which I had
sailed from India, and which had been wrecked; but it was supposed she
must have gone down in the gale which had visited the Isle of France
about that time. When I told him there were white women prisoners among
the Caffres, or at least their wives, he said that he would go into the
country with his men, and bring these women away. I told him that such
an attempt would cost him his life and would be useless, because the
white women were now contented with their lot, and probably would not
leave; and the Caffres were not likely to allow their wives to be
carried off by half a dozen men whom they could assagy without
difficulty. The captain, however, like many ignorant Englishmen,
underrated the power of the Caffres, and asserted that a dozen armed
Englishmen, especially sailors, would be more than a match for a
thousand niggers. I told him he did not know how skilful and cunning
these natives were, and that if the country were bushy, an equal number
of Caffres, though armed with assagies only, would be more than a match
for him and his sailors. The captain merely laughed at me, and said he
would like to try them.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

I remained on board ship this day, talking with the captain and sailors;
the former was anxious to get his water casks filled, and also to
procure some fresh meat and vegetables. I was able to tell him where to
get fresh water: to get this it was necessary to pull up to the head of
the bay to where the Umbilo river ran into the harbour. The water of
this river was very good, and at low tide was not affected by the salt
water that entered the bay. I told the captain he must be very
cautious; because, as the boat would be seen as it proceeded to the
river, an ambuscade could be arranged by an enemy without any
difficulty. The captain said he would take his pistols, and the men
would be armed with guns and handspikes; so he did not fear a few naked
niggers. I suggested to him that we should row up the bay whilst it was
dark, and get to the river before daylight, fill the casks and then
return; by so doing, no spies could be aware of the boat having left the
ship, and when it returned it would be too late to ambuscade us. The
captain, however, said that this was making too much fuss about the
matter; and, supposing after all no Zulus were near, we should have
taken all this trouble for no reason.

"If," I replied, "Zulus are here, and we don't take this trouble, we