e had shut back the army of Tshaka as it were by a gate. The
great pile of rocks which filled the gap was far too high for men to
leap over, too loose to be pulled down, lest the entire mass should fall
upon and crush them. Such was the strategy of our chief.

"And now upon those of our enemies who were thus walled in with us there
bore down the whole of our force, led by Umzilikazi in person. Those of
us who were in flight turned, re-formed, and sprang like lightning to
the charge; while others of us, who had been lying concealed, leaped
from our ambush, and, forming a dense half-circle, we rushed upon the
warriors of Tshaka. These were about two thousand, we being four times
their number. But, encouraged by the roars of their brethren on the
other side, they stood their ground. _Whau_! it was like a contest of
lions! When we whirled down upon them they met us in full shock; about
them there was no giving way. But by the time a man might have counted
a hundred, nigh half their number had fallen; but we, too, had lost
fearfully. In the same time again there would not have been one left,
when Umzilikazi, waving his great shield, cried, in tones of thunder, to
give them a truce.

"`Yield, Gungana!' he cried to the _induna_ in command. `Yield, men of
Tshaka! To fight on is death; to return to the king is death. We go to
find a new kingdom. Join us--for it is better to live than to die.'

"`Thou sayest truly, son of Matyobane,' replied Gungana, after a moment
of hesitation. Many, too, were there in that body who in their hearts
favoured Umzilikazi, and were tired of the hard rule of Tshaka. If they
went back to the King with their task unperformed, or badly performed,
certain death awaited, and from the stout resistance we had made they
deemed our force to be greater than it was. So the warriors agreed to
accept their lives and come under our chief.

"This settled, we resumed our flight. And with this new accession to
our fighting strength, we moved up the pass, singing back at those who
would have followed, in derision, the war-song of Tshaka, but altered
to, `We go to find new nations to conquer.' Then it grew dark, but
still we pressed on to where our women and cattle were awaiting us
higher up, and, marching through the night, the next morning we gained
the other side of the mountains.

"Then it was as the word of our chief had promised us. Fair and rolling
plains lay beneath us, stretching as far