Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-01-25

but the whole scene rises up before my
eycs as write. There behind us We
the bloolstained lager, and near II la,
the piles Of dead; round uB was raui
upon rank Of plumed savages, standine
10 silence to wait The issue Of the duel
and In the center stood The gray haired
chief and general, Sususa, in all hb
war finery, Q cloak Of leopard skin upos
his shouldrrs. At his feet lay the sense
less form Of little Tota, TO my left squat
ted Indaba-zimbi. .nodding his whih
lock and muttering something -probS
bly, spells; while In front was my giani
antagonist. his spear aloft and hi
plumes bending In the gentle breeze.
Then over. all. over grassy slope rivei
and koppie, over. the wagons Of thu
laaGef, the piles Of dead, the dense rank,
of the living, tho swooning child, over
all shune the bright impartial sun, look
ing down like the great Indifferent eye.
OF heaven upon the loveliness Of nature
and the cruelty OF man. Down by the
river grew thorn trees, and from them
foated the sweet scent. Of the mimoss
flower, and came the sound Of cooling
turtle doves. never smell the one OF
+. hear tho other without the scene fash
ing into my mind again, complete in Il,
every detail. .'.s't A Z
Suddenly, without a sound, Bombyans
shook his assegai and rushed straight al
me. I saw his huge form come; like 8
man in dream, saw the broad spear
fash on high; now he was on me. Then,
prompted to it by some providential i'm.
g,,,Ic~ 4 l-opv<,l 60 ord <S,,;cI
as light stretched out my spear. He
drove at me; the blade passed over my
head. / felt q weight on my assegai; II
| was wrenched. from my hand, his great
limbs knocked against me. 4 glanced
round. Bombyane was staggering along
: with head thrown back and outstretched
arms from which his spear had fallen.
His spear had nfallen, but the blade OF
mine stood out between his shoulders-1
had transfixed him. He stopped, swung
roind slowly as though to look at me,
then with a sigh the giant sank down
dead.
For moment there was silence; then
great cry rose--a ory of "Bomhyane is
dead. The white spirit has slain Bomb
yane. Kill the wizard, kill the ghost
who has slain Bombyane by witchcraft.p
Instantly was surrounded by fierce
faces, and spears flashed before my eyes.
folded my arms and stood calmly wait
ing the end. In a moment it would
have come, for the warriors were mad
at seeing their champion overthrown
thus easily. But presently through the
tun,ult heard the high cracked voice Of
Indhha-zimbi. 49,, ~, i, s..
Stand back, you fools!'' it cried; "can
spirit then be killed?' t-...... -... II.
''Spear hint spear ,him!" they roared
in fury. "I,et tus see If he is o spirit.
How did a spirit slay Bombyane with an
assegai? Spear him. rain maker, andwe
shall see." ,.ss .5t5i
"Stand back" cried Indaba-zimbi
again. "and will show you if he can be
killed. will kill him myself, and call
him back TO life again before yonr eyes,
Matumazahn, trust me-" he whispered
in my ear in the Sisutu tongue, which
the Zulus did not understand. "Trust
me; kneel on the grass before me, and
when l strike, at you with the spear. roll
over like one dead; then, when you. hear
my voice again, get up. Trust met is
your only hope"
Having no choice. / nodded my head
in assent, though had not the faintest
idea of what he was about. to do. The
tumult lessened somewhat, and once
more the warriors drew back. rS
Great white spirit7-spirit of victory"
said Ipdaba-zimbi, addressing me alond,
and covering his eyes with his hand,
"hear me and forgive me. These chill
dreh are blind with folly, and think
thee mortal because thou hast dealt death
upon mortal who dared to stand against
thee Deign to kneel down before me
and let me pierce thy heart with this
spear; then, when I call upon thee, arise
unhurt."
knelt down, not because wished to,
| but because must. had not overmuch
faith in mdaba-zimbi, and thought it
probable that he was in truth about to
make an end of me. But really was
so worn with fears, and the horrors of
the night and day had so shaken my
nerves, that did not greatly care what
befell me. When had been kneeline
thus for about half minute lndaba
zimbi spoke. 7".''
People of the Umtetwa children OF
| TChaka," he said, "draw back little
space, lest an evil fall on you, for now
the air is thick with ghosts. +"
They drew back a space, leaving us In
a circle about twelve yards in diameter
Look on him who i1neels before you,
went on Intiaba- -zimba, 'and listen t
my words, to the words of the witch
finder, the words of the rainmaker
Indaba!zimbi, whose fame is known t.
you. He seems to be man, does IN
not? tell, you, children of the Umtet
wa, he is no man. He is the spirit VIII,
gives victory to the white men; he it i
who gave them assegais that thunde
and taught them how to slay. VIII,
We're the impis of Dingan rolled back a
Why did the Amaboona slay the peopl
of Mosilikaaye by the thousandp Be
cause he was there. And SO l say t
you that, had l not drawn hin
from the laager by my magic bu
three hours ago, you would have bee
conquered--yes, you would have bee
blown away like the dust before tn
wind; you would have been burned u
like the dry grass in the winter whe
the fire is awake among it. Aye, be
cause he had but been there many O
your bravest We're slain in overcoming
few--a pinch of men who could b
counted on the fingers. But because
loved you, because your chief Sususa
my half brother--for had we not ON
fathers-I came to you, warned you
Then you prayed me and drew tn
spirit forth. But you We're not Statistic
when the victory was yours, when tn
spirit of all you had taken asked but on
| Eiiln Ilinn--.n AZ hitn Child To In ln q ,,.n