CHIEF WARS--MOROSI--DEATH OF MOLAPO--INFLUENCE OF THE
MISSIONARIES--COLONEL GRIFFETH--GENERAL GORDON--1843 TO PRESENT
TIME--GOVERNMENT HUT TAX--MISSION SOCIETIES.
The chief wars, apart from tribal disturbances, in which the Basuto have
been engaged, are the Basuto-Dutch War, 1863-1868; the Morosi Campaign
in 1879; and the Gun War in 1880-1881.
The Basuto-Dutch War of 1863 to 1868 was caused by the long-continued
plundering of the Basuto all along the border. At that time Mosheshue
was growing old, his people were half-starving savages, with large bands
of cannibals among them.
The Orange Free State was rich in grain and in flocks and herds; the
Mosuto is always at heart a cattle thief; he knows no temptation so
great as that of "cattle lifting." No wonder, then, that, with the added
force of starvation and their hatred of the Boers, the Basuto took to
plundering those homesteads near the border.
In addition to this, the young "braves" thought they were too strong
even for the English power to subdue--the result of the retreat of Sir
George Cathcart in 1852, which they looked upon as a sign of weakness
on our part, and they received no check from Mosheshue, who seems to
have allowed his people a free hand. Undoubtedly they had great cause to
hate the Boers for the many wrongs received from them, and to this day
there is no love lost between Boer and Basuto. But we will enter into
this subject later on.
The eventual result of these devastations was war, which raged for five
years between the two nations. At first the Basuto were everywhere
victorious; hunger was no longer known in their midst, and they became
boastful, vain-glorious, and altogether over-confident. Then came the
Boers' turn. Their commandos entered the Lesuto, which they conquered
bit by bit, until the whole country of the northern part, from what is
now called Winburg to Thaba Bosigo, was in their hands. This strong
fortress had resisted all attempts to conquer it; but the Basuto were
thoroughly frightened, and Mosheshue, dreading to fall into the hands of
the Dutch, earnestly entreated the Governor of Cape Colony (Sir Philip
Wodehouse) to protect them. Accordingly, the Lesuto was proclaimed
British territory under the Colonial Government, and the Dutch were
requested to return to the Free State. Soon afterwards the Governor went
to Thaba Bosigo, when he laid down, with President Brand, the boundary
of what is now the Lesuto, and which deprived the Basuto of that fertile
tract of country, west of the Caledon River, which has since been called
the conquered territory. Colonel Griffeth was appointed Commissioner,
and the country became subject to British rule in 1869.
In 1879, Dodo Morosi's son, who had been imprisoned in Quthing prior to
his removal to the Colony, escaped from prison, and joined Morosi on his
famous mountain near Quthing. These two chiefs had always been rebels at
heart, and only needed a little encouragement to become so openly. At
that time Cetewayo was doing his utmost to stir up the Basuto, urging
them to join him against the British Government. The Basuto have always
looked upon the Zulu chief as, in a way, their head, to whom they owed a
certain amount of obedience, and to whom they paid tribute of karosses,
ostrich feathers, etc. Consequently, when the disaster of Isandhlala
became known in the Lesuto, the people became almost ungovernable with
excitement. Colonel Griffeth formed a camp at Pathlahla Drift, where he
was joined by several of his staff, and by 400 Colonial troops,
augmented by 1,200 loyal Basuto. Mr. Barkly, the magistrate of Mohali's
Hoek, was appointed Staff Officer to Colonel Griffeth during the siege
of Morosi Mountain, while Colonel (now General) Brabant, with 150 men,
was sent up early in April to aid the besiegers.
Morosi was a Baputi Chief under the rule of the Paramount Chief. At this
time he was an old man, almost completely under the influence of his son
Dodo, a crafty, rebellious, and cruel man, who had been imprisoned and
heavily fined by Mr. Austin, magistrate of Quthing, but had, as I have
already stated, made his escape. Morosi now openly rebelled, whereupon
the Colonial Government, through Colonel Griffeth, ordered the Basuto to
enforce obedience. Thus, in April, the attack began, but many of the
Basuto, though not themselves in open rebellion, refused to take up arms
against their "brother." Consequently, there was not a sufficiently
strong attacking force, and the first attempt was a complete failure,
resulting in a loss of about fifty killed and wounded on our side. The
mountain is very steep, and the whole face was protected by schanzes, or
stone walls; stones also were hurled by the besieged upon their foes as
they endeavoured to scale the mountain. Our force had a couple of field
guns, which were of considerable service. The attack lasted from 5 A.M.
till 8 P.M., during which time the besiegers were entirely without food.
I am indebted to one who was a member of the C.M.R. present at the siege
for the above information. The "Colonies and India," of June 1879,
says:--"After the failure of the attempt to storm the enemy's position,
and while awaiting the arrival of heavier cannon, the investment of the
mountain still continued, pickets being posted day and night round three
sides of it, the fourth being a perpendicular krantz of many feet in
height.
"Notwithstanding all the vigilance and precautions taken, one of the
pickets, consisting of a troop of the 3rd Yeomanry, were surprised on
the night of the 29th instant. About two hundred of the enemy rushed
into their camp, overpowering the sentries and assegaing some of the men
in their tents. The Yeomanry, after six hours' fighting, beat them off,
but not without sustaining a loss of six killed and fifteen wounded.
"There is but one path leading to the summit of the mountain, which is
fortified by strongly-built stone walls, arranged with great skill, so
that the lower ones are commanded and can be enfiladed by those above
them. They are pierced by double rows of loopholes, and, in most cases,
are situated on the verge of steep rocks, which render them almost
inaccessible from below. The mountain was crowded with every kind of
stock, and defended by several hundred Baphuti rebels under Morosi."
The siege dragged on until November of the same year (every effort to
storm the mountain failing), when the enemy were starved into a
surrender. Morosi and two of his sons were killed, and the others
surrendered as soon as the C.M.R., who were the first to scale the
ladders, had entered the stronghold with fixed bayonets, with which they
attacked the starving garrison. Dodo, however, unfortunately escaped,
but the greater number of the enemy were killed.
In September, previous to this event, Sir Gordon Sprigg (the then
Premier of the Cape Colony) visited the Lesuto in connection with the
Disarmament Act, which had just been passed by the Colonial Government,
and a great Pitso was held at Maseru on the 16th of October (1879) to
inform the Basuto that the Act was to be extended to the Lesuto. It was
a most unfortunate time to select for the enforcement of such a law. The
Basuto love their guns, and no amount of compensation would repay them
for the loss of their firearms. In addition, the whole nation was
unsettled, first by the Zulu Campaign, and afterwards by the fighting at
Morosi's Mountain. They only needed tangible excuse to break out into
open rebellion. That excuse the Government placed before them when it
insisted upon the disarming of the whole nation. Chiefs and people alike
were furious, and, though no immediate steps were taken by the
Government, the whole country seemed on the brink of a volcano.
Early in 1880 a commission was appointed for each district, consisting
of the magistrate, the principal chief of the district and the most
influential trader. A fair and just value was to be given to each man
upon delivering up his weapon or weapons. The Colonial Government
completely ignored the fact that it was to blame in the first instance
for the number of guns in the country, and that it had employed the
Basuto to fight for it; in fact, was actually doing so at the time when
the Act was passed, when it employed Basuto to aid in the siege of
Morosi's Mountain. A deputation of chiefs was sent to Cape Town, but
their petition was refused. Even the majority of the missionaries
regarded the policy of the Colonial Government as an act of unnecessary
oppression, and many of them did not hesitate to say so openly.
On the 28th of June the wise old chief Molapo died in the north of
Basutoland, and his death no doubt hastened matters, for, had he lived,
he would have used all his influence, which was considerable, on the
side of the Government. His sons Joel and Jonathan succeeded him, but
Joel was always strongly against the Government, and Jonathan was a
young man without much power over the other chiefs. The French
Protestant missionaries, though earnestly exhorting the people to
refrain from bloodshed, were known by the Basuto to sympathise with
them; consequently, their persons, homes, and mission stations were
untouched during the rebellion which followed. The Roman Catholic
Missions, which also belonged to the French, likewise remained
unmolested, but the English missionaries and their stations fared badly
indeed. The one at Mohale's Hoek was utterly destroyed. At Sekubu in the
north everything perishable was burnt, the stone buildings alone
remaining standing, and the mission buildings at Thlotse fared hardly
better, the church to this day (though no longer used as such, having
been replaced by a much larger building) bearing many marks of the
conflict. The Government fixed upon the 12th of July as the day for the
final disarmament of the people. Many loyalists sent in their arms, a
course of action which resulted in many real hardships for them, and to
this day the greater number have never received more than two-thirds (if
that) of the compensation owed them by the Government, though many
rebels received full compensation. Chief Jonathan remained loyal
throughout, and, by his firmness, kept together a large following, who
were of the greatest possible assistance to Major Bell, the magistrate
of Leribe.
Canon Widdicombe gives a most interesting and graphic account of the
fighting in the north in his book, "Fourteen Years in Basutoland." The
actual fighting began on the 19th of July near the centre of the
Lesuto, and soon rebellion became general throughout the country. In
September a few hundred C.M. Rifles were sent up to Southern Basutoland
by the Colonial Government, but nothing was done for the North. Mafeteng
in the south was first attacked on the 13th September; Lerotholi, with a
following of over 8,000 men, all mounted, opening the proceedings by a
vigorous attack upon the station. Fortunately the rebels were repulsed
with great loss. On October 4th the trading station of Lipering,
belonging to the Messrs. Fraser, was attacked and destroyed; Maseru and
Mohale's Hoek were attacked about the same time.
On the 19th October General Clarke, Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial
forces, succeeded in reaching and relieving Mafeteng, but with heavy
loss, the 1st Yeomanry alone losing 32 killed and 11 wounded. The former
lie buried in the little cemetery at Mafeteng, where a monument has been
erected to their memory. On November 8th the first attack was made upon
Thlotse in the north. It was sudden and very well planned, but
nevertheless it failed. Five thousand "braves" under Chief Joel made the
attack at daybreak, but most fortunately heavy rain had fallen, causing
the Thlotse River to become impassable, and thus preventing Ramanella
and his contingent from joining in the attack. The defending force was
only 140 strong. As soon as the river became fordable, Jonathan crossed
into Thlotse with nearly 2,000 loyal followers. What that poor little
garrison suffered can be but little imagined. Many acts of revolting
cruelty were perpetrated by the rebels; Jonathan's village was burnt to
the ground, and all his flocks and herds carried off, while he and his
small following took refuge in Thlotse, the whole country from there to
Maseru being by this time in the hands of the rebels. A force of nearly
300 of the Kimberley Horse, under Major Lawrance, was sent from Maseru
to the aid of the Thlotse garrison, and most effectively they fulfilled
their mission, driving off an enemy ten times their own size right
across the Thlotse River, almost into the mountains. This state of
affairs continued all through the country until the 17th of April, 1881,
when an armistice was made, followed by a treaty of peace, for the
unusually hard winter had at length proved the "last straw" to the
rebels, who, worn out with fighting and hardships, eventually realized
the futility of attempting to overcome the "White Man." Unfortunately,
the Colonial Government, in its anxiety to bring the war to an end, was
ready for peace at any price. A little firmness for a month or two
longer, and the Basuto would have been completely conquered. They were
in real distress for food, and were unfit to stand the hardships of the
winter months of June and July; but the Government apparently did not
see the matter in this light, and on April 29th the new Governor, Sir
Hercules Robinson, issued a proclamation which promised a fair indemnity
for their loss to the loyal Basuto, and was by no means severe upon the
rebels; but the promises were never properly fulfilled, and to this day
there is many a sore heart and shaken faith in the word of the English
to be found in Basutoland.
Colonel Griffeth pointed out the unwisdom of such conduct, but he was
granted a year's leave of absence, after which he was pensioned. It
would be a moral lesson to many were they to hear a Mosuto's opinion of
this act, though it is extremely galling to realise how British prestige
suffered for many months, morally and physically, and the marks of her
degradation will remain for ever. Oh! how can people wish to bring
civilization into a country, when it brings such suffering in its train!
In April, 1881, General Gordon had offered his services to the Colonial
Government, but it was not until September, 1882, that they availed
themselves of his offer. He then proceeded to Basutoland, where at any
rate he won the admiration and affection of all those Basuto who came in
contact with him. His stay in the country was short. Let my reader refer
to Sir W. Butler's Life of Gordon for the reason. Again the Government
had thrown away the chance of permanent settlement.
In 1883 came the war between Joel and Jonathan, the two great chiefs of
the North, which resulted in the overthrow of Joel, who with his
followers fled to the Free State. Captain Blyth, C.M.G., was at that
time "Governor's Agent" of Basutoland; but as he had only moral force
with which to govern the people, what could he do except report to Cape
Town all that had occurred? At length, in November, 1883, Basutoland was
taken over by the Imperial Government, and early in 1884, Sir Marshall
Clarke (Lt.-Col., R.A.) was sent as Resident Commissioner of Basutoland,
under the control of the High Commissioner.
From this time a more hopeful state of things ensued, though even to the
present time there are not infrequent inter-tribal wars, squabbles, and
jealousies to "keep the country from going to sleep."
Basutoland is a native territory under Imperial Government. In 1868, the
country was annexed to the British Empire, though in December, 1843
Mosheshue signed a treaty with England, in which the boundaries of his
country were defined as the Orange River, from its source to its
junction with the Caledon, and a line about thirty miles northeast of
the Caledon, from Bethulie to Sikonyela's country. This did not at all
meet with the approval of Mosheshue, and quietly he extended his sway,
while the British authorities were engaged in settling matters with Adam
Kok, the emigrant farmers, and various others. From 1847 to 1851 there
were constant "strained relations" between Mosheshue and the British
Government, ending in an alliance between him and the emigrant farmers.
England was then not in a position to enforce obedience from Mosheshue,
and his affairs were allowed to drift until such time as force could be
brought to bear to ensure his subjugation.
In the end of 1852, General Cathcart, with a force of 2,000 Infantry,
500 Cavalry, and two field guns, marched upon Basutoland, and sent a
message to Mosheshue asking him how he intended to behave, and demanding
the delivery of 10,000 head of cattle and 1,000 horses within a week.
Mosheshue endeavoured to comply with this demand, but the Basuto love
their cattle, and could not be induced to part with more than 4,000
head. They were also anxious to try their strength against the English,
and would not listen to their chief when he endeavoured to show them how
futile would be their efforts. The result was that on the 20th December,
the British forces advanced to attack, and it was upon that day that the
awful ride of a small body of Lancers down an almost precipitous ravine
took place. It happened thus. The cavalry were ordered to march to the
north of Berea Mountain, but seeing a great number of cattle apparently
unguarded on the top of the hill, they tried to secure them. Suddenly a
strong force under Molapo advanced, scattering cattle and foes in all
directions. Had it not been for the bravery of Colonel Napier, our loss
would have been very severe; but he, with the small party round him,
attacked the Basuto, thus giving many of our men a chance to escape. One
small body of Lancers mistook an almost precipitous ravine for the
bridle-path, and charged down it at a gallop; those who were not killed
in the descent rushing headlong into the midst of an armed force of
Basuto at the bottom. To this day the spot is called "Lancers' Gap," and
many Basuto tales are told of that ride to death of the brave
"Ma-Soldier" of the Great White Queen, or "Mofumahali" as they call her.
The Basuto fought well, and showed considerable bravery. They were
nearly all armed with guns or rifles, in addition to their native
weapons; but the coolness and bravery of our small force against such
vast numbers alarmed them, and Mosheshue pointed out that they could not
hope to overcome the strong reinforcements which would follow. After a
hurried counsel the Basuto fled during the night to the most
inaccessible mountains; and thus, after two days' hard fighting, ended
the advance of the British troops.
Mosheshue wrote a most diplomatic letter to General Cathcart, on the
advice of the French Missionary M. Casalis, saying he had seen the power
of the English; he had been corrected; he now desired peace, and would
never again become an enemy to the Queen. The General accepted the
apology, and retired across the Caledon.
Into the advisability, or otherwise, of this step I prefer not to enter.
Theal, in his "History of the Boers in South Africa," enters fully into
the subject, and gives a very good account of the after effects of
General Cathcart's step, as also the General's reasons for taking it.
Basutoland was taken over by the Colonial Government in 1870, the "Gun
War" following in 1871, in consequence of the Colonial Government
endeavouring to enforce the Disarmament Act. After the conclusion of the
second "Gun War" (1880-1882), Basutoland reverted to Imperial rule. It
is directly under the control of the Resident Commissioner, who lives at
Maseru, and has under him seven Assistant Commissioners, one in each
district, a Government Secretary at headquarters, and a dozen
Sub-Inspectors in charge of the different detachments of native police,
stationed in each district. Each detachment has also one or two
European constables, according to the number of police and the size of
the district.
The Resident Commissioner has a difficult position to fill. He is
responsible to the High Commissioner on the one hand, and has to win the
confidence and favour, not only of the Paramount Chief, but of the whole
nation on the other, and to maintain the prestige of British supremacy
without going too closely into purely native matters. The chiefs have
considerable power up to a certain point, but are answerable to the
Paramount Chief first, and through him to the Resident Commissioner, for
the exercise of that power. They hold courts for the settlement of all
native matters, save those of grave importance, which are dealt with by
the Assistant Commissioners. Natives are always allowed to appeal to the
Assistant Commissioner of their district against the decision of their
own court or "Khotla," but no appeal is possible to even the Paramount
Chief against the decision of the Government. In murder cases, and
others of equally grave importance, two Assistant Commissioners must
"sit in judgment." All sentences are referred to the Resident
Commissioner for confirmation. All "liquor" cases are brought to the
Assistant Commissioner of the district. The police patrol the country,
and bring in cases for trial, and report any suspicious events. There
are post offices at all the Government stations, under the supervision
of the Assistant Commissioners, and most of the stations are now
possessed of telegraphic communication. There is also a medical service,
consisting of the Principal Medical Officer, resident at Maseru, and a
Medical Officer at most of the stations, with a staff of native
dispensers. Medical attendance is free to all officials and their
families, and to the police; and also to the whole nation between the
hours of ten to twelve daily, at the dispensary, a nominal fee of
sixpence being charged by the Government to cover the cost of the
medicine received.
The revenue is considerable, and is chiefly derived from the hut tax.
This is a tax levied on each wife in reality, though it is nominally on
the hut. It used to be 10s. for each hut, but has now been raised to £1
each. A man having two wives pays £2, though he may have three or more
huts, and so on.
The expenditure consists of the salaries of all Government officials,
including natives, cost of maintaining the roads, educational grants,
and building and repairing of Government buildings, with various other
minor expenses connected with the administration, pensions, &c. The work
of education is a heavy item, there being over 100 schools. The
Missionary Societies are the Paris Evangelical, the Anglican and the
Roman Catholic. I have placed them in the order in which they stand.
The French missionaries were the first to visit Basutoland, and are a
big majority. They have done much for the Basuto, apart from religious
instruction and example, for in the early days of their arrival they
taught the people the use of many cereals and plants, of which, till
then, they were ignorant, and also how to build, to plough, and reap,
and the European methods of irrigation, as well as introducing into the
country various domestic animals, such as the pig, the cat, and a dog,
superior to the miserable specimens already to be found in the villages.
Fowls, turkeys, ducks, and geese were also first introduced by the
missionaries.
There are now several industrial schools in different parts of the
country, in which the boys are taught masonry, carpentry, blacksmith's
and painter's trades, besides the three "R's." Many of these boys show
considerable ability, and are painstaking and neat in their work, taking
a real pride in it.
At Morija, the largest mission station in Basutoland, as well as the
first, it having been founded by MM. Casalis, Arbousset, and Gossellin
in 1833, not only are there four missionaries employed, but quite a
large number of assistant teachers and instructors of various branches
of education. There is the Bible School, which trains natives for
missionary work; the Normal School for teachers; a printing and
publishing establishment, where Sesuto books, pamphlets, and a monthly
newspaper are published, and in which all the work is done by natives,
under European supervision. Then there is the Mission School, in which
the children are taught. Twice Morija was nearly destroyed, in the Boer
invasions in 1858, and again in 1865, but nevertheless it is now a
flourishing station, nestling in a hollow at the foot of the mountains.
Here also are to be found on some of the rocks the footprints of an
enormous lizard, and traces of the haunts of lions and other beasts of
prey.