The Amnesty had scarcely been proclaimed among the Griquas, before a far
more formidable conflict began with the Basutos, who had been at peace
with the British since the action at Berea 1852. In 1868, Basutoland was
declared to be a portion of Cape Colony, and this was confirmed by an
Act of the local Parliament in 1871. The Basutos are divided into
tribes, and at this time were supposed to number about one hundred and
fifty thousand. The troubles began with an old warrior called Moirosi,
and his son Dodo, chief of a tribe known as the Baphutis; who resisted
the payment of a hut tax, which they had agreed to pay, in return for
the protection of the Government. After a trifling skirmish with the
Cape Mounted Rifles, Moirosi and his people retired to an almost
inaccessible mountain near the Orange River, which some time before he
had strongly fortified and provisioned, and now believed to be
impregnable. Three sides of this mountain were perpendicular, and the
fourth was protected by a series of walls, and traverses from eight to
ten feet high, loopholed for musketry. The Baphutis were excellent
marksmen, artillery proved useless against their traverses, and Moirosi
for nine months defied the whole forces of the Colony. Several gallant
attacks in this stronghold were repulsed, but at length an old brass
mortar obtained from the Cape Town Museum, made such havoc among the
defenders, by the shells thrown from it over their walls, and exploding
behind them, that the place was stormed with but little loss, and
Moirosi was among the slain. Dodo escaped, but the Baphutis were
decimated; the fortifications were blown up, and the mountain abandoned
to its pristine solitude.
An Act for the disarming of the native tribes, kindled the flames of war
fiercer than ever. The musket of a Basuto is dearer to him than wealth,
wife, or child, and he will consent to part with it, only when reduced
to the last extremity. The Colonial Government had made a great error in
allowing firearms to be sold to the natives, “but blinded by a desire to
secure cheap labour,” about four hundred thousand muskets and rifles,
many of them breechloaders, had been conveyed into the country. The
Basutos proved themselves to be admirable horsemen; very skilful in the
construction of stone defences, and fought with much more courage and
daring than had been expected. The Imperial troops in the Colony in
1879, were the 3rd. Buffs 2nd. battalion, 1st. battalion of the 13th.
(Somersetshire Light Infantry), 1st. battalion 24th. (Warwickshire
Regt.), and some Artillery, but other regiments soon arrived from
England, and before the war was ended, the Imperial and Colonial forces
in the field amounted to fifteen thousand men. Early in the contest, the
Basutos till that time considered loyal, joined their countrymen, and
the Tambookies, a tribe numbering over ninety thousand, also helped to
swell the ranks of the rebels. In fact, the whole of the native tribes
were in a state of dissatisfaction and ferment, and a racial war seemed
to be imminent. The Frontier Armed Police, which had been changed into
the Cape Mounted Rifles, about six hundred and fifty strong, under
Colonels Carrington and Bayley, were the first in the field, but their
numbers were too few to act with effect against the overwhelming force
of the enemy. The first skirmish was with the followers of a rebel chief
named Letherodi. The Rifles routed the enemy, but the latter being
strongly reinforced, surrounded and besieged the Colonial troops at a
place called Matafeng, which they made desperate attempts to carry by
storm. Their attacks failed, and Matafeng was relieved by a force under
Colonel Clarke. Colonel Bayley was surrounded at Maseru, in October, but
after several hours fighting, the Basutos retreated. On November 10th.
Colonel Carrington severely defeated the enemy at Golah Mountain, and
the war afterwards was little more than a succession of skirmishes; in
which a few hundreds of white men with native allies more or less
doubtful, withstood the onset of thousands of Kaffirs, repelling their
attempts to beleaguer them, and routing them in the open field,
generally with great loss, with wonderfully few casualties among
themselves. Some of the rebel chiefs were slain, others fled, and
Letherodi who was one of the principal instigators of the revolt, was
anxious to submit to the Government. In April 1881, a treaty of peace,
and general amnesty was proclaimed, by which the Basutos gained nearly
all they demanded before the commencement of the war.