Dys-but
the leaders quarreled and their followers took up their quarrels.
Tensions were exacerbated when some of the men elected Retief as gover-
nor and chief commandant, and Maritz as president and judge. Potgieter
and Uys,given no office,were aggrieved. There were also policy differences.
Should there be personal rule or should control be vested in an elected
body? Should they ignore Britain or negotiate for independence? Where
should they found their permanent settlements ?44
Those rivalries led to a split. Potgieter's people made their new homes in
the highveld, while most of the others preferred Natal, with its better
rainfall and its potential harbor. In October 1837, Retiefwent ahead with a
small party to negotiate with a few British men who had been trading at
Port Natal (modern Durban) to forestall British intervention, and with
Dingane to ask for a grant of land and to prevent a Zulu attack. He found
that the traders would welcome the emigrants, believing that their presence
would increase their security. Dingane prevaricated, telling Retief to show
his good faith by recapturing some cattle that had been stolen by a Sotho
chief, Sekonyela, who lived back across the mountains on the plateau.
Retief complied. He tricked Sekonyela into giving up the cattle, and in