It can also be readily understood that the tribes of Natal and Zululand (whatever may have been their interrelation when Tshaka began his iron rule and the process of welding the nation together), had, in the main--albeit within a couple of centuries--sprung from but three or four parent stocks. It is this universal intermingling of types which, as in England, has gradually evolved a people well-nigh homogeneous and possessing a remarkable degree of solidarity. Although, in 1906, many feuds and differences--some of these dating back two or more generations--existed among many of the tribes, when anything powerful enough to inflame particular sections occurred, it required but little effort and time to bring on a conflagration of the whole. There is nothing puny or dilatory about a Zulu when he begins to sharpen his assegais and cut shields for war. It will be seen in a later chapter how strained the relations between Natives and Europeans became, and how the black race came to feel that the white man's civilization was oppressing it. With such resentment latent in a million warlike savages, living under such system as has been outlined above, the danger of the tribal system, as well as its meaning, become, perhaps, sufficiently clear; at any rate, for the understanding of the story narrated in these pages. And yet, of all people on this earth, the Zulus are the most respectful, the most amenable to discipline, and the most easily managed--chiefly because of the many excellences inherent in the tribal system.