"April 20th, 1847.--To-day is the anniversary of our sad intelligence
from the Amatolas, with its list of killed and wounded. It is a
singular fact that the Kaffirs themselves dislike to be questioned
concerning the remains of poor Captain Bambrick, but have no hesitation
in speaking of other sufferers.
"Within the year we have heard of the death of the late
Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope.
Major-General Hare died on board the `Essex,' four days after leaving
this country for England. He, indeed, may be considered as one of the
principal victims of the war. Long ere the irruption burst forth, he
should have been at home. In 1845, finding his health declining, he
expressed desire to be relieved from the duties of his appointment, and
it is most deeply to be deplored that his wishes were not complied with
at once. When he was called to the field, all ideas of self were laid
aside; and who shall say what the gallant soldier suffered, in mind and
body, at the very moment the cheers of encouragement burst from his
lips? Whatever may be said of his political career, when
Lieutenant-Governor, the difficulties he had to contend with would, if
explained, be sufficient excuse for many errors set down as wilful. He
is dead! and it is a pleasure to recall his many excellent qualities.
If he was not the man for South Africa, let it be remembered that,
during the most eventful period of his government, he was here against
his will, and that, having led his old corps against the ungrateful
Gaikas, whom it had been his chief fault to trust and treat too kindly--
when, I say, he had headed the 27th once more, with honour to himself
and them, he left the field, debilitated from fatigue and anxiety; and
it was not until the mountains of the land in which he had suffered so
much had faded from his sight, that `he turned his face to the wall,' in
the cheerless cabin of that restless ship, and died of a broken heart;
for such, in fact, his disease may be pronounced."
One of the last anecdotes recorded of him, though trifling, is one of
the many proofs of his kind nature. When about to leave Fort Beaufort
for the field, and engaged in giving over the command of the Northern
District to Captain Ward, 91st Regiment, his attention was diverted from
the arrangements for defence to a little child who passed him by,
looking up smilingly in his face. Bastions, forts, bridges,
picquet-houses, etc, faded from the mind of the single-hearted soldier;
the child's smile was returned, and the kind eyes followed her
retreating footsteps till she passed out of sight. The attention of the
officer engaged with Colonel Hare was more particularly recalled to this
little incident, by his Commander returning gravely and officially to
the solemn charge he was handing over, namely, the defence of a large
garrison town, with scarcely any garrison to protect it. It may be
added that Mrs Hare was one of the inhabitants left to the mercy of the
invaders, who, however, never came beyond the outskirts of the place;
and Colonel Hare was pleased to express himself highly satisfied with
the arrangements made by Captain Ward. Neither cattle nor horses were
lost in the immediate neighbourhood of Fort Beaufort, during the period
of that officer's command, nor did the enemy venture to fulfil their
threat of invasion.
The registration system is dying a natural death; at least, such an
inference may be drawn from the order lately given to officers, not to
inquire for their tickets of Kaffirs who may be found driving cattle.
Many months ago, a party of the 27th Regiment, suspecting that some
cattle found in a kraal was stolen, demanded the necessary credentials,
when a Kaffir coolly offered as such, a leaf from a soldier's pocket
ledger, picked up, perhaps, after the burning of the waggons at Burn's
Hill.
The immediate border of the Colony was subject to the usual
depredations; the Chiefs making the old excuse, that they "are sitting
still, but that they cannot control their people."
The post established at Waterloo Bay, under the command of Captain
Savage, 91st Regiment, became the favourite haunt of these thieving
wretches, in consequence of the number of waggons collected there,
waiting for supplies. A clear front offers a great temptation to these
cattle-lifters; and, on the 22nd of April, Lieutenant Butler, 7th
Dragoon Guards, had a smart gallop after the enemy. On the 21st, sixty
waggon-oxen were whistled away through the bush: the Dragoons pursued
them; but, sighting them at dark, could not come up with them in time to
attack the thieves. From the scanty force we have, compared with the
land we have taken, sufficient guards cannot be given for the cattle in
the pasture-grounds, sometimes a mile from the posts, and, by the time
the herds,--if not shot,--can give notice of the loss, the Kaffirs, with
half-an-hour's start, can generally elude their pursuers. But, on the
22nd of April, the Dragoons, only ten in number, were in the saddle in a
few minutes; yet, notwithstanding this, they had a ride of fifteen miles
before they came up with their game, having traced the spoor along the
sea-coast. The robbers were caught at the mouth of the Beka River,
where Lieutenant Butler cut them off. The cattle were retaken, and
three of the enemy killed. Only four had been employed in the marauding
expedition, though, doubtless, there was a horde in the bush. The
fourth fell to Mr Butler's lot to despatch; and he, having ridden down
the savage, struck him on the head with his sabre, which broke at the
hilt; and the Kaffir, clinging to the officer's stirrups, and imploring
mercy, Mr Butler gave him his life, and took him on, as a prisoner, to
Waterloo Bay, with some guns and a number of assegais. Unfortunately,
in his transit from Waterloo Bay to Fort Peddie, being tied by one hand
to a waggon, he soon slipped the _reim_ [Note 1], and escaped.
On the 30th of April, a soldier of the 6th was found murdered very near
the camp.
Colonel Somerset lately recommended that a guard of cavalry should be
placed at the ebb and flow-drift near the mouth of the Keiskama, this
river lying between the Great Fish and Buffalo Rivers, to intercept
marauders; but there are no cavalry to send thither; and, at this
juncture, we hear of troubles with the Griquas and Boers, near the
Orange River. The Resident, Captain Warden, Cape Mounted Rifles, has
applied for troops, and Lieutenant Plestow, 7th Dragoon Guards, has
marched to the Modda River, with thirty men of his regiment.
Lieutenant Davis, late Adjutant of the 90th Light Infantry, having been
appointed Superintendent of Native Police, has succeeded in drilling and
organising a very efficient force, consisting chiefly of "tame" Kaffirs.
During our residence at Fort Peddie in 1843-4, we were frequently struck
with the idleness of the Fingoes. The women, poor creatures, tilled the
ground, carried water, cut wood, ground the corn,--in short, did all the
heavy work; and the little boys and old men herded the cattle; while the
young men, unless called out on a _commando_, for a few weeks or days in
a year, spent their time in hunting, dancing, eating, and sleeping, and,
not unfrequently, in lifting their neighbours' cattle. It was at this
period that Captain Ward, 91st Regiment, deprecating so weak a system,
proposed to the Lieutenant-Governor to have these Fingoes organised,
armed, and drilled as regular troops, by British non-commissioned
officers; but Colonel Hare neither then nor afterwards dreamed of the
mine which was about to explode beneath his feet, and the suggestion was
not seriously considered by his Honour.
When we read of the distress of our own country, and of the wretched
earnings of our mechanics, we are disgusted at the idea of these same
Fingoes striking work (as Coolies) at Waterloo Bay, being dissatisfied
with the pay of 2 shillings a day. As their services are necessary in
landing cargo, their demand of 3 shillings a day has been acceded to,
and they have consented to work, when it suits them! for they take
occasional holidays, for dancing and eating. At Algoa Bay, the Fingoes
are often paid 6 shillings a day for working as Coolies.
What a settlement for the starving Highlanders the Amatola Mountains
would be! And what employment offers itself along the coast for the
active Irish! If the Amatolas were devoted partially to agriculture,
instead of pasturage, or to sheep-farming, with a view to the
exportation of wool, there would be comparatively no temptation for the
Kaffir, and a New Erin might rise, upon the eastern shore of this
fertile country. Its very productiveness renders agriculture an
uncertain speculation, in consequence of the small population: here
again, emigration provides the remedy. It is to be hoped that the Royal
Society will send hither intelligent and truthful individuals, who would
make none but just reports of the capabilities of the colony. Coffee,
sugar, and innumerable other articles might be raised here; flax,
particularly, would be successful; and the discovery of coal at Natal,
leads scientific men to infer that it is to be found elsewhere. At the
Kowie, it is pretty well ascertained to be in existence. We learn from
Natal, that the military there are intent on farming, the productive
soil tempting many to purchase land, with the intention of settling. We
might thin our dark mines of England, by sending men to South Africa, to
work the treasures of her earth. It is, however, of the utmost
importance, that the Emigration Societies should be particular as to the
class of people selected.
Captain Hogg, 7th Dragoon Guards, has succeeded in raising another levy
of about 200 Hottentots from the lower districts, who are expected at
Waterloo Bay on the 10th of May. Lieutenant Forsyth, R.N., is relieved
from his duties as a harbour-master at this bay by Lieutenant Connolly,
R.N. Lieutenant Forsyth was appointed to this office at the Buffalo
Mouth, 30th of April. The long-looked-for vessel, the "Frederick Huth,"
has at last reached the Buffalo in safety, after a month's voyage from
Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay. She was seen three weeks since off the
Buffalo, and was driven back to Waterloo Bay. At last, she was again
sighted eight or ten miles from her place of destination: a mist came
on, and it was doubtful whether she could make her way over the bar. At
length, the curtain of vapour, which hung between Colonel Van der
Meulen's camp and the ocean, was lifted up, and there at last lay the
welcome ship at anchor. The landing of the cargo is progressing
favourably, which is at this moment of great advantage to the troops,
their provisions being at a very low ebb.
The first step taken by the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Henry Young, has
been to send the Chief, Umyeki, out of Graham's Town.
"May 10th.--Further particulars have been received of the murder of the
soldier of the 6th. Those on the spot, and most capable of judging, are
of opinion that this horrible deed has been committed by Fingoes. It
seems that, on the unhappy man's cries being heard, the guard rushed to
his assistance. A little pool of blood was observed near the spot where
he had fallen, and he had been dragged some sixty yards along the road.
A gun-shot wound in the body, and an assegai stab in the heart, had
silenced his cries speedily. The _spoor_ of three or four men was
traced towards Peddie; and, as the murdered man had some tobacco about
him, and an empty case, with a hatchet beside it, lay near him, it is
supposed, that, having gone to fetch some stolen and secreted tobacco
from the bush, he was waylaid by Fingoes and murdered, for the sake of
the plunder. As no cattle were near the place, it is not likely that
Kaffirs would be lurking there.
"We have an instance to-day, the 19th of May, of our enemy's
perseverance and determination, in the report from a patrol in search of
stolen cattle. A private of the Rifle Brigade, having lost his way in
the bush, heard Kaffirs approaching the spot where he lay _perdu_;
thanks to his green jacket, he was enabled to watch the movements of the
savages, without decided danger to himself. They approached a kloof, in
which one of their number awaited them. The rifleman saw them handing
their arms to the Kaffirs in the ravine, who concealed them in some nook
selected for the purpose. Watching his opportunity, the soldier
effected his journey back to the camp; and, on giving his information,
Lieutenant Macdonald, and a party of the Cape Mounted Rifles, were sent
out to search the spot, for the muskets and ammunition hidden. From
this, it may be inferred that there are many similar depots of arms in
the bush."
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Note 1. "Reims" are strips of bullock-hide used as thongs, and
constantly carried in this country, by experienced travellers, for
repairing broken girths, etc, and so on. One day, when out riding, my
stirrup-leather broke, and the Orderly of the Cape Corps was about to
receive a sharp reproof from the Officer who accompanied me, for not
having a reim, when he pulled some hairs out of his horse's tail, which
served the purpose at once.