In Johannesburg Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #53)

dramatic description of a simple gun." "Shaka was a practical man", Mngoma pointed out, "and he immediately asked the missionary to demonstrate. One of Shaka's men was ordered to stand at an indicated spot and the missionary was asked to kill him. The missionary raised the weapon to his shoulder, aimed carefully and pulled the trigger. There was a violent explosion and the man fell dead. Shaka accepted the weapon without any hesitation." "Encouraged by this success, the missionary reminded the King that his success in the battlefield would bring him many enemies, even from amongst his own people, and that they would expose him to numerous conspiracies and treachery. To counter these evils, the missionary added, the King would have to rely on an effective method of divining. The missionary claimed that his people had developed such a method; that by making black lines on a piece of paper, a man could know what was discussed in his absence. Here the missionary was dramatising the art of writing." "Again, Shaka immediately put this fantastic claim to the test. The missionary's friend was asked to stand out of hearing range. Shaka then pointed out to a grain of sorghum on the ground and ordered that, on his return, the missionary's friend should pick it up and put it in Shaka's hand. The missionary wrote all this down on a piece of paper. On his return the friend read the piece of paper and did exactly as Shaka has ordered. For the second time Shaka accepted without hesitation."