“September 13th. Sir Peregrine Maitland is moving with his division towards the Fish River mouth. A report is in circulation that Faku, the Amaponda Chief, has come down upon Kreli’s country. This is not to be desired. Faku is a man of immense power, with a great number of people, who will be ready to creep into the Colony at all points for plunder.
“Among our allies employed with the army are 150 Bushmen, with poisoned arrows. (It was some of these who were exhibited lately in England.) The Kaffirs have great dread of these ‘new assegais,’ which are barbed, and cannot be extracted without additional injury to the wounds they inflict.
“More intelligence has been received relative to Sir Andries Stockenstrom’s expedition to the Kei. The capture of 7,000 head of cattle is cheering and important; but the treaty appears a sorry affair.
“Kama, the Christian Chief, has proved himself worthy of our confidence and respect. With the few followers who have remained true to him and us, he has been, as far as lay in his power, an active and efficient ally in defence of the district to which he was driven by the threat of assassination from his half-brother, Páto. Hermanus, too, has, I am told, been true to us for many years; but of him I know nothing personally. We were always glad to receive Kama in our cottage at Fort Peddie. It is proposed to give these friendly chiefs the land in the ceded territory, hitherto occupied by Tola and Botman—Gaikas.
“September 9th.—We learn that General Maitland has reached the mouth of the Fish River; but he finds it necessary to contract the line of forces, so to speak. Much impatience is manifested by people ‘sitting still’ themselves, at the delay in military operations. It is said, ‘With such a force the Kaffirs ought long since to have been crushed.’ To use a lady’s simile, a skein of thread is a simple thing to unwind when fresh from the weaver’s hands; but, when once entangled, it requires time and patience to unravel it.
“Although the enemy are yet considered to be well supplied with powder, their bullets are often found to be of zinc, taken from the roofs they have destroyed. These are so light that they generally fly over the heads they are intended to strike. The chiefs desire peace, but on their own terms. Macomo has presented himself at Fort Cox to Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, 91st Regiment. Sandilla is ‘in the bush.’ This wild child of nature dreads our making a prisoner of him. None but Stock have as yet consented to give up their arms. Nonnebe (General Campbell’s great-grand-daughter!) protests that she wishes for peace, but that Seyolo ‘has his hand on her shoulder, and keeps her down.’ Sonto, Stock’s half-brother, calls Stock, ‘a woman;’ and says he, Sonto, is not weary of the war; he has plenty of men, horses, and plunder, and will not give in. The ‘moon is dead,’ and where is the promised cattle from Stock? Colonel Somerset, with his division, consisting of the Cape Corps, some Artillery, part of the 7th Dragoon Guards, and a detachment of the 45th, has gone over to the Keiskama. The troops are to be pitied in these rains; they must encounter difficulties and privations under the floods that are deluging the land.
“Before Stock left Peddie, he sent the double-barrelled gun, which Colonel Somerset restored to him at the Gwanga, as a present to Sir Peregrine Maitland.
“A plan has been submitted to the Governor for the formation of settlements and locations for the coloured population under our Government. The intention is to take in a vast tract of land, and many men will be required to protect so large a territory.
“The inferior Kaffirs must have learned by this time that their chiefs have promised more than they could perform; they find that, although they can harass and evade, they cannot ‘drive the white man into the sea;’ that, although they may occasionally stop our convoys, other roads are readily thrown open. They steal our cattle, nay, the poor oxen die in our service, on the depastured line of march, and lo! ships, ‘sea-waggons,’ present themselves on the coast of Kaffirland! It is deplorable that the 73rd should be driven out of Waterloo Bay. There is no safe harbour there for large vessels, but ships may slip their cables and run out to sea, in case of danger. The 73rd, having made their appearance at Waterloo Bay on the 3rd of September, and been driven back to Simon’s Bay, have landed at Port Elizabeth, and marched from thence on the 21st. While at anchor in Waterloo Bay, they observed the blackened state of the country on both sides of the Fish River mouth, and some of them stating at Simon’s Bay that the grass was burned at Fort Dacres, and opposite to it, a report was raised in Cape Town that Waterloo Bay was burned!
“Sir Andries Stockenstrom has given his Burghers leave to retire to their homes, for the purpose of planting their land. The Malay force have represented that their period of service has already expired; the Burghers in the General’s division have requested the same indulgence as those under Sir Andries, and the liberated Africans will be making the same demand. On looking at these latter happy, healthy, free creatures, we cannot sufficiently rejoice at their freedom, however we may deprecate the manner in which the emancipation principle was carried out. Very different are these well-clad negroes to those who in old times formed the West India Militia, to whom their officers addressed the following words of command:—‘All dem wid shoe and tocking tan in de front; all dem wid shoe and no tocking tan behind; all dem wid no shoe and no tocking tan in de middle!’
“A few nights since, the Malays held a meeting to celebrate the festival of their new year. We were induced to look in at the scene of the fête for a short time. The only thing worth hearing was the war-song, which, although very simple, is very inspiring, chiefly from the enthusiasm with which it is sung. The choruses present many beautiful combinations of a peculiar kind, from the circumstance of the singers being ignorant of the rules of music. The group was picturesque. A priest in white robes, in a posture between sitting and kneeling, occupied the chief place at the head of the apartment, which was a long low room, dimly lit, except above the mats whereon the singers were assembled, without their shoes. This end was garlanded with flowers and foliage, and illuminated by a not ungraceful lantern of Chinese appearance, ornamented with coloured tapers. The priest, and his two churchwardens, as they were called, were distinguished by green tufts in their turbans, and led the chant, which was taken up and chorussed by the rest with spirit.
“The other part of the room was undecorated; here and there, a solitary candle on a shelf above cast a dim light on the head of some mustachioed Dutch Burgher; and, beside him, in strong contrast, was the comparatively slight English soldier. At one point, a knot of Hottentots congregated together, joining in the chorus, and, snapping their fingers, seemed ready to dance to it; while on the lap of a dark-faced nurse, slumbered a fair infant, resembling one of Chantrey’s charming pieces of sculpture.
“Some weeks ago, a Malay was buried near this. The grave was very deep; within it were placed a number of planks in a slanting position, forming a kind of penthouse, and within this was laid the body, sewn up in canvas cloth, and so placed as not to touch the side of the tomb. Some biscuit, a pipe, and some tobacco were left within the penthouse beside the corpse, and it was then covered in. The ceremony was closed by a party assembling round the grave, and continuing in silent prayer for two hours, at least.
“Colonel Somerset has returned from his expedition across the Keiskama, having captured three thousand head of cattle. But for the heavy rains, more might have been taken. The troops were in a deluge, and we hear of many suffering from rheumatism, the effects of being obliged to lie down actually in the mud, while a flood descended from the heavens. One passage in Colonel Somerset’s dispatch reminds one of Lord Hill’s surprise of Girard. ‘Making a night march with seven hundred and fifty men, to the Gakoon river, I established myself at midnight in the midst of Umhala’s tribe, without their having the slightest intimation of my move. Lying perdu till day-dawn, I dispersed the troops in various directions, and, although the enemy drove off their cattle and abandoned their kraals, I pursued them to the Gonube River, and by mid-day had secured three thousand head of very superior cattle, with a few horses,’ etc. In this affair twenty-two of the enemy were killed.
“Now, although no one is going to compare the Kaffir foe to our brave but inveterate enemies in the Peninsula, a great deal more exertion is necessary to get at them—as well as indomitable patience and considerable skill. The idea of upwards of seven hundred men making stealthy way into the midst of a savage tribe, in spite of spies and watch-dogs, is wonderful, when we consider the difficulties attending a march at any time in such a country; and the capture of cattle for starving troops was a matter of more importance than a more glittering conquest. Goethe, in describing a disastrous march in 1792, consoles himself and his friends by affirming that they had been vanquished ‘not by the enemy but by the elements.’ Since the war began, the British cause in South Africa has had to contend with every element.
“September 20th.—The Lieutenant-Governor, Colonel Hare, has arrived in Graham’s Town. Every one is acquainted with Colonel Hare’s character as a brave soldier. Of his abilities as a diplomatist he can scarcely be a fair judge himself.
“October 14th.—Graham’s Town is crowded with troops. The Drostdy Square presents a very different appearance to what it did six months ago, when the enemy was hovering round us. The second division of the 45th have commenced their march to the Fish River mouth. The 73rd have just marched in; they have been indeed unfortunate on their way hither, both by sea and land, and were nearly lost at Waterloo Bay, and driven back some hundred miles for chains and anchors. They have been detained between Algoa Bay and Graham’s Town by the floods that deluged Colonel Somerset’s path. It is said the 73rd are to proceed eventually to the Buffalo mouth, where a steamer will probably be sent with supplies. The anchorage there will be surveyed: it is supposed to be superior to Waterloo Bay.
“On the 30th of September, a meeting took place between the Gaika tribes and the Deputy of the British Government, Lieutenant-Colonel Johnstone, 27th Regiment, at the request of the Gaikas. Mr Calderwood, missionary, was present, besides several other persons. The scene of the assemblage was ‘the bush.’
“The Governor’s terms, offered and interpreted by Mr Calderwood, were these:—Firstly. That the tribes should lay down their arms. Secondly. That they should restore the colonial cattle. Thirdly, That the country as far as the Kei should be placed under British rule—those Kaffirs who remain on this side submitting to such regulations as may be made for their future government.
“Macomo, Sandilla’s uncle, appeared much dejected. He is the only one of the Gaika chiefs who may be said to be really anxious for peace. Some time since, he sent his eldest son an order not to fight. The dutiful son replied, that Macomo was a ‘drunken coward, and only wished for peace for the sake of the canteen.’ At the meeting the others expressed themselves pretty much as they had previously done. They stated that they had never heard of a conquered people being called upon to give up their arms: that they had bought them openly from British traders (Notre); that, as for the cattle, most of them were dead; that they were tired of the war, and would not fight any more—they were ‘under our feet;’ that our convoys might move through the countries unmolested; that we might slay the thieves now plundering the Colony—they were a banditti under no control; and that, ‘if we were resolved to continue the war, we must slay them at the doors of their huts.’!!! Cunning savages! they know that British troops will never kill unresisting men, much less the miserable tillers of the ground, the poor women of Kaffirland, and they imagine we are yet to be imposed upon.
“As Mr Calderwood approached Beaufort, on his way to this peaceful meeting, an assegai passed across him, thrown by the hand of some savage assassin. Eight Kaffirs sprang out of a bush close by, and Mr Calderwood and the Cape Corps orderly following him, galloped onwards into the town, scarcely half a mile distant. Probably, two days after this occurrence, these very men were among those ‘in the bush,’ who said, ‘their hearts were heavy; the teacher’s word was no longer good; they were under our feet,’ etc, etc! or of that party which, on encountering a detachment of the 91st, between Block Drift and Fort Cox, threw themselves on the ground, and suffered the troops to pass on.
“There is, however, no doubt that the inferior Kaffirs are heartily tired of the war, and suffering from disease, in consequence of starvation, cold, and change of diet. Some are living on the sea-shore, on shell-fish; this shows their state of destitution, as they have not hitherto been accustomed to eat fish of any description. Many would be glad to be under British rule; for, in spite of their old notions of chieftainship, and habits of vassalage, they have discovered how completely they have been misled and disappointed by their chiefs. Last February, when the 27th appeared at the mouth of the Kowie, they were extremely astonished; and, had they landed, it would have had a salutary effect. The disembarkation of a regiment like the Rifle Brigade at the Buffalo, in the heart of Kaffirland, would go far towards convincing these heathens more than ever of the power of the ‘Children of the foam, whose great sea-waggons from the broad waters spit forth red men.’
“October 19th.—The General’s camp has been deluged. Colonel Somerset returned from the Keiskama in the midst of torrents; the wind blew in such heavy gales, that the encampment, after a tempestuous night, occasionally presented a deficiency in tents. Here lay a sleeper overpowered with fatigue, quite unconscious that his canopy was removed, there a medley assortment of camp equipage, also shelterless, the tent that covered it blown many yards away, and flattened in the mud. The poor half-starved horses, with their tails turned towards the driving rain, and quite crest-fallen, neighed joyfully on the approach of any human being, in hopes of food. None to be had. The ‘Catherine’ lies a wreck upon the shore at Waterloo Bay, with little chance of saving her cargo of forage, none of landing it for some time, if saved.”
Note 1. This sale of arms and ammunition to the Kaffirs was prohibited by the Dutch Government, but had been tolerated by the Stockenstrom treaties; it is now again very properly forbidden.
Early in November, Sir Peregrine Maitland moved towards Block Drift. He was accompanied by the 90th, under Lieutenant-Colonel Slade; the reserve battalion of the 45th under Lieutenant-Colonel Erskine; a troop of the 7th Dragoon Guards; and some artillery. By the end of the month, all the principal Gaika chiefs had sent in most abject messages, and were as humble in appearance as they were insincere in spirit.
Sandilla, in spite of his affected humility, was sullen, and perhaps among them all the only one in any way anxious for peace was Macomo.
The General, from the first, declared his intention of receiving them only as common individuals, no longer recognising one any of them as a Chief of Kaffirland. Sandilla and the rest of them brought in a few cattle, and some rusty arms; these tributes were refused, and the ex-Chiefs were granted another truce of ten days, to bring in the quantity of cattle demanded—namely, twenty thousand head—together with five hundred horses, and eighteen hundred guns.
At the time this truce was made there were good reasons for it. The General was awaiting his reinforcements, the Rifle Brigade and 6th Regiment being still on their tedious way from Algoa Bay; and the Commissary-General, Mr Palmer, was actively exerting himself to fill the exhausted stores: the cattle were only beginning to recover from the effects of the long droughts, and there were but few fresh horses in the field. Thus, to us, time was of the utmost importance. At this period, damaged biscuit was served out for the horses, and the Fingo women at Fort Beaufort were well paid to cut grass for the starving chargers. Much sickness prevailed, too, in the camps, owing to bad diet, cold, and fatigue.
Still, Colonel Somerset contrived to be on the alert, with such men and horses as he could muster. The guns from his division soon sent their thundering echoes along the banks of the Buffalo, and Stock made his second appearance at Fort Peddie, with a number of his followers, presenting six or eight muskets, and forty-eight head of cattle; the latter he declared to be “his whole share of the colonial plunder.” Stock had the hardihood to bring in, among the tributary cattle, some of the oxen taken from the waggons at Trumpeter’s Drift, on the 28th of May; in which affair he had always professed to have had no share.
All this time the Kaffirs were creeping into the Colony, sweeping off sheep and cattle, waylaying the settlers, and hanging about the different drifts, watching their opportunity of crossing them unobserved. That these banditti were in a starving condition was well-known. One of the most daring robberies was committed at Oatlands, the residence of Colonel Somerset, within half a mile from the town, the cattle being whistled off at night by three Kaffirs. They were pursued the next morning by a party of Cape Mounted Riflemen, under Ensign Salis; the oxen were recaptured in a dense bush, but the thieves escaped.
The Governor had now to contend with the disaffection that prevailed among the irregular forces. These men complained that the promises made to them, regarding some provision for their families, from whom they were separated, had not been carried into effect. I subjoin an account of the mutiny of the Swellendam Native Infantry, under the command of Captain Hogg, 7th Dragoon Guards. The mutiny took place during the absence of Captain Hogg, who had proceeded to the Governor’s camp, near Waterloo Bay, to make a personal representation of the grievances complained of by his men.
On Friday, the 23rd of October, Captain Ward, 91st Regiment, Fort Adjutant and Acting Commandant of Fort Beaufort, warned a hundred men of the Swellendam Native Infantry to be in readiness to march on Saturday morning, as an escort for waggons proceeding to Waterloo Bay. The men were much pleased with this order, as they wished to speak with the General on the subject of their complaints. On Saturday morning, however, Captain Ward was informed that the whole of the Swellendam Native Infantry were parading in the great square of the town, and in the face of their officers; and, before the Commandant had time to remonstrate with them, the men, to the number of three hundred and fifty, faced to the left, and marched off in the direction of Graham’s Town. He was immediately requested by Major Smith, 27th Regiment, Deputy Quartermaster-General, to follow the mutineers with the troops, and to stop their progress. For this purpose, Captain Ward went over to the barracks, to order the bugler to sound the “alarm,” but he was not at hand. The Commandant then ordered six of the sappers and two artillerymen to run the 3-pounder howitzer out, and follow him. This was immediately done, and he proceeded down the street in double time, with the gun, towards the bridge, in the hope of getting there before the men: but some of them called out from the rear, that the “cannons were coming,” and the mutineers in advance stepped out. Captain Ward pushed on, and, on reaching the bridge, ordered the gun to be put in action, and fired three rounds of blank ammunition to the left—not on the mutineers,—as a signal for support from the military. Captain Ward would have been unwise to follow the mutineers with only eight men, and no protection for the gun. The blank firing scattered the Swellendam people, who rushed up the hill over the bridge, and took up a position on the top of it. This hill, like many South African acclivities, is a natural defence, very steep, and covered with stone, and low bush or scrub.
In the mean time, the few mutineers who had followed in the rear of the gun were passing Captain Ward, who then turned round and desired the artillery not to fire until he gave the order. He then rushed in among the mutineers for the purpose of securing a prisoner; and, seizing the firelock of one, opened the pan, and then had a scuffle with him, until a Mr Cumming, of Fort Beaufort, came to his assistance and held the man. Captain Ward followed up and laid hold of another, who might have proved a match for him, had not Mr B.D. Bell, of Fort Beaufort, come forward and assisted in securing him. Soon after, eighty men of the 90th, who happened to be at Beaufort on escort duty, advanced to the assistance of the Commandant, who immediately gave orders to limber up the gun and follow the mutineers, when he received an order from Colonel Richardson to let them go on. The reason for this was as follows. The Rev. Mr Beaver, the clergyman of our Established Church at Fort Beaufort, on learning the step these misguided men had taken, immediately volunteered his services to follow them and to bring them back. In this offer he was seconded by Mr Calderwood, the missionary. The services of these two gentlemen were immediately accepted by Colonel Richardson, and this was decidedly a preferable step to the following three hundred and fifty mutineers up a steep acclivity with a handful of men. The result was, that Mr Beaver and Mr Calderwood succeeding in persuading most of them to return, and would no doubt have induced the rest to accompany them back to Beaufort had they overtaken them, but these were too far in advance.
I have given this statement from Captain Ward’s own in a letter written just after the occurrence, and never intended for publication. One or two other statements appeared in the Colonial prints at the time, but these gave a partial and rather incorrect view of the case, deprecating the plan of firing blank cartridge, without knowing the reason; and, be it remembered, the writers of these accounts from Beaufort were not with Captain Ward at the moment of the occurrence. Sixty-three of the mutineers came on to Graham’s Town, to renew their complaints to Captain Hogg, who had already represented their grievances. I am unable to say whether they obtained redress or not; probably not as soon as they anticipated, for shortly afterwards they again mutinied, when a detachment of the 40th was marched against them, and they were compelled to obey orders.
Mr Beaver’s conduct was humane and judicious in this affair. Colonel Richardson did wisely in accepting his proffered services, instead of risking men’s lives in a fray; and Mr Calderwood’s ready assistance was praiseworthy and valuable.
Unfortunately, a Serjeant of the 91st, when near the wooden bridge on the other side of the river, fired at one of the Swellendam Native Infantry, and wounded him, but not severely. This piece of folly was interlarded with the account of the mutiny, by which the public would infer that it was committed with the knowledge and in the presence of the officer.
It was quite reviving to see the arrivals of stores and mule-waggons, during the period of the truce. Seven Field Officers were also imported from England, and thus disposed of: Lieutenant-Colonel Nicolls, as Commandant at Beaufort; Major Wetenhall, late 10th Regiment, of Waterloo Bay; and Major O’Grady, late 2nd Regiment, was appointed to the command of the Levies in Graham’s Town. Lieutenant-Colonels Mackinnon, Napier, and Montresor, were employed with the General’s division, and Major Storks, late 38th Regiment, with the 2nd division, under Colonel Somerset.
The great misfortune hitherto attendant on the war had been the impoverished state of the Commissariat; but now, while we were gaining time and making fresh preparations for a renewal of hostilities, the enemy were growing hungry. Their women were their foragers for roots, and these poor creatures had carried powder and provisions for them from one stronghold to another for many months.
Wherever these savages found it impracticable to take away the whole of the cattle they had stolen, they killed what they must otherwise have left to fall into our hands; and, cutting it up into strips, hung it about the bush, in the densest thickets, to dry, thus providing for their friends, who were acquainted with these (probably long-established) primitive larders. Meat thus dried and hung up is called biltong, and is by no means bad when grated.
The remains of Captain Sandes, Cape Mounted Rifles, were at last discovered on the Debe flats, near the side of the road leading to Fort Wiltshire, by a party of his own regiment, who were patrolling in that neighbourhood. A letter was found in the pocket of his jacket, and his eye-glass lay near him; by these, and his dress, he was identified. Here Mr Macdonald, a young Ensign of the Cape Corps, caused a grave to be dug by the soldiers, with their swords: “Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,” at that melancholy burial, in the solitary plains of Africa, and though it may be little thought of beyond the suffering friends and relations of that poor murdered man, the circumstances of his death, fighting alone and desperately as he did through hordes of savages in their first moments of ferocious excitement, must ever, when spoken of, awaken the sympathy and regret of his countrymen. The discovery of his remains was the only consolation left to his unfortunate widow, who only awaited this to leave the land which had brought her so much misery. It would have been intrusive to have troubled her with empty condolences, but there were those who felt deeply for her, and longed to assure her of their sympathy.
Lieutenant Lewes, of the 27th Regiment, met his death by accident, falling from his horse against the tressel-boom of a waggon. He lingered only a short time afterwards, and lies buried near the Camp at Fort Cox, mourned by all his brother officers, who were sincerely attached to him, and regretted by all who were acquainted with his honest-heartedness and kindly disposition.
If any proof were wanting of the innate villainy of the Kaffirs, it would be furnished by what occurred during the time. Stock’s people, in passing by Newtondale, formerly a mission station, twelve miles from Fort Peddie, being hospitably sheltered and fed there by a party guarding that spot, the repentant chief repaid this kindness by walking off at dawn with what cattle his people could drive away! At Fort Hare, Macomo began his usual career of drunkenness, maltreating his wives, and, in a fit of passion, striking one of his children dead out of its mother’s arms! At times, he is in a perfectly frantic state, riding wildly about the neighbourhood of the General’s camp, in an old uniform. The last time I saw him was at a moment of peace. The band of the 7th was playing some choice pieces, and Macomo, in a blue coat and brass buttons, trousers with a broad red stripe, and a well-burnished dragoon helmet, stood by, calmly listening, with equal attention, to a set of lively polkas, and next to a glorious air from “Lucrezia Borgia.” Music has the most soothing effect on a Kaffir. The savage, Umhala, has been known to shed tears, and retire from observation, on hearing the band of a regiment playing in Graham’s Town.
Now that the fighting is over, I confess I should like to see a foray. I have witnessed the march of a Commando, but in this there is little excitement. The sound of the trumpet among the wild mountains in Africa, the “upsaddling” from a state of calm repose—the “assembling”—the steady forward movement—the gradual hum of voices on the look-out—the first sight of cattle quietly grazing in some wooded kloof—the dusky forms that are seen creeping away, bewitching the cattle on—the extending the cavalry, who spread themselves out in all directions, and dash at full speed, in parties of two and three, towards the thieves and their prey, must make a picture of no ordinary interest. Then, the hunt through the bush—the flying up and down short cuts, to intercept the enemy, or drive him into an open plain—more resembles the hunting some wild animal than any thing else; while, in the distance, the Kaffir scouts and videttes, who dot the hill-sides, are seen skimming along the mountain-ridges, with news of the fray, to their friends.
“November 25th.—We have had melancholy proof of the sickness in the field in the death of Captain Knight, 7th Dragoon Guards. Although he went into the field in good health, the cold and privation he endured on service in a few weeks laid him on his death-bed, with disease of the liver. In his military career, he was most fortunate, obtaining his commission as Cornet in the 7th in 1841, and his troop, by the death of Captain Bambrick, killed in action at Burn’s Hill, on the 16th of April, 1846.”
We met Captain Knight’s funeral in the streets of Graham’s town to-day. The party consisted of but few troops; and the Hottentot soldiers of the Cape Corps, in their bush dress, green-jackets, and leather trowsers, with haversacks slung across their shoulders, ready for the field, gave a service-like appearance to the procession, creating melancholy emotions, apart from the principal object of the mournful cavalcade. The charger, which had carried his master through the actions in the Amatolas, moved on, unconscious of its sad trappings, and the dirge that wailed through the lately blockaded streets was in strange contrast with the echoes that had formerly filled them from the rifles on the hills.
“The 6th Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Michel, presents so youthful an appearance, that some of the recruits look anything but suited to the service here. Two hundred of them have never yet been taught to handle a musket. Such a country as this is very disheartening to a zealous Commanding Officer, who finds his men and officers scattered in all directions, with no prospect of seeing them in a body till he lands in England. The Rifle Brigade have taken the coloured population by surprise, as hitherto all soldiers from England have been Roed Batjes—red-jackets. They have named the Rifle Brigade the ‘English Cape Corps.’”
As the enemy began to succumb, and to mingle with the people in our camps, we heard various details connected with the war for which we were not prepared. It was learnt that the Gaikas, under Sandilla, seriously meditated an onslaught on our handful of troops, under Colonel Hare, at Block Drift, on the 26th of January, 1846. These are the particulars, as related by the Kaffirs. Besides the three thousand warriors drawn up in front of Colonel Hare’s force of scarcely three hundred men, there were immense numbers collected on the hill-sides, and in the ravines. Women were there, too, watching for the signal, which was to be the waving of a kaross by a chief. It was stated, also, that, as soon as this signal was given, the scout on the point of a hill attempted to obey it, as he had been desired,—namely, by firing off his piece; but three times it missed fire, and he gave it up. No response followed the raising the tiger-skin banner, and the result was the breaking-up of the conference, and the safe return of the troops to quarters. It is most probable the armed scout was deterred by superstitious motives from trying a fourth time to give the signal of destruction. Had the Gaikas risen en masse, as was intended, what a fearful slaughter there would have been at the moment, and how terrible would have been the effect on this devoted Colony!
The day that meeting took place, my little girl and I were travelling with a small party, on horseback, through the bush not far from Block Drift. Captain Bambrick had accompanied us part of the way on the first day’s journey: it was the last time I ever saw him. As we wound along a splendid road, lately made between Post Victoria and Botha’s Post, a distance of nine miles, I looked up the mountain-sides, clothed with euphorbia, mimosa, and innumerable shrubs, and observed that probably those silent thickets were tenanted by human beings, who could watch our progress unobserved. We had no fear. “The word had not been given to kill;” and, though they were not aware of this expression on the part of the Kaffirs, we had every reason to believe they would never fire the first shot. I am doubtful as to the truth of the premeditated onslaught at Block Drift; for they did not fire the first shot in the Amatola Mountains.
The account of one death in the ranks of the 91st Regiment, on the first day’s action in the Amatolas, affected me sincerely when I heard it. Gibb, a soldier, who was much exhausted with the march up the mountain, was allowed to mount the horse of an officer’s servant, and was shot dead soon after. The melancholy task of informing his younger brother—a bugler, attached to the grenadier company—of his loss, fell to the lot of the Captain of that company. The poor fellow was shocked at the intelligence; but, at the moment he heard it, the enemy were pressing on; the grenadiers were ordered to advance in skirmishing order, the cavalry were coming up in support, and it was necessary to sound the bugle to extend. The officer, feeling for the young soldier, bid him calm his emotion, if possible, at such a moment: he obeyed as well as he could; and after various attempts to sound his instrument, did so at last, with tears running down his face in showers. What thoughts of home and of parents’ faces, and sorrowing voices, were passing through that poor fellow’s heart at the moment of excitement and danger! What memories of early times, when he and his brother had played as children together! (Note 1.)
“15th December.—Another movement is to take place over the Kei, into Kreli’s country. At the commencement of hostilities, a body of Fingoes were located, to the amount of three thousand, east of the Kei. These soon found that Kreli was in league with the tribes near the colony, from the circumstance that many of his best men were creeping towards it. Large droves of fine colonial cattle were passed over into the forests of the Bashee. The resident Agent and the members of the missionary department, with five hundred Fingoes, took refuge with the Amapondas, farther east, where they must have suffered great privations. What must be the sufferings of the women and children in such difficult straits! The women are most to be pitied, since their misery arises from anxiety of mind, and this is worse to bear than a host of physical evils. Two thousand five hundred Fingoes remained with their families and cattle in the district of Kreli, who has certainly displayed great tact in avoiding all open collision with our dependents. Faku, it will be remembered, is the terrible Zoolah Chief, who spares neither women nor children, but who, with his tribe of warriors, drives all before him at the point of a short assegai. With this weapon, these people close upon their enemy, and stab him. The Fingoes in Kreli’s neighbourhood have been permitted to keep their ground and cattle; Kreli would not choose to meddle with them, because they are our allies, while Faku had probably some dread of the good musket in their hands, a weapon ill-suited to the Zoolah spear. Faku’s tribe, it is said, resemble the Mantatees in their cannibal propensities, only indulged, however, after an unsuccessful foray in search of plunder, or provision. The Mantatees are a tribe farther north than the Zoolahs. It has been determined to march into Kreli’s Country, in consequence of the discovery, that Kreli has been the receiver-general of the enemy’s plunder. The 27th have been ordered from the head-quarter division at Fort Hare, to join Colonel Somerset—Number 2 division—and advance towards the Kei. Whether they will cross it, appears very uncertain. It is perfectly well-known now, that, besides the Gaikas, Páto, Umhala, Sonto, Seyolo, etc, have made Kreli’s Country their depôt for stolen colonial cattle.
“Sutu, the mother of Sandilla, has made her appearance at Fort Hare, wishing to surrender herself, and to make intercession for her son. To this latter request, the General has replied, he does not war with women, and can enter into no negotiations with them. Sutu is an aged woman, of a size that would befit the wife of a Daniel Lambert. She is very infirm, and would have gladly have given herself up long ago, but was not permitted by Sandilla to have any communication with the English authorities. This young Gaika tyrant was once on the point of roasting his mother alive! and she was only saved from this fearful doom by British interference.
“Colonel Somerset has made two successful forays across the Keiskama; and, besides re-capturing some fine colonial cattle, has brought the I’Slambies to implore for peace. After the first expedition, Umhala, Nonnebe, and Seyolo presented themselves with their abject and deceptive protestations at his camp on the Chalmuna river.
“In the second expedition, from which he returned not many days ago, four hundred head of cattle were taken, and the notorious Chief, Páto, narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the troops, but concealed himself in a cave. He has since sent in to beg that he may give himself up, if permitted to do so. The Government will be puzzled how to act towards him; he has been our most treacherous, troublesome, and determined enemy.
“In the first foray two of the Cape Corps were killed, through their own imprudence. They stopped to drink milk in a Kaffir hut, where there were some women. The latter slipped away, and gave warning to some men concealed in a kloof near the kraal, who, on learning that but two were to be opposed, came upon them at once, and murdered them both. One poor Hottentot, in his dying moments, brought down his Kaffir foe.
“In the second expedition, on the 24th and 25th November, the Rifle Brigade proved a most efficient force.
“On the 17th December, we learn that Sandilla has at last surrendered himself at Fort Hare, bringing in about forty head of cattle, and several muskets and carbines taken from the waggons at Burn’s Hill, on the 17th of April, and giving up the two prisoners demanded by Colonel Hare in February and then refused. One was the axe-stealer; the other the murderer of the Hottentot. They were lodged in gaol. Another prisoner, who accompanied them, died the night he entered his prison; and, some time afterwards, the Kaffirs, affecting to suspect poison, requested permission to examine the body, which was accordingly exhumed; but was too much decomposed to allow of the forming any opinion on the subject.”
Note 1. Another soldier of the 91st met with a cruel death at the hands of the savages. Being too much exhausted to ascend the Amatolas, he sat down by the way side. At night, when the roll was called, poor Ewell was missing. The Kaffirs admit, too, that they took him through the bush to a spot where some of their Chiefs were assembled with many warriors. Here they tied their victim to a stake, and literally flayed him alive; the little children being permitted to assist in tormenting him. Oh, “pastoral and peaceful people!” The Kaffirs said that they imagined the grenadiers of the 91st could not be killed, as the balls appeared to glance harmlessly past them. Mr Cochrane, however, was wounded three times on the last day in the Amatolas.
The expedition across the Kei was still the theme of expectation during the month of December, 1846. Sir Andries Stockenstrom’s command of the Burgher Forces had been deputed to Captain Sutton, Cape Mounted Rifles, who was to proceed across the Kei in the intended foray.
At this time I wrote in my journal, “This is certainly an extraordinary warfare. The enemy are coming into our camps eighty at a time, enrolling themselves as British subjects, and obtaining cattle, which they assert to be their own, and even horses; while we are marching troops into Kaffirland, seizing plunder and meeting with little open resistance, but running the chance of being murdered, as the Cape Corps soldiers, were, in the hut. It is certainly very difficult to understand.
“The attention of the public has been lately called to an article in the Leeds Mercury, asserting that ‘the present war has been forced upon the British Government by the settlers.’ Now, this assertion of a ‘correspondent of undoubted veracity,’ that ‘the colonists have tormented the Governor into this war,’ and that they ‘thirst for Kaffir blood,’ is vicious in its purpose, and utterly opposed to truth. The colonists have lived in alarm and uncertainty for ten years. Waste of time and property have never been considered, and many lives have been sacrificed on both sides in consequence of the aggressions of the border tribes on the unprotected farmers! No other nation than England would have permitted her settlers to bear the insults and depredations suffered by British emigrants at the hands of these heathen robbers, who have been permitted to arm themselves and to make every preparation for war during a period of three years, and this in the ceded territory between Kaffirland and the colony. Those who assert that the present Kaffir war has not been forced upon the British Government by the Kaffirs, are the enemies of their countrymen, and no friends to the heathen. We have too long attempted to civilise him by indulgent measures, and have not even established such laws for the security of the industrious settlers against the aggressions of these barbarous thieves, as would be considered necessary defences against any civilised Christian neighbours, whose characters and customs are opposed to our own. Sir Peregrine Maitland is the last man to allow ‘a people thirsting for blood’ to torment him into ‘deeds of violence;’ and, had not the colonists an implicit reliance on his justice, they might fear, from the present aspect of affairs, that his humanity might cause him to relax in his demands on the Kaffirs for compensation for cattle. They are at present, indeed, subdued by terror at the sight of our reinforcements, but are far from being humbled, or convinced: their humility is feigned, their apparent conviction and submission are exhibited in the sulkiest moods. I much doubt their system of non-resistance lasting beyond the season for gathering in their corn. However, as Talleyrand said of the Bourbons’ return, ‘C’est le commencement de la fin.’ Matters now must be brought to a close, not speedily, and perhaps not satisfactorily. Already the colonists say, ‘We shall have another war ten years hence.’ The military hoping to leave the Colony, rejoice in the prospect of home; those lately come out wear rueful countenances,—visions of solitary outposts, of commandos, of no society, of continued discomfort, disgust the young soldiers just arrived, and promise no good will in the performance of their duties.
“At Fort Hare, they are endeavouring to drive away ennui by hack races, or any kind of amusement which easily presents itself. The listlessness of a camp life is too often complained of to need comment. In this Colony it is worse than ever, since books are obtained with difficulty, And the heat and glare render the tent habitations very trying to the patience as well as to the constitution. The sight especially suffers, and several officers and men have been rendered incapable of duty from inflammation of the eyes.
“Macomo’s eldest daughter is the belle of the camp; she is one of nature’s coquettes, and attitudinises, exhibits her teeth, affects bashfulness, or mirth, as suits the taste of her admirers, and is as great an adept in the art of mute flirtation as any beauty at Almack’s, or Ascot.
“December 6th.—We hear that Umhala has come into Colonel Somerset’s camp, offering to give us three hundred head of cattle, and bring with him two hundred and fifty of his people, tendering his submission to Captain Maclean, late 27th Regiment, and now the Agent between the British Government and the I’Slambie tribes. His adhesion is accepted on the understanding that he can never be recognised as a chief, but merely as a Kaffir; that the British are not anxious for peace, unless arranged satisfactorily and honourably, that if he wishes for war he had better avow it honestly than propose terms which he may intend to violate, and that he had better now make his decision without duplicity. In reply to this, Umhala remarked that ‘the war had lasted too long, since the corps of the Kaffirs were suffering in consequence of the delay.’ Very cool! ‘His arms and those of his people had been left on the plains of the Gwanga! He had but two alternatives. One was to place himself at the Governor’s disposal, the other to be dependent on Kreli. He found he could depend upon the honour of the British! whereas he could not place confidence in any Chief of his own land!’ etc.
“After he and his people had been duly registered, they all moved over the Buffalo, and are to remain there until matters shall be more definitively settled.
“Umhala’s alternatives remind one of the choice of David, who preferred ‘falling into the hands of God rather than men.’ The cunning Kaffir knows that, by submitting to the British authorities, he yields to the humane influences of Christianity, whereas by giving himself and his people up to Kreli’s tender mercies they would, to use Umhala’s terms, ‘become the slaves (Fingoes) of the Amagalekas,’ or as some call them, the Ama Hintza tribe. The terrible Zoolahs also would assail them.
“The position of the Fingoes for many years, under their hard taskmasters the Kaffirs, reminds one forcibly of the Israelites under the Egyptians. Sir James Alexander, in his sketches, gives an animate description of the redemption of these unhappy slaves from their miserable bondage by Sir Benjamin D’Urban.” (Note 1.)
“There is a report, from very tolerable authority, that Páto has come in contact with Kreli, and that both are disputing about the cattle. It is not unlikely that Kreli has coaxed, or at least tacitly encouraged Páto into his country, with a promise of protection after passing over the Kei. Kreli may even make a merit of giving up the treacherous Páto. These, however, are merely my own surmises. One thing must be apparent to every one who has the honour of our country at heart—Páto should never be admitted to terms by our Government; he should be hunted from our borders, and made to take his chance among the other tribes eastward of the Colony. To enrol him as a British subject would be a disgrace to the name of one.
“I must not forget to mention that on Umhala’s leaving the camp, after registering his name, it was ascertained that he and his people had abstracted several of the trek oxen belonging to the Government! What honourable subjects are these!
“The Rifle Brigade has been found a most efficient force on the frontier of South Africa; one hundred of them are to be mounted. The General finds it expedient to dispense with the Burgher forces, who will be permitted to return to their homes in February. The corps of liberated Africans, who have been chiefly employed on escort duty, have been asked if any of them will volunteer for the Cape Corps, but not even the promise of a horse and the appointments of a soldier, will tempt them to enlist. Some say, they would not mind returning to the frontier to serve, after having seen their families near Cape Town, but they object to the green jacket. Scarlet would be a greater temptation. These poor redeemed slaves display their joy at the prospect of a release from service, in dancing and singing. Unlike the war-dances of the Kaffirs and the Fingoes, theirs are slow and quiet, and regulated in their time by a small drum, or tom-tom, and another curious instrument of wood and wire, a rude imitation of the lute; indescribable, however, in appearance and sound, but requiring to be regularly tuned before using, like any other stringed instrument. While they move, or rather slide along the ground within a circle, they sing a monotonous air, containing only three or four notes.
“When I touched on the subject of the burial of a Malay some time since, I did not mention the custom of turning the face of a corpse towards Mecca, the Malays being strict Mahommedans. I should not have thought, perhaps, of inquiring about it, but that the question was asked me. I learn that the Malays are scrupulous with regard to this, regulating the arrangement by a compass, and making a strict allowance for the variation.
“One peculiarity of Africa has been singularly striking, during the continuance of this wretched war. I allude to the variety, consequently presented, of the coloured tribes. First, comes the stalwart Kaffir, with his powerful form and air of calm dignity, beneath which is concealed the deepest cunning, the meanest principles. Some call the Kaffir brave; he is a liar, a thief, and a beggar, ready only to fight in ambush; and although, to use the common expression, he ‘dies game,’ his calmness is the result of sullenness. Are such qualities consistent with bravery of character? Next to the Kaffir ranks the Fingo, differing from the Kaffir much as the Irish do from the English, being more mercurial, and less methodical. After these, may be named the Kat River Hottentots and the Griquas, half-castes between Dutch and English. The Hottentots, whom I have already described, are little appreciated, or even known in other countries. This war has proved that they make the most efficient soldiers for the service in which they have been engaged. The little stunted Bushmen, too, the real aborigines of the land, have assisted us with their poisoned arrows, and are a keen-witted race. Their talent for mimicry is well-known, a proof of their quickness of observation. The Malay may be considered naturalised in the Cape Town districts. The Africanders, a caste between the Malays and Europeans, with apparently a dash of Indian blood among them, are a remarkably handsome race; the women would make fine studies for Murillo’s beauties. Their hair is their chief ornament, and is of the deepest black. They take great pains in arranging it and twist it up quite classically at the back of the head, fastening the shining mass of jet with a gilt arrow, or a miniature spear.
“The Zoolahs, or Zooluhs, I have already spoken of. These are to the east, beginning some way beyond Kreli’s Country, and reaching to Natal Their great chief, Panda, is in constant communication with that dependency.
“Finally, we may name the West Coast Negroes, the liberated Africans, who have been trained, in a short space of time, into tolerable discipline. They have lately been brought to the Cape from Saint Helena, the latter place having been established as a depôt for these poor creatures, when rescued from their sea-prison by our vessels-of-war off the coast. None of them are ever willing to return to their own country, where they are liable to be seized, and made objects of traffic between their own people and the European slave-dealers.
“December 28.—As I write, this eventful year is closing in. The curtain is gradually falling on the scenes of the last nine months.”
“It is thought that this expedition over the Kei will be the last, and perhaps Kreli may make a merit of necessity, and give up Páto and his plunder. This latter, however, is only my own idea. Colonel Somerset, will follow up the enemy, as far as he is permitted to do so. At this period, while Kreli’s people are only waiting to reap their corn, it seems to me that it would have a good effect, to threaten the Chief with a march through his country in search of cattle, unless he exerts himself to restore what we know is either there, or has passed through it.
“The resources of the colony are open. We have troops, supplies, and some fresh horses. The Graham’s Town Journal of the 19th of December, has some remarks on the efficacy of sending a vessel to the mouth of the Umzimvooboo, in Amapondaland. ‘In one month,’ says the writer of this article, ‘the British flag may be floating at the mouth of the Umzimvooboo.’
“This river lies about midway between Graham’s Town and Port Natal, being, rather nearer to the latter place.
“While Colonel Somerset’s division is in preparation for another forward movement, the Government Agents are busy in registering black British subjects. The Kaffirs see that it is to their interest to make peace for the present. They will apparently submit to any terms we may dictate, but no matter what promises they may make, or what guarantee for future good behaviour they may give, their promises are written upon sand, and their bond is insecure, because void of all honour. Thieves and liars they will remain, until some system is established to overcome their heathen customs, and subdue their vicious natures. Whether the proposed system be available for these purposes, can only be judged of by the result.
“Sir John Malcolm, in his ‘Central India,’ says there is no other way of converting heathens than by beginning with children; the prejudices of the old ones are too strong to be eradicated. Sir James Alexander makes a remark to the same effect, and in no country can there be greater proof of it than in this.
“I yesterday happened to open ‘The Report of the Directors to the fifty-first General Meeting of the London Missionary Society, on the 15th of May, 1845,’ and in a notice from King William’s Town, find these words in conclusion: ‘Jan Tzatzoe and the other native assistant have made extensive journeys through the year, for the purpose of diffusing the name of Christ and the knowledge of his salvation.’ My first impulse was to laugh, knowing that Jan Tzatzoe, the propagator of Christianity in 1845, has been foremost in the mischief of 1846; but it is melancholy to think how we have been imposed upon. The very writer of the report probably considered Jan Tzatzoe in earnest. It is hard to accuse others of deliberate mis-statements, unless their motives are fully proved. Jan Tzatzoe has also had the advantage of religious instruction in England, having been exhibited there as a Christian Kaffir a few years ago!
“December 29th.—Intelligence has been received from Colonel Somerset’s division, which is moving along the sea-coast. He has captured two hundred and sixty head of cattle from the I’Slambies. Sir Peregrine Maitland had come up with the second division, and would cross the Kei at Warden’s Post on the 21st of December. Colonel Somerset would proceed by the mouth of the Kei, and the two divisions would meet at Butterworth, the missionary station between the river and Kreli’s kraal. The whole country is said to be teeming with cattle. There have been some encounters between the Burgher patrols and the cattle-stealers, and a Hottentot Burgher was shot last week at Kaffir drift.
“More mule-waggons have passed up the hills to-day, with provisions for the troops. How invaluable would be the camel in this country! Some object to the use of it, in consequence of the moist state of the country after severe rains; but the slow-moving oxen, with the heavy waggons, are often detained for weeks. The camel, by its swift pace and its strength for burden, would soon make up for time lost by casualties. The latter animal, too, would always thrive on the food from the bush, and would have less need of water than the ox. I heard an officer of well-known intelligence and keen observation remark how useful elephants might be made in such warfare; the bush would afford them provision, and a howdah, filled with armed men, and placed on an elephant’s back, would make a splendid portable battery for the low jungle of Africa.
“The troops cross the various rivers in boats, which they carry with them. There must be something very imposing in the sight of an armed force, varying in numbers from two to four thousand men, moving along these vast wilds by moonlight; but choosing such paths as shall screen them from the spies, who lie in wait to bear intelligence back to the enemy, and give warning of the approach. In these wilds will be found much grander scenery than in the colonial districts. Here the grass is richer, the trees are of a superior height, the rivers clearer, the mountain slopes more abundantly clothed, sometimes with vast forests, and the valleys are more fertile. Here the Hottentots, Kaffirs, and Fingoes dwell amid the finest pasturage, and in the most healthy part of the country.
“December 31st.—New Year’s Eve! Home! Home! Where are the happy faces I have seen gathered round the cheerful hearth long years ago? How often, as I look back on past years, am I reminded of Mrs Hemans’s ‘Graves of a household!’ We are sundered—scattered far and wide. One who returned to us, after long years of absence in the service of his country, found his grave at last in Canada. Another moulders on the rock of Saint Helena, snatched away in the bloom of life by the ruthless hand of consumption. One has been called by duty to the shores of the Mediterranean; another has returned to England, debilitated by the climate of the West Indies; and even the sisters from that ‘household hearth,’ to which I turn with sad remembrance, are, with two exceptions, suffering from the vicissitudes of a military life. Vicissitudes, trials, privations!—these are indeed to be found in Africa, and in the space of four years I have suffered from the horrors of shipwreck and of war.
“A strange wild sound of music comes up across the green from the barracks, and the moon is just old enough to shed her tender light upon a group of Malays, who, in their picturesque dresses, are marching to the measured beat of a drum of their own making, and the sounds of several rude flutes, clarionets, and horns, shaped hurriedly from the bamboo, but emitting not unpleasant music, in most perfect time. This is the peculiar feature in the talent for harmony displayed by the Hottentots and Malays: no matter how rude the instrument, or how poor the voice, tune and time are perfect. The old Irish air of ‘Garryowen’ has a strange effect played by this untutored band, their rude instruments assisted by voices of many kinds, from the deepest bass to the highest soprano. And now their war-song!—what a fine wind-up, with its curious combinations that sound scientific, and yet have no musical grammar in them! It is over, and the air is still again. There is the tramp of their feet over the parade-ground, and—oh, poesy! oh, heroism!—they have changed their solemn tread for a quick march, and their stirring war-song for the lively Polka!”
“There is as much trouble here as ever, and less excitement. The registered subjects of British Kaffiraria have taken to robbing orchards, while idling in search of plunder, coolly acknowledging their purpose, producing their registration tickets, and offering as a reason—for it cannot be called an excuse—that ‘the English have taken their cattle from them, and they want them back again.’
“January 1, 1847.—At Fort Hare, the registration system proceeds as usual. Macomo, in a fit of wilfulness, took his departure from thence a few days ago, with a single follower; and, being traced to Fort Armstrong, not far from the Tarka Post, has been detained there. A letter from the Commanding Officer of a large division on the Kei says, ‘There is still much work before us; the patrol is back, bringing in about four thousand five hundred head of cattle. Colonel Somerset, and a party of the Cape Mounted Riflemen, are gone on towards Butterworth. One of the Rifle Brigade is killed, and another wounded, in crossing the Kei drift; about fifty Kaffirs are killed. The Camp will break up to-morrow, and next day cross the Kei, and join Colonel Somerset. The natives are determined to show fight. They walked away with three span of oxen this morning; however, they were hotly pursued, and all but five had been recaptured. They were in numbers, challenging our people to come on,’ etc.
“This day brings the unexpected intelligence of Sir Henry Pottinger’s appointment to the Governorship of the Cape of Good Hope. The Home Authorities have doubtless seen how impossible it is for a man of Sir Peregrine Maitland’s great age to undergo even the physical toil attendant upon a government of so vast a tract of country; and, when it is also considered that, in consequence of the distance of Cape Town from the frontier, Sir Peregrine was prevented from appearing on the scene till the conclusion of the first great act of the war, every one will be sensible of the immense difficulties with which he has had to contend. Every one is assured that Sir Peregrine Maitland has acted honourably, conscientiously, and disinterestedly throughout the war; and, in leaving the frontier of South Africa, he bears with him the acknowledgements of the colonists, whom he has done his best to serve, and the earnest respect of the troops, whose toils and privations he has patiently shared, and to whom he has been an example of British courage, perseverance, and true nobility of principle.
“January 18th.—The mournful news has just been received of the murder of three officers and four soldiers, by Kaffirs, on the banks of the Kei. They lost their lives in the following manner:—They belonged to a party sent to guard a drift at the Kei, and, having been some days without meat where they were, a patrol went in search of some, and, seeing cattle at a distance, those mounted, namely, the three officers (namely, Captain Gibson and Dr Howell, Rifle Brigade; and the Hon. Mr Chetwynd, 73rd Regiment), and four provisional Hottentots, went in advance, leaving the infantry, about forty men, some way behind them; they had secured some cattle, and were returning, when a horde of Kaffirs rushed from a neighbouring kloof and overpowered the party, killing the officers and two of the Hottentots. The infantry were too far away to be of any assistance. On reaching the spot where they expected to find the officers, not a trace of them was to be seen, nor were the bodies found for two days after the event. The three murdered officers died nobly. They made a stand at once on the approach of the treacherous enemy from his lair. Dr Howell’s horse fell wounded at the first fire, and the others, determined not to desert him, fought by his side till their ammunition was expended. The remaining Hottentots gave information, after their escape through the bush, of the scene of strife, and the bodies were sought for. There were at first some rumours of mutilation, but there is scarcely a doubt now of their having been shot dead at once. Mr Chetwynd received a ball through his heart, and Captain Gibson had no less than six gun-shot wounds.
“Ten miles beyond the Kei, these brave spirits now lie at rest. Beside a spot called Shaw’s Fountain, they were buried by their sorrowing comrades. Far from the habitations of the white man are their simple graves; no monument marks the burial-ground in the mighty wilderness, but the memory of these gallant spirits is embalmed the breasts of their fellow soldiers, and their lonely abiding places in the far desert will be henceforth hallowed spots in an enemy’s country.
“The act by which they fell a sacrifice to savage treachery was an imprudent one, but they were ‘strangers in the land,’ and knew not that it is a common trick of the Kaffirs to show cattle at the edge of the bush, and lie in wait.” (See Appendix.)
Note 1. “On the 7th of May,” says Sir James, “I witnessed a most interesting sight, and one which causes this day to be one of immense immense importance in the annals of South Africa. It was no less than the flight of the Fingo nation, seventeen thousand in number, from Amakosa bondage, guarded by British troops, and on their way across the Kei, to find a new country under British protection.”—See Sketches in Western Africa for the rest of this description, volume two, chapter 23.
I have already touched upon the idle state of the Fingoes, who do nothing for the country which has rescued them from a slavery of the most miserable character. They have fought well during this war; but this has generally been in defence of their own cattle, or with the hope of remuneration. The garrison at Fort Peddie was originally placed there for the protection of the Fingoes, who would in no way render their services to their protectors, and whose time was chiefly passed in basking in the sun. The women tilled the ground, the children herded the cattle, and the men hunted—when hungry.