River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-01-15
THE CIVILIZED CErE5AYO.
His Original Method of Promoting Mat.
rm0ny.
London Times

Nothing has yet TRANSFERRED as to the
final arrangements to be made with
regard to the exZnlu King Cetewayo.
tie is still an involuntary occupant of
Cape Town Castle. The other day he
thought himself too old Learn alA--55-
clined an offer to be taught; but he has
since altered his mind and taken some
writing lessons, and now manages, with
slate and pencil. to make tolerable copy
lines Of the words Queen Victoria
Recent portraits of him show marked
change i'll his external appearance.
When his likeness was first taken, after
his arrival by the transport Natal, he
was presented III all the nakedness Of q
primitive Zulu costume; but in the
latest photographs he appears me-
tamorphosed into a very pleasant look
ing colored gentleman, dressed after
European fashion in a tweed suit, with
white handkerchief protruding from his
breast-pocket, and gloves and cane in
hand. The transition from barbarism
to civilization is 90 sudden and decided
as almost to suggest doubt as to
whether this can be the person who
perpetrated the acts of savagery as
cribed to the late monarch of Zululand.
The ex- king himself, though, soon
satisfied the curious upon that point.
He makes little or no reservation as to
the sacrifice of human life, which was
part of the system of his government,
and which he iustifies on the plea that
there was no other way of enforcing his
authority among his people.
Most of the reported facts as to the
e Il, "A
not conform to the national marriage
laws are confirmed by him. At the
feast of the first fruits, it appears he
had given his sanction to one or two of
his regiments to put on head-rings, in
dicating that they had attained To in
dependent manhood, and at the same
time issued command that the young
women at the various kraals were to
marry these soldiers. The women
showed no inclination to comply with
this command, and, when called to
account, gave as reason that the
regiment permitted 10 marry was not
good enough for them. Cetewayo
then promoted another regiment to the
dignity of "head-rings," and again de-
clared that the girls of manageable
age were to marry at once. Still they
refused to comply, and various devices
were again resorted to to evade the
order. some young women even wash
ing off the red dust on their hair which
marked them as manageable. The
kings anger was then aroused, and IN
a fury he directed the Umcityn regi-
ment, eight thousand strong, to march
to the several kraals Throughout the
country, and kill every person who
had disobeyed him. Numbers of girls
and others connected with them were
slaughtered. The budies of some were
placed at the crossroads as an example
of the kings displeasure, and when the
parents of the individuals so killed went
to bury the bodies, they brought Cete-
wayo's wrath upon themselves, and
they aud the whole of their families,
in some instances, were destroyed. Sew
eral women, however, saved themselves
by seeking shelter, and hiding with
friends, and those who survived lost no
time in complying with the kings
orders, and marrying into the regi-
ments appointed to them. Mr.. Long
cast, the interpreter now with Cetewayo,
was in Zululand at the time, and was
lluiSGD iHStIuulSlitdl III Saving ehO
lives of five young persons whom he
hid away.
This was not the only occasion how
ever, when the king sanctioned such
slaughter of his PEOPLE. Shortly be-
fore, some of his soldiers who were
summoned to assemble at Nodwengo
made the excuse that sickness pre-
vented them from attending. He re-
marked that he would save the doctors
the trouble of looking after the sick,
and 'impis" of his favorite regiment,
the Umcityu, were promptly sent in
every direction to kill the offenders
against his royal command. In some
instances the delinquents escaped from
the fury of these impis, and, by the
law and custom of the country, such as
thus escaped were exempted from be-
ing again punished in any way. But
for that law, says Cetewayo, there would
have been much more killing in Zalu-
land.