THE ZAMBESI BEGION. 
299 
himself to await tlieir approach, but bounding over the 
pole of the waggon, he scampered off into the bush 
beyond, but without further outcry, evidently anxious 
to conceal himself in the long grass. I called out to 
him that he had more to fear from the lions in the grass 
than from the Zulus, and that he had better stay in the 
waggon ; so terrified, however, was he at the prospect of 
falling into the hands of the Matabele, that he turned a 
deaf ear to my words, and rushed out of sight. 
The savage band flocked round the w T aggon, still 
flourishing their kiris. Excepting the two ringleaders 
they proved to be not true Zulus, but belonging to 
various plundered tribes, having been stolen away as 
boys by Moselikatze, and brought up as Zulu warriors. 
They had small leather aprons with fringes, or occasion¬ 
ally a gourd-shell or piece of basket-work on their 
bodies, otherwise they were quite naked ; only some of 
them wore balloon-shaped head-dresses made of ostrich 
feathers or other plumage. Their expression was ex¬ 
ceedingly wild. The fierce rolling eye was a witness 
that they belonged to a warlike race, expecting that 
their commands should be obeyed; and probably there 
was not one amongst them who would have hesitated to 
perpetrate a murder if he considered that anything was 
to be gained by it. 
One of the leaders swung himself on to the pole of 
the waggon, and speaking in broken Dutch gave me to 
understand that they were “ Lo Bengulas,” and that it 
was their wont to slaughter every captive they made, 
except he were bought off by a ransom ; they were now 
ready to put their rule into force upon my servants ; 
and as for my dog, they should shoot him then and 
there unless I paid them down at once a handsome sum 
to save him. 
I put as bold a face as I could upon the matter. I 
told them that I was not going to be frightened into 
making them any payment whatever, but that if they 
would promise to go quietly away from the waggon, I 
would make them a present all round. I hoped by this 
device to anticipate their notorious thievish propensities ; 
