerful chief, whose territory lies in the North Transvaal, and were defeated. Bankrupt in their exchequer, and utterly demoralised, they were almost at his mercy. It was supposed, with what reason, however, does not appear, that Sekokuni was in alliance with Cetywayo, who was said to be on the point of attacking the Boers, and that a war of race of the most desperate kind was imminent, if we did not interpose our authority over the Transvaal, and forbid any warlike movement on his part. It is true that he disavowed all hostile feeling towards us, that not long ago he offered as our ally to send his troops to fight some rebellious Kaffirs for us, saying that all he wished was to 'wash the spears' of his warriors in the blood of the Boers, whom he regarded as our foes as well as his own, and in that of the Amaswazi, who were allies of the Boers. But it was thought most unlikely that the Zulus would in the end draw any real distinction between the Boers and the British, or when the former were overthrown, that such men as Cetywayo and Sekokuni would become faithful allies of England.

Being baulked of his revenge upon the people whom he had most reason to dislike, and irritated, and humiliated by

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