Everything in Africa is in extremes. The air is at one moment perfectly
calm, the next wild with terrific storms. The sky so sweetly serene at
noon, before half an hour passes is often darkened by clouds which
shroud the land as with a pall. For months, the long droughts parch the
earth, the rivers may be forded on foot, the flocks and herds pant for
refreshing waters and green herbage. Suddenly, "a cloud no bigger than
a man's hand" appears on the horizon, and lo! the elements rage and
swell, thunder booms upon the air, darkness covers the land, the arrows
of the Almighty dart from the angry heavens, striking death and terror
wheresoever they fall. From the far desert an overpowering torrent of
sand comes sweeping on, obscuring the air, and making its way into your
very house, in such profusion that you may trace characters in its
dry-depths on the window-sill. The skies open, the floods descend, the
rivers burst their bounds, trees are uprooted from the saturated earth,
and through the roof of your dwelling the rain beats heavily, the walls
crack, the plaster falls, the beams that support the thatch groan and
creak with "melancholy moan," the voices of angry spirits seem to howl
and shout around you, the poor birds on frightened wing wheel past your
windows, the cattle disturb you with their lowing, the dogs howl, and
the unearthly tones of the Kaffir or Fingo herdsman's song are no
agreeable addition to the wild scene stirring before you. The tempest,
however, subsides as suddenly as it arose, the voices of the
storm-spirits die away in the distance over the mountain-tops, the dark
pall of clouds is rent by a Mighty Hand, the swollen rivers rush on,
bearing evidences of devastation, but subsiding at last into a more
measured course; the sun lights up the valleys and the hill-sides, the
air is clearer, the sky brighter than ever; and, but for the history of
devastation and oftentimes of death, and the knowledge that for weeks
the country will be subject to these violent convulsions of nature, the
terrors of the tempest would soon be forgotten.
Such is the climate of South Africa. Lovely indeed it is for part of
the year; for the rest experience is necessary to teach you whether it
be agreeable or not. At one time of the day, I have known the
thermometer 120 degrees; at sunset, it has been so cold that a fire has
been necessary; nay, I have known it 92 degrees in a room with the air
kept out at noon, and at six I have wanted a shawl, or cloak, during my
walk. In the morning, you are scorched and blistered by the hot wind,
while the vegetation is withering under your feet, and at night you must
wrap yourself well up, and put your feet in shoes "impervious to the
dew," and yet experience shows that it is perfectly healthy. [Note 1.]
On the 25th of March we received a report in Graham's Town, that the
Kaffirs were pouring into the colony. It was afterwards ascertained
that the Kaffirs were only awaiting our threatened blow as the signal
for their work of devastation. They were well aware of all our
movements, the numerical strength of our army, and the comparative
security into which the farmers had been lulled by Sandilla's message,
or rather by the acceptance of that message; and we soon received
evidence of the Kaffir's proximity to Graham's Town, by constant
robberies of cattle, and skirmishes between themselves and the Fingo and
Hottentot herds.
The 22nd of April was the first day of serious inconvenience to
ourselves. Three of us, our husbands being with their divisions at
different stations, were assembled with our children, as was our custom,
to spend the evening together. How often had we paced the verandah,
anxiously watching the lurid sky, red with the fires of devastation, and
listening to the continued and heavy volleys of musketry between the
herds and savages on the hills above us! We never permitted ourselves
to think of an attack on the town; and, as the Kaffirs seldom risk their
lives or spend their powder without a chance of plunder in return, we
considered our lives safe, since the cattle could be swept away from the
outskirts without venturing into the town. On the night of the 22nd,
however, the frightened servants rushed into the sitting-room,
exclaiming that the Kaffirs were sweeping down the hills in all
directions; and that, as the house was roofed with shingles, it was
likely it would be fired by the brand of the savages.
Behold us, then, preparing for our pilgrimage across the open,
undefended square of the Drostdy ground [Note 2]. But that we were full
of anxieties for our husbands in the field, we should have laughed in
the very face of apparent danger. Ill defended as the town was, we
could not believe that the Kaffirs could have passed the picquets on the
hills unnoticed, and accustomed to exaggerated reports, the cry of
"Kaffirs!" was no longer so alarming to us personally as it might have
been had we heard it before our terrors for the absent had deadened our
thoughts of self. The cry was raised, however, and we were warned to
seek the shelter of the new barracks, built of stone, and roofed with
zinc.
The lady of the house roused one sleeping child from its bed, and
dressed it hastily, but with perfect calmness, while her boy danced
about and tumbled head over heels with delight at the prospect of "such
fun!" The young ladies of the party, my own girl among them, collected
what they considered most valuable, their books, work-boxes, trinkets, a
guitar, a doll in a polka dress, a monkey, and their dogs; and the wife
of one in command at Fort Peddie thrust money, jewels, and papers into a
box, which she carried under her arm. Ere we were ready for the _trek_,
the servants appeared with _their_ "valuables," the hoards and savings
of many years. Oh, the confusion of tongues on that night, as we passed
through the Square! Exclamations in Dutch, Irish, Fingo, broad Scotch,
and provincial English, assailed us on all sides; children cried and
laughed alternately, women screamed, Hottentots danced, and sang, and
swore, the oxen attached to the waggons which had accompanied the 90th
uttered frightful roars, and muskets were going off in all quarters of
the town. Onwards we sped; there was sufficient light to see the tents
of the 90th, who had only arrived the day before, standing up in regular
order. We made direct for the line between the tents, when lo! they
vanished; they were struck to the ground as if by magic, and lay as flat
as linen on a bleaching-green. The young girls could not help laughing
as they stumbled over the tent-pegs.
We reached the barrack-rooms appropriated to my use. If the air was
"full of noises," much more so was the house. In one room were officers
loading pistols as merrily as if they were going pigeon-shooting; in the
kitchens, the men-servants were unslinging the loaded muskets from the
wall; and up and down the passage stalked dragoon soldiers, fully
accoutred, and ready for the saddle at a moment's notice, their horses
standing in the yard, neighing with impatience; while we ladies, girls,
and children, with three or four officers, sat waiting the result of the
hubbub with the doors open; and the townspeople occasionally rushing in
with affrighted faces. Had the Kaffirs been at all aware of their own
strength, and our defenceless state, they might, with very little loss
on their side, have burned and pillaged the town, murdered many of the
inhabitants, and possessed themselves of the magazine. We had not two
hundred soldiers, and most of these were of the 20th Regiment, who had
just arrived from a ten years' sojourn in Ceylon, and were therefore
little fitted for active service. That the enemy meditated an attack,
there is no doubt; but the reports of their advance proved exaggerated,
and at midnight it was ascertained that they had swept off what cattle
they could from the outskirts, and set fire to the neighbouring farms.
We had very certain testimony of this from the windows, for the glare of
these burning homesteads of the industrious settlers illumined the sky,
and the hills all round were bright with wreaths of flame from the bush.
We were all too much excited to obtain much repose, and at daylight the
next morning the warning bugles of the 90th gave note of preparation for
their departure, with part of the 91st, for Fort Beaufort, with supplies
and ammunition. Great doubts were entertained as to whether this long
train of waggons, with its slender guard, would be permitted to pass
unmolested through the Ecca Valley, twelve miles from Graham's Town, the
road winding along the edge of a precipice, and being commanded by a
steep krantz. From this narrow road, where only one waggon at a time
can pass with safety, you look down on a bush so dense that hundreds of
savages might be concealed there; and, on the opposite side, tremendous
mountains, fit haunts for the savage, or the wild beast, slope down,
overshadowing the valley with awful gloom; while the mocking echoes give
back the sharp slash of the waggoner's whip, or the crack of the
traveller's rifle, with a strange precision.
Every precaution was taken to ensure a safe passage through this defile,
and a slow match was so placed in the ammunition-waggon that, had the
Kaffirs poured suddenly upon the party in such numbers as to render it
impossible to save all the waggons, the ammunition was to be left in
their hands as an instrument of destruction. Happily, the party met
with no obstruction; but all the day long we were listening in
expectation of the explosion in the Ecca. Meanwhile, farms still blazed
around us, the hills were obscured by smoke, and, as night approached,
fresh rumours arose of "Kaffirs close to the town." About ten o'clock,
we were again warned of danger; our first notice was the blast of the
bugle sounding the "alarm" close to our windows. Fatigued with the
watching and excitement of the previous night, we had retired early to
rest. We were up in an instant. Lucifers were at a premium that night,
I am sure: great was the smell of brimstone--fit atmosphere for the
expected foe. Still, we had become too much accustomed to the cry of
"Kaffirs!" to feel great alarm; and, to say truth, there was something
in being within stone walls, and under a roof on which the brand could
take no effect.
Hark!--the gun booms from the battery above. What a volume of sound
rolls through the heavy air! Another blast from the bugle, taken up and
echoed back by others! Another sound of cannon from a piece of
artillery, within three hundred yards of us! How the windows rattle!--
how the roof shivers! We are all up and astir--the children laugh, and
cry, and look bewildered--and the monkey hides whatever is most wanted--
and the doors fly open, and there are--not Kaffirs--only terrified women
and children seeking refuge.
I was in some alarm, from the dread of muskets going off in the hands of
the people unaccustomed to the use of them; but had less fear of Kaffirs
than on the previous night, as we had no cattle in the Drostdy Square,
and it is for that booty alone that they will risk life recklessly; so
some of us went up stairs, and sat between the windows, and the servants
placed mattresses against the shutters below.
Then there was a gathering together of all the fighting men that could
be collected, and a sorry show they made in the way of numbers. A heavy
fire was kept up along the hills, and still the farms and bush blazed
on; but no Kaffirs entered the town, so we retired a little after
midnight, the younger members of the party deeply regretting that we had
been alarmed for nothing. No Kaffirs! What a pity after such a
commotion! In such stirring times, the young, though naturally
kind-hearted, have little thought for the ruined settler, the miserable
widow, the motherless parents, the devastated land.
Some cattle had been fought for, and captured by the Fingoes on the
Bathurst road, about two miles from Graham's Town. Hence the alarm!
The murder of Mr Norden, which I have before alluded to, was the next
event of painful importance, and the inhabitants of the town maintained
a vigilant and defensive position until the arrival of Colonel
Somerset's division, on the 29th. Colonel Somerset's presence, with his
serviceable band, inspired the settlers of Lower Albany with confidence,
and he remained scarcely two days for rest and refreshment of men and
horses, ere he again started for the bush. He had made such
arrangements at Beaufort as had enabled him to move without waggons,
those heavy incumbrances to troops in South Africa, and wisely diverging
from the Ecca pass, had completely eluded the Kaffirs. He again
prepared to start, equally unencumbered, to clear the eastern side of
the heathen marauders. Immense mischief had been already dome, but
there were yet many settlers whose lives and property awaited succour,
and Colonel Somerset led his division to a point where they could work
at once, and with the best effect. The force consisted of 150 of the
Cape Corps, a detachment of the 7th Dragoon Guards, parties of the
Cradock and Albany Burghers, under their respective commandants, and two
light field-pieces, under Captain Browne and Lieutenant Gregory, R.A.,
making altogether a force off 800 men. The Cape Corps cheered heartily
as they defiled through Graham's Town, taking the road to Woest's Hill,
it being intended to occupy the old position of Major Frazer, Cape
Regiment, at Lombard's post, so celebrated in Kaffir warfare, and by
which great part of the eastern division of the colony might be
protected.
Volumes might be filled were I to detail half the miseries to which the
colonists had been subjected during the operations of the troops in
Kaffirland. None but those who have experienced it, can have an idea of
the nature of the foe to which they were exposed.
The Kaffir, at the first onset, is perhaps less ferocious than cunning,
and more intent on serving his own interests by theft than on taking
life from the mere spirit of cruelty; but once roused, he is like the
wild beast after the taste of blood, and loses all the best attributes
of humanity. The movement of a body of these savages through the land
may be likened to a "rushing and a mighty wind." On, on they sweep!
like a blast; filling the air with a strange _whirr_--reminding me, on a
grand scale, of a flight of locusts. An officer of rank, during the
Kaffir war of 1835, was riding with a body of troops across the country,
when suddenly his attention was arrested by a cloud of dust; then a dark
silent mass appeared, and, lo! a multitude of beings, more resembling
demons than men, rushed past. There were no noises, no sound of
footsteps, nothing but the shiver of the assegais, which gleamed as they
dashed onwards. The party of soldiery was too small to render an
advance prudent, and though it is not improbable the Kaffirs observed
the detachment of troops, from which they were distant scarcely half a
mile, they did not stop on their way. They were bent on some purpose,
and would not turn aside from it.
The same officer described to me a scene which had struck him
particularly when, on an expedition far up the country, many years ago.
His regiment was bivouacked along the ridge of a chain of hills during
the night. At dawn, he rose to reconnoitre, and, looking below, beheld,
as he imagined, an immense herd of cattle. As the sun advanced,
lighting up the valley, a solitary figure stepped out from the supposed
herd, and springing on an ant-heap, waved an assegai, and probably
spoke, though nothing could be heard. Each shield of bullock's hide
then gave up its armed warrior, who had been sleeping beneath its
shelter; the wild chant of the Fingoes filled the valley with strange
harmony; and, in a few minutes a phalanx was formed, in readiness for
the approach of the troops, to whom these Fingoes were attached as
allies. They have well repaid the white man's good will.
Although the Fingoes were the slaves of the Kaffirs till Sir Benjamin
D'Urban, the good, the true, the generous, and the brave, released them
from their bondage; and, although the Kaffirs to this day denominate
them their "dogs," the Fingoes are in many respects their superiors; and
during this war we had ample opportunity of judging of their patience,
bravery, and fidelity. The mode of warfare of these two tribes, for
they cannot be considered distinct nations, is in some respects
different. The Kaffir goes forth to battle besmeared with red clay,
simply arrayed with his kaross, armed with his musket and assegai, and
accoutred with his pouch and sack, for ammunition, plunder, and
provisions.
The appearance of a body of Fingoes, if less terrific, is more imposing.
Their heads are ornamented with jackals' tails, ostrich plumes, beads,
wolves' teeth, etc. Across their shoulders is flung a skin, and around
their waist is girt a kilt of monkeys' tails. The chief, as among the
Kaffirs, wears a tiger-skin kaross, and their rain-makers, who are at
once wizards, doctors, and councillors, are most fearfully grotesque in
their costume.
The Fingoes also bear enormous shields, which they use with great
dexterity, for defence and excitement, sometimes beating time on them as
on a drum; they are also much more ready to meet an enemy on an open
plain than the Kaffirs. The latter on seeing an enemy, raise a hideous
yell of defiance, and utter the most frightful sounds in imitation of
lions, tigers, jackals, wolves, snakes, etc, by way of intimidating
their assailants, before the attack commences. A Kaffir meditating a
death-blow with his assegai is a terrific object. Now, he advances, his
eyes starting from their sockets, his brilliant teeth glittering between
his huge lips, which emit these horrible imitations, his head thrown
back, his whole body writhing and trembling in the excitement of his
anxiety to take a steady aim, his arm upraised, and his spear poised.
The very sight of him is sufficient to inspire the bravest with dread,
for such encounters cannot be considered as fair fights between man and
man. The Kaffirs, too, have all the cunning of the wild beast, and we
may be thankful in having the Fingoes as our allies in tiny contest with
them; for, while they are sufficiently civilised and instructed to
co-operate with our troops, they are of infinite use in herding cattle
and defending passes. They will lie down on the watch for hours, and
imitate the cries of animals to attract the attention of the Kaffirs,
who find themselves encountered by creatures of their own mould, instead
of the wolf, or the jackal, they expected. Sometimes, on the other
hand, the Kaffirs will encircle the Fingoes, and dance round them
yelling frightfully; now roaring like a lion, now hissing like a
serpent; but it is seldom that the Kaffirs conquer the Fingoes, unless
the latter are inferior in numbers.
I prefer citing Colonel Somerset's despatch to the Civil Commissioner of
Albany, to giving any account of my own of the sufferings of the
colonists at this period. My own detail could only be gathered from
hearsay evidence, and in this I might be misled. The dispatch no one
can dispute; it is as follows--
McLuckie's Farm, Kariega Kiaa, 4th May, 1846.
"Sir,
"Having moved with the troops under my orders to this part of Albany on
the 1st instant, in order to afford protection to the inhabitants
against the Kaffir tribes, and knowing your anxiety, as well as that of
the public, for their welfare, I feel it necessary to acquaint you that
I arrived here about 7 o'clock, p.m., on the 1st, having observed on my
route that the whole of the Kowie Bush was thickly infested with
Kaffirs. I moved a patrol early in the morning of the 2nd to Mr Dell's
farm on the Kasonga, where I found several families collected in a great
state of anxiety, the Kaffirs having carried off their cattle, amounting
to about 2,000 head, and the people being exhausted with fatigue and
watching. Learning that the people at Theopolis were in great distress
for ammunition, I communicated with that station from Mr Dell's. In a
short time the minister, Mr Taylor, came over to me, saying that his
station had been attacked several nights successively, and his people
were entirely without ammunition, and quite exhausted, and that unless I
could assist him that night, they had no hope, and that there were five
hundred persons who must fall a sacrifice to the Kaffirs, who had stated
they would attack them again that night. I detached a Serjeant and
twelve men of the Cape Mounted Rifles with Mr Taylor, and supplied him
with a hundred rounds of ammunition as an immediate help. I also left
at Mr Dell's a party of twelve Burghers, as a reinforcement for the
night. Having thus afforded some relief to these suffering people, I
returned home, and at nightfall I sent another detachment of twenty men,
Cape Mounted Rifles, under Ensign Harvey, with a further supply of
ammunition, and thus secured these people for the night.
"At daybreak the next morning, I was fortunate enough to fall in with a
large body of Kaffirs, who appeared to have established themselves in
the Kowie Bush. I attacked them with the troops, and punished them
severely, which I hope will keep them quiet for a day or two. I then
proceeded to Theopolis, and, having communicated with that station, I
arranged with the missionaries to bring them all here this day, and hope
to forward their families to Graham's Town at an early hour to-morrow
morning, together with some other families who are here in a state of
destitution, the whole of their houses, property, and all they
possessed, having been set on fire by the Kaffirs as soon as they saw
the troops advancing. These latter people I beg to recommend to the
Government to be put on rations, and have some lodging allotted to them.
"The troops under my command having been detached by the
Lieutenant-Governor for the protection of this part of the Colony, have
been, under Providence, the means of saving the valuable lives of many
helpless families. Had they arrived forty-eight hours later, all must
have fallen a sacrifice to these ruthless savages, who were only waiting
to complete the work of destruction by murdering the females and
children, [Note 3], to establish themselves in their houses. Having
been defeated in this by the opportune arrival of the troops, they set
fire to the buildings and hay-stacks, and all their property. From Mr
McLuckie's 1,800 head of cattle have been carried off, from Mr Dell's
about 2,000, from Theopolis 1,400, besides the total destruction of
almost all their hay-crops.
"It now only remains for me to express my admiration of the gallant
stand that has been made by the inhabitants here for the protection of
their families. Although surrounded by hundreds of the savage enemy,
they have stood forward like men; and, although seeing their homesteads
in flames, and all at the mercy of these barbarians, have never
flinched, but have, even with cheerful countenances, supported their
characters as men and Britons in defence of all most dear to them; and,
if they had not done so, the assistance the troops have been able to
afford would have come too late. I am also indebted to Messrs. Fuller
and Ferreira, of Graham's Town, for their assistance in patrolling and
in escorting the missionaries and their families. There is yet much to
be done; several families on the right bank of the Kowie yet require
protection, hundreds of Kaffirs being in the Kowie Bush for a distance
of twenty miles; but I cannot hold out any immediate hope that I can
cross over into the Bathurst district, either to afford protection, or
to intercept the cattle that the Kaffirs are driving into Kaffirland.
Probably, the Lieutenant-Governor will see fit to detach the cavalry
from Fort Peddie to that district.
"I request that you will communicate the contents of this dispatch to
His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, as I am so pressed for time that I
cannot forward one to him to-day.
"I have, etc,
"H. Somerset, Colonel,
"Commanding Field-Forces.
"To the Civil Commander of Albany,
"Graham's Town."
From McLuckie's, Colonel Somerset proceeded, with a force of about sixty
men, on the morning of the 5th of May, to the mouth of the Kowie, to
render assistance to Mr Cock, an individual to whom the commercial
interests of the Colony are much indebted for his success in opening the
mouth of that river. Here, a large drove of cattle were discovered in
the hands of the enemy as the detachment approached, and only one
hundred and twenty head could be recaptured, as the Kaffirs took shelter
in the bush, with but slight loss to themselves. On reaching the
dwelling-house overlooking the river, it was ascertained that from four
to five hundred Kaffirs, mostly armed with firelocks, had rushed upon
the cattle as they were going to water, drove off the guard, and
captured the herd. The little garrison kept up a spirited fire on the
enemy, a small cannon on the building being well served, and doing good
execution.
The following morning, another engagement took place near McLuckie's,
the troops following the Kaffirs into a Kloof where they had taken
shelter. Here the enemy made a desperate stand, as they will do when
driven to fight for their lives, and it was not until a field-piece was
brought to play upon the position, that they were completely routed.
The Kaffirs dragged off many of their dead and wounded, it being
invariably their object to conceal the loss they sustain, but it is
supposed that nearly fifty were killed; while on our side four men were
wounded, three dangerously. In this encounter, some of these savages
concealed themselves in wolf-holes, firing from their hiding-places.
Colonel Somerset's next care was to secure all the oat-hay he could,
amounting to 500,000 lbs. In the meantime, two large bodies of the
enemy were in the immediate front of the troops, whose ammunition was
running short. This, however, was speedily and safely conveyed to them.
It must not be forgotten, that where the troops could not render
assistance to the farmers, the latter in many instances defended their
homesteads with a gallantry equal to those mentioned by Colonel
Somerset. Frequently, a mere handful of white men followed the enemy
into the most frightful kloofs and passes, rescuing the cattle and
cutting off the retreat of the savages across the drifts, or through the
tangled bush, while their homes, containing their terrified families,
were left to the protection of two or three individuals, the women
assisting them in loading muskets, some bearing a brace of pistols at
their sides, ready to use them if necessary, and mere boys playing their
part right well, through the loop-holes, on any stray Kaffirs
approaching the cattle-kraals.
Meanwhile the outposts, commanding the drifts leading from the colony
into Kaffirland, were so weakly manned, from the want of a sufficient
military force on the frontier [Note 4], that the Kaffirs passed beyond
the range of the guns, but clearly in sight, driving flocks of sheep and
cattle in thousands before them. At Block Drift, they brought their
plunder to a sunny slope, and shouted in derision their usual cry of
"Izapa!" "Come on!" They exchanged shots with the fort, and drove off
a number of "slaughter cattle." Had Major Campbell (of the 91st)
permitted a sufficient number of men to leave the defences for the
purpose of re-capturing the animals, there would have been a grand rush
from the reserve of the enemy, who were concealed in the neighbouring
kloofs and villages.
Almost all the outposts were similarly assailed, and all were well
defended by the military. A general order was issued, in which
Lieutenants Cole, Dixon, Metcalf, and Mill, and Ensign Thom, 91st
Regiment, and Lieutenant Bourchier, R.E., were commended for the able
stand they had made against the enemy.
His Excellency Sir Peregrine Maitland again took up his quarters at
Graham's Town, on the 9th of May. One of his first arrangements was to
appoint Major Armstrong, Cape Mounted Rifles, to the command of the
district to Bathurst, with a view to protect the colonists there, and
enable them to recommence the cultivation of that beautiful and fertile
locality. Major Armstrong is an officer of long standing and great
experience in the Colony, and fully worthy of the trust reposed in him.
The inhabitants of Bathurst, whose only place of refuge was the church,
hailed the arrival of Major Armstrong and his force with great joy and
satisfaction.
Fort Peddie, a large military station under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Lindsay, 91st Regiment, had in the meantime become
the scene of Kaffir warfare. The I'Slambie tribes in its neighbourhood
had professed to remain neutral, until they found the Gaikas were
enriching themselves with the plunder of the Colony. These very
I'Slambie and Congo tribes received the thanks of Government with
praises and presents of money only two years before, in consideration of
their peaceful dispositions towards us. The Gaikas may be considered a
more worthy foe than these treacherous wretches paid and petted by us.
The Gaikas have ever professed an utter abhorrence of the white man;
and, although Sandilla, their chief, has occasionally been coaxed or
frightened into sending to our authorities persuasive, humble, and
pathetic messages, he has frequently retracted them, or followed them up
by some daring acts of violence or aggression.
Colonel Lindsay having received various threats from the I'Slambie
Chiefs, that they were coming with their warriors to attack his post,
kept a look-out for the approach of the enemy. Several of these chiefs
had, on the faith of their promises of neutrality, been received by the
English at Fort Peddie with cordiality, especially Pato and Nonnebe, the
latter a female descendant of General Campbell, who with his family was
wrecked in the last century off the east coast of Africa, in the
"Grosvenor" East Indiaman. Nonnebe's mother was the daughter of Miss
Campbell, one of the General's unhappy daughters, who had been seized
and retained by a Kaffir chief as his "great wife."
On the 1st of May, the war-cry of the enemy sounded in the direction of
the Beka Missionary Station, while the 7th Dragoon Guards were mustering
on the green at Fort Peddie. From the jaded state of the horses, owing
to a hurried march the day before, some delay took place in the movement
of the troops, but the force under Sir Harry Darell, which had been
stationed at Peddie for some time, was saddled up, and a gun, under
Lieutenant Hill, R.A., was ordered to proceed immediately. Soon after,
the rest of the 7th, under Lieut.-Col. Richardson, and a party of the
Cape Corps under Captain Donovan, started to meet the enemy, fifty of
the 91st preceding them. The Kaffirs, on their approach, burnt the
mission buildings and retired into the bush, where they were safe from
any present attack, nor would they leave it, though a feint hurried
movement in retiring was made.
In less than a month afterwards, the same _ruse_ was practised by Major
Yarborough, 91st Regiment, when in command of a small body of infantry
and a troop of dragoons, and with success. In this rencontre, a Kaffir
Chief was severely wounded. As he fell, his people surrounded him, and,
raising him up to bear him from the field, uttered the most dismal howls
and lamentations.
The cries of the women for the loss of their relations are mournful in
the extreme, and at night the wailings of these unhappy heathens fill
the air with a melancholy sound, while not far from them, the victorious
warriors chant their wild war-song, and dance their savage dance in
demoniac glee around the blazing watch-fires.
On Friday, the 8th of May, Colonel Richardson, who was ordered to
Bathurst, via Trumpeter's Post, to co-operate with Colonel Somerset in
the protection of Lower Albany, had a rencontre with the enemy on his
march through Trumpeter's Drift, one of those frightful passes formed by
nature for the lurking-place of the savage, or the wild beast. I know
the spot well: no place could be more favourable for the murderous
operations of the Kaffirs, or less suited to the movements of British
cavalry. On reaching the spot where the missionary, Schula, was
murdered the year before, Colonel Richardson found Captain Schonswar,
7th, who had the charge of the advance guard of waggons, engaged with
the enemy, the waggons being drawn up. The difficulty of proceeding
down a steep declivity commanded by a dense kloof, and so bushy that the
waggons could only pass in single file, was represented to Colonel
Richardson. His reply was, that he was "ordered to Trumpeter's", and he
immediately directed the waggons to advance; but, from the incessant
fire kept up by the enemy from the bush on each side of the defile, and
finding his men falling rapidly, he ordered them to dismount, _each man
of the centre file taking charge of three horses_, whilst the rest were
extended in skirmishing order. Thus, one-third of the force was
rendered inefficient by the necessary arrangement for guarding the
horses. "In this manner, they had to fight their way through the bush,
for the distance of about six miles, down to the river, and up the hill
on the other side, the whole time exposed to the fire of the enemy, who
were generally concealed in the bush. In some places, they attempted to
stop the passage of the troops by rushing into the road in front, when
the dragoons were forced to clear their way through them. Thirty-seven
dead bodies of Kaffirs were counted by the officers as they passed along
the road. The Kaffirs approached within five yards to fire, and dropped
down in the bush the moment they had discharged their guns."
One made a dash at Mr Butler, 7th, and the latter, without having time
to raise his rifle to his shoulder, shot the savage dead when close upon
him.
The troops were hotly engaged in this way from nine till twelve o'clock;
the object was the capture of the ammunition-waggon, and the enemy
shouted aloud they would have it either at that drift or the next. In
this affair several of the dragoons were wounded--two severely--and one
artilleryman.
While engaged, a party was despatched for a fresh supply of ammunition,
which was brought from the waggons by the men under a heavy fire from
the enemy.
Colonel Richardson, being short of ammunition, instead of proceeding to
Bathurst, brought his own report of the affair to His Excellency Sir
Peregrine Maitland, who had now assumed the command of the forces on the
frontier in person.
The pressure of the times hastened the gathering of fresh forces of
various descriptions from all parts of the Colony; every district, from
Cape Town upwards, gave forth its burghers, and, among other welcome
arrivals, were six guns escorted by a body of sailors, marines, and the
remainder of the 27th.
The cavalcade of guns guarded by sailors, presented a singular
appearance, marching down the hill into Graham's Town. No steady tread
of soldiers' measured paces, no shapely column, no waving plumes, though
the marines, in their plain dress, more adapted for work than show,
enlivened the group of brave tars as they entered the Drostdy Square.
The sailors tramped onwards with their usual merry, unconcerned air, in
their coarse blue clothing and straw hats, but they looked well fitted
for their work, as they moved forwards concentrated round the guns. As
I stood watching the cavalcade, I mused proudly on the might and majesty
of England, and these proud emotions stirred my heart still deeper as
the men fell back from their guns, and the marines drew up in a steady
line before the brave old General--the British hero--the kind Governor--
but, better than all, the _good man_!
On the 22nd of May, our troops and colonists sustained a severe loss by
the capture and partial destruction of forty-one waggons in the
frightful pass where Colonel Richardson's affray with the Kaffirs took
place. The loss to the public, as well as to private individuals, was
so severe, as to involve the officer in command, Captain Colin Campbell,
91st Regiment, in a court-martial, which sentenced him to be cashiered;
but on a recommendation to mercy from the court, he was permitted to
return to his duty, "with such an admonition as the Commander-in-chief
thought fit to give him." The Duke of Wellington's opinion on the case
wound up with this characteristic and caustic remark: "It does not
appear that Captain Colin Campbell did anything to show his capacity for
the command in which he was engaged."
On this occasion, Lieutenant Dixon, 91st Regiment, who had been ordered
to assist in escorting the waggons a certain distance, till the other
escort was _met_, nobly volunteered proceeding farther, and led the
advance; nor did he retire till his ammunition was expended. On
reaching the rear, he found the commanding officer of the party
retreating, by the advice of some civilians, who considered the defile
impassable for so many waggons, under such a fire. Lieutenant Dixon's
coolness, courage, and energy, in not only leading the men, but
literally "putting his shoulder to the wheel" of a waggon, to clear the
line, were spoken of by all as worthy of the highest praise. His horse,
and that of Ensign Aitchison, were shot under their riders. Surgeon
Hadaway's horse also received an assegai wound, and was killed after he
had dismounted from it.
On the 25th of May, Colonels Somerset and Richardson's divisions, which
had both been employed in patrolling the country, returned to Graham's
Town.
The 28th was appointed as a day of prayer throughout the Colony. The
churches were crowded, and the mourning garments of those whose friends
had fallen by the hands of the savage, presented a sad memorial of the
times. Strangely contrasted on this day were the contending parties,
the white man and the Kaffir. The former on this occasion lifted up his
voice for help from Heaven, while the heathen, armed with brand and
assegai, stalked wildly through the land; and while good men were
calling upon God to assist them in their righteous cause, the foe, in a
body of nine thousand strong, assembled on the open plains before Fort
Peddie, threatening to "trample it to dust."
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Note 1. By reference to Colonel Tulloch's official Reports on
Invaliding and Mortality in the Army it will be seen that the rate of
sickness and death among the troops at the Cape is less than in England.
Note 2. The Drostdy barracks occupy the site of the Landros, or Dutch
magistrate's house, hence the name.
Note 3. It has been remarked as a grand trait in the Kaffir character,
that they will never injure a woman. Their policy leads them to imitate
ours in this respect with regard to _white women_, but, among their
marauding parties, like those described in Colonel Somerset's dispatch,
even women and children of our nation have fallen a prey to the assegai.
Their politic generosity _never_ applies to any but _white_ people;
they will torture, burn, and impale the unhappy Fingoes who fall into
their hands, without regard to age or sex.
Note 4. It was found necessary to abandon and burn Post Victoria early
in May. This post, the establishment of which had so highly incensed
the Gaikas, was reduced to ashes in consequence of the occupation by the
British troops of Block Drift, distant about nine miles from it, and
nearer Sandilla's territory.