King Solomon's Mines
hill, which is of a formation common in South Africa, is not very high;
indeed, its greatest elevation is scarcely more than 200 feet, but it
is shaped like a horseshoe, and its sides are rather precipitous and
strewn with boulders. On the grass table-land at its summit is ample
camping-ground, which had been utilised as a military cantonment of no
mean strength. Its ordinary garrison was one regiment of three thousand
men, but as we toiled up the steep side of the mountain in the
returning moonlight we perceived that there were several of such
regiments encamped there.
Reaching the table-land at last, we found crowds of men roused from
their sleep, shivering with fear and huddled up together in the utmost
consternation at the natural phenomenon which they were witnessing.
Passing through these without a word, we gained a hut in the centre of
the ground, where we were astonished to find two men waiting, laden
with our few goods and chattels, which of course we had been obliged to
leave behind in our hasty flight.
“I sent for them,” explained Infadoos; “and also for these,” and he
lifted up Good’s long-lost trousers.
With an exclamation of rapturous delight Good sprang at them, and
instantly proceeded to put them on.
“Surely my lord will not hide his beautiful white legs!” exclaimed
Infadoos regretfully.
But Good persisted, and once only did the Kukuana people get the chance
of seeing his beautiful legs again. Good is a very modest man.
Henceforward they had to satisfy their æsthetic longings with his one
whisker, his transparent eye, and his movable teeth.
Still gazing with fond remembrance at Good’s trousers, Infadoos next
informed us that he had commanded the regiments to muster so soon as
the day broke, in order to explain to them fully the origin and
circumstances of the rebellion which was decided on by the chiefs, and
to introduce to them the rightful heir to the throne, Ignosi.
Accordingly, when the sun was up, the troops—in all some twenty
thousand men, and the flower of the Kukuana army—were mustered on a
large open space, to which we went. The men were drawn up in three
sides of a dense square, and presented a magnificent spectacle. We took
our station on the open side of the square, and were speedily
surrounded by all the principal chiefs and officers.
These, after silence had been proclaimed, Infadoos proceeded to
address. He narrated to them in vigorous and graceful language—for,
like most Kukuanas of high rank, he was a born orator—the history of
Ignosi’s father, and of how he had been basely murdered by Twala the
king, and his wife and child driven out to starve. Then he pointed out
that the people suffered and groaned under Twala’s cruel rule,
instancing the proceedings of the previous night, when, under pretence
of their being evil-doers, many of the noblest in the land had been
dragged forth and wickedly done to death. Next he went on to say that
the white lords from the Stars, looking down upon their country, had
perceived its trouble, and determined, at great personal inconvenience,
to alleviate its lot: That they had accordingly taken the real king of
the Kukuanas, Ignosi, who was languishing in exile, by the hand, and
led him over the mountains: That they had seen the wickedness of
Twala’s doings, and for a sign to the wavering, and to save the life of
the girl Foulata, actually, by the exercise of their high magic, had
put out the moon and slain the young fiend Scragga; and that they were
prepared to stand by them, and assist them to overthrow Twala, and set
up the rightful king, Ignosi, in his place.
He finished his discourse amidst a murmur of approbation. Then Ignosi
stepped forward and began to speak. Having reiterated all that Infadoos
his uncle had said, he concluded a powerful speech in these words:—
“O chiefs, captains, soldiers, and people, ye have heard my words. Now
must ye make choice between me and him who sits upon my throne, the
uncle who killed his brother, and hunted his brother’s child forth to
die in the cold and the night. That I am indeed the king
these”—pointing to the chiefs—“can tell you, for they have seen the
snake about my middle. If I were not the king, would these white men be
on my side with all their magic? Tremble, chiefs, captains, soldiers,
and people! Is not the darkness they have brought upon the land to
confound Twala and cover our flight, darkness even in the hour of the
full moon, yet before your eyes?”
“It is,” answered the soldiers.
“I am the king; I say to you, I am the king,” went on Ignosi, drawing
up his great stature to its full, and lifting his broad-bladed
battle-axe above his head. “If there be any man among you who says that
it is not so, let him stand forth and I will fight him now, and his
blood shall be a red token that I tell you true. Let him stand forth, I
say;” and he shook the great axe till it flashed in the sunlight.
As nobody seemed inclined to respond to this heroic version of “Dilly,
Dilly, come and be killed,” our late henchman proceeded with his
address.
“I am indeed the king, and should ye stand by my side in the battle, if
I win the day ye shall go with me to victory and honour. I will give
you oxen and wives, and ye shall take place of all the regiments; and
if ye fall, I will fall with you.
“And behold, I give you this promise, that when I sit upon the seat of
my fathers, bloodshed shall cease in the land. No longer shall ye cry
for justice to find slaughter, no longer shall the witch-finder hunt
you out so that ye may be slain without a cause. No man shall die save
he who offends against the laws. The ‘eating up’ of your kraals shall
cease; each one of you shall sleep secure in his own hut and fear
naught, and justice shall walk blindfold throughout the land. Have ye
chosen, chiefs, captains, soldiers, and people?”
“We have chosen, O king,” came back the answer.
“It is well. Turn your heads and see how Twala’s messengers go forth
from the great town, east and west, and north and south, to gather a
mighty army to slay me and you, and these my friends and protectors.
To-morrow, or perchance the next day, he will come against us with all
who are faithful to him. Then I shall see the man who is indeed my man,
the man who fears not to die for his cause; and I tell you that he
shall not be forgotten in the time of spoil. I have spoken, O chiefs,
captains, soldiers, and people. Now go to your huts and make you ready
for war.”
There was a pause, till presently one of the chiefs lifted his hand,
and out rolled the royal salute, “_Koom._” It was a sign that the
soldiers accepted Ignosi as their king. Then they marched off in
battalions.
Half an hour afterwards we held a council of war, at which all the
commanders of regiments were present. It was evident to us that before
very long we should be attacked in overwhelming force. Indeed, from our
point of vantage on the hill we could see troops mustering, and runners
going forth from Loo in every direction, doubtless to summon soldiers
to the king’s assistance. We had on our side about twenty thousand men,
composed of seven of the best regiments in the country. Twala, so
Infadoos and the chiefs calculated, had at least thirty to thirty-five
thousand on whom he could rely at present assembled in Loo, and they
thought that by midday on the morrow he would be able to gather another
five thousand or more to his aid. It was, of course, possible that some
of his troops would desert and come over to us, but it was not a
contingency which could be reckoned on. Meanwhile, it was clear that
active preparations were being made by Twala to subdue us. Already
strong bodies of armed men were patrolling round and round the foot of
the hill, and there were other signs also of coming assault.
Infadoos and the chiefs, however, were of opinion that no attack would
take place that day, which would be devoted to preparation and to the
removal of every available means of the moral effect produced upon the
minds of the soldiery by the supposed magical darkening of the moon.
The onslaught would be on the morrow, they said, and they proved to be
right.
Meanwhile, we set to work to strengthen the position in all ways
possible. Almost every man was turned out, and in the course of the
day, which seemed far too short, much was done. The paths up the
hill—that was rather a sanatorium than a fortress, being used generally
as the camping place of regiments suffering from recent service in
unhealthy portions of the country—were carefully blocked with masses of
stones, and every other approach was made as impregnable as time would
allow. Piles of boulders were collected at various spots to be rolled
down upon an advancing enemy, stations were appointed to the different
regiments, and all preparation was made which our joint ingenuity could
suggest.
Just before sundown, as we rested after our toil, we perceived a small
company of men advancing towards us from the direction of Loo, one of
whom bore a palm leaf in his hand for a sign that he came as a herald.
As he drew near, Ignosi, Infadoos, one or two chiefs and ourselves,
went down to the foot of the mountain to meet him. He was a
gallant-looking fellow, wearing the regulation leopard-skin cloak.
“Greeting!” he cried, as he came; “the king’s greeting to those who
make unholy war against the king; the lion’s greeting to the jackals
that snarl around his heels.”
“Speak,” I said.
“These are the king’s words. Surrender to the king’s mercy ere a worse
thing befall you. Already the shoulder has been torn from the black
bull, and the king drives him bleeding about the camp.”[8]
[8] This cruel custom is not confined to the Kukuanas, but is by no
means uncommon amongst African tribes on the occasion of the outbreak
of war or any other important public event.—A.Q.
“What are Twala’s terms?” I asked from curiosity.
“His terms are merciful, worthy of a great king. These are the words of
Twala, the one-eyed, the mighty, the husband of a thousand wives, lord
of the Kukuanas, keeper of the Great Road (Solomon’s Road), beloved of
the Strange Ones who sit in silence at the mountains yonder (the Three
Witches), Calf of the Black Cow, Elephant whose tread shakes the earth,
Terror of the evil-doer, Ostrich whose feet devour the desert, huge
One, black One, wise One, king from generation to generation! these are
the words of Twala: ‘I will have mercy and be satisfied with a little
blood. One in every ten shall die, the rest shall go free; but the
white man Incubu, who slew Scragga my son, and the black man his
servant, who pretends to my throne, and Infadoos my brother, who brews
rebellion against me, these shall die by torture as an offering to the
Silent Ones.’ Such are the merciful words of Twala.”
After consulting with the others a little, I answered him in a loud
voice, so that the soldiers might hear, thus—
“Go back, thou dog, to Twala, who sent thee, and say that we, Ignosi,
veritable king of the Kukuanas, Incubu, Bougwan, and Macumazahn, the
wise ones from the Stars, who make dark the moon, Infadoos, of the
royal house, and the chiefs, captains, and people here gathered, make
answer and say, ‘That we will not surrender; that before the sun has
gone down twice, Twala’s corpse shall stiffen at Twala’s gate, and
Ignosi, whose father Twala slew, shall reign in his stead.’ Now go, ere
we whip thee away, and beware how thou dost lift a hand against such as
we are.”
The herald laughed loudly. “Ye frighten not men with such swelling
words,” he cried out. “Show yourselves as bold to-morrow, O ye who
darken the moon. Be bold, fight, and be merry, before the crows pick
your bones till they are whiter than your faces. Farewell; perhaps we