It Certainly Is No Match For The Zulu Shield, Which
Is Between Four And Five Feet Long, Of An Oval Shape, And About Two
Feet Broad.
So great is the terror this shield inspires that we
sometimes doubted whether the Mazitu here were Zulus at all, and
suspected that the people of the country took advantage of that fear,
and, assuming shields, pretended to belong to that nation.
On the 11th October we arrived at the stockade of Chinsamba in
Mosapo, and had reason to be very well satisfied with his kindness.
A paraffin candle was in his eyes the height of luxury, and the
ability to make a light instantaneously by a lucifer match, a marvel
that struck him with wonder. He brought all his relatives in
different groups to see the strange sights, - instantaneous fire-
making, and a light, without the annoyance of having fire and smoke
in the middle of the floor. When they wish to look for anything in
the dark, a wisp of dried grass is lighted.
Chinsamba gave us a great deal of his company during our visits. As
we have often remarked in other cases, a chief has a great deal to
attend to in guiding the affairs of his people. He is consulted on
all occasions, and gives his advice in a stream of words, which show
a very intimate acquaintance with the topography of his district; he
knows every rood cultivated, every weir put in the river, every
hunting-net, loom, gorge, and every child of his tribe. Any addition
made to the number of these latter is notified to him; and he sends
thanks and compliments to the parents.
The presents which, following the custom of the country, we gave to
every headman, where we either spent a night or a longer period,
varied from four to eight yards of calico. We had some Manchester
cloths made in imitation of the native manufactured robes of the West
Coast, each worth five or six shillings. To the more important of
the chiefs, for calico we substituted one of these strong gaudy
dresses, iron spoons, a knife, needles, a tin dish, or pannikin, and
found these presents to be valued more than three times their value
in cloth would have been. Eight or ten shillings' worth gave
abundant satisfaction to the greediest; but this is to be understood
as the prime cost of the articles, and a trader would sometimes have
estimated similar generosity as equal to from 30 to 50 pounds. In
some cases the presents we gave exceeded the value of what was
received in return; in others the excess of generosity was on the
native side.
We never asked for leave to pass through the country; we simply told
where we were going, and asked for guides; if they were refused, or
if they demanded payment beforehand, we requested to be put into the
beginning of the path, and said that we were sorry we could not agree
about the guides, and usually they and we started together.
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