On
arriving at the little frontier town of Utrecht in the Transvaal, in
charge of two waggon loads of mixed goods consigned to a storekeeper
there, it was discovered that out of six cases of brandy five were
missing from his waggon. Hadden explained the matter by throwing the
blame upon his Kaffir "boys," but the storekeeper, a rough-tongued man,
openly called him a thief and refused to pay the freight on any of
the load. From words the two men came to blows, knives were drawn, and
before anybody could interfere the storekeeper received a nasty wound in
his side. That night, without waiting till the matter could be inquired
into by the landdrost or magistrate, Hadden slipped away, and trekked
back into Natal as quickly as his oxen would travel. Feeling that even
here he was not safe, he left one of his waggons at Newcastle, loaded up
the other with Kaffir goods--such as blankets, calico, and hardware--and
crossed into Zululand, where in those days no sheriff's officer would be
likely to follow him.
Being well acquainted with the language and customs of the natives, he
did good trade with them, and soon found himself possessed of some cash
and a small herd of cattle, which he received in exchange for his wares.
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