he ship to Cape Town, they would not hear of it. They
seemed to consider they were very generous not to string me up to the
yard-arm, for having been concerned in what they called "the murder" of
their captain and shipmates. They would not allow me to keep the
pistol, but gave me a knife; and then, making me get into the boat, they
pulled ashore, and there left me.

When I found myself once more on the land, alone and unarmed, I began to
think that the Caffres were better than the white men. It was in
consequence of the ignorant obstinacy of the white men that they had
fallen into ambuscades and been slaughtered. This style of proceeding
seems common among white men, as was shown during the Zulu war; where,
in spite of all that has been written about the Zulus and Boers, the
English commanders acted just as foolishly and recklessly as did the
captain of the little ship, and the disasters which occurred might have
been avoided by any one acquainted with the Zulu style of warfare. It
was true that I was unarmed and without food, in a country where behind
every bush there might be an enemy; but I did not feel as helpless as
would a man who had lived all his life among towns and civilisation. I
could construct traps for animals, I knew what roots and berries were
good to eat, there was plenty of water to drink, and I might find some
weapons. Besides, it was possible that another ship might come to the
bay, the captain and sailors belonging to which would not be as
self-sufficient as were those I had just left. I might still remain
concealed in the bush for a long time, and probably might make my way
down to the Umzimvubu tribe, and live the remainder of my life as a
chief. The white men I had seen were not of a class to impress me much
with the advantages of civilisation. The Caffres, it was true, were
cruel in some ways, and had quite different ideas from the whites; but
there was something very pleasant in their wild life, the simple
requirements of existence, and their love of reasoning from facts.
White men had their sciences, about which I knew little; but none of
these could follow the spoor of a horse for miles over a hard-soiled
country, nor could they distinguish the footprint of a hyaena from that
of a leopard; and if any of them happened to be left alone in the bush
as I was, surrounded by enemies, and without weapons or food, they would
certainly starve or be captured.

The dress that had been given m