Part 5 (1/2)
”It is, then, a lottery fro to end; the poor divers' lottery is shark or no shark; the purchasers', pearls or no pearls But Mr
Fairburn is co up the ladder, and I am anxious to knoas the fate of Mokanna”
Mr Fairburn, who had come on deck on purpose to continue the narrative, took his seat by his two fellow passengers and went on as follows:--
”I stated that Mokanna had been forwarded to the Cape Youfor his native land against civilized invaders; but this was a deep criovernaol, and finally was condemned to be imprisoned for life on Robben Island, a place appropriated for the detention of convicted felons and other malefactors, who there work in irons at the slate-quarries”
”May I ask, where is Robben Island?”
”It is an island a few miles from the mainland, close to Table Bay, upon which the Cape Town is built
”Mokanna re made his intentions known to some Caffres ere confined there with him, he contrived out of the iron hoops of the casks to make some weapons like cutlasses, hich he aruard and overpowered them; he then seized the boat, and with his Caffresto disembark upon the rocks of the mainland, the boat was upset in the surf, which was very violent; Mokanna clung some time to a rock, but at last ashed off, and thus perished the unfortunate leader of the Caffres”
”Poor fellow,” said Alexander; ”he deserved a better fate and a enerous enemy; but did the war continue?”
”No; it ended in a un You recollect that the as comainst the real chiefs The Caffres had before been coive up their territories on our side of the Fish River; the colonial govern still further, that is, beyond the Keisi and Chumi rivers, by which 3,000 more square miles were added to the colonial territory This was exacted, in order that there round to separate the Caffres and the Dutch boors, and put an end to further robberies on either side The strangest part of the story is, that this territory was not taken away froainst e had made war, but from Gaika, our ally, to support e had entered into the war”
”Well, it was even-handed--not justice, but injustice, at all events”
”Exactly so; and so thought Gaika, for when speaking of the protection he received frooverne extent of fine country which has been taken froh protected, I am _rather oppressed_ bythe neutral ground, I ood policy to put one between the parties”
”I grant it; but as the conduct of the colonial governe tracts to the Dutch boors, so as again to bring them into contact with the Caffres”
”Is it possible?”
”Yes; to overnainst the in the Caffres to destroy the colony Neither were the coainst the Caffres, put an end to: Makomo, the son of Gaika, our late ally, has, I hear, been the party now attacked I trust, however, that weon in a more favorable and reputable overnment at home have been put in possession of the facts, such will be the case
”I have now given you a very brief insight into the history of the Cape up to the present time There areto diverge frohtforward narrative; but upon any questions you ive you all the information in my power I can not, however, dis one remark, which is, that it is principally, if not wholly, to the missionaries, to their exertions and to their representations, that what good has been done is to be attributed They are entitled to the greatest credit and the warreat as has been the misrule of this colony for raceful, if it had not been for their efforts Another very i place in the colony, which will eventually be productive of ration, which every year becomes more extensive; and as soon as the British population exceeds and masters that of the old Dutch planters and boors, we shall have better feeling in the colony Do not suppose that all the Dutch boors are such as those whose conduct I have been obliged to point out There are htened
”I know froainst the natives are fast fading away, and that lately the law has been able to hold its ground, and has been supported by the people inhabiting the districts The Dutch, with all their prejudices and all their vices, will soon be sed up by the inundation of English settlers, and will gradually be so incorporated and intere that no distinction will be known Time, however, is required for such consolidation and ce fast, and the future prospects of the Cape are as cheering, as youand gloomy”
”I trust in God that such will be the case,” replied Alexander ”If this wind continues, in a few days we shall be at the Cape, and I shall beon”
”I had a letter just before I set out fro that the Zoolu tribes, to the northward of the Caffres, are in an unquiet state; and as you must pass near to these tribes on your journey, I am anxious to know the truth At all events, Chaka is dead; he was murdered about two years back by his own relations”
”Who was Chaka?” inquired Alexander
”That I have yet to tell you; at present we have only got as far as the Caffres, who are immediately on our frontiers”
CHAPTER VII
The wind continued fair, and the vessel rapidly approached the Cape