Travels and
Adventures in Eastern Africa, Descriptive of the Zoolus,
their Manners, Customs, etc. etc. with a Sketch of
by Nathaniel Isaacs
In two parts
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Edited,
with footnotes and a biographical sketch by Louis Herrman. |
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Isaac’s
journal is one of the first reports of a European on Zulu prophetess |
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30 REGRET
OF NATIVES.
my king! “ being the usual salutation of the natives. Lieutenant
King gave him a piece of tobacco and a biscuit; the latter he at first
declined, but, seeing us eat it, he took a piece, and thanked us repeatedly, as
he preceded us to the kraal. He left us for a short time and then returned with
fourteen women, a number of children, and four young men. Five of the women
were his wives, and, as he was the master of the Kraal, the remainder he said were his people. The females were all besmeared with red
clay. Both sexes had incisions in the lobe of the ear, in which either a piece
of reed, or a small vessel used as a snuff-box, was introduced. It was some
time before we could prevail on them to approach us; but on making signs of
friendship, and after giving them tobacco and some bread, of which they seemed
fond, the men soon mingled with us and became quite familiar; the females,
however, continued at a distance, sat on the ground, and hung down their heads,
either from fear, or some other impulse.
The sun was now fast declining, and we made signs
that we wished to return to our habitation, when they manifested a desire that
we should remain with them, but, as we declined their offer, the females began
to cry, followed us a considerable part of our way to the boat, and seemed
indisposed to leave us, until we assured them that we intended to visit them
again.
In crossing the bay, we asked Holstead, why these
natives, in their own country, were so terrified at the approach of strangers;
he informed us that they were the remains of tribes who had been destroyed by a
powerful nation called Zoolas, whom I shall hereafter have occasion to describe ;—that they were even to this day subject to great
persecution, and abode in the forests, as we found them, in order that they
might with greater
ARRIVAL OF JOHN CANE AND MR. FYNN. 3’
facility make their escape in the event of being disturbed. Their cattle had been
taken from them, and they were often destitute of the means of subsistence.
Were it known that they possessed even corn, the Zoolas would destroy them to
obtain possession of it, consequently, they seldom planted any, but subsisted
chiefly on fish, and such esculents as grew spontaneously in the vicinity their
residence. At sunset we reached our miserable abode.
10th —Our crew were engaged in securing
everything that could be obtained from the wreck: this occupied them several
days, and we were fortunate in collecting many articles of copper that
afterwards proved to us us inestimable. I experienced
for two or three days considerable indisposition and was necessarily confined
to the only mattress we had saved. On the 14th, at sunset we were most
agreeably surprised by the appearance John Cane, Mr. Farewell’s carpenter, who
had left the dwelling of Chaka, the Zoola chief, four
days before, a distance from our residence of about 120 miles. He brought with him a number of cattle,
and gave us the pleasing intelligence that Mr. Farewell was on his way home.
15th. — In
the afternoon, Mr. Fynn arrived from e country of the
Amampoatoes, a tribe inhabiting the banks of the