The record-union., 1896-04-26
MATABBLE NATION.
Every Man is Either a Soldier or a
Slave.
Strange Tribe of Men Who Devote
Their Whole Lives to Fighting
"A War Every Year.

corning the Zulus. But in that year the
| commencement of hostilities against
| them by the British, closely followed by
| the terrible disaster of Isandlhwana
where LOO British troops We're annihi-
lated by Cetywayo's pronounced
| ketch-y-o) armies, drew the attention
of all, and the world learned that in the
| heart of Africa a nation existed with g
regularly organized military system
capable of placing 100000 warriors in
| the field.
Everyone knows the result of the war
! the ultimate inevitable triumph OF
modern arms over savage courage, AND
the breaking up of the great Zulu des-
potism. But all do not know that q
branch of the same nation, which sep
arated from the parent stem and mi
grated into the UNEMPLOYED north some
fifty years ago, has recently been
again brought into contact with the
tide of white immigration. and beer
found to maintain in it's entirety the
military system that rendered the Zulus
SO formidable even to veteran British
soldiery
This nation, now known as the Mata-
belle, occupies an extensive territory
lying between the Zambesi and Linn
popo Rivers. To the east of their coun-
try is Mashonaland, two years age
merely a place on the map, but now a
| British dependency occupied by some
| 1,500 white seekers for gold. Among
the Matabele every man is soldier OF
a slave captured in war who will III
time also become a soldier. The Mata-
belle do not work. They live by murder
| ing and plundering the less warlike
| tribes who do So far there has been
no serious quarrel between them and
the whites, but the breaking out of q
war is recognized as being merely q
question of time.
| Every December the Matabele hold a
great dance known as the ''mealie
feast" Mealies are much the same as
the American pop corn" and are the
staple food of South African natives
and it is to celebrate their harvest that
the feast is held. The entire army, 10,
| OOO strong, musters at the royal kraal
or village. The king is blindfolded by
the witch doctors, placed in the center
of his soldiers and given an assegai, a
sort of javelin.
He is turned around and around until
he is supposed not to know in what di-
rection he is facing. Then he hurls the
assegai from him. In whatever direc-
ton it falls in that direction the armies
march to war. Last year it fell to the
northeast, and the Matabele extermi-
mated native tribe 5000 or 1000
strong living in, that direction.
So far, either BY luck or because the
King, LobengMa,9 had reasons against
| it, the assegai has not fallen to the
southeast, where Fort Salisbury stands
But it may be SO any year, and then war
will follow
| United, the whites at Fort Salisbury
could easily resist their foes, but scat
tered in twes and threes over large
| tract Of country they would be cut off
to the last man.
Strange as it may seem, these Mata-
belle, now living for and by war alone
were less than a century ago scattered
| in numerous small and peaceful tribes
| over a country many miles south OF
| their present habitat. The story OF
their transformation into warriors and
| their removal to the north forms a
chapter of history as fascinating in its
romance and intrigue as many in the
annals of more civilized nations.
| At the beginning of the present cen
| fury the whole of Africa from the lati-
tude of degrees south down nearly
| to the Cape of Good Hope was occupied
| by hundreds of detached tribes, all be-
| longing to the great Bantu race and
popularity known as Kaffirs. They had
| come into Africa from the north. driy-
| ing out the Hottentots, who had before
| driven out the Bushmen. Once the
country had been conquered the KAT
| frs settled down into peaceful cult
vatorS. Wars there We're, but they We're
/ local and unimportant. The larger
! tribes exercised a sort of sovereignty
| over the smaller ones in their vicin-
| ity, but the tie was by no means a
strong one. No military system worthy
OF the name was in existence.
| in what is now known as Zululand
there then existed six large tribes and
a host of smaller ones. The most power
full of the six was the Umtetwa, and it
was in this tribe that an intrigue arose
which ultimately altered the whole
condition of the country.
The King of the Umtetwa was an old
man. His sons became very impatient
| to succeed to the throne and plotted to
murder him. The plot became known
| to the old chief, who surrounded their
hut in the night and killed all the in
mates but one.
| That one was Godongwano, the eldest
son and the leader of the plot. He es-
capped in the darkness, carrying in his
| back, however, a barbed assegai. The
next day he was found by his sister
who dressed his wounds and enabled
| him to escape. For a dozen years moth
| ing was heard of him. The old King
died and another ruled in his stead.
Then Godongwana returned. He had
| been in Cape Colony and had learned
the customs of the white men. Especial
~ had he been attracted by their mil
itary system and was resolved to in
troduce it among his people. He OBJ
tanned the chieftainship without diff
ficulty and changed his name to Ding
| iswayo, the Wanderer
He socn carried into effect his mill.
| tary ideas. All the young men were or
ganized into regiments and drilled il
fighting together. They were armed
with half a dozen javelins or throwing
assegais. Soon the Umtetwa were
far stronger than their neighbors. But
lDingiswayo although continually
Se6iHSu " tlt ~ lOi puic icN
of the excitement, and to care nothing
for extending his borders or rendering
his tribe supreme. He had, however
accumulated and prepared the materia
from which an empire could be con-
structed. A leader only was required
che with an iron will. with the heart OF
a fiend and with brain cunning enough
to direct the arm fashioned by Dingis
wayo in striking blows needed TO weld
The scattered tribes into a nation. Such