THE TRADITION OF RA LOLO. 99 



the Boers (Paul Kruger as a young boy) drove him north- 

 wards.* 



After the Zulus left, came the awful time of the cannibals 

 The first Chief who, with his people, commenced to use human 

 flesh as food was Monaoe. a Chief of the Batsoako, near Ohrig- 

 stad. They did it from hunger at first, all their grain and 

 stock having been taken by the Zulus. They followed those 

 few single men and families, which lived dispersed in kloofs 

 and caves. They caught first the Chiefs of the ba-Gakomana,v 

 but did not eat them, but took their kraal and compelled 

 them to live with them and to feed upon men like them. They 

 trained their dogs to follow the spoors and footsteps of men. 

 After again making gardens, they continued to hunt men, because 

 Ihey liked the meat. One day they had a letshima ( a numerous 

 party to weed a garden) and got the fancy to kill a man of 

 Gakomane out of their number and to eat him. The ba-Gako- 

 rnana refused to allow this. It came to a fight, and the ba- 

 Gakomane killed these makgema (cannibals), but they continued 

 to hunt men and eat them ; they ate the very cannibals, who first 

 taught them. None of the other tribes asked for peace, being 

 afraid of being eaten. One day they surrounded the ba-Monga- 

 tane round Fighting Hill, when they came down from the caves 

 to make their garden. The Chief — Passoane — was a very fat 

 man, and although in the pot for a long time, would not 

 become done. Another day they went over the Lolu and caught 

 Lekgolane, daughter of Tulare, sister of MalekutJ They brought 

 her down to Fighting Hill. They did not kill her, but released 

 her, saying, " She is also a great and fat Chief, and will not be 

 done by cooking like Passoane. who even was a lesser Chief : let 

 her go and make up another kraal of people for us." Then 

 there rose up a certain Marangang from the Bakoni. He was 

 no Chief, but became a great Chief by his valour and prudence., 

 He tried to kill out the cannibals with an Impi. But they fled 

 into a certain great cave near Ohrigstad, and although he made 

 a big fire at the mouth of it, could not manage to kill them. 

 After Marangang left, the cannibals made their kraal inside a; 

 big thicket of trees and shrubs. Now Kabu, son of Makgeru. 

 who was then near Magnet Hights — went with another Impi to 

 destroy them. It was summer time. They saw one of the 

 cannibals in the gardens, who had not yet seen them. They sent 

 four men to kill him. One of the four, Sethokgoa, stabbed 

 the cannibal, who also wounded him ; the other three fled away. 

 Then the other cannibals saw the impi, and, leaving their kraals, 

 fled into the thick bush. But Kabu's men caught some women, 



* It may be of interest to say that the late President Paul Kruger one day 

 sent a message through the writer to Sekukuni's people saying: "We Boers 

 found you living in kloofs aud caves, being woodcutters and watercarners Jor 

 Mosilikatse, from whom we delivered you Why do you now quarrel with us ? 

 fThis Lekgolane was the mother of Kogolakai, chief wife of Sekukuni. 



