ATTACK ON THE WATERKLOOF--SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS.
From the daily reports brought in from all sides, it appeared that the
enemy was concentrating a large force, and that greater or less bodies
frequently made their way through secret bush-paths by night from the
Amatolas to the much discussed Waterkloof, so that it was with more
pleasure than surprise that we received, on the 11th October, a sudden
order for a general movement of the troops against that stronghold.
Next morning, a little before daylight, General Somerset left the camp
with the Artillery and Cape Corps for the junction of the Mancazana and
Kat Rivers, where he was to be joined by Lieut.-Col. Michell's Brigade
(the 2nd, 6th, and 91st regiments, with two field pieces), marching
from Fort Hare the same morning.
The next day they were to ascend the Blinkwater hills from the Kat
River valley, and encamp on the heights north of the Waterkloof, to be
in readiness to co-operate with the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division by
dawn of the 14th.
At ten o'clock on the night of the same day the General's party
started, the 2nd Brigade under Lieut.-Col. Fordyce, consisting of the
reserve battalion, 12th regiment, the 74th Highlanders, a squadron of
Mounted Irregulars, and two companies of Fingoes, in all about 1150
men, marched through the silent moonlit streets of Beaufort, and
crossing the bridge took the Klu-Klu road, halting after about fourteen
miles march, at the Yellow-wood River; resting three hours, we again
marched for the Goba River, five miles further. The heat of the sun was
intense, and the barrels of our rifles and pistols became so hot that
we could not bear to place the hand on them.
On reaching the foot of the Kroome, at the point of ascent, the men
were ordered to rest till night, and all lay down under the grateful
shade of the bushes. Our guide, it appeared, knew nothing of the pass
by which he proposed taking us up the mountain; some said it was
totally impracticable at any time for horses, and at night almost so
for infantry; it was therefore determined to take another path more to
the westward.
In the evening, a cold rain succeeded the hot day, and we lay shivering
on the ground a confused mass of steaming blankets. A little before
midnight we were roused for the march. Comfortless as our rest had
been, it was with the greatest reluctance we crept out of our plaids
and blankets into the bitterly cold foggy air and drizzling rain, to
stumble drowsily along our night-march.
The Kroome rose black and frowning before us, its summit hidden in
heavy clouds, which added to its apparent height. The ascent soon
became so steep that the mounted men had to alight, and we were in
momentary fear that the pack-horses would come to grief. No one who
has not felt his entire subsistence for many days to be dependant on
a slight accident--the turning of a pack-saddle, the falling of the
horse, or the bâtman's awkwardness at some critical moment, can imagine
the painful interest with which the ascent or descent of a difficult
pass is regarded.
The first ridge gained, we moved along a grassy level for some
distance, the greater part of us more than half asleep, and staggering
along like drunken men; every now and then, as some sudden inequality
endangered our balance, awaking with a start, again relapsing into a
state of somnambulism, which was as painful as it was irresistible;
the grassy path assumed the appearance of a carpet, of which I could
distinctly trace the pattern; rocks and bushes became beds, chairs, and
chests of drawers, which stood round distinct as reality; until with a
stumble and a start, consciousness returned, the illusions vanished,
and I still found myself plodding along with the same wearying tramp,
tramp. This strange sensation was experienced by most of us, at
different times, during our long and harassing forced marches by night;
and for my own part, so unpleasant did I find it, that in trying to
shake it off, I pinched my arms black and blue.
As day began to dawn, and we reached the higher ranges, the scene
around and below was grandly desolate; the steep slopes we had ascended
looked bare and black in the indistinct light; and the dark summits on
every side appeared, and were lost again in the floating clouds.
The column, clambering up the steep laborious path, looked like flies
swarming on the heights. The horses panted for breath; and the men were
quite "pumped," having been marching two whole nights.
The summit gained, we halted on a burnt and blackened table-land, where
we were facetiously ordered to breakfast, having nothing with us but
black biscuit, which we sat down on the dewy ground to gnaw at.
A thick heavy cloud or fog hung around; so dense as to hide everything
at a few yards distance, saturating our canvas blouses, and striking
so chilly that we were heartily glad to move on again, after waiting
two hours in vain for a glimpse of the General's column; it had,
however, one advantage; enabling us to take up our position unseen, and
totally unsuspected by the enemy, whose attention was occupied with the
movements of the other Brigade.
At half-past seven we moved forward along the grassy undulating ridge,
with flank-patrols thrown out right and left, and had not proceeded a
quarter of a mile when the boom of a gun indicated the direction of
the co-operating division; and almost immediately afterwards, through
an opening in the driving clouds, we caught sight of the red coats and
gleaming arms moving along the heights on the opposite side of the
sunny valley, towards its head. The howitzers belched out their white
smoke, and we saw a couple of shells burst over a Kaffir village; the
cavalry moved rapidly forward, the battalion following, and again all
was hidden in the mist. The rattle of small arms, and the occasional
roar of the big guns told they were actively engaged; and, continuing
for some time, created no little impatience and excitement amongst us.
Meanwhile, we had advanced about seven miles; and halting, piled arms
near the spot where we had been attacked on the 8th of September,
and about three-quarters of a mile from the belt of bush in front,
separating us from the other division. Several companies of the 12th
and 74th were extended, lying down to watch the forest, in case any of
the enemy should attempt to escape from it: and detached parties of
Fingoes were sent into the bush on the right, where they set fire to a
number of huts, and with their usual activity, kept up an uninterrupted
firing for a quarter of an hour, at some fifteen or twenty Kaffirs. The
horses were off-saddled, and turned out to graze, not having had any
food since the previous night.
After we had lain in this way for rather more than an hour, a party
of the 91st, and Cape Corps was seen issuing from the forest, and
an officer galloped forward with an order from the General for our
brigade to join him. The picquets were instantly called in, and while
the horses were being saddled, we crowded to learn news of the other
column. They had had some severe fighting, and had driven a large
body of the enemy from their position on the forest heights, into the
Blinkwater and Waterkloof, though not without loss. Captain Addison,
of the 2nd Queen's, had been severely wounded, Lieutenant Norris of
the 6th mortally, two or three men killed or wounded, and Lieut.-Col.
Burn's charger shot under him.
On entering the belt of wood, passable only by a narrow rocky path,
we had to march in file. The timber was very fine, with luxuriant
evergreens beneath, immense creepers and baboon-ropes hanging in
festoons, or pendant to the ground, from branches fifty or sixty feet
high.
The rear of our column had nearly gained the other side of the belt,
from which the head had already emerged, when a sudden volley from a
dark thicket above us made the forest ring, while the balls whistled
past our heads and struck the trees on the opposite side the path,
sending splinters flying on every side. We continued advancing,
firing at every puff of smoke, the only indication of the whereabouts
of our hidden enemy, until we gained the open, when we were saluted
by a succession of volleys from an angle of the forest on our left,
especially directed at each officer as he came up, though fortunately,
without doing further injury than grazing a few of the men's
accoutrements.
We were moving along the open to join the General, when an alarm was
given that the 12th regiment, in rear, with the pack horses, was cut
off in the pass. Our companies, just formed into open column, were
ordered to the right about, and sent back again at "the double" to
extend along the edge of the wood; when a very pretty skirmish took
place; our men sheltered by the rocky ground, and the enemy dodging
behind the trees and firing from breastworks of loose stones, thrown
up in front of their village, along the edge of the forest. Under
cover of our fire the 12th cleared the pass, bearing a wounded man
with them; half a dozen of our mounted men were wounded, and several
riderless horses galloped wildly past. The artillery, posted on a rising
ground, about a quarter of a mile in our rear, opened on the bush,
wherever the Kaffirs showed themselves in parties, and sent round shot
and "spherical case" right in amongst them, whirring and _hurtling_
over our heads with an astounding, and, at first, rather startling
noise, splintering the trees and killing all within their deadly range.
In the hottest of the fire, poor Ricketts, of the 91st, was carried
past us, dangerously wounded in the chest. After a sharp skirmish, of
about a quarter of an hour, the enemy's fire was completely silenced,
and the wood apparently totally deserted;--the "recall" sounded, the
skirmishers closed and retired, the regiments were re-formed, and the
heavy masses of infantry, moving from all sides across the green flat,
joined the General's party.
Having formed open column, we moved off across an extensive undulating
table-land of the brightest green, extending for miles on every side,
and bounded only by the distant peaks of the surrounding mountains.
Far in front rode the reconnoitering party of irregular horse; then
came the advance-guard of infantry, followed by the prisoners, carrying
their pots, mats, and calabashes on their heads; then the sad train
of wounded officers and men, borne on stretchers--Addison, Norris, and
Ricketts, and a dozen more brave fellows; the long, steadily waving
column--the 2nd Queen's; the stained and ragged 6th; the newly-arrived
12th, with their bright coats; the 74th Highlanders, in their
service-like bush-dress; the gallant 91st; the lumbering artillery; the
Cape Mounted Rifles; and a whole troop of pack-horses and mules.
Our retiring was the signal for the enemy to reappear, which they
instantly did, following us out on the open plain, taking up every
point of cover, and firing long shots, but we took no notice of them
until they were drawn out far enough, when the cavalry charged them
under Captain Carey, riding over and cutting them down right and left,
wheeling round, and charging them again and again till they were
totally dispersed.
Thoroughly exhausted, and scarcely able to drag ourselves over the last
few yards, we halted at five in the evening, at Mundell's, a deserted
farm in a hollow of the plain, after being under arms for nearly twenty
hours, and without food.
One of our men, foot-sore and done up, who had fallen to the rear and
got into the ranks of another regiment, was reported missing, but
shortly afterwards limping into camp, abused his comrades right and
left, for having thought him dead.
A mounted body of the enemy made their appearance a little before
sunset, on a low hill, about a mile off, and went through a series of
regular cavalry movements for our edification; unluckily they were
out of range, and our horses and oxen, which had worked fasting since
daylight, were just turned out to graze, otherwise they would have been
treated to a round shot.
The wounded men had been placed in waggons to be sent to Post Retief,
a small fort, about fifteen miles distant, but by the time they were
ready to start it was getting too late, and as parties of the enemy's
horsemen were hovering round, it was deferred till the morrow. Poor
Norris, who had been rapidly sinking during the evening, died a little
before "tattoo." His loss was deeply felt by his regiment and all who
knew him.
Our bivouac was in a little hollow, and close to a detached piece of
bush, where we found the bones of an elephant shot there a few years
before. The camp fires looked singularly beautiful by night, scattered
up and down the hill, and glowing among the trees of the little belt of
wood in which our regiment had taken up its quarters.
All next day we remained in this spot, awaiting a fresh supply of
ammunition from Post Retief. Numbers of mounted Kaffirs again made
their appearance, and went through similar evolutions, but at a very
respectful distance. In the afternoon we buried poor Norris, at the
edge of the wood. It was an affecting scene. The corpse lay by the
side of the open grave, sewn up in a blanket, through which oozed the
blood from his death wound; around stood uncovered a reverent crowd
of officers and men; grey-headed Colonels, and a host of younger
bronzed and weather-beaten faces, in stained and tattered uniform; the
soldier-like looking old General, with his snow-white hair and drooping
grey moustache; the "funeral party" of the 6th, their red coats patched
with leather, canvas, and cloth of all colours, with straw hats and
wide-awakes, long beards, tattered trowsers, and broken boots revealing
stockingless feet, leaning their sun-burnt cheeks on the butts of their
"arms reversed," while the clergyman (the Rev. J. Wilson), who had
ridden over from Post Retief with a small escort, to perform the last
rites for one whom he had known in life, read the beautiful funeral
service with unusual feeling. Scarcity of ammunition prevented the
customary volleys being fired over the grave, and we turned away and
dispersed in silence. Thus ended the brief but honourable career of
a gallant young soldier, beloved and admired by all for his high
principles and amiable qualities.
The General rode out afterwards with his Staff and escort to
reconnoitre the enemy's position, and soon after his return orders were
issued for the march at two o'clock in the morning.
It was pitch dark and bitterly cold, when we rose from our short rest,
and we did not, for some reason or other, move off for more than an
hour. At length Lieut.-Colonel Fordyce's brigade (12th, 74th, and
91st regiments, with four companies of Native Levies) moved towards
the Bush Neck Pass, and a large Kaffir signal fire blazed up on the
heights before us, no doubt announcing our approach to those in the
valley, into which we soon began a difficult descent by a rocky and
tremendously steep pass, slipping from rock to rock in the uncertain
light of the grey dawn, or sliding in a sitting posture down the sheer
gravelly face.
The valley at last reached, we halted for a few minutes (till the
pack-horses and mules in rear scrambled down after us) near a solitary
farm-house, a burnt and blackened ruin, with a fine garden full of
vines, bananas, orange, lemon, citron, pomegranate, fig, peach, and
almond trees, their blossom scenting the morning air. A drizzling rain
came on, and we continued our march up the beautifully wooded valley,
which was shut in by high mountains, half covered by the fleecy clouds
resting on their bush-covered heights, the broad path, cut through a
perfect grove of flowering bushes, followed the course of a winding
rocky burn up the centre of the glen. As we advanced, the mountains
were varied by grey crags, fine belts of lichen-covered forest, and
soft smooth slopes of the greenest grass; the rain gradually ceased,
and the clouds slowly lifted, revealing lofty krantzes of basaltic
rock rising perpendicularly from the dark bush that clothed the higher
ridges; the large forest trees on the summit appearing against the
clear blue sky like a fringe of small shrubs. The sun at length broke
through the clouds, and the bush, sparkling with dew drops, scented the
air with its fragrance. Parts of the road were so strikingly like a
park at home that one almost expected at each turn to come in sight of
the house.
Along each side of the path, and close to the bush, we found, as
we proceeded, the dead bodies of many of the enemy killed in the
engagement of the 14th; clouds of flies rose with a startling buzz from
the corpses, which lay literally broiling in the hot sun, some on their
faces in the long grass, others with their swollen features exposed,
and legs drawn up, while a few lay half-reclining under the trees, as
though they had died there of their wounds; most were partially eaten
by jackals and hyænas, whose spoor was traceable all round; eighteen
lay in this way along our path, and the horrible stench in many places
told that others were concealed by the dense underwood; among others,
was an enormous "Bastaard" Hottentot, who must have been nearly six
feet three.
The melancholy ruins of two more farm-houses were passed, levelled with
the ground; the fine orchards, in full blossom, contrasting strangely
with the forsaken appearance of the blackened heaps of what had been
happy and comfortable homes. At the entrance of another valley running
into this, on our right, we found the fresh spoor of horses, cattle
and sheep, leading along the sandy path that ran up its centre. The
column was halted, and a mounted force, with three companies of the
74th, was detached to follow it, while the rest remained at the point
of separation. Some cattle were seen on the hills, about a mile in
advance, and we pushed on up the glen as quickly as possible; but after
tracing the spoor for two miles, it disappeared in twenty different
directions, leading into an impracticable bushy gorge, and as the
Colonel did not think it advisable to follow it further, and so delay
our great object of clearing the Waterkloof, we returned to the main
body.
We now got a sight of the General's column on the opposite heights,
moving along the ridge like a train of ants. As we proceeded, they
reached the enemy's position just above us, and opened fire from the
howitzers; the rolling boom, and the report of bursting shells, was
followed by the faint rattle of small arms, from the 2nd and 6th
regiments, which through the glass we could distinguish along the edge
of the precipice.
Our Irregulars were extended and sent into the bush, to the right and
left, climbing to a great height up the hills, working beautifully
through the thick forests, and completely scouring it up to the base
of the krantzes, setting fire to a number of huts hidden in the
thickest retreats; the effect of the blue wreaths of smoke curling up
above the tops of the trees in the higher forest after each rolling
report; the thick white smoke rising from the burning huts; and the
echoing of the Fingoes' peculiar cries, far up on the heights, with
the shrill voices of captured women, was most singular. Two companies
of the reserve battalion of the 91st regiment were extended across the
valley, advancing through the scattered bush in line with the Levies
on the mountains; the 12th regiment, and the 74th Highlanders, with
the mounted force, following by the road in the centre, in column of
sections. None of the enemy were to be seen, beyond a few single
individuals far out of rifle range, perched on lofty crags, which
appeared quite inaccessible, and we proceeded up the kloof, destroying
their huts without opposition. Along the base of the northern range,
and at the edge of the forest, sheltered under its overhanging trees,
were numbers of kraals neatly built of reeds, and plastered with mud;
immediately in front spread a smooth green, separated from the road
by the rocky stream, whose beautifully clear waters bubbled over the
stones with a most refreshing sound; a more delightful and picturesque
situation for a village could not be found. It had evidently only just
been abandoned, for in most of the huts we found fires smouldering
on the centre of the mud floors; in some, half-ground coffee lay on
the flat grinding stones (proving the fact of their obtaining town
supplies); calabashes and sheep-skin rugs were in all, while the
large quantities of freshly chewed root showed that a considerable
number of Kaffirs must have been there very recently. The whole of
these dwellings, built on the property of the ruined farmers, whose
sacked and gutted houses we had passed, were set fire to, and in a few
minutes, roaring and crackling, sent up their flames high above the
shrivelling trees; the whole glen behind, as we entered the narrow pass
at its head, was smoking as far as the eye could reach.
The ascent from the valley was by a very steep, rocky path, cut through
a cool shady forest, leading straight up the face of the mountain,
and only wide enough in many places to admit the men in single file;
the underwood was choked up with an endless variety of luxuriant
shrubs, entwined with the sweet scented wild vine, baboon-ropes of
extraordinary length hanging from the topmost branches of the lofty,
bare poled trees, which in some places met overhead, and in others
showed a narrow strip of the bright blue sky above. In the thicket,
full of wood anemones and bright flowers, lay the dead bodies of one or
two more Kaffirs, exhibiting frightful wounds from the splinters of a
shell.
Felled trees lay across the path to obstruct our passage, but the
General's column at the head of the pass, and the simultaneous advance
of the Fingoes as flank-skirmishers, one party sweeping round the head
of the valley on our right, and another clearing the bush on the left,
secured our ascent without opposition, till just at the summit, when
the head of the brigade having gained the open field or "Horseshoe" (so
called from its shape, enclosed by forest), the rear-guard, consisting
of the 12th reserve, a company of the 74th, and the mounted men, was
sharply attacked from the bush on their left, the Kaffirs after firing
a volley rushing out with their assegais. One man of the 74th was
killed and one wounded; Gordon, bravely rushing back to his rescue as
he was left struggling on the ground with four or five of the savages,
shot one of them dead with his pistol, and wounded another, when a few
of the men running up, drove off or killed the rest, and carried away
the wounded man, whose appearance gave but little hope of recovery, his
face being frightfully cut with assegais, and his skull battered by the
blows from the butt end of a gun. At the edge of the forest we set fire
to a cluster of huts, larger and differently shaped from any we had
seen before, and faced with smooth shining reeds; they were believed to
belong to Macomo.
On emerging from the bush we found the artillery, the 2nd and 6th
regiments and the Cape Mounted Rifles on the ground, and the enemy
showing in considerable force on some low rocks on our right, whence
they opened fire on us at long range. One man of the 12th was wounded,
and one of the mounted men, whose horse was also killed. Our brigade
"formed line to the right," and lay under cover of a ridge, two
companies of the 74th and two of the 91st advancing in skirmishing
order towards the forest in front, from which the rebels kept up a hot
fire, the bullets falling thickly among us. From this position they
were quickly driven, and the General bringing two of the guns under
Lieutenant Field to bear on the rocks, drove them out of that one also,
the shells falling among them with wonderful precision.
It was now about two o'clock, and the Waterkloof having been cleared
below, and the enemy driven from their positions on the heights, we
were ordered to join the other column under Lieut.-Col. Michell, who
had attacked and destroyed the whole of the enemy's camps along the
ridge. On our way, the Kaffirs suddenly opened fire on us from a narrow
belt of forest on the left; the skirmishers of the 2nd brigade were
again thrown forward, a sharp fire ensuing on both sides. A large ball,
weighing about three ounces, striking a piece of rock on which I stood,
with a loud whirring, lodged perfectly flattened in a small crevice
under my feet; and at the same moment one of our men fell severely
wounded. The 6th regiment reinforced our line of skirmishers; part of
the 74th charged into the little belt of bush; the Kaffirs bolted into
the dense thickets of the main forest, throwing away their guns, and we
re-formed in extended order on the open green on the other side, under
fire from a second forest in front, towards which we rapidly advanced.
The Kaffirs were seen in several of the largest trees further from the
edge of the bush, from which they kept up a hot fire as we approached,
and the bullets whistled over our heads much more thickly than was
quite pleasant; another private of the 74th Highlanders was shot dead,
one of the 12th wounded, four men of the 91st were severely wounded,
two men of the Levies killed, and two wounded, with four or five horses
killed and disabled. The bush was entered at "the double," and the belt
cleared as before; several of the enemy, who were chiefly "Totties,"
armed with double barrel carbines, being shot, the rest escaping down
the mountain, under cover of the thick forest, impenetrable to our
soldiers. Not a living creature was to be seen, and the bugle sounding
the recall, we returned and formed column on the open ground; and
bearing our killed and wounded on stretchers, and marshalling our
prisoners, marched at four o'clock for our bivouac of the previous
night, moving across the open flat, as on the former occasion; with two
guns, the 2nd, and 6th regiments, and Cape Corps as a rear-guard, under
Lieut.-Col. Michell.
We had not gone more than three quarters of a mile, when from the very
bush we had just left apparently totally deserted, some fifteen or
twenty Kaffirs issued; and running forward, fired half a dozen shots
after us, which fell some two or three hundred yards short. In less
than a minute one of the guns was unlimbered and a shell sent among
them, killing several, and so alarming the rest, that they fled in
every direction, and disappeared in the bush. Late in the evening we
approached our old position, and saw, to our surprise, a party of
dismounted horsemen apparently awaiting our arrival. On coming up,
we found them to be a party of Burghers from the Mancazana district.
Wearied and exhausted as the men were after this long and trying day,
they busied themselves at once in looking after the comfort of their
wounded comrades, who had the hospital-tent pitched, and everything
done for them that was possible; though a single blanket on the hard
ground with a canteen for a pillow, or a large stone with a pocket
handkerchief over it, was a poor bed for a wounded or dying man, and
we had nothing better to give them.
A mounted party was sent off to Post Retief, to order commissariat
supplies to meet us at our halting place the following evening. The
women and children taken prisoners were examined by the Interpreter,
but no reliable information could be obtained, and they were set at
liberty at dusk. The Fingoes, washing down at a little stream beyond
the camp, slily watching their opportunity, ran after them hooting and
hissing and pelting them as they ran. Having fed our own horses, and
picketted them for the night, we rolled ourselves in our plaids, and
with the saddles under our heads, were soon sound asleep.
At five o'clock next morning, in a thick fog, we buried the poor
fellows killed the day before, digging their graves at the edge of
the little clump of trees, a few yards from that of poor Norris; the
service was read by the officer-of-the-day, and large wood fires were
made over all the graves for the purpose of scaring away the wolves and
jackals after we had gone, and of hiding the position from the Kaffirs.
At seven o'clock we marched, the clouds still resting on the heights,
cold and raw, and preventing our seeing more than the ground we walked
on; after five miles they gradually dispersed, and we halted at the
edge of a small detached belt of forest, and encamped under it, close
to the ruins of a farm house, of which but a very small portion of the
outer walls remained standing, having been destroyed by the Kaffirs
nine months before, since which it had never been visited. We found
the skeleton of its former owner, Mr. Eastland, who was barbarously
murdered by Hermanus' Kaffirs, and some others residing with him on his
own farm. They had surprised him in his house, and after some parleying
through the closed door, got him outside and killed him on the spot;
after stealing all they cared for, they set fire to the premises. We
collected the remains of the unfortunate man, and carefully buried them
in his own garden.
Some of the soldiers, who, as usual, after divesting themselves of
their accoutrements, had gone into the bush for firewood, to our
surprise came running out, saying it was full of Kaffirs. A party of
us seized our arms, spread ourselves across it at one end (it was not
more than 500 yards by 900), and having placed parties at each angle,
advanced through the underwood. Three Kaffirs were killed, which
proved to be the whole party, evidently spies, who had been cut off by
our unexpectedly halting here,--the level open nature of the ground,
extending for miles on every side of the isolated wood, preventing
their making a retreat.
After having been several days without a possibility of changing or
removing our clothes, we greatly enjoyed a wash in some muddy pools,
in spite of the tepid waters and the quantities of immense bull frogs
which we surprised basking on the slimy reedy banks.
On the morning of the 18th, after our customary simple toilet and
breakfast, that is to say, after pulling on a dirty pair of boots, and
swallowing a tin of thick coffee, the 2nd brigade marched for Beaufort,
to bring commissariat supplies, descending the Blinkwater Pass.
At the commencement of the war a party of Winterberg settlers,
returning to their mountain farms from Fort Beaufort, were attacked
here by the Kaffirs; two of them were killed, and their heads cut off
and sent to the witch-doctor, Umlangeni; and two were dangerously
wounded, one in seven places, who escaped only by remaining till dusk
immersed up to his chin in the river among the reeds. The Pass is a
rough and almost impracticable waggon road, winding down the mountain
side through thick forest.
A magnificent perpendicular krantz or precipice, on our right, of
immense height, completely commanding the road below, was crowned by
the 2nd and 6th and artillery, while two guns, guarded by a detachment
of Cape Corps, cleared the way before us, throwing shell from the
heights on our left down into the forest, in a nook of which, snugly
embosomed, lay a Kaffir kraal, which, together with several scattered
huts, the Fingoes set on fire as they scoured through the bush. This
fertile valley, now totally deserted, was formerly the location of
the Gaika chief, Hermanus, or Hermanus Matross, who, it will be
recollected, was killed in his attack on Fort Beaufort.
The Kaffirs, who had on our approach fled from the kraal, stood
watching us from a rock, from which they were quickly driven by a
shell, thrown over our heads right amongst them. After our warm march
we luxuriated in a bathe in the river, on the banks of which, and close
to the ruins of an old military post, we had made our bivouac; and
having washed our own shirts, and dried them on the hot rocks, felt
more comfortable than we had done for many days.
Kaffir fires on the heights above Hermanus' Kloof and Fuller's Hoek
smoked till dusk, when their ruddy light became visible, and blazed
brightly all night.
The following day we remained stationary, waiting for the supplies.
The clouds came creeping down the hills all around, as if to envelop
us, and ended in heavy rain, which continued steadily pouring down all
the afternoon and evening. As we had not even patrol-tents, we sat
crouching round the miserable fires in our steaming cloaks, mingling
the smoke of our pipes with the heavy wreaths from the damp wood fires,
which, circling and eddying round, filled our eyes with tears, giving
us altogether, with our dripping forage-caps and damp clothes, a
ridiculously forlorn aspect.
After a final pull from the flask of "Cape-smoke," to keep out the
cold, we spread our plaids on the sloppy ground, which, at all events,
had the advantage of being much softer than usual, and with a few green
branches stuck into the turf to keep the wet off our saddle pillows,
rolled ourselves up, and, in defiance of the rain, slept till daybreak.
19th.--Stiff and cold with the wet in which we had lain all night, we
awoke at four. The 12th and 74th, under Lieut.-Col. Perceval, marched
at five to meet the supplies coming from Fort Beaufort, leaving a party
behind in bivouac with the pack-horses. The rain cleared off shortly
after we had started, and our clothes soon dried on our backs. The
General on the Waterkloof heights, with Lieut.-Col. Michell's Brigade,
was occupying this interval in reconnoitering the enemy's positions,
preparatory to further operations on our return.
We halted within sight of Fort Beaufort, about a mile and a half
distant, to wait for the waggons coming up; a few of us having got
leave to ride in to obtain a few necessaries for our prolonged patrol,
on condition we were back again with the waggons, set off at full
gallop, meeting them, to our great annoyance, about half way, and
escorted by a reinforcement of the 12th and a fresh draft from the
depôt, under Lieutenant Philpot; hastily welcoming him to the Cape,
and begging the officer in command of the escort not to distress the
oxen by pushing on too fast! we sped on our way, for we were only half
a mile from the town, and there was no likelihood of our having such a
chance again for weeks. We were soon rattling up the quiet streets of
Beaufort, a most ruffianly-looking party, with rusted rifles, mud-caked
horses, bronzed unshaven faces, and tattered clothes, torn to shreds
in the thorny bush. To our surprise, we found the fashionably-dressed
inhabitants going to church, for we had no idea of its being Sunday.
The barracks were all in confusion, the 60th Rifles having just
arrived, together with detachments of the 12th and 45th regiments, a
strong body of Marines from the men-of-war on the coast, and a party
of Sappers and Miners, in all about 1000 men; so there was nothing
to be had there in the way of food. Dunbar, however, kindly took us
to his quarters, and gave us such a breakfast as we had not seen for
many a day; and as we sat on chairs round the well-spread table, with
its snowy cloth, we felt as if we were in a dream, though we helped
ourselves in a very wide-awake manner. Having each secured in the town
whatever we could lay hands on, to take back to our less fortunate
comrades, we returned full gallop. I had got a couple of loaves in my
haversac, with an enormous cabbage, and a bottle of brandy. We overtook
the waggons just as the last one had come up to the Colonel's party,
and they were preparing to move forward.
An unusual number of Hottentot women accompanied the train; and as
of late their conduct had excited much suspicion in Beaufort as well
as in the field (for numbers infest all the camps, a nuisance to
everybody but the Cape Corps men and waggon-drivers, from whom they
are inseparable), the Colonel had made some inquiries as to their
movements; and obtaining very unsatisfactory replies, ordered them to
be searched by the Fingoes, who set to work at once with a mischievous
alacrity. To the indignation of all, quantities of ammunition were
found secreted in their bundles and on their persons, for the undoubted
purpose of being clandestinely conveyed to the Rebels. On one woman
ninety-five rounds of government ammunition were found; on another,
eighty; others had smaller quantities; and one carried a canister
of loose powder, and a bullet-mould and turnscrew. They must either
have stolen or obtained the ball-cartridge from the Hottentots at
Beaufort in government pay; and how and to what extent the practice was
carried on, became a question of serious consideration. It was with the
greatest difficulty the women were rescued from the infuriated Fingoes,
who would have assegaied them on the spot but for the interference
of the officers; they were sent back prisoners to Beaufort. By these
wretches the enemy was provided, not only with means for destroying
us, but of keeping themselves in absolute comfort. Ammunition and food
it was accidentally found had been regularly forwarded to them by the
Tottie women of our own camps, fed, by the way, at the government
expense, who, under pretence of collecting firewood in the bush, hid
their supplies in certain assigned spots, whence they were to be
secretly taken away at night by the rebels.
Late in the afternoon our long train reached the bivouac in torrents of
rain, which again poured down with a steady relentlessness that soon
flooded the camp, and we made up our minds for another wet night. On
rising, at three o'clock next morning, we found little pools of water
collected in the hollows indented in the soft ground by our hips and
shoulders. We fell in, and stood for half an hour in the ranks ankle
deep in the mud, waiting for the waggons to move on, shivering like
men with ague, our fingers so benumbed that we could scarcely hold
our rifles. After creeping along for about half a mile we came to a
complete stand-still at a small rise, the road being too slippery for
the oxen, which cannot draw on wet ground, and we had to return to our
bivouac once more.
Here we remained all day in the incessant rain, _slushing_ about in
the mud, and trying to keep our feet warm by pacing up and down as on
board ship, for it was not safe in the thick fog to venture far enough
from the camp for a walk. We busied ourselves also in trying to make
the fires burn better; collecting stones, and building them up so as to
raise the wood from the flooded ground. A cloaked and dripping cavalry
express enveloped in steam, arrived in the afternoon from the Heights
with a letter from the General, to know why we had not marched, as the
covering party at the top of the pass had been waiting for us several
hours. Shortly afterwards a second equally damp party came in with a
despatch, "to be forwarded immediately" to Fort Beaufort, ordering the
60th Rifles to move to the Blinkwater the following day.
Next morning we made another attempt to get the waggons off, but
after an hour's work had only got about 200 yards from the bivouac,
and continued for the next three to crawl along at this snail's pace,
suffering very much in our thin clothing from the frost. On entering
the foot of the pass at its upper end a party of Kaffirs, perched on
the summit of an isolated sugarloaf hill on our left, shouted to us,
"_Nina Ez'innqulo ez'ingafanela ukuze apa kanjako kulendhlela leyo!_"
(You Tortoise warriors had better not again attempt to come by this
path.) Every word being perfectly distinct, though at first we could
barely distinguish their forms; then they upbraided the Fingoes,
"_Nina Amafingo yinina ukuba niya silwa tina? Gokuba nina ezisicthloba
zetu kanjaka sasimika amazimba nemasi kumi, nokuba nina inyabulala
sina jeninja._" (Why, Fingoes, do you fight against your friends? We
gave you corn, and plenty of sour milk, and you fire at us as though
we were dogs.) The ready retort, sung out with measured distinctness
was, "_Waza wapendula amanfingo, nina Amaxoso hiyenza amaqoboka tina
into ufanela ukuba womtu wa nika uku 'dhle kwamasheshi ake, asibulela
tina_." (You made us your slaves, Kaffirs; a man must feed his horse;
we do not thank you.) We desired our spokesman to inform them that
if they intended to prevent the white faces coming that way they had
better be prepared at once, for another war party was coming the same
path to-morrow; to this they replied by firing a shot at us, which
fell among the bushes a few paces short; a long shot, even for a Dutch
roer, which from the report we had no doubt it was. Many of these heavy
clumsy-looking weapons carry a four-ounce ball, and are of enormous
length and weight. The nominal charge of powder is as much as will
cover the ball placed on the flat palm of the hand, but as it is poured
by guess out of the rough cow-horn powder-flask it generally exceeds
even this liberal allowance, and if it does not dislocate the shooter's
shoulder, or knock him down, seldom fails to send him reeling. On this
challenge several of our long range rifles were immediately brought to
bear on the group; Baird's, a heavy metalled 'polygroove,' by Dickson,
of Edinburgh, throwing a ball right amongst them at a distance of at
least 1200 yards, the effect of which was most absurd; one fellow, who
had been standing conspicuously in a dark red blanket, throwing himself
flat on his face, and the rest jumping right and left with uncommon
agility. They fired several more shots at us, and Bruce, Gordon, and
myself, each in turn brought our rifles to bear on them, completely
silencing their conversation as well as the fire.
The wheezing oxen having recovered their breath for another spell,
the creaking waggons again moved slowly on, and halting every five
or ten yards, toiled wearily up the steep ascent, the slippery road
constantly bringing a whole team on their knees in their efforts to
move their load; so tedious was our progress that we were fourteen
hours performing these eight miles. When about half-way up the Pass, at
a turn in the road, we saw that "the krantz" was held by a strong party
of the other brigade posted to cover our ascent, the red coats of the
6th and 91st appearing like specks along its lofty precipitous edge,
peeping from among the bush and huge masses of rock some hundreds of
feet above us. The heat of the sun in the narrow road, shut in between
thick forest, was intense, and told fearfully against the cattle. We
had barely gained the top of the Pass by three o'clock, and with the
exception of a single cup of coffee, at two in the morning, had not
yet broken our fast, for unfortunately none of us had any biscuit in
our haversacs, as it was "ration day," and we had expected to gain
the top of the hill for breakfast. I was, however, lucky enough to
get a few raisins from a dirty but generous Dutchman, to the envy of
the less favoured. When we had fairly gained the open flat above, the
covering party of artillery and infantry was withdrawn, and formed our
rear-guard, and in a couple of hours more we reached the camp, far more
fatigued by the slow creeping pace and constant halting than we should
have been by a long day's march, and were so hungry and tired that we
could not wait for anything being cooked. As for myself, having secured
a lead-like loaf of camp manufacture, I devoured the whole of it, and
fell asleep on the grass.
It took us all next day to get the commissariat supplies distributed
and the empty waggons escorted down the hill again to the Blinkwater.
A sudden stir was caused in camp through one of the guard-fires having
been incautiously made without the usual precaution of clearing a
space in the long dry grass, which took fire; in a few minutes a
large extent was blazing furiously. Independently of the danger
to our camp, the loss of pasture was a serious consideration. The
General was in a furious rage, and instantly ordered every one in
camp to assist in putting it out. In a few minutes a whole brigade
appeared on the ground, armed with green boughs, and spread over
the smoking plain, switching away most vigorously at the blazing
grass; luckily there was no wind, and it was very soon extinguished,
though not before several acres were burnt black, and one face of the
camp thrown into the greatest confusion by the hasty removal of the
ammunition, blankets, piles of arms, and patrol-tents, from the way of
the spreading conflagration. In moving the muskets, one of them went
off accidentally, the ball striking the tent in which the General was
sitting, with several of his officers; rather astonishing the party
within.
On the morning of the 23rd, Lieut.-Col. Michell's Brigade marched from
camp for the Blinkwater valley below, to be in readiness to ascend
the Heights by Fullers Hoek at daylight the following morning, and
assail the enemy's position from that quarter, simultaneously with the
attack of the 60th Rifles from the Wolfsback range on the other, and
Lieut.-Col. Fordyce's direct on their front. In the evening orders were
issued for the march before daylight; it was a dark cold morning, and
we were enveloped in the chilly mist as we moved along the ridge, until
day broke, when the clouds lifting we got fine views of the valleys
below, lighted up with the morning sun. Some Kaffir horses, which had
been grazing during the night, and had been left out longer than usual,
were seen near the edge of the bush, and some of our horsemen, after a
short chevy, captured them, a few shots being fired at the party out
of the thick fog. Soon after, a body of Kaffirs was observed making
across the open, for the forest above the Waterkloof, about half a
mile distant on our right, and the 74th immediately gave chase; the
horse guns and Cape Corps galloped to an eminence on our left, and
fired several rounds of shell into another body assembled on a ridge,
leading down into the Blinkwater, to oppose the ascent of Lieut.-Col.
Nesbitt's force, which was steadily ascending the steep face of the
hill under fire, driving the enemy from point to point. We advanced
rapidly in extended order towards the forest, and in a few minutes were
warmly engaged with the enemy, who were strongly posted in the rocks
among the trees, one of our men being shot dead at the first volley.
Entering the wood, we drove them before us till they were lost in
impenetrable underwood; the 12th and Fingo Levies covering our movement
as we brought right shoulders forward, in direction of the village at
the head of the Pass, near the old sawpits, where the enemy had posted
themselves, and were with some difficulty dislodged. Colonel Fordyce
sent me, with half-a-dozen volunteers, to set fire to the village,
which we had great difficulty in effecting, owing to the huts being
perfectly green, and during the operation were annoyed by firing from
the wood. The regiment held on through the forest, driving the enemy
step by step from their cover, but not without loss, one man being
killed and another badly wounded, whilst arms and accoutrements were
struck and smashed on all sides, though on the whole we escaped with
comparatively little damage. One man, in the act of capping his musket,
had his finger shot off by a ball, which broke the lock, and two others
were slightly wounded, one in the leg, the other in the ribs; many
Kaffirs were killed. By nine o'clock the 60th Rifles had gained the
Heights and joined our left, while Colonel Michell's brigade, which had
ascended the Pass, was seen advancing towards the south-west corner of
the plain, through a narrow belt of wood on the right of the position
to which the enemy were now driven, and on clearing the bush the rear
of the column was attacked, though no opposition had been made to
the passage of the main body. The 91st faced to the right about, and
after a sharp skirmish, in which they suffered one or two casualties,
drove the enemy back with some loss, when the column crossed the front
of the enemy's position, and reinforced our right, which had for some
hours maintained the brunt of the fire on the most difficult ground;
after a continued roar of rolling musketry and booming guns the last
body of the enemy was driven from their position, and retreated through
the opposite belt of forest and across the ridge beyond it towards the
Kromme.
It was now noon, and having been under arms and actively engaged since
four in the morning, we were right glad of the short rest which was
allowed on the whole Division uniting at this point; and halting near
a spring, we broke our fast on biscuit and beef. The 60th Rifles had
captured about sixty head of cattle, having had one man killed and
another badly injured. The poor fellow was brought up with the rest of
our wounded, and amputation being found necessary, his arm was taken
off on the field at once; one of the Marines was also dangerously
wounded, and died two days after. We buried the two Highlanders on the
mountain top, and piled a cairn above their grave. Fresh ammunition
was issued to all the regiments, from the reserve on the pack-mules,
and after a halt of about two hours, the force separated in different
directions; Lieut.-Col. Michell's brigade consisting of the 2nd, 6th,
91st, and artillery bivouacking on the ground, in the centre of the
enemy's late position. Lieut.-Col. Nesbitt's column, consisting of the
45th regiment, the 60th Rifles, and Marines, was sent down again to
the camp in the Blinkwater valley, by the eastern spur of the range,
covered by the artillery; the Fingo Levies descending the valley to
waylay the Blinkwater passes, and prevent the enemy escaping in
that direction with cattle to the Amatolas; while the 12th, 74th,
and cavalry marched with the General for our old bivouac at Mundells
Krantz. On our route across the table-land we were suddenly fired on
from a belt of bush skirting the edge of the precipice and running up
from the Waterkloof forests below, but we continued our march without
taking further notice of them than throwing out a flank patrol of
the 74th, and a few Cape Corps; they were merely a straggling party,
more intent on annoying us than fighting, and did no other harm than
wounding a couple of horses. Our total loss this day was only three men
killed and seven wounded, after having driven the enemy from an almost
impenetrable stronghold--a dense forest with close thorny underwood,
and endless barriers of huge masses of detached rock.
The shadows of evening were falling rapidly as we once more entered the
lines of burnt out fires on our old bivouacking ground, and we were not
long in turning in to rest, lying down round the fires. One or two of
us now began to feel the effects of our late wet work, in the shape of
acute rheumatism and lumbago, which kept us awake in spite of fatigue.
We marched early in falling sleet, to join the other brigade, on the
ridge facetiously denominated "Mount Pleasant." Several large Kaffir
fires were seen on the heights on the opposite side of the Waterkloof
valley, the smoke hanging heavily in the damp air. The tops of the
distant mountains and most of the nearer peaks were white with snow
that had fallen during the night, and the breeze from that direction
blew so bitterly cold on our saturated clothes, that we were perfectly
benumbed in our light marching dress, which, though warmer than
agreeable under the mid-day sun, was a very indifferent protection
against such weather. On reaching the bivouac of the brigade in
occupation, we found they had suffered much more than ourselves; the
chill wind swept unbroken over the bleak exposed ridge which was
covered with snow, and the trenches which the men had dug before the
rain came on, to sleep in under shelter of the earth thrown out of
them, were full of water. A consultation took place between the two
Commanders as to the advisability, or rather practicability of making
any movement in such weather. During this, partly to keep themselves
warm, and partly to commemorate the death of an unfortunate Kaffir spy
whom they had just assegaied, the Fingoes gathered in a circle and
performed a war dance, with unusually savage yells and gesticulations.
The rain was evidently determined to make a day of it, and about eleven
o'clock we were driven back again to our old bivouac,--of the very
sight of which we were thoroughly weary. It had been visited during
our absence by the Kaffirs, the spoor of whose bare feet was traceable
round nearly every fire, on which we found they had been roasting
the offal of our slaughtered cattle, and actually eating the bones,
which were gnawed off, as if by large dogs. The sloppy ground, after
twenty-four hours' rain, and trampling of men, horses and cattle, had
become a perfect bog, in which we sank at every step; and with the
driving rain, which, like a white cloud, came sweeping across the bleak
plain till it dashed in our faces, with the fitful gusts of wind that
scattered the ashes of our wretched fires in every direction, our day's
halt was anything but a lounge. One of our men, wounded in the fight of
the day before, died in the afternoon, and was buried near the graves
of Norris and the other brave fellows interred here. The pitiless
rain changed only for sleet at night, and the men suffered very much,
their blankets having been completely soaked as well as their clothes
for many hours, while the ground was unfit even for the cattle and
horses to lie on. In the morning we found ourselves whitened over with
hail and sleet, the fog so thick that all operations, were out of the
question, and another day in this cheerful spot was before us. All day
long the belt of wood rang with the sound of the axe; Officers and
men, for the sake of exercise, busily occupied themselves in cutting
down trees, chopping up and carrying wood for the fires; those that
could not borrow an axe or bill-hook, made fires round the standing
trunks and burnt them down, when the branches were torn off and carried
smoking to the camp, and piled on the fires, which at last burned up,
high and cheerily, in spite of the descending deluge.
As there appeared to be no chance of the weather improving, the
General determined to move the following morning at all hazards. The
troops mustered without bugle call, and silently took their places,
the blazing fires casting a bright ruddy light on the dripping ranks,
standing motionless in the heavy rain in which the men had lain all
night without a murmur. At five we moved off, and after an hour's march
through very long grass reached the edge of the heights above the
Waterkloof valley, into which we at once descended, scrambling down
a tremendously steep rocky path leading abruptly into the deep glen,
the advanced sections of the 12th looking like Lilliputian soldiers
far beneath, as the breaking daylight showed them already landed at
the bottom. Having re-formed our ranks, we proceeded up the valley to
attack the new position taken up by the enemy on the southern head of
the Kromme range. The big guns and musketry on the heights above our
left told that the other brigade was already engaged, and soon after,
as we got further up the valley, we saw heavy clouds of smoke rising
from the huts they had fired. On reaching the point where the valley
branches into two, we took the road leading up the one on our right,
and presently came on a village prettily situated, and indeed almost
hidden in the bush; the Kaffirs had but barely escaped, and one or two
lurking in the bush were caught by the Fingoes; a small body of them
were also seen creeping on hands and knees through the long grass over
the crest of an opposite hill, and a party of our horse dashed after in
pursuit, and cut them off. We ascended the mountain by a steep winding
road; the rain had at last ceased, and the sun was now overpoweringly
hot, though a few hours before we had thought it impossible to be too
warm. We worked our way through two belts of wood on the ridge without
finding any recent spoor of the enemy; and after marching some distance
across the grassy table top of the Kromme came to the little basin, on
several previous occasions the scene of our bivouacs. The 91st regiment
detached from Michell's Brigade, which now held the belt of forest on
the top of the range, between Fullers Hoek and Waterkloof, came through
the forest in our front and reinforced the column, when we advanced
on the enemy's position, and entering the bush had a sharp skirmish,
killing several Kaffirs and capturing some horses, after which there
being no further opposition, or, indeed, any one to be seen, we
returned in a heavy shower to the flat, and bivouacked for the night.
Before dawn we entered the belt of forest separating us from the other
brigade, and met with no obstruction; the bush was still as death, and
at the top of the path leading out of it lay the corpses of the Kaffirs
killed on the 14th. The stench was intolerable. It was impossible to
remove them, and as they lay right along the centre of the narrow track
we had to file singly past them. A few yards further on lay the clean
picked skeleton of the Serjeant of the 12th, killed at the same time,
which was recognised by the fragments of his red coat, torn to pieces,
and trampled in the dirt by the hyænas and jackals, which invariably
attack white flesh in preference to black. Just at the edge of the wood
on the open, lay many dead Kaffirs, and the putrifying carcases of four
horses shot on the above occasion; we were nearly all ill from the
continued insufferable stench, and hurried along to escape it.
We now stood on the N.W. corner of the Horseshoe, and on the site of
the principal Kaffir village; the ground was covered with the remains
of burnt and levelled huts; native utensils and ornaments lay about,
burnt dogs and dead horses, and here and there the corpse of a Kaffir
or Tottie, with hundreds of flattened bullets and fragments of exploded
shells that had torn up the rocks around. In front of the position was
a line of small stone breastworks, ingeniously constructed of loose
rocks, built up about three or four feet high, and from three feet,
to twenty, in length, invisible at musket range, on account of their
similarity to the rocky ground on which they stood.
We halted for some time here, and the sun was so blazing hot that we
stretched blankets over the stands of piled arms, as a shelter from its
burning rays; in front of us, rising in the distance above the dark
forest that sloped abruptly into the valley below, stood the grand and
lofty Winterberg, its lower ranges of a deep purple tint, the higher
white with snow. Along the front of the forest the huts were totally
destroyed, but just within its shelter we found many still standing,
untouched and quite deserted, also cattle kraals and stables, made of
young trees, felled and twined in and out between the larger standing
ones; in the huts were all sorts of odd things--calabashes, beads,
bridles, hatchets, karosses, bags of seeds and of the red clay with
which they cover their bodies, rheims, large pieces of the root of the
Noë-boom root, peeled for food; two or three litters of blind puppies,
jealously guarded by half-famished curs; quantities of sheep-skins and
piles of bullocks' horns, and all kinds of minor rubbish, with several
bullet moulds, and a quantity of newly-cast balls. The trees around
were scored with bullet marks high and low, and many shivered into
splinters by the shells; one or two large and recently-made graves
were found, and a sickening odour arose from the thick underwood,
where there must have been many more bodies hidden among the tangled
thickets. While clambering among the huge masses of creeper-grown rock,
which were rudely thrown together in every size and form, among the
forest trees growing out of their clefts, I accidentally observed, half
covered by the wild vine, a narrow opening between two enormous crags,
and peeping in with some trouble, found, to my astonishment, a cave or
chamber capable of holding a dozen or fifteen men, the floor covered
with grass matting and sheep-skins, while the entrance was naturally
concealed by a clump of thick bushes. From such hiding places our
troops were shot down by unseen enemies, and officers picked off at the
head of their astonished men.
At noon a mule waggon was sent over to us from the General's party,
across the "Horseshoe," containing a supply of meal, which, as we had
not tasted food since the previous evening, was at once made into a
sort of water porridge, and greedily devoured; an order arriving for
us to move up to the support of the 2nd Queen's hotly engaged just in
front, we took our half-emptied mess-tins in our hands, eating the
parboiled mess as we went along. We were extended and lay down among
the loose rocks in support, the firing heavy on both sides and stray
shots each moment falling among us or striking the stones and flying
off with a ringing _whirr_. For more than an hour we impatiently lay
here inactive, though under fire. The 6th took up a flanking position
in a clump of large trees and opened a steady fire on the enemy; the
2nd were then withdrawn, and retired through our line, their faces
begrimed with gunpowder, bearing one dead and one wounded man. As soon
as they were clear of the range, the artillery of the 2nd Brigade
opened fire on the Krantz; the Kaffirs, however, maintained their
ground, and greatly annoyed the 6th by a dropping fire from invisible
marksmen. Shortly after, the howitzers of the other column were brought
round to the south front of the position, all the guns were going
at once, and in a few minutes completely drove the enemy from their
stand in the rocky cover, scattering and killing the groups that kept
appearing in front. A round shot striking a rock, ricocheted obliquely,
and passed between our regiment and the 12th, and close to two
officers, but fortunately did no harm, and went bounding and crashing
through the forest, clearing its terrific course with a humming roar.
The enemy completely dislodged by the infantry from their fastnesses
in the bush, and now driven from their successive rallying points, by
the admirable practice of the guns, under Lieutenant Field, were seen
in the distance retreating over the hills and down the valleys in every
direction towards the Kromme Forest, the women carrying large bundles
on their heads, a sure sign of their "trekking."
Late in the evening we returned to our bivouac, and long before
daylight were again trudging across the dark mountains. At dawn we came
to the top of the Wolfsback Pass, and as we halted for a few minutes to
allow those in front to file into its narrow shady path, we discerned,
on the opposite hill across the dark intervening kloof, two or three
fires, and a few Kaffir scouts creeping along its elevated ridge, in a
stooping posture, though plainly visible to us against the brightening
sky. We made our way down through the steep forest, and reached the
ruined farm-house at the foot of the mountain, where we had halted for
breakfast about six weeks before, and seeing no signs whatever of the
enemy in these forests, in which it was thought they had taken refuge,
again ascended the range by a path a little more towards the eastern
extremity, and crossing its ridge, descended into the valley called
Fullers Hoek. This is a deep wooded kloof of the Blinkwater, till
lately in the territories of Hermanus, who found its thick forests and
almost inaccessible retreats so favourable for the concealment of the
horses and fat cattle of the colonists, that he was at last deprived
of it by the Government, and allotted a more open tract of country in
its stead, belonging to a burgher, named Fuller, who, taking possession
of the Chief's valley, gave it the name it now bears. The General
having moved down into the Blinkwater, with the artillery and horse,
co-operated with us, as we scoured through the scattered bush, with
companies extended right across the glen, clearing the cover from one
end to the other, as we advanced, burning and destroying all the cattle
kraals and huts in our way. Some Kaffirs, on the summit of a lofty
perpendicular precipice crowning a steep wooded mountain on our left,
shouted to us to let the kraals alone, and one of them gave us a song!
they were far beyond rifle range.
At noon we reached the camp near the ruins of the old Blinkwater Post,
and found the 45th regiment, the 60th Rifles, the Artillery, Marines,
and Cape Mounted Rifles, already encamped. Commissariat supplies were
sent up to Lieut.-Colonel Michell's Brigade, left in position on the
Heights, at the head of the Waterkloof. A party of us rode into Fort
Beaufort, and the 60th marched in in the evening, on their route back
to King William's Town. We all dined together at the very humble inn,
and slept at night on the chairs, tables, and floors, lots being drawn
for an antiquated wooden billiard-table, in consequence of its superior
accommodation.
We were to have returned with commissariat waggons next day, to the
camp, but having mistaken the hour, I was left behind, and had to
follow them alone. The road enjoyed no very desirable reputation, but
as they could not have got more than three or four miles, I trusted to
my horse's speed for that distance, and having ridden at a quiet pace
for the first mile, set spurs to him at the entrance of the bush, and
dashed along at a rate that would have made me a very difficult flying
shot. When half way through the bush, four or five armed Hottentots
stood, about two hundred yards before me, whom I at once concluded were
some of the Levies belonging to the waggon escort, and congratulated
myself on having so soon overtaken them. My horse's foot striking
with a sharp click against a stone in the deep sandy road, made them
look round, when to my surprise they all bolted into the bush and
disappeared; but for this lucky panic, I should, the very next moment,
have ridden into the midst of the Rebels, who must, no doubt, have
thought that I was at the head of a party. Before they had time to
discover their mistake I was round the next turn, and about a mile
further on came up with the train.
"Winkel waggons" had come out to the camp, and the "winklers," or
private traders, sold everything they had, from black sugar and meal to
sardines and pickled salmon, at the most absurd and extravagant prices;
the soldiers lavishly spending their accumulated pay in coffee, bread,
and other comforts, which was rather encouraged than otherwise, as
preventing the drunkenness that would otherwise ensue the first time
they got into quarters.
In the evening the mail arrived from Beaufort, having seen several
parties of Rebels on the road lurking among the bush and rocks, and on
the hill-sides; the return-bag was despatched with a double escort, and
an order issued forbidding any one to go into Beaufort without a proper
escort. A Kaffir spy, found prowling in the bushes close to the camp,
was chased, and for some time eluded discovery, having disappeared in
a most sudden and mysterious manner at the edge of the river; he was,
however, finally detected by the quick eye of one of the Levies, who,
holding up his finger, quietly pointed to a small motionless black
object on the water, near the branch of an old tree; this was the nose
of the Kaffir, but so still and motionless was the muddy water that
when the Fingo raised his firelock, and took a long steady aim, every
one was ready to roar with laughter at the expected "sell;" bang went
the old flint musket, and to their surprise the Kaffir leaped up and
dropped again with a heavy splash into the blood-stained water.
The waggons had brought our tents, which we had now been without
for nearly three weeks, and the camp was pitched with the greatest
alacrity, and in half the usual time. Markers were placed and
"covered," their bayonets stuck in the ground, streets marked out, and
tents brought from the waggons; in a moment there was a hammering of
pegs on every side, the tents were stretched out on the ground of each
line or company, and at the sound of two notes on the bugle the whole
rose up in their places; what had seemed confusion became the most
exact order, and the bare plain was suddenly transformed into a canvas
city, the whole being completed in less time than it took the wood and
water parties to bring fuel from the neighbouring bush, or fill the
camp-kettles at the river.
Heavy rain again came on in the evening with every prospect of a steady
continuance, and, though in tents, we were now quite indifferent to
it ourselves, we could not but pity the poor fellows on the heights,
exposed to the full violence of the storm. We were in for another
"three days rain."
The enemy having entirely abandoned the position, Colonel Michell's
Brigade marched down into the Blinkwater during the afternoon of the
31st; they had seen the spoor of Kaffirs and cattle trekking out of
the district, and had taken some Kaffir women prisoners, who stated
that there were only a very few of their people still lurking in the
bush, looking after the wounded whom they were unable to remove, and
had secreted in their undiscoverable and inaccessible retreats in
the twenty square miles of forest that clothe this rugged range of
mountains. Some rebel Hottentot women had also been captured, who
represented themselves as wandering lambs of the scattered flock of a
Mr. Reid, of the Kat River London Missionary settlement. They were very
dirty--disgustingly so--and were barely covered by their filthy rags;
they were set at liberty, and advised to leave that part of the country
as soon as possible. Several horses had been taken by this brigade, and
amongst them we recognised that of our lamented Band-master, taken on
the 8th of September, whose coat was also found in one of the huts.
The gallant brigade, literally in rags, marched steadily through
our camp for Fort Beaufort in the storm of wind and rain, many with
bare feet, and their thin and scanty clothes, so tattered as to be
hardly decent. They had suffered very much in their exposed position,
diarrhoea and dysentery having laid up whole sections.
For the next three days the rain never ceased for one minute, and the
ground became so thoroughly saturated that the floors of our tents
were as wet as the flooded plain outside. The wet trembling horses,
with drawn-up bellies, and the damp soldiers, with turned-up trews,
splashing about amongst the long rows of soaked canvas, looked nearly
as wretched as the shivering blanket-covered Fingoes that crouched
round the smoky fires.