Early in July, Colonel Somerset proceeded on an expedition across the
Kei, in pursuit of the treacherous chief, Pato, who had carried his
plunder towards Kreli's country. Kreli is the son of Hintza, who was
shot during the former war by a colonist of the name of Southey, while
endeavouring to escape from Colonel, now Sir Harry Smith. Kreli had
declared he would not receive Pato, and it had yet to be proved whether
the former was faithful or treacherous to us: if faithful, it was for
policy's sake, and not from any sense of honour.
Colonel Somerset having remained absent on this expedition longer than
was expected, great anxiety was felt for his safe return to the
Governor's camp; when, on the 30th of July, intelligence was received at
Graham's Town that he had crossed the Kei, and taken between six and
seven thousand head of cattle, from Pato's people. The Kaffirs, it is
said, were very daring; their dread of losing cattle is the only thing
that gives them any courage to face the troops, but the dispatch
mentions that "the moment the troops crossed the Kei, the enemy fled in
all directions." Before passing the river, the wretches dared them with
their usual cry of "Izapa!" The Fort Peddie Fingoes, intent on cattle
also, fought desperately--nothing could restrain them; one only was
killed and one wounded. Captain Groenenwaldt, of the Swellendam
division of Burghers, was badly wounded, after having captured two
thousand head of cattle--is said, with eleven men. But, when such false
statements were made against the military, it is difficult to believe
all the fine things in favour of the civilians, especially when I know
that many things that could be said militating against the latter, were
carefully concealed from the public. We have often known the troops
sent out to remedy the disasters and losses of the irregular forces;
when, if the latter were only dismounted Hottentots, no blame was
attributed to them, however careless they might have been. This is
injurious, for we know not what faith to put in the favourable reports
on civilians, however truly they may deserve them.
Mr Shepstone, Government Interpreter in command of the Fingoes, had a
narrow escape in re-crossing a drift. The Kaffirs, with their usual
cunning, allowed him to pass it; but, in returning, they completely
surrounded him. Mr Shepstone ordered his men to lie down, and in this
position they fired on each foe as he crept out of his ambush. Having
beaten them, they attacked another body, and recaptured two thousand
head of cattle, on the point of being carried off from a weak party of
Fingoes. On this occasion, Mr Shepstone was struck on the head by a
spent ball, which had, however, sufficient force to hurt him
considerably.
On the second day of the expedition, the body of a Chief, in a
tiger-skin kaross, was dug up [Note 1]. It was not recognised, and was,
of course, of inferior note. On approaching the Kei, the Colonial
infantry halted to breakfast at a kraal, where they found an old woman
[Note 2]. They learned from her that the cattle "had only moved that
morning," Mr Melville having heard the report confirmed by some
goatherds whom he had taken prisoners in seizing the goats, pushed on
with two hundred Hottentots, and recaptured some cattle, and the next
day thousands more were seen on the other side of the river. Captain
Donovan, Cape Mounted Rifles [Note 3], led a party of the Cape Corps
across the river; the guns and the rest of the cavalry lining the
heights. Captain Donovan brought back several head of cattle to Colonel
Somerset, and bivouacked for the night. It was a miserable one. Cold,
dark, and very wet; no tents, scarcely any provision, and but slight
covering! Little rest could be obtained, for the enemy and the Fingoes
kept up an incessant exchange of shots, yelling and shouting to each
other like demons. Some of the prisoners admitted that Pato was near
the sea, and observed that Umhala had "died at the Gwanga," but this was
no doubt figurative, implying that his power was broken; he was dead as
a Chief. Mr Melville, who had lost his way, returned, July 21st, to
Colonel Somerset's camp, bringing with him a large herd of cattle,
having killed five Kaffirs in taking it. As the colonial infantry were
all sadly knocked up with fatigue and hardship, it was now determined by
Colonel Somerset that the three prisoners should be sent with messages
to Umhala, Pato, and Kreli, previously to the return of the troops. So,
drawing up his forces in line along the heights above the drift of the
Kei, three rounds of artillery were fired, and the prisoners sent off
with a message to the effect that "Colonel Somerset had fired three guns
on these heights, to say that he took possession of that country, from
the Fish River to the Kei, for the Government--one gun for Kreli,
because he had given shelter to Pato, the great enemy of the Colony; one
gun for Pato; and one for Umhala--that these guns were only the
forerunners of what was to come; that we were going to the Amatolas, to
attack the Gaikas, and that afterwards we would return to the Kei." The
prisoners were then set free; they kissed Colonel Somerset's feet, and
rushed down the hill towards the river. On the great guns being fired,
the Kaffirs on the heights about two miles off, fled as fast as
possible.
As the division marched back, the Kaffirs showed themselves, in small
parties, following in the rear, and at night continued to harass the
troops by firing into the camp. The next day, the 22nd July, both men
and horses were knocked up, and the former were frequently obliged to
walk. About sunset, Mr Melville's party were followed closely by the
enemy; and, had they not received assistance from Colonel Somerset's
division in front, they would have had some hot work, as the savages
were four times their number. All along the line of march the Kaffirs
continued to fire at them; fifty-eight horses were left dead: during the
whole of the night, the enemy kept up a fire upon the camp, without
effect. On the 23rd, men and horses began to fail in strength, for want
of provision; and, tired and famished, the troops had to fight their
way, as the enemy fired from every ambuscade along the line of march;
horses and cattle dropping fast. After sunset, they were again beset by
savages, whose fires were visible from the bivouac. Lying in a circle
round the cattle, little rest could be obtained; the Kaffirs shouted and
yelled as usual, saying they now had the Umlunghi "in a calabash." As
this insolence continued, it was supposed the Gaikas had come down from
the Amatolas to help Pato's people; and thus, a rush being expected, the
men were ordered to stand to their arms till daylight. In the middle of
the night, while this sharp firing from the enemy was at its height, a
man's ammunition blew up, wounding himself and two other men. Some
horses were also stolen, in spite of all precaution and vigilance. Two
or three Kaffirs were shot.
Right glad were the troops to reach the General's camp, and the Governor
himself must have been much relieved at their return, especially with
such booty.
On the 26th of July, Colonel Hare left Fort Beaufort with a thousand
troops. Captain Ward, 91st Regiment, was appointed Commandant of
Beaufort during the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Andries
Stockenstrom having taken the field some weeks before. Sir Andries had
had a conference with the Tambookies, who some time before had come down
upon the Hottentot settlement on the Kat River, and done considerable
mischief. This mischief being done, and the Tambookies having no doubt
shared the plunder with the Gaikas, they promised to take no further
part against the Colony! The affair at the Gwanga, and the approach of
the planting season, were two grand incentives to them to "sit still,"
but, as long as the cattle were known to be in Tambookie-land, how could
any arrangements be satisfactory?
On the day that Colonel Hare left Fort Beaufort, the 26th of July, Sir
Andries Stockenstrom put his Burgher force in position, moved in the
night from Block Drift, and, on reaching the Tyumie, had a spirited
engagement with Macomo's people (Gaikas), who had entrenched themselves
in those fastnesses. Sir Andries Stockenstrom's plans of attack were
generally admitted to be good; his movements were made in the night, and
were as stealthy as those of the savages themselves. It was at dawn of
day, after spending the night on the ridge of the mountains, that Sir
Andries divided his force into parties of two hundred, and entered the
bushy kloofs of these strongholds, where they were soon engaged with the
enemy. As I have only had hearsay evidence on this subject, I can give
no description of the fight from good authority, but it seems to have
been a smart affair, Sir Andries cheering his men, who fought, it is
said, till their ammunition was nearly expended. Many Kaffirs are
reported to have fallen in this engagement. The enemy might be said to
have been nearly hemmed in. That part of the country where the Kei, the
Bashee, and the Umtata have their sources, is described as being of an
"impracticable character," and abutting upon the territories of the
Tambookie Chief, Umtitara, and of the Amaponda Chief, Faku. With the
former, Sir Andries had already made "arrangements," and received
promises of good faith! Faku offered his services to the Government at
the beginning of the war, but it was not considered expedient to accept
them. He, however, it is said, received permission to seize such cattle
as he could take from our Kaffir foes; and, as he destroyed women and
children without mercy, he became an object of great terror "to all the
country round." No reliance could be placed on the good faith of any of
these Chiefs, but they seem to have deemed it politic to "sit still" and
plant their own, provided we did not try to seize the cattle.
On the 5th of August, the enemy approached Colonel Hare's division under
the Amatolas, and commenced hostilities by firing; this was returned by
the troops, and continued for some time. Serjeant Barnes, of the Royal
Sappers and Miners, was shot through the heart, and a serjeant of the
Provincials was also killed, besides eight or nine coloured people being
wounded. Before sunrise the next morning, the two divisions under
Colonel Hare and Sir Andries Stockenstrom were in motion, and the
former, seeing the Fingoes hesitate for a moment at the edge of a bush,
raised his cap, gave three hearty cheers, and led the way himself. The
old soldier's Irish blood was fairly up. The fight continued till
sunset, and during the action blue-lights and rockets were thrown up at
intervals, as signals to the head-quarter division, but there was no
answering signal, nor could it be ascertained where this division
actually was. On the following morning all was preparation for a second
engagement; but, as usual, the enemy had slipped away in the night, like
a Will o' the wisp, towards the Buffalo. Colonel Hare moved on to Fort
Cox, where Sir Andries was to join him, after scouring some of the
difficult passes of the mountains, where the Fingoes and Hottentots
fought desperately, climbing the heights in the face of the enemy's
fire.
After Colonel Somerset's return from the Kei, the cavalry were too much
done up for further work without rest for men and horses; one hundred
and fifty-seven horses were in such a jaded state, that it was found
necessary to shoot them, and many others died. The Kaffirs harassed the
troops when they dared not meet them, by firing into the camps at night,
while other parties set fire to the grass, to destroy even the wretched
pasturage left for the toil-worn cattle.
In order to recruit the exhausted strength of his division, Colonel
Somerset bivouacked within five miles of Fort Peddie, near the Gwanga.
Until the cattle and horses were in better condition, it was quite
impossible to continue offensive operations.
The only circumstance on which, at this period, the mind could rest with
satisfaction, was the success attending the landing of stores and
supplies at the Fish River mouth. It is to be hoped that Mr Cock, at
the Kowie, will reap the reward of many years' perseverance. Still the
want of rain continued to destroy our hopes of vegetation, and sickness
prevailed in many districts.
Some extracts from my Journal will serve to give an idea of our
defenceless position in Graham's Town; and though the perils,
privations, and terrors of women have little to do in the working of the
great machine of warfare, they can hardly fail to excite some interest
among those who in happy England cannot fully appreciate the blessings
of peace, from the circumstance of their never having endured the
horrors of war. I shall relate, as concisely as possible, our own
privations, alarms, and anxieties.
"August 1st.--Kaffir fires seen in the distance: in the evening,
received intelligence from head-quarters relative to Colonel Somerset's
engagements on the other side of the Kei, and capture of the cattle.
"Colonel Somerset could have captured more than he did, but he had not
force to retain them. Every night his bivouacs were surrounded by
Kaffirs, who fired continually into them; sometimes in derision, at
others in anger. Some called out to the troops, `Take care of the
calves you have got, we will have them in two years!' Others exclaimed,
`Let us rush upon them!' `No, no,' said another party, `who ever heard
of attacking a kraal of guns?' Some crept nearer the bivouac, and
entreated their favourite pack-oxen to come out to them: `What
business,' said they, `have you among white men? Come out to us--we
will treat you kindly. Leave the Umlunghi, who will ill-use you and
make you work.'
"Thus they harassed the troops during the whole march; hanging on their
rear in the day-time, and, at night, obliging them to keep up a constant
peppering. At the drifts there was always troublesome work.
"August 2nd, Sunday.--I am always more impressed with the strange
appearance of the town on Sunday than on any other day; every one who
can, making his way to church, and business suspended; shots, too, above
the town along the hills, and the rattle of arms and accoutrements in
the streets, are more audible on Sunday than in the bustling week-days,
Another thing I have frequently remarked; the news of whatever occurs in
the field generally reaches us on the Sabbath, and we often say, `To-day
is Sunday: I wonder what intelligence we shall have.'
"August 3rd.--A beautiful day. It is quite grievous--yes, melancholy,
to see the sun scorching the earth, and know that the cattle must die
for want of food, and that there will be no vegetation this year. We
have had no rain for months, except slight showers for a day or two.
To-day, some young girls have assembled in my cottage-garden to
celebrate a birthday. What a relief it is to have left the confinement
of the dreadful barrack for this small cottage on the hill! We are
scarcely considered in a safe position, but we grew weary of the
gaol-like Drostdy, and succeeded in getting shelter at Fort England--
misnamed a fort--where a few of the 91st are in quarters.
"But the birthday. None of our little female community had been merry
since April; but this bright day I resolved to be cheerful, and to put
aside my child's books and my own employments; and, since the sun would
shine, and not oppressively, to enjoy it. First, there were flowers to
gather and arrange. I wanted some arums, the beautiful lilies of the
yam plant, so the girls went down below the parched, uncultivated
garden, to a stream now almost dry and desecrated by Hottentot
washerwomen: they there witnessed melancholy `signs of the times,'--nine
dead animals lay beside the dull and shallow stream. The poor starved
creatures had crawled into the hollow to die. These things make but
slight impressions on the young; they do not trace results, however sad,
to their primary causes; so when they had replenished my flower-vase,
away they went to their garden amusements. I mention these trivial
things by way of contrast. She whose birthday we celebrated came down
the path, with a gay wreath of flowers and foliage wound round her fair
hair--happy, healthy, blooming, joyous sixteen! Thus I mused, as she
stood laughing under a fine oak, just coming into leaf--like her, in its
spring. Suddenly, in the distance we heard the boom of cannon echoing
sullenly along the mountain-ridges, and through the kloofs and passes
far away. The day was so still that we heard distinctly the rapid
discharges of shot and shell! The servants told us they had heard these
sounds of death and doom all the morning. We only knew they came from
that part of the country where the regular troops were co-operating with
Sir Andries Stockenstrom and his Burgher force. Gazing in that
direction, my eye fell on a signal-tower on a hill-top. That tower,
with many others, is now deserted, for three reasons. The first, and
most cogent one is that, like the rest of its fellows, it is useless.
The atmosphere of this climate scarcely ever permits communication by
telegraph. Secondly, the men cannot be provisioned there in war-time.
Of meat and biscuit they might lay in a stock, as if for sea; but water
cannot be procured without risking life. Thirdly, in war-time, when the
telegraphs would be of the utmost use, and would save time, labour,
life, and horses, by making swift communications of the stealthy
movements of the Kaffirs, the force on the frontier is so small that no
men can be spared to work the signals.
"All the morning of that birthday we heard the cannon booming as we sat
in the garden, and we afterwards learned that Macomo had been hemmed in
and attacked in the Tyumie fastnesses, but with little success and some
loss on our side. The enemy, as usual, harassed the troops, and then
gave them the slip.
"5th. Kaffirs known to be in the immediate neighbourhood of Graham's
Town, an attack fully anticipated by some; fortunately, we never entered
into these `alarms.' The soldiers' wives on the hill in extreme terror.
Shots firing all day rapidly. I wonder more accidents do not occur
among those who have lately learned the use of fire-arms. I stood at
the gate in the evening and watched a fire very near the town: it blazed
up for about ten minutes, and was extinguished as suddenly as it had
been lit. Fires seen in other directions, supposed to be signals for a
general assembly of the warriors in the mountains. More cattle stolen
within three miles of us to-day. Walked down in the evening to the end
of the green, to look at our defences. Sorry things! A square of
thatched barracks, more like huts than houses, contains sometimes no
more than fifteen soldiers, some of them left here as ineffective. Our
space near the guardhouse is defended by a wooden stockade, breast-high,
and two other passages are banked up about three feet high. No picquets
at this end of the town, for want of men. We have a kloof just above
the mess-house, and it was a few miles from there that Mr Norden, of
the Yeomanry, was shot.
"6th. Our garrison is reinforced by a corps of liberated Africans, a
happy, lazy-looking set, who are chiefly employed in escorting waggons.
The Malays have also been brought in a body from Cape Town. They take
the war coolly enough, and when off duty, lie about the green in the
warm and moonlight nights, whistling and singing the most harmonious
choruses. They will not enter the bush, and have never been of use in
rescuing cattle.
"7th. Kaffir Jack, Cosani, arrived. He has rather a suspicious
character, but has never proved unfaithful. His adventures would help
to dress up a volume in Cooper's style, for he lives much among the
English, but can wander at will from one end of Kaffirland to the other.
Some days ago, it was suspected that Umki's son, Sio, had gone off to
Kaffirland, on some treacherous mission from his wily father. Sir Harry
Smith's opinion of Umki was so bad, that he used to tell him plainly in
reply to his fair promises, `Umki, you are a liar!' Umki, however,
never took offence at this. Falsehood is no disgrace among the Kaffirs;
on the contrary, the greatest rogue is the best man. Jack came to say
Sio had never been away. Just now Jack is under Umki's stern guidance.
At any time the word of a Kaffir is worth nothing. He asked about
Sandilla. I told him there was no longer a chief of that name, that
there had been one, who had been to his people as a string by which
beads are held together. Sandilla had been the string, but it was
broken, his people had been the beads, but they were scattered, unlinked
for ever, and dispersed for and wide, and neither beads nor string could
now be re-united. Jack bent down his head and mused with his hands
clasped for some minutes, and said, `It is good.' Umki and his
followers came up in the afternoon; two wives, servants, and children.
He and his ragged retinue amused themselves by inspecting our defences,
our open gardens, and our thatched houses. If Umki can communicate the
true condition of Graham's Town to his friends in Kaffirland, they may
take advantage of it. I am sure the Governor, if he were in Graham's
Town, would not allow this treacherous _refugee_ to wander at large as
he does. News from the camps--unsatisfactory--Kaffirs still firing into
the bivouacs. Lieut. Stokes, R.E., slightly wounded by a sentry, Mr S
having imprudently ventured beyond the lines.
"August 8th.--The Kaffirs have again entered the Colony in numerous
bodies, and continue plundering and murdering as usual. We hear this
day of the arrival of the 45th in Simon's Bay on the 30th July. The
distance they have to travel would in England be journeyed in about
forty hours; we shall now observe the period that elapses between the
arrival of the 45th in Simon's Bay, near Cape Town, and their entrance
into Graham's Town, as well as that between their departure from
Graham's Town and their arrival in the immediate front of the army in
Kaffirland. It is to be hoped that their approach will daunt the enemy,
but the Kaffirs have learned their power ever since the disastrous
affair at Burn's Hill; and, in spite of occasional reverses, the tide
has hitherto been in their favour. Their losses, considering their
number, have been trifling; they have possessed themselves of the
colonial cattle, and they have cut off vast quantities of our supplies,
while we are obliged to pause. We have driven the great body of them
out of the ceded territory, it is true, but they have taken most of the
plunder with them into a richer and more fertile country. The month of
July has been marked by the death of one of the Colony's most promising
and creditable settlers. Mr Gordon Nourse, Assistant Commandant of the
Burgher Force, was shot by the enemy, while assisting a neighbour to
rescue his cattle. Sir Andries Stockenstrom, in announcing officially
the death of Mr Nourse, says, `He fell yesterday in a gallant attack
made by himself at the head of a small party upon a body of Kaffirs in
the jungle. The Commandant-General has to lament the loss the service
has sustained of one of the most efficient, zealous, and meritorious
officers under his command.'
"9th, Sunday. Sad news from a place known by the hideous name of Hell's
Poort. Five burghers have been shot by Kaffirs in that terrible pass.
A party of nineteen having entered a rocky and bushy kloof in search of
some cattle, they were fired upon by some Kaffirs posted on the summit
of the hills on either side. The burghers, being surrounded by 200
Kaffirs, and their ammunition getting low, retired to their camp for a
reinforcement, with which they returned, and again faced the enemy.
Among the five who fell, were two brothers of the name of De Villiers,
the history of whose death is a mournful one. As one brother fell
wounded to the ground, the other ran to him to comfort and support him
in his dying moments. His friends called him away; he would not stir,
but held his young brother's hand in his, till a shot from the savages
brought him down, and laid him beside him whom he would not forsake to
save his own life.
"10th. The bodies of the five Stellenbosch Burghers were brought in to
be buried. A concourse of people followed the melancholy train of five
coffins through the town to the burial-ground.
"13th. Rain, at last! gentle showers. Only those who have looked on
the parched soil of Africa can have an idea of the blessing of rain
after a long drought. It sounds quite musical as it patters on the few
trees that are in the garden. The enemy have laid waste the country
from the Buffalo to the Kei. What a sight must those vast tracts of
country be, when blazing! The grass will spring up all the fresher for
it, afterwards.
"17th. Walked into town. As we passed the Wesleyan Chapel, we saw Umki
and his wives and children basking idly in the sun on the pavement near
the chapel-porch. Umki was set aside by his tribe for being a coward in
the last war, so now he bestows his unwelcome company on the English,
roaming about, begging from every one he meets, spending what he gains
at the canteens.
"19th. My child's birthday! these seem trifles to touch upon; to us
they only bring sad memories when we compare the present state of war
and anxiety with happy anniversaries passed in peaceful England. News
from the head-quarter division. The General is encamped at a place
called Fort Beresford, so named in the last war by Sir Benjamin D'Urban,
in compliment to one of his aides-de-camp. Colonel Johnstone, 27th
Regiment, had led about 300 infantry over the Buffalo mountains, while
Colonel Somerset, with a cavalry column and guns, had gone round the
base of the hills, the infantry, ascending to the summit in single file,
and Mr Melville's Hottentots mounting the hill in another direction,
killed three Kaffirs and captured some cattle. The troops bivouacked
for the night on the ridge. Next day, every bush and kloof was scoured,
but neither shots nor yells, nor the old cry of `Izapa!' was heard in
those now solitary places, the enemy having decamped in the night. At
one time, a party of horsemen were discovered winding leisurely along an
eminence at some little distance, and this was afterwards ascertained to
be the chief Seyolo and his people coolly riding off from the vicinity
of the troops, who, they knew, would have great difficulty in catching
them, from their having no cavalry with them.
"In spite of the silence which reigned in these solitudes, there were
evident traces of hasty retreat, by the fresh spoor of cattle; but to
detail this march up the hill and down again, would be but a repetition
of many other such expeditions. The Kaffirs slipped away, and the
troops followed them with their ammunition loose in their pouches, to be
ready for action, but returned harassed, disappointed, and half-starved.
"The country through which they passed is of a much grander and more
fertile character than that occupied by the colonists; and, were the
Buffalo and Keiskama rivers opened to trade, an immense increase of
commerce would be the result." [This desirable change has since been
effected by Sir Harry Smith.]
"The head-quarter division, consisting of part of the 91st and 90th
Regiments, under Major Yarborough (91st), two troops of the 7th Dragoon
Guards, and some of the Cape Corps, remained encamped at Fort Beresford,
the whole being under the command of Sir Peregrine Maitland. Colonel
Somerset, Cape Mounted Rifles, and Colonel Richardson, 7th Dragoon
Guards, having reported their horses unfit for duty, it was resolved
that the main body of the cavalry should take up a position where both
men and horses could rest and be refreshed. As soon as the horses that
remain recover from the late fatigue and starvation, the country will be
patrolled and kept, until more decisive measures can be framed, and the
worn-out cattle are fit for more active operations.
"The Kaffirs have long remained in small detached bodies in the
neighbourhood of the camp, firing into it at night and lying in wait for
occasions of theft, or mischief, all day. A prisoner was brought in one
day, who asserted that the woods close by were full of women and old
men. Although Macomo had ordered his men not to fight, they were
determined to plunder and murder, and crept into the colony and round
the orders as usual. `Young Kaffirland' had gone over the Kei for the
present, with the stolen cattle.
"Troops were sent into the woods, to bring in some of the prisoners.
The poor heathen females are employed in carrying powder and provisions
from one ambuscade to another, and it is therefore necessary to search
them. But they are not easily intimidated; and, when threatened by the
military, who to frighten them put their muskets to their shoulders,
they calmly put the pieces on one side, and as there was little to repay
any one for the trouble of carrying off a set of Kaffir women against
their will, they were left in the woods, where, no doubt, corn was
buried for their provision. Great scarcity, however, must prevail with
them, as the crops failed last year.
"On the 15th of August, fourteen poor waggon-drivers, chiefly Fingoes
and Hottentots, went into the kloofs of the mountains to search for
corn, and, seeing some cattle, were led miles away. A strong force of
Kaffirs, seeing the weakness of their party as they emerged upon an open
plain, rushed upon them, and, it is supposed, killed all but one, who
crept into a bush, and, lying by till night, made his way back to the
camp, with the melancholy intelligence. Lieutenant Owen, with a party
of the 90th, was sent out in search of these poor creatures, but found
only one body. The rest had probably been borne off, to suffer torture
and mutilation. The savage brutality of the Kaffir is not satisfied
with taking life, or even by immediate mutilation. Some Hottentots
having been decoyed to a bush by some goats being placed at the edge of
it to graze, they were seized by the Kaffirs, and murdered. The bodies,
being discovered by the troops, were buried; but when a party again
traversed the spot where they had been interred, it was found that the
poor dead creatures had been dug up, mutilated, and impaled! I have
lately heard a shocking anecdote, connected with the death of an
unfortunate Hottentot, who, having been brought up as a Christian,
wished to be allowed to make his peace with the Almighty ere he suffered
death. Some wished to give him a few moments to devote to prayer, but
others rushed forward, exclaiming, `Nonsense, kill him at once,--what is
the use of his praying here? Have we not driven God Almighty from the
land?' The murder of the missionary Schulz dispelled the idea that such
men were protected by an invisible power, an idea the Kaffirs always
entertained before, and even since the commencement of the war. They
have shown no respect for the missionary stations, for they have
destroyed houses, chapels, and bibles; hence, their idea that they have
`driven God from the land.'
"21st. News from Fort Beaufort. Macomo had again sent to Colonel Hare
to sue for peace. The Lieutenant-Governor replied, that if the Gaikas
would give up their guns and the plundered cattle, he would intercede
for peace with the Governor. This is not the sort of peace they want.
I hope the rumours of a rupture between Macomo and Sandilla may be
correct.
"A paramount chief's person is held sacred, otherwise, perhaps, as
Macomo wishes to head the Gaikas, Sandilla might be secretly disposed
of; but such an instance has never been known. How strange the tie
between chief and people! The chief will not hesitate to sacrifice by
death, or torture, any individual of his tribe, however innocent he may
know him to be, if he stand in the way of his most trifling whims, but
the person of the chief is sacred, and will be protected by his people
at the risk of their lives. [We see the same thing among insect and
animal communities.] Kreli and Pato have quarrelled, the former, it is
said, reproaching Pato for bringing the Umlunghi into his country. I
think it more likely they are at variance about the plunder. Kreli
probably keeps a fair face to us, while he invites Pato to his kraal,
and having got him there, would fain share the booty.
"Nothing yet heard of Sir Andries Stockenstrom and Colonel Johnstone,
with their divisions, but to-day, the 25th, some news of importance has
reached us from the Governor's camp! Stock, Eno's son, has sent
councillors to say, that he wishes to surrender himself. Macomo and
Umhala have intimated the same desire, but Sandilla, as obstinate as
ever, protests that if we will not grant peace on his own terms, his
people shall advance into our colony in the same degree as our troops
move through his. This day, the contractor has killed the last
slaughter-ox for the troops in Graham's Town.
"26th. News from Fort Beaufort. Captain Ryneveldt and his Burghers had
had an `affair,'--four people killed on our side, and five wounded. No
chance of rain, and the country in that district and this is in a
frightful state. Cattle, as usual, are dying round us, in the very
streets, and dropping dead from the waggons. Colonel Somerset is
patrolling between the Fish River mouth and Fort Beaufort. It will be a
great thing to get supplies along that line from Waterloo Bay, for there
is scarcely any corn at Beaufort. The 7th have gone thither to recruit.
"28th. Stock's agreement, drawn up by Colonel Somerset, is to be
submitted to the Governor for approval. Stock's readiness to give up
the cattle surprises me. He will outwit us, if he can, and probably now
only wants a truce that he may be allowed to plant. No sense of honour
brings him `to the feet of the Governor,' but the document must speak
for itself. Like Sandilla's, in February last, it is very pathetic, and
sounds poetical. Having obtained permission to enter Colonel Somerset's
camp, near the Gwanga, Stock reached it on the 21st, and made the
following declaration:--
"That `he was come to throw himself at the Governor's feet, that he was
to-day the Governor's Fingo (slave), that he had fallen, and laid no
more claim to his ground, that he was come out of the bush, that he was
at our feet, and that by coming without arms he considered he
surrendered himself; that he would leave his father's bush, and asked
only for a place whereon to "sit." He entreated he might not be sent to
Fort Peddie, as it might lead to quarrel between the Fingoes and his
people. He stated that his people were so numerous he could not count
them by tens, that he was willing to give up all his cattle and horses,
soliciting nothing but a place where he might sit, and hoped the
Government would appoint him the care of his father's bones.'
"Colonel Somerset replied, that, `the bush where his father's bones lay
was no longer Stock's, that he had forfeited it by breaking faith with
the Government, but that it should be protected, although he would not
be allowed to live in it.'
"Terms were then drawn up. Stock was to send into Kaffirland for the
stolen cattle and horses, a temporary ground `whereon to sit' was
appointed him till the Governor's pleasure was known; and, in the
meantime, he was to be held responsible that no molestation should be
offered to our convoys proceeding through that part of the country.
Sonto, an inferior chief of his tribe, was not considered in these
agreements.
"At the close of these proceedings, Stock laid down his arms, and wept
as he did so. They consisted of thirty-three stand of arms, and
thirty-six assegais in the possession of his immediate followers.
Colonel Somerset returned the chief his own gun. At first, Stock was
unwilling to resign his arms, saying his tribes had never yet been
subdued, and would be considered women for doing so. Some time was
given him to decide, and finally he gave them up with this remark, that
`sooner or later the other chiefs must come to the same resolution.'
Still, the `people' continue to infest the Colony, still their
signal-fires are visible from the town, and still the cattle are
captured and recaptured, and poor settlers are found murdered in their
homesteads. Much anxiety is felt for the result of Sir Andries
Stockenstrom's expedition into Kreli's country. It is to be hoped he
will make no treaty with that treacherous chief, that can in any way
compromise the Governor."
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Note 1. The Kaffirs are in the habit of burying their chiefs, but no
other dead.
Note 2. It is the general custom of the Kaffirs to leave an old woman
in a kraal as a spy. They manage to keep up a constant communication
with her, and supply her with food.
Note 3. Captain Donovan nearly lost his life on the banks of the
Gwanga, on the day of the memorable action there. On reaching a drift,
whither he had led his horse to drink, four or five Kaffirs suddenly
rushed upon him. His rifle was on the ground, and there was no time to
draw his sword, before the musket of a savage was levelled at his head.
A man named Brown, formerly a private in the 75th Regiment, coming up at
this instant, snatched up Captain Donovan's rifle, and shot the Kaffir
dead on the spot.