Cetywayo and his White Neighbours | Page 7

when, exception being taken to
some breech of etiquette by one of his servants, he was surrounded by a
mob of shouting savages, whose evident object was to put an end to
him and those with him. For two hours he remained sitting there,
expecting that every moment would be his last, but showing not the
slightest emotion, till at length he got an opportunity of speaking, when
he rose and said, "I know that you mean to kill me; it is an easy thing to
do; but I tell you Zulus, that for every drop of my blood that falls to the
ground, a hundred men will come out of the sea yonder, from the
country of which Natal is one of the cattle-kraals, and will bitterly
avenge me." As he spoke he turned and pointed towards the ocean, and
so intense was the excitement that animated it, that the whole great

multitude turned with him and stared towards the horizon, as though
they expected to see the long lines of avengers creeping across the
plains. Silence followed his speech; his imperturbability and his
well-timed address had saved his life. From that day his name was a
power in the land.[*]
[*] A very good description of this scene was published in the /London
Quarterly Review/ in 1878. The following is an extract:
"In the centre of those infuriated savages he (Mr. Shepstone) sat for
more than two hours outwardly calm, giving confidence to his solitary
European companion by his own quietness, only once saying, 'Why,
Jem, you're afraid,' and imposing restraint on his native attendants.
Then, when they had shouted, as Cetywayo himself said in our hearing,
'till their throats were so sore that they could shout no more,' they
departed. But Sompseu (Mr. Shepstone) had conquered. Cetywayo, in
describing the scene to us and our companion on a visit to him a short
time afterwards, said, 'Sompseu is a great man: no man but he could
have come through that day alive.' Similar testimony we have had from
some of the Zulu assailants, from the native attendants, and the
companion above mentioned. Next morning Cetywayo humbly begged
an interview, which was not granted but on terms of unqualified
submission. From that day Cetywayo has submitted to British control
in the measure in which it has been exercised, and has been profuse in
his expressions of respect and submission to Mr. T. Shepstone; but in
his heart, as occasional acts and speeches show, he writhes under the
restraint, and bitterly hates the man who imposed it."
It was on this occasion that a curious incident occurred which
afterwards became of importance. Among the Zulus there exists a
certain salute, "Bayete," which it is the peculiar and exclusive privilege
of Zulu royalty to receive. The word means, or is supposed to mean,
"Let us bring tribute." On Mr. Shepstone's visit the point was raised by
the Zulu lawyers as to what salute he should receive. It was not
consistent with their ideas that the nominator of their future king should
be greeted with any salute inferior to the Bayete, and this, as plain Mr.
Shepstone, it was impossible to give him. The difficulty was obvious,
but the Zulu mind proved equal to it. He was solemnly announced to be
a Zulu king, and to stand in the place of the great founder of their
nation, Chaka. Who was so fit to proclaim the successor to the throne

as the great predecessor of the prince proclaimed? To us this seems a
strange, not to say ludicrous, way of settling a difficulty, but there was
nothing in it repugnant to Zulu ideas. Odd as it was, it invested Mr.
Shepstone with all the attributes of a Zulu king, such as the power to
make laws, order executions, &c., and those attributes in the eyes of
Zulus he still retains.
In 1873 messengers came down from Zululand to the Natal
Government, bringing with them the "king's head," that is, a
complimentary present of oxen, announcing the death of Panda. "The
nation," they said, "was wandering; it wanders and wanders, and
wanders again;" the spirit of the king had departed from them; his
words had ceased, and "none but children were left." The message
ended with a request that Mr. Shepstone, as Cetywayo's "father,"
should come and instal him on the throne. A month or two afterwards
there came another message, again requesting his attendance; and on
the request being refused by the Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, there
came a third message, to which the Natal Government returned a
favourable answer.
Accordingly Mr. Shepstone proceeded to Zululand, and on the 3rd
September 1873 proclaimed Cetywayo king with all due pomp and
ceremony. It was on this occasion that, in the presence of, and with the
enthusiastic