INTRODUCTION

Now that this book is printed, and about to be given to the world, a
sense of its shortcomings both in style and contents, weighs very
heavily upon me. As regards the latter, I can only say that it does
not pretend to be a full account of everything we did and saw. There
are many things connected with our journey into Kukuanaland that I
should have liked to dwell upon at length, which, as it is, have been
scarcely alluded to. Amongst these are the curious legends which I
collected about the chain armour that saved us from destruction in the
great battle of Loo, and also about the "Silent Ones" or Colossi at
the mouth of the stalactite cave. Again, if I had given way to my own
impulses, I should have wished to go into the differences, some of
which are to my mind very suggestive, between the Zulu and Kukuana
dialects. Also a few pages might have been given up profitably to the
consideration of the indigenous flora and fauna of Kukuanaland.[*]
Then there remains the most interesting subject--that, as it is, has
only been touched on incidentally--of the magnificent system of
military organisation in force in that country, which, in my opinion,
is much superior to that inaugurated by Chaka in Zululand, inasmuch as
it permits of even more rapid mobilisation, and does not necessitate
the employment of the pernicious system of enforced celibacy. Lastly,
I have scarcely spoken of the domestic and family customs of the
Kukuanas, many of which are exceedingly quaint, or of their
proficiency in the art of smelting and welding metals. This science
they carry to considerable perfection, of which a good example is to
be seen in their "tollas," or heavy throwing knives, the backs of
these weapons being made of hammered iron, and the edges of beautiful
steel welded with great skill on to the iron frames. The fact of the
matter is, I thought, with Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good, that the