Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-01-16

only difficulties met with were such as
are still common 4, African travellers
occasional want of water and troubles
about crossing Suits and rivers re-
member that | outspanned on the spot
where Kimberly now stands, and had 10
press on again in hurry because there
was no water. | little dreamed then
that / should live to see Kimberly a
great city producing millions OF pounds
worth of diamonds annually, and old
Indaba-zimbi's magic can not have been
worth 30 much after all, or he would
have told me.
| found the country almost entirely
depopulated. Not very long before
Mosilikatzi the Lion. Chaka's General,
had swept across II in his progress
towards ,nat Is now Matabcleland. His
footsteps we're evident enough. Time
upon time treksed up TO what had evil
IDENTIFY been the sites of the Katfir
kraals Now the kraals were ashes and
piles of tumbled stones, and strewn
about among the rank grass were the
bones of hundreds Of men, women and
children, all Of whom had kissed the Zulu
assegai. / remember that in one of
these desolate places ] found the skull
of child in which a ground lark had
built its nest. II was the twittering of
the young birds inside that first
called my attention to it. Shortly after
this event we met with our second great
adventure, a much more serious and
tragic one than the first.
We were trekking parallel with the
Kolong river when a herd of blesbock
crossed the track. | fired at one Of
them and hit it behind. 1t galloped
about thousand yards with the rest Of
the herd, then lay down. As we were
in want of meat, not having met with
any game for few days past, jumped
on to my remaining horse, and, telling
Indaba-zimbi that ! would oyertake the
wagons or meet them on the further
side of a rise about an hours trek
away, j started after the wounded buck.
As soon as | came within q hundred
yards of 1t, however, il jumped up and
ran away as fast as though it we're I'M
touched, only to lie down again at a
distance. l followed, thinking that
strength would soon fail it. Lis hap
pened three times On the third oc-
casion it vanished behind ridge, and
though by now | was out of both tenn
per and patience, thought | might as
we'll ride to the ridge and see if | could
get shot at Il on the further side.
Preached the ridge, which was strewn
with stones, looked over it, and saw-a
Zulu Impi.
rubbed my eyes and looked again.
Yes, there was no doubt of ii. They
were halted about a thousand yards
away, by the water; some were lying
down, some were cooking at fires, others
were stalking about with spears and
shields in their hands; there might
have been two thousand of them in all.
While was wondering and that with
no little uneasiness what on earth
they could be doing there, suddenly l
heard wild cry to the right and left of
me. | glanced first one way then the
other From either side two great
Zulus were bearing down on me, their
broad, stabbins assegais aloft and
black shields in their left hands
The man to the right was
about fifteen yards away, he to
tho left was not more than ten On they
came, their fierce eyes almost starting
out of their heads, and | felt. with a
cold thrill Of fear, that in another three
seconds those great "bang-wans' might
be buried in my yitals. On such occa-
sions we act, | suppose, more from in
90 l,a . b. al =,
time for thought. At any rate,
dropped my reins and, raising my gun,
fired point blank at the left-hand man.
The bullet struck full in the middle of
his shield, pierced II and passed through
him, and over he rolled upon the voldt.
l swung round in the saddle; most hap
PLY my horse was accustomed to stand
ing still when fred from his back, also
he was SO surprised he did not know
which way 10 shy. Tho other savage
was almost on me; his outstretched
shield touched the muzzle Of my gun as
Ipulled the trigger of the left barrel.
1t exploded, the warrior sprung high
into the air and fell against my horse
dead, his spear passing just in front of
my face.
Without waiting to reload, or even to
look II the main body of the Zulus had
seen the death OF their two scouts,
turned my horse and drove my heels
into his sides. AS soon as | was down
the slope of the rise | pulled little to
the right in order to intercept the wag-
ons before the Zulus saw them | had
not gone three hundred yards in this
new direction when to my utter aston
ishment struck trail marked with
wagon-wheels and the hoofs of oxen.
OF wagons there must have been at least
eight, and several hundred cattle. More
over, they had passed within twelve
hours; could tell that by the spoor
Then ! understood the Impi was follow
ing the track of the wagons, which, in
all probability, belonged to a party Of
emigrant Beers.
The spoor OF the wagons ran in the
direction wished to go, so followed it.
About a mile further on ! came to the
crest of a rise, and there, about five fur
longs away, saw the wagons drawn up
in a rough lager upon the banks of the
river. There, too, were my own wag-
ons trekking down the slope towards
them.
In another five minutes / was there.
The Boers-for Beers they were-were
standing about outside the little lager
watching the approach OF my two wag-
ons. ] called to them, and they turned
and saw me. The very first man my
eyes fell on was a Boar named Hans
Botha, whom ! had known we'll years
ago in the Cape. He was not bad spec
linen of his class, but very restless
person, with great objection to author
ity, or, as he expressed it, "a love of
freedom He had joined party of the
emigrant Beers some years before, but.
as l learned presently, had quarreled
with its leader, and was now trelxking
away into the wilderness to found little
colony of his own. Poor fellow! 1t was
his last trek.
How do you do, Meinheer Botha?" l
said to him in Dutch.
The man looked at me- looked again,
then startled out of his Dutch stolidity,
cried to his wife, who was seated on the
box of the wagon:
Tome here, FRAU, come. Here is AL
Ian Quatermain, the Englishman, the
son Of the 'Predicant How goes it, Heer
Quatermain, and what Is the news down
in the Cape yonder?"
II don't know what the news Is in the
Cape, Hans, answered, solemnly; but
the news here is that there is Zulu
Impi upon your spoor and within two
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