JOHN DUNN, CETEWAYO, AND THE THREE GENERALS

Pietermaritzburg, Natal, May 1886

First edition: iv preface + iii, 156 pages, original blue pebble-grained cloth decorated and titled gilt on upper cover within a blind stamped border, worn at both hinges,the spine is missing, and the boards have been simply repaired, foxing mainly on the preliminary pages, a good copy

Mendelssohn (Sidney) South African Bibliography vol 1 pages 494-5. 'The history of John Dunn, the white Chief, is one of the most extraordinary narratives in South African annals. He started for the country in 1853, and traded and hunted till 1856, when the war of succession broke out between the two sons of Mpanda, i.e. Cetewayo and Umbulazi. Dunn joined the forces of the latter prince, who was defeated and slain, but he was afterwards reconciled to Cetywayo, and was successful in recovering the cattle of the white traders in Zululand. Some time after, the successful heir to the throne asked him to settle in Zululand, "as he wanted a white man as a friend to live near him and advise him," and after some consideration he accepted this offer. Panda dying in 1872, Cetewayo succeeded him, and there is a description of the scenes of his coronation, at which Mr Shepstone represented the English nation at the King's desire; amongst those present being Mr. Baines, the celebrated traveller.

Soon after, however, matters became strained between the English and the Zulus, owing to the former nation assuming an authority over the King of the Zulus which he would not acknowledge. Much argument and correspondence followed but eventually war broke out, which resulted in the crushing of the power of Cetywayo. In the resettlement of the country John Dunn was made a chief, a position which he took up conditionally that the King was never restored to Zululand, a promise eventually broken. The three generals under whom Dunn served are thus described by him: Lord Chelmsford, he asserts, was "a thorough gentleman, and good and brave soldier, but no general"; General Crealock "was a good commanding officer," but "if fighting had occurred he would not have shone as a general"; Sir Garnet Wolseley "a good general, a thorough soldier, and, in fact, a man fit for any emergency."