Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1879-05-09
a Visit to 0etewayo.

About eighteen months ago a native
of Natal in the employment of Bishop
Colenso made visit to some friends in
Zululand and called upon King Cete-
wayo. The man wrote, in the Zulu
language an account of his journey;
and an English translation of the same
forwarded to London by the Bishop of
Natal, was soon afterwards published
in MacmtlLan'S Magazine. The King,
on being interviewed, showed himself
circulated as to his ill-treatment of
missionaries and converts. But he
could not deny that both missionaries
and converts had been put to death in
Zululand; and he was of the opinion
that the missionaries, as a body, had
better go away and not come back any
more" The visitor, Magema by name,
agreed Christian as he was-with
Cetewayo, that " they had better not
come back, since they had made a fool
of the king; for he had given them
bread out of kindness without their
paying anything for it, and they had
gone away without saying good-by."
Descending to details, King Cetewa-
yo admitted that at one place, where
some people had CHANGED to get hold
of some meat of diseased OK and had
died from eating it, the survivors had
killed a convert who, it was alleged,
had handled the meat. But the King
declined to be held responsible for the
mans fate. The matter, he said, had
only been reported to him after the
convert had been killed. 81 was start
I. 1 J L. I at.1 nd
blamed the people very much for kill
ing man without my orders. But
they answered me positively that he
did that. 1 said that they ought to
have brought him bound to me, that
might hear the charge against him.
But the convert, no doubt, did q very
bad deed" The King told an anecdote
of another convert, who had been killed
without orders, and who His Majesty
said, had done "the sort of thing con-
verts do" He had taken out of the
royal harem girl whom the king had
| intended for another man; and the
converts former co-religionaries were
so indignant that they killed him and
''eat up his cattle" More than once
Cetewayo, while maintaining that he
! had treated the missionaries exceeding
! ly well, showed that he had no sort of
regard for them. They wanted, he
said, that all his people should become
converts, together with all his soldiers.
But he chad them there;' and he told
them that they had better go and make
converts of the soldiers of their own
people, after which it would be less un-
fair to try and convert the Zulus gem
orally. Again and again Cetewayo de-
clared that he would rather have moth
ing to do with the missionaries. He
allowed, however, that they would be
Just tOlerable if they could be induced
to pay proper respect to the authori
ties.
Next to the missionaries King Cete
wayo seemed to have peculiar objec
ton to the medicine of the whites
Magema had pointed out to His Majesty
that " the land was governed by witch
craft" 81 know" continued Mage
ma, "that you are wiser than othel
men; thought, also, that as wisdom
advances gradually day by day, there
fore we of the present time must b'
wiser than the generations that have
passed. do not approve of that mat
ter of the wizards; it is bad; they arr
madmen; the rule of the King win no
come clearly into the light if he allow
himself to be governed by such prac
tices. Why, in Zululand the sovereign
power ls-the wizards; and the judge
are-the wizards also; fsr there is no
q case heard in which the accused ha
not been smelled out beforehand b,
/ wizards" The King, in reply, admit
ted that there were too many wizard
about. His father had killed then
wherever he could find them. But no,
a new race of wizards had sprung up
} Nevertheless the sickness from whicl
. his people were suffering might b
, traced to the potions brought TO then
from among the white folks in Natal.
Cetewayo's visitor found him yer
] attentive to business, especially in con
) ! nectien with judicial proceedings, Il
. was unwilling TO O.''hesr. with one ca
} only" If one man informed agains
: another, he summoned him who ha
. been informed against, and investigate
: the case thoroughly. during all tn
Y time l stayed in Zululand," said Ma
! gema, f" 1 saw Cetewayo sitting in hi
! seat Judging the causes of his people