who was one of the
strongest opponents of the English. His country, indeed, lay just
within the Zulu frontier, and, having been engaged in constant
skirmishes and broils with the Dutch settlers, he was even more
disappointed than the other chiefs at the taking over of the Transvaal
by England, just at the time when the Zulus were meditating its
conquest.

The road from Itelezi, the village at which the boys had given
themselves up, to Umbelleni's country ran along between the Blood River
and the lofty hill-country; and, although they were ignorant of the
fact, Colonel Wood's force was at that moment lying on this line. They
were therefore taken up over a mountain-country, crossing Mount Ingwe,
to the Zlobani Mountain, a stronghold ten miles south of Umbelleni's
chief kraal, and where at present he was residing. After three days'
journey the lads, exhausted and footsore, ascended to the plateau of the
Zlobani Mountains.

Upon their way they passed through many villages, and at each place it
needed the efforts of their guards to prevent their being seriously
maltreated, if not killed. The Zulus, although victorious at Isandula,
had suffered terribly, it being estimated that nearly 3000 had fallen in
the attack.

Thus there was not a village but had lost some of its members, for,
although the Zulu regiments have local denominations and regular
military kraals, each regiment consists of men drawn from the population
at large.

Every four or five years all the lads who have passed the age of
eighteen since the formation of the last corps, are called out and
formed into a regiment, or are embodied with some regiment whose numbers
have fallen in strength. Thus a regiment may consist of men differing
considerably from each other in point of age, the great distinction
being that some corps consist entirely of married men, while others are
all unmarried. A regiment remains unmarried until the king formally
gives the permission to take wives, and the corps to whom the boon has
been granted are distinguished from the others by their hair being
arranged in a thick ring round the head. So great is the enmity between
these married regiments and their less fortunate comrades that they are
never encamped in each other's view, as fighting in that case would
inevitably take place. Thus it happened that, although some of the
corps had suffered far more than others, the loss was spread over the
whole of Zululand.

CHAPTE