Account of a native wlio was in the battle, taken from the Natal Mercury

Account of a native wlio was in the battle, taken
from the Natal Mercury :
The following is the substance of a conversation which took place
a few days ago between one of our Missionaries and a native on
his station, who came to him to have a wound bound up. The
fight in which he took part was that of Isandhlwana. Pie further
entirely confirms the statement that on the occasion the Zulus
used their own dead as shields, throwing them on the bayonets
of the regulars :
‘ How do you do, Udhlolwane ? ’
‘ Very well,
teacher, but the spear wound in my right foot pains me ;
I need
some medicine.’ ‘ Who speared you ?
’ ‘A Zulu, teacher; but I
finished him.’ ‘ What with ?
’
‘ My gun, teacher.’ ‘ You had a
gun, then ; who gave it you ?
’
‘ My white man, teacher.’ ‘What
was his name ?
’
‘ Doherty.’ ‘ Were you his servant ? ’
* Yes,
teacher.’ ‘ What work did you perform for him ?
’ ‘I was his
cook.’ ‘ Tell me all about the fight. Were any white men
engaged in it ?
’
‘ Yes, teacher, and some black, also, Amakolwe
(Christian natives), and others; but the Zulus were far the most
numerous.’ ‘ Did you attack them first ? ’
‘ Yes ; the soldiers
did, but I stopped with the waggons.’ ‘ And did the Zulus come
to the waggons ? ’
‘ Yes, teacher ;
I am sorry to say they did.’
‘ And why did you not defend them ?
’
‘ We did, teacher, so long
as we could, but they were too many for us.’ ‘How did they
appear ?
’
‘ They came towards us like the big ocean waves,
teacher ?
’
‘ Were any of the Zulus killed ?
’
‘ Yes ; great heaps
of them were cut down, but they did not mind it at all. They
filled up the gaps, and they fought with spears as well as guns.’
‘ How did you manage to get away ? ’ ‘I killed as many as I
could with my gun, and then used my spear, but it glided off the
shield of a Zulu, and I saw he would kill me if I did not run,
so I took to my heels.’ ‘ But how could you run with such a
wound ?
’ ‘I don’t know, teacher, but I did, and my wound did
I IO The War in Zululand.
not pain me till night-time. I hid in the bush till morning, and
then found the waggon road, and a Missionary waggon passing
by. I was taken in, and brought half way to Pietermaritzburg.’
(Probably Rev. Otto de Witt’s waggon.) ‘ When you get well,
what will you do, Udhlolwane ? ’ ‘Go back, and kill more Zulus.
I shall keep the gun for that purpose.’ 1 Udhlolwane, if there had
been a few more white and black soldiers in your party, could
you have beaten the Zulus ?
’ 1 Yes, teacher; I am sure we should
have done so.’

Hi Admin ,
Thanks for posting this simple yet very interesting account .
Now, the word "teacher" coming up frequently in the text would, as spoken by the Zulu  would have been translated from "Mfundisi"(Zulu). This means missionary or school teacher  in Zulu, or anyone one else teaching others.
The famly name Pie, by the way, still exists in Natal today.
What is most interesting however is that an ostensible non combatant, takes up a weapon and proceeds to do his bit in the battle. There were many others like this, not yet documented or recorded in the annals. Some of these no doubt deserved high commendation for their very brave actions but all of that was swept under the mat so as to suit Chelmsford's machinations. 
I believe too that past and present writings on this battle are very incomplete., ie justice has not yet been done to the real history

regards


barry