King Solomons Mines | Page 4

way to my own impulses, I should

have wished to go into the differences, some of which are to my mind
very suggestive, between the Zulu and Kukuana dialects. Also a few
pages might have been given up profitably to the consideration of the
indigenous flora and fauna of Kukuanaland.[*] Then there remains the
most interesting subject--that, as it is, has only been touched on
incidentally--of the magnificent system of military organisation in force
in that country, which, in my opinion, is much superior to that
inaugurated by Chaka in Zululand, inasmuch as it permits of even more
rapid mobilisation, and does not necessitate the employment of the
pernicious system of enforced celibacy. Lastly, I have scarcely spoken
of the domestic and family customs of the Kukuanas, many of which
are exceedingly quaint, or of their proficiency in the art of smelting and
welding metals. This science they carry to considerable perfection, of
which a good example is to be seen in their "tollas," or heavy throwing
knives, the backs of these weapons being made of hammered iron, and
the edges of beautiful steel welded with great skill on to the iron frames.
The fact of the matter is, I thought, with Sir Henry Curtis and Captain
Good, that the best plan would be to tell my story in a plain,
straightforward manner, and to leave these matters to be dealt with
subsequently in whatever way ultimately may appear to be desirable. In
the meanwhile I shall, of course, be delighted to give all information in
my power to anybody interested in such things.
[*] I discovered eight varieties of antelope, with which I was previously
totally unacquainted, and many new species of plants, for the most part
of the bulbous tribe.--A.Q.
And now it only remains for me to offer apologies for my blunt way of
writing. I can but say in excuse of it that I am more accustomed to
handle a rifle than a pen, and cannot make any pretence to the grand
literary flights and flourishes which I see in novels--for sometimes I
like to read a novel. I suppose they--the flights and flourishes--are
desirable, and I regret not being able to supply them; but at the same
time I cannot help thinking that simple things are always the most
impressive, and that books are easier to understand when they are
written in plain language, though perhaps I have no right to set up an
opinion on such a matter. "A sharp spear," runs the Kukuana saying,

"needs no polish"; and on the same principle I venture to hope that a
true story, however strange it may be, does not require to be decked out
in fine words.
Allan Quatermain.

KING SOLOMON'S MINES
CHAPTER I
I MEET SIR HENRY CURTIS
It is a curious thing that at my age--fifty-five last birthday--I should
find myself taking up a pen to try to write a history. I wonder what sort
of a history it will be when I have finished it, if ever I come to the end
of the trip! I have done a good many things in my life, which seems a
long one to me, owing to my having begun work so young, perhaps. At
an age when other boys are at school I was earning my living as a
trader in the old Colony. I have been trading, hunting, fighting, or
mining ever since. And yet it is only eight months ago that I made my
pile. It is a big pile now that I have got it--I don't yet know how
big--but I do not think I would go through the last fifteen or sixteen
months again for it; no, not if I knew that I should come out safe at the
end, pile and all. But then I am a timid man, and dislike violence;
moreover, I am almost sick of adventure. I wonder why I am going to
write this book: it is not in my line. I am not a literary man, though very
devoted to the Old Testament and also to the "Ingoldsby Legends." Let
me try to set down my reasons, just to see if I have any.
First reason: Because Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good asked
me.
Second reason: Because I am laid up here at Durban with the pain in
my left leg. Ever since that confounded lion got hold of me I have been
liable to this trouble, and being rather bad just now, it makes me limp
more than ever. There must be some poison in a lion's teeth, otherwise

how is it that when your wounds are healed they break out again,
generally, mark you, at the same time of year that you got your mauling?
It is a hard thing when one