Cetewayo had for many years been training a large army of warriors, and
had intended, unquestionably, to use them for an attack upon his
neighbours the Boers of the Transvaal, who, indeed, had given him more
than sufficient cause, by constantly violating the frontier, squatting
upon Zulu territory, and committing raids upon Zulu cattle. Upon our
taking over the Transvaal, however, the prospect of great plunder and
acquisition of territory vanished, and the king and his warriors
remained in a state of extreme discontent. So large and threatening was
his army, that Sir Bartle Frere, the Governor of the Cape, considered it
absolutely necessary to bring matters to a crisis. A commission sat
upon the disputed frontier question between the Zulus and the Boers.
They had also to investigate charges of a raid into Natal territory by
some Zulu chiefs. Their decision was in favour of the Zulus against the
Boers; and, in respect of the raids, they ordered that a fine should be
paid and the offenders given up.
At the time that this decision was announced to the Zulus, Sir Bartle
Frere called upon Cetewayo to disband his army, to abandon the custom of
universal conscription, and of the refusal of marriage to the young men
until they had proved their prowess in battle. To this demand Cetewayo
returned an evasive answer, and an ultimatum was then sent to him.
Preparations were made to enforce the British demands, and, as the
British force in Natal was not large, the ships of war on the coast were
asked to furnish a contingent. Sailors being always ready for an
expedition afloat or ashore, the demand was gladly complied with, and a
brigade with rockets and gatling guns was at once organised. This
brigade was attached to the column which, under the command of Colonel
Pearson, was to advance by the road nearest to the coast.
On the 12th of January, no answer having been received to the ultimatum,
the column crossed the Tugela. The sailors had been at work at this
point for some time. They had established a ferry-boat worked by ropes,
and by this they transported across the river the stores and ammunition
needed for the expedition. The column advanced slowly and carefully,
and upon the 23rd they were attacked at the Ebroi River by the enemy.
These had placed themselves upon high ground, and opened a heavy fire.
The sailors at once got the gatlings and rockets to work, and so great
was their effect that the rush of the Zulus was checked, and they were
unable to carry out their favourite tactics of coming to close quarters.
Three hundred of them were killed, and the rest retired.
The column now marched on to Ekowe, and upon reaching that place a
messenger from the rear brought the news of the terrible disaster which
had befallen Lord Chelmsford's column at Isandhlwana. The British camp
at that place had on the advance of the main body been rushed by a large
Zulu force, and the whole of the British and native troops, numbering
over 1000, were killed, only a few, scarce 50 escaping. It was a
hand-to-hand combat against thousands, and from the Zulus themselves,
for no white man saw the end, come the accounts of how firmly the
soldiers stood. The Zulus, who had a keen appreciation of gallantry,
tell many tales of how our men stood fighting till the last. "How few
they were and how hard they fought," they said; "they fell like stones,
each man in his place."
There was only one sailor in the camp. He belonged to HMS _Active_, and
throughout the terrible fight displayed the utmost courage. At last,
when all was nearly over, he was seen in a corner of the laager, leaning
against a waggon wheel, keeping the Zulus at bay. One after another
fell as he stabbed them with his cutlass. The savages themselves were
lost in admiration at his stern resistance. At last a Zulu crept round
at the back of the waggon, and stabbed him through the spokes of the
wheel.
It would have been the height of rashness to have advanced farther, as
the column would now have been exposed to the whole force of the Zulus.
Colonel Pearson determined, therefore, to fortify Ekowe, and to maintain
himself there until reinforcements came up. The cavalry and the native
contingents who had accompanied the column were therefore sent back, the
sailors being retained to assist the regular troops in holding the
place.
The first step was to erect fortifications, and, as the enemy attempted
no attack, these were made strongly and massively. Here for many weeks
the little garrison held out. The Zulus surrounded the place closely,
but never ventured upon any sustained attack upon it. The garrison,
however, suffered severely from fever, heat, and the effects of bad food
and water. For some time they were cut off entirely from all
communication with Natal; but at length an officer, upon the top of the
church, observed one day, far among the hills to the south, a twinkling
light. From the regularity with which it shone and disappeared, he came
to the conclusion that it was caused by signallers endeavouring to open
communications. The flashes were watched, and were found to be in
accordance with the Morse alphabet; and the joyful news was spread that
their friends were telegraphing to them.
After some trouble, a mirror was fixed and signals returned, and from
that time, until relief, regular communication was kept up by this
means. There was disappointment at first when it was found that some
time must elapse before a relieving column could advance; but as the
news came of the arrival of ship after ship, laden with troops from
England, confidence was felt that relief would arrive before the
exhaustion of the stock of provisions. The garrison on their part were
enabled to send to their friends accurate information of the state of
their stores, and the time which they would be able to hold out.
At length, on the 28th of March, the news arrived that the column would
advance upon the following day. The relieving force was attacked at
Gingihlovo, near the river Inyanzi, and there the Zulus were defeated
with great loss. With this relieving column was another Naval Brigade,
consisting of men of the _Shah_ and _Tenedos_. The _Shah_ was on her
way to England when, upon arriving at Saint Helena, the news of the
massacre at Isandhlwana reached her. Captain Bradshaw, who commanded,
at once determined to take upon himself the responsibility of returning
to Natal, where his arrival caused the liveliest satisfaction, as at
that time none of the reinforcements from England had reached the spot,
and strong fears were still felt of the invasion of the colony by the
Zulus. The Naval Brigade bore their part in the fight at Gingihlovo,
and were with the relieving force when it entered Ekowe. The garrison
of this place, small as they were, had been prepared upon the following
day to sally out to effect a diversion in favour of the column, should
it again be attacked in its advance to Ekowe.
The garrison was now relieved. Few of those who had formed part of it
were fit for further service. Ekowe was abandoned, and the Naval
Brigade returned to Natal. The brigade took part in the further advance
after the arrival of Sir Garnet Wolseley; but the defeat of the Zulus at
Ulundi occurring a few days after the start had been made, hostilities
ceased, and the Naval Brigade were not called upon for further
exertions.