on the farm, he had
ridden into the Transvaal, and found that land could be purchased there
even more cheaply than in Natal; but that he had much conversation with
English settlers on the frontier, and these had for the most part
strongly advised him to settle inside the Natal frontier.

"It may be that all will be right," one had told him, "but the Boers
have not yet recovered from their scare from Secoceni."

"Who is Secoceni, father?" Dick asked. "The books we have say nothing
about him."

"No," Mr Humphreys said; "they were all published a few years since,
and none of them treat much of the affairs of the Transvaal, which, as
an independent state, had comparatively little interest to English
settlers. There are in the Transvaal, which is of immense extent, a
very large number of natives, enormously outnumbering the Boers. In the
southern districts, where the Boers are strongest, they cruelly
ill-treat the natives, making slaves of them, and thinking no more of
shooting one of them down than they would of shooting a dog. In the
outlying provinces they live almost on sufferance of the natives, and,
were these to unite their forces and rise, they could annihilate the
Dutch. Secoceni is a powerful chief, who lives with his tribe in a
natural stronghold; he has always held himself as independent of the
Dutch. As his men used to make raids upon the Boers' cattle, the latter
attacked him, and in alliance with Swazis, another powerful tribe,
endeavoured to carry his fortress; they were, however, badly beaten; it
being only by the gallantry of their native allies that the Boer
contingent was saved from destruction. Secoceni then took the
offensive. A perfect panic seized the Boers; they refused to obey the
orders of their government, and to turn out to resist the invaders. The
treasury was empty, for their government had never been enabled to
persuade them to pay taxes. They applied for aid to Natal, but finally
their plight was so bad that they were glad to accept the offer which
Mr Shepstone made them, of annexation to England, by which they secured
our protection and were safe from annihilation. Secoceni was not the
only enemy who threatened them. They had a still more formidable foe in
the Zulus on the eastern frontier. These are a very warlike people, and
it was known that their king meditated the conquest of the Transvaal.
But, glad enough as the Boers were at the moment to accept the
protection of Eng