332 C. F. M. SWYNNERTON. 



Fly and Cattle before Umzila's Time (say 1820 1861 ). 



There can be little doubt that ever since the arrival of the Bantus particular 

 pieces of country have been subject to local concentrations of population, and that 

 where other circumstances have been sufficiently favourable, these concentrations 

 have resulted, while they lasted, in the opening-up to cattle -farming of the piece 

 of country involved. 



The " old people " had told my various native informants that previous to Uncaba's 

 massacres of about 1830, farming went on successfully even close to the Sitatongas, 

 where they had shown them the old cattle pits. The country was very densely 

 settled. The chiefs Mafusi and Mtobe have both told me that at that time cattle 

 were kept in those portions of their countries in which all subsequent attempts. 

 to keep them have failed, and Gunye has stated that it had been handed down that 

 in the days before Uncaba cattle-farming, accompanying a concentrated population, 

 took place even in his country, but that many used to die. But when Umzila 

 came here (in 1861) the whole country had reverted to wooding and game as the 

 result of the depopulation arising from Uncaba's massacres. It was much as it i& 

 now ; fly had become plentiful, and the mountains of the present political border 

 w^ere the boundary, then as now, between the fly and such cattle as existed. 



Umzila's Experiments (1861-1889). 



Both when at Umpombo's, and later at Dongonda, Umzila made a determined 

 attempt to keep cattle, but in each case he failed. The concentration of population 

 was not so great as in his later attempts ; it was short-lived, and close by was a great 

 belt of G. morsitans — a fly which follows man. 



The Zulus, it may be mentioned here, knew the fly Avell, and the disease caused 

 by it, and they regarded the proximity of game as dangerous for cattle. But why 

 did they place their cattle amongst the fly ? They said, " this whole country is 

 full of it — ^where shall we put our cattle ?" However, cattle had always thriven 

 in the open hilly country which is now South Melsetter ; they were being captured 

 at this time (after Umzila's defeat of his brother) in great numbers in raids on the 

 Mashonas, and Umzila at last sent them all to Gandwa. Later he said " I cannot 

 live away from my cattle," and it was thus he left Dongonda. 



From Gandwa, Umzila sent an order to sondela enk'osini (draw near to the King). 

 Thereupon an immense compulsory movement of the population took place. The 

 country to the east of the Sitatonga Hills, particularly in and south of Gunye 's, 

 was at that time more fully populated than that to their west, but almost the whole 

 of this population was deported, territorial chieftains and all, to the lower parts 

 of the tract between the Sitatongas and the present British border, to Spungabera 

 and Gwenzi's countiy, and (with Umzila's further movements) to the Umswirizwi 

 (Mossurise) valley, to Zinyumbo's Hills and Chimbiya's, and even eventually to 

 the Sabi east of this area. The chief Gunye told me that he himseK was compelled 

 to settle at Chimbiya's. 



The Effect on the Wooding. 



Every one of my informants has described most graphicaUy the result of this 

 concentration. The bush simply disappeared and the country became bare, except 



