and prevent
their own cattle from being captured; and I had great doubts whether I
should not be given up to the Zulus, if by this act a fight could be
prevented. The difficulty of an arrangement was how to communicate with
the Zulus. These people usually made sudden attacks, and practised
surprises, and did not understand what civilised nations called a flag
of truce; so that assagies began to fly before a word was spoken, and as
soon as blood was drawn it was too late to attempt to settle the
difficulty by talking. I was very anxious about myself, for although
the Caffres are hospitable when visited by any one independent of them,
they are disposed to come the "chief" over those who require aid. I,
although a recognised chief among the Umzimvubu, was at present an
escaped prisoner; and had it not been for Eondema and his men, I might
have been captured and killed by the party of Zulus who had traced me
from my hut on the bluff. Consequently, Eondema had a sort of hold on
me; but he was a generous young fellow, and though he was sorry to lose
several of his men, yet he said nothing to me about any obligation on my
part.

My great object, however, was to find some means of rejoining the white
people. I did not know enough of the geography of South Africa to be
aware of any way of reaching the Cape Colony, except by means of a ship
entering Natal Harbour.

I had learnt from my old companions that there were white men in numbers
to the west of the Umzimvubu; but that the tribe of the Amakosa was very
warlike, and had frequently drawn the assagy against the white men. To
journey through the country of the Amakosa, therefore, would have been
dangerous, if not impossible; and the white men were to the west of
these tribes. If, then, I was to rejoin the white men, it must be by
means of a vessel coming to Natal Harbour; for no other harbour up the
coast was suitable for a ship to enter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

Three days only had elapsed since my escape from the Zulus, and the
fight between them and the men of Eondema, and I had been living with
the young chief, and considering what I should do in order to rejoin my
own people, when, at daybreak on the fourth day, a great noise was
heard, and before we had time to do more than wonder what this was, a
war-party of the Zulus was upon us. From facts which we afterwards
learnt, we knew that the few Zulus who escaped from the men of Eondema
had met a war-party of th