was to keep the natives scattered about among the
whites rather than mass them in the reservations. Under Lo Bengula there
had been no such thing as private ownership of land. The land was
"nationalized," and no individual Kafir was deemed to have any permanent
and exclusive right even to the piece of it which he might be at the
time cultivating. While he actually did cultivate he was not disturbed,
for the simple reason that there was far more land than the people could
or would cultivate. The natives, although they till the soil, are still
half-nomads. They often shift their villages, and even when the village
remains they seldom cultivate the same patch for long together. Though
Europeans had been freely buying the land, they bought largely to hold
for a rise and sell again, and comparatively few of the farms bought had
been actually stocked with cattle, while, of course, the parts under
tillage were a mere trifle. Hence there did not seem to have been as yet
any pressure upon the natives, who, though they vastly outnumber the
Europeans, are very few in proportion to the size of the country. I
doubt if in the whole territory of the Company south of the Zambesi
River there are 1,000,000. To these possible sources of trouble there
was added one now perceived to have been still graver. Native labour was
needed not only for public works, but by private persons for mining
operations. As the number of Kafirs who came willingly was insufficient,
the indunas were required to furnish stout young men to work; and
according to Mr. Selous,[49] who was then living in the country, force
was often used to bring them in. Good wages were given; but the
regulations were irksome, and the native police, who were often employed
to bring in the labourers, seem to have abused their powers. To the
genuine Matabili, who lived only for war and plunder, and had been
accustomed to despise the other tribes, work, and especially mine work,
was not only distasteful, but degrading. They had never been really
subdued. In 1893 they hid away most of the firearms they possessed,
hoping to use them again. Now, when their discontent had increased, two
events hastened an outbreak. One was the removal of the white police to
Pitsani. Only forty-four were left in Matabililand to keep order. The
other was the appearance of a frightful murrain among the cattle, which
made it necessary for the Company to order the slaughter even of healthy
animals in order to sto