ARTHUR NEUMANN 139 



joined one of the native contingents, and was 

 made a Captain. Later in the same year General 

 Dartnell introduced him to Captain MacLeod of 

 MacLeod (71st Highlanders), who was placed in 

 charge of the Swaziland police. Neumann acted 

 as native interpreter, and was most successful in 

 controlling the scouts and in helping his chief 

 to keep the Swazis quiet at a very critical period, 

 for Ubandeni had already expressed his view to 

 MacLeod, that " not all the white men in the world 

 could defeat the Zulus. They were too strong." 

 One day MacLeod and Neumann were riding near 

 the border when a white man was observed gallop- 

 ing at full speed towards them. He was a mounted 

 messenger from Shepstone bearing an autograph 

 letter from Lord Chelmsford with disastrous news : 

 " The Zulus have overwhelmed our forces at 

 Isandhlwana and all are killed. My son is dead. 

 On no account allow this news to reach the Swazis." 



MacLeod, who understood the natives better 

 than Lord Chelmsford did, calculated that only 

 a very short period would elapse before the Swazis 

 knew the whole truth of the disaster, so he thought 

 the matter over and decided to act on his own respon- 

 sibility. He galloped at once to Ubandeni's kraal 

 and requested an immediate audience. Thousands 

 of Swazis began to arrive, and MacLeod knew that 

 his own and Neumann's life were in imminent peril, 

 for it was quite likely that after the news had been 

 related, he and his companion would be hacked 

 to pieces and the Swazis would at once join the 

 Zulus. MacLeod, however, being a brave man, 

 thus addressed the king — 



" Ubandeni, the whole Zulu army has attacked 



