168 Jkcdttcctions of Adventures 



with proclamations among the Wakkerstroom Boers 

 with orders to recruit as many as I could, to go to 

 Utrecht and the border to prevent Zulu inroads. I 

 obtained only two men, Englishmen, to go to the 

 front. The Boers told me that Shepstone had 

 annexed the Transvaal, and he could manage as 

 best he could : they were not going to fight for the 

 English and recommended me to throw Shepstone's 

 proclamations away. They knew and liked me, but 

 some extreme ones might punch my head if I showed 

 them elsewhere. I left my tired horses at Rolfon- 

 tein and got fresh ones, but my attempts to persuade 

 the Boers to assist in the campaign were fruitless, 

 and I went to Standerton to report to Sir T. 

 Shepstone on the temper of the people. He soon 

 after went across country via Harrismith to Maritz- 

 burg and I returned to Pretoria. 



A strange thing happened at this time. I was 

 walking with Sir Theophilus Shepstone outside 

 Utrecht, discussing the situation, when suddenly it 

 became dark, and for a moment neither of us realised 

 that it was a total eclipse of the sun. When we did 

 he said " Struben this may have a strange effect on 

 the Zulus, who are superstitious". Next day we 

 heard of the disaster at Isandhlwana and he said to 

 some old Kaffirs who came to hear news " Umtwan 

 ami u fele, George ugwazile." " My child is dead, 

 George is stabbed," and he was quite overcome. 

 The history of the Zulu war has been written, and I 

 will not attempt to repeat it. After the battle of 

 Ulundi, Sir Garnet Wolseley came on the scene and 

 made the unfortunate settlement of Zululand by 

 appointing thirteen chiefs, among others, an English- 

 man, John Dunn. This man was accused of gun- 

 running up to the time of, and after Sir Bartle 

 Frere's ultimatum to Cetchewayo. He had a harem 



