INTKRIOk < 1 K A ZULI' HI ' I . 
THE AMAZULU NATION. 
From the great range of snowy mountains known as the Quatlilambas or White Mountains, which run parallel 
to the south-east coast of Africa, from latitude twenty-nine degrees, almost as far north as Delagoa Bay, there extends 
a belt ot country stretching away to the Indian Ocean and averaging a breadth of about two hundred miles; this 
country is rich and fertile in the extreme, abounding in pasturage and wood, well watered by meandering rivers, that 
have their rise among the mountains and flow into the Indian Ocean, and abounding in game of all sorts, as the 
elephant, the white rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the buffalo, the eland, the koodoo, and other large animals, as well 
as lions, leopards, and hyaenas; the broad, sluggish rivers are infested with crocodiles, and enormous serpents (python') 
are concealed in the jungles near the sea-coast. The climate partakes of a tropical character, heavy rains occurring 
during the summer months,* which cause the vegetation to be luxuriant throughout the year. Thunder and lightning 
are unusually violent; and although the climate in the lower districts is damp and sultry, where several kinds of fever 
prevail, and the paarde ziekte , or horse-sickness, is very severe after the rainy season, yet the upland country is temperate 
and healthy, and the climate remarkably delightful. This fine, wide, fertile country is studded thickly with lesser 
mountain chains, gradually rising until they reach the snowy ridges of Quathlamba, which may be termed the backbone 
of Southern Africa; and it is peopled almost exclusively by Zulus, amounting, as nearly as can be estimated, to three 
hundred thousand, who are subject to the despotic rule of Umpanda, brother of Dingaan and of Ohaka surnamed the 
Bloody, who is the present monarch of the Amazuluf nation. 
The Zulus are a fine race of Kafirs, superior in stature and physical strength to their neighbours the Bechuanas, 
who occupy the country on the western side of the Quathlamba ranges. In elegance of shape and beauty of figure, 
as well as in the style and variety of their savage costume, the Zulus are as superior to the other Kafir trihes as 
they are in their warlike character and the courage and bravery they exhibit in battle. Unlike the frontier Kafirs, 
who throw the assagai, and whose mode of warfare consists in lying in ambuscade and stealing unawares upon their 
foe at an unexpected moment, the Zulus fight boldly in the open field with the most determined bravery, and use a 
short stabbing assagai for personal combat. The Amazulu are a nation of warriors, and their motto is, “ to conquer 
or to die.”^; 
* Usually from November rill April, though much rain often falls, during the months of August and September. 
+ The word Amazulu means literally the “ Celestials.” The a at the beginning of the word is an adjunct, which serves to determine the word 
to which it is joined; the prefix ma combined with zubi, which signifies heaven, shew# that this word is in the plural, 
t U ,e liasutos term them Matibili, thane who disappear, from their being almost hid behind their immense shields. 
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