A force under command of Colonel Napier sent against the
rebels at the Umguza—Force retire without fighting—I obtain
leave to join a patrol sent out to the Umguza under Captain
Bisset—Matabele dispute our advance—I attack Kafirs' centre
with Colonial Boys—Matabele centre driven back—John Grootboom's
escape—Matabele in flight—A good chance lost—I receive orders
to retire—I dismount to get a shot—My horse bolts and leaves
me—Nearly caught by Matabele—Windley comes to my rescue—Windley's
horse refuses to carry double—Reach the Colonial Boys and am
saved by Captain Windley's courage and self-denial—Baxter's
gallant action—Gallantry and devotion to one another of Captain
Grey's officers and men—Patrol retires to Bulawayo.
On the way back to Bulawayo we were met by Colonel Napier and Captain
Nicholson, and it was arranged that as strong a force as could be
spared from the town should be sent out again to the Umguza on the
morrow, under the command of the former gentleman. Accordingly, at
about eleven o'clock on Monday, 20th April, a force of two hundred
and thirty white men and one hundred colonial natives, all told, left
Bulawayo for the scene of the previous day's skirmish. With the force
were a seven-pounder, a Hotchkiss, and a Maxim. Captain Macfarlane had
command of the right flank, and Captain Van Niekerk of the left; whilst
I was in charge of a detachment of men on foot, drawn from various
corps, and a body of Colenbrander's natives were under the command of
Captain Cardigan.
This was a most disappointing day for all those who wanted a little
excitement, as the Matabele and the officers commanding our column
were at cross purposes; the former wanting the white men to cross the
river and fight them in the bush, and the latter being in favour of the
Kafirs coming through to their side, and attacking a position defended
with artillery. The result was that there was no fight.
The decision not to cross the Umguza may have been a wise one, but
it was not popular with the men, who marched back to town in a very
dejected frame of mind; so strong was the feeling, indeed, that it
was decided to send out another patrol to the Umguza on the following
Wednesday, and as I was anxious to see a good blow struck at them, I
asked Mr. Duncan and Colonel Napier to give me another day's leave
of absence from my work of superintending the building of forts and
patrolling along the Mangwe road, in order that I might take part in
the engagement. At the same time I sent a wire to Captain Molyneux at
Fig Tree, requesting him to forward instructions to Lieutenant Grenfell
at Matoli to march back with the men of my troop to Mabukitwani, where
it had been decided that we were to build a fort, and where I undertook
to meet him, unless anything unforeseen should happen, on Thursday
evening.
Thus on Wednesday morning, 22nd April, for the fourth time a small
force marched out of Bulawayo, in order to try and dislodge the Kafirs
from their position on the Umguza, in the immediate vicinity of the
town. This patrol was put under the command of Captain Bisset, a
gentleman who had had some previous experience of native warfare in
Basutoland and Zululand.
The patrol consisted of twenty Scouts under Captain Grey; forty men
under Captain Van Niekerk; twenty under Captain Meikle, and twenty
under Captain Brand, making, with some twenty others unattached, about
one hundred and twenty mounted men, with a Hotchkiss and a Maxim under
Lieutenant Walsh. Besides these mounted troops, there were a detachment
of one hundred colonial Kafirs and Zulus recruited by Mr. Colenbrander,
and some friendly Kafirs who, however, were only armed with assegais,
and who took no part in the fight. I was asked to take command of the
Colonial Boys, which I could hardly do, as they had their own trusted
officers with them, but I accompanied these gentlemen, and undertook
to assist them in leading their men to the attack. Dr. Vigne went in
charge of the ambulance waggon which accompanied the patrol.
After much valuable time had been lost in looking for the impi which
was said to be behind the brickfields, but which as a matter of fact
had never been there, we turned towards the Umguza, passing at the
back of Government House. Here an accident occurred to the Hotchkiss
limber carriage, which delayed us for more than an hour, and although
the broken shaft was temporarily tied up with a chain, so that the gun
could be drawn along, it was rendered useless for action until the
damage done could be properly repaired.
On proceeding we changed our direction and made straight for the
Umguza, and it was soon evident that the Kafirs intended to dispute our
advance, as they commenced to fire on us from the low ridges covered
with scrubby bush which here border the river on both sides. Captain
Van Niekerk and his Africanders were soon hotly engaged on the left
flank, and as the Kafirs were in possession of some ridges just in
front of us as well, I was asked to advance with the Colonial Boys
from the centre, and endeavour to chase them across the river. My
instructions were to attack and, if possible, drive them before me, but
to retire on the guns if I found them too strong.
The boys came on capitally, led by their officers, who were all
mounted, and we soon drove all the Matabele in this part of the field
through the Umguza, and following them up at once, pursued them for
about a mile over some stony ridges covered with scrubby bush.
Up to this time I had not fired a shot, as I had been principally
engaged in encouraging the Colonial Boys to come on quickly and give
our enemies no breathing time. But by this time we had got right up
amongst them, and I began to use my rifle.
A number of the Matabele had built little fortifications of loose
stones near the bank of the river, from behind the shelter of which
they fired on us; but the warlike Amakosa and Zulus charged them most
gallantly, and engaging them hand to hand drove them out of their
shelters into the river, and killed many of them in the water. Several
of the Colonial Boys were here wounded with assegais and axes, but none
were killed.
It was at this time that I saw John Grootboom, a Xosa Kafir—who has
distinguished himself for bravery on many occasions both during the
first war and the present campaign—galloping after a Matabele just in
front of me, who was armed only with assegais and shield. As the horse
came upon him he ducked down, and only just escaped a blow on the head
from John's rifle, which was dealt with such vigour that the rider lost
his balance and fell off, and his foot catching in the stirrup, he was
dragged along the road for some yards. If the Matabele had but kept his
presence of mind and been quick, he might have assegaied his antagonist
easily, and possibly would have done so had not Captain Fynn and myself
been close to him.
We had now got the Matabele fairly on the run in our part of the field,
and the only ones who were still firing at us were a party who had
taken shelter in a bend of the river under cover of the bank, some
three hundred yards ahead of us. I was just going with some of the
Colonial Boys to dislodge them, when I saw Grey's Scouts charging down
on them from the other side of the river. Finding themselves attacked
from this quarter, the Matabele left their cover and ran out into
the open in large numbers, exposing themselves to a heavy fire which
thinned their ranks every instant.
The position was now this.—The Matabele had been driven from the banks
of the river, and two or three hundred of them, panic-stricken and
demoralised, were running in a crowd across some undulating ground, but
scantily covered with bush, and had only Captain Meikle and Captain
Brand been sent in support of the Colonial Boys and the Scouts, they
might have galloped in amongst them, and could not have failed to kill
a very large number of them. But no; although these officers and their
men were chafing and cursing at their enforced inactivity, they were
kept idly standing round the Maxim doing nothing, which was all the
more inexcusable as Captain Van Niekerk with his forty Africanders had
by this time silenced the enemy's fire on the left flank, and there was
no farther apprehension of any heavy attack from that quarter. At any
rate, one of the best chances of inflicting a heavy loss on the rebels
which has occurred during the campaign was not taken advantage of.
At this time, that is just when Grey's Scouts were driving the Matabele
out of the river, some one told me that an order had come recalling the
Colonial Boys, so I galloped along the line of those that were farthest
in advance, and told them that the order had been given to retire. Then
I thought that before going back myself I would gallop forwards and try
and get a shot or two at some of the Kafirs armed with guns, who were
retreating from the fire of Grey's Scouts.
In front of me lay a piece of perfectly open ground extending along
the Umguza, some 200 yards broad, whilst from the edge of the open to
the left the country was undulating and very scantily covered with low
bush. The pony I was riding was the same that had been lent to me on
the previous Sunday, and he had proved himself so absolutely steady,
with rifles going off all round him, and bullets pinging and buzzing
past him, that the last thing I thought of was that he might now play
me false and run away. However this is what happened. I had dismounted
and was sitting down to get a steady shot when some one said close
behind me, "Look out, they're coming down on us from the left." I
did not know that any one was near me, but on getting up and looking
round, saw one of the officers of the Colonial Boys—now Captain, then
Lieutenant Windley—close behind me. At the same time I saw Grey's
Scouts retreating on the other side of the river, and recognised that
Windley and I were a long way ahead of John Grootboom and five or six
other Xosa Kafirs, who were the only members of the corps I could see,
and who were also retiring; whilst I also saw that some of the Matabele
we had been chasing had rallied, and seeing two white men alone, were
coming down on us as hard as they could, with the evident intention of
cutting off our retreat. However, they were still some 250 yards from
us, and could I but have mounted my pony, we could have galloped away
from them and rejoined the Colonial Boys easily enough.
A few bullets were again beginning to ping past us, so I did not want
to lose any time, but before I could take my pony by the bridle he
suddenly threw up his head, and spinning round trotted off, luckily
running in the direction from which we had come. Being so very steady
a pony, I imagine that a bullet must have grazed him and startled him
into playing me this sorry trick at such a very inconvenient moment.
"Come on as hard as you can, and I'll catch your horse and bring him
back to you," said Windley, and started off after the faithless steed.
But the brute would not allow himself to be caught, and when his
pursuer approached him, broke from a trot into a gallop, and finally
showed a clean pair of heels.
When my pony went off with Windley after him, leaving me, comparatively
speaking, _planté là_, the Kafirs thought they had got me, and
commenced to shout out encouragingly to one another and also to make
a kind of hissing noise, like the word "jee" long drawn out. All this
time I was running as hard as I could after Windley and my runaway
horse. As I ran carrying my rifle at the trail, I felt in my bandoleer
with my left hand to see how many cartridges were still at my disposal,
and found that I had fired away all but two of the thirty I had come
out with, one being left in the belt and the other in my rifle.
Glancing round, I saw that the foremost Kafirs were gaining on me fast,
though had this incident occurred in 1876 instead of 1896, with the
start I had got I would have run away from any of them.
Windley, after galloping some distance, realised that it was useless
wasting any more time trying to catch my horse, and like a good fellow
came back to help me; and had he not done so, let me here say that
the present history would never have been written, for nothing could
possibly have saved me from being overtaken, surrounded, and killed.
When Windley came up to me he said "Get up behind me; there's no time
to lose," and pulled his foot out of the left stirrup for me to mount.
Without any unnecessary loss of time, I caught hold of the pommel of
the saddle, and got my foot into the iron, but it seemed to me that my
weight might pull Windley and the saddle right round, so, as a glance
over my shoulder showed me that the foremost Kafirs were now within
100 yards of us, I hastily pulled my foot out of the stirrup again,
and shifting my rifle to my left hand caught hold of the thong round
the horse's neck with my right, and told Windley to let him go. He
was a big strong animal, and as, by keeping my arm well bent, I held
my body close up to him, he got me along at a good pace, and we began
to gain on the Kafirs. They now commenced to shoot, but being more or
less blown by hard running, they shot very badly, though they put the
bullets all about us. Two struck just by my foot, and one knocked the
heel of Windley's boot off. If they could only have hit the horse, they
would have got both of us.
After having gained a little on our pursuers, Windley, thinking I
must have been getting done up, asked me to try again to mount behind
him: no very easy matter when you have a big horse to get on to and
are holding a rifle in your right hand. However, with a desperate
effort I got up behind him; but the horse, being unaccustomed to such
a proceeding, immediately commenced to buck, and in spite of spurring
would not go forwards, and the Kafirs, seeing our predicament, raised a
yell and came on again with renewed ardour.
Seeing that if I stuck on the horse behind Windley we should both of
us very soon lose our lives, I flung myself off in the middle of a
buck, and landed right on the back of my neck and shoulders. Luckily
I was not stunned or in any way hurt, and was on my legs and ready to
run again with my hand on the thong round the horse's neck in a very
creditably short space of time. My hat had fallen off, but I never left
go of my rifle, and as I didn't think it quite the best time to be
looking for a hat, I left it, all adorned with the colours of my troop
as it was, to be picked up by the enemy, by whom it has no doubt been
preserved as a souvenir of my presence amongst them.
And now another spurt brought us almost up to John Grootboom and the
five or six Colonial Boys who were with him, and I called to John to
halt the men and check the Matabele who were pursuing us, by firing a
volley past us at them. This they did, and it at once had the desired
effect, the Kafirs who were nearest to us hanging back and waiting for
those behind to join them. In the meantime Windley and I joined John
Grootboom's party, and old John at once gave me his horse, which, as
I was very much exhausted and out of breath, I was very glad to get.
Indeed I was so tired by the hardest run I had ever had since my old
elephant-hunting days, that it was quite an effort to mount. I was now
safe, except that a few bullets were buzzing about, for soon after
getting up to John Grootboom we joined the main body of the Colonial
Boys, and then, keeping the Matabele at bay, retired slowly towards the
position defended by the Maxim. Our enemies, who had been so narrowly
baulked of their expected prey, followed us to the top of a rise, well
within range of the gun, but disappeared immediately a few sighting
shots were fired at them.
Thus ended a very disagreeable little experience, which but for the
cool courage of Captain Windley would undoubtedly have ended fatally
to myself. Like many brave men, Captain Windley is so modest that I
should probably offend him were I to say very much about him; but at
any rate I shall never forget the service he did me at the risk of his
own life that day on the Umguza, whilst the personal gallantry he has
always shown throughout the present campaign as a leader of our native
allies has earned for him such respect and admiration that they have
nicknamed him "Inkunzi," the Bull, the symbol of strength and courage.
But Captain Windley was not the only man who performed a brave and
self-denying deed on this somewhat eventful day, as I shall now proceed
to relate.
When the Scouts were recalled, and commenced to retire from the Umguza,
after having driven a body of natives from its shelter, as I have
already related, they were suddenly fired on by a party of Matabele
who had taken up a position amongst some bush to the left of their
line of retreat. The foremost amongst the Scouts galloped past this
ambush, but Captain Grey with a few of those in the rear halted and
returned the enemy's fire. Trooper Wise was the first man hit, and
seems to have received his wound from behind just as he was mounting
his horse, as the bullet struck him high in the back, and travelling
up the shoulder-blade, came out near the collar-bone. At this instant
Wise's horse stumbled, and then, recovering himself, broke away from
its rider, galloping straight back to town, and leaving the wounded
man on the ground. A brave fellow named Baxter at once dismounted and
put Wise on his own horse, thus saving the latter's life, but, as it
proved, thereby sacrificing his own. Captain Grey and Lieutenant Hook
at once went to Baxter's assistance, and they got him along as fast
as they could, but the Kafirs had now closed on them, and were firing
out of the bush at very close quarters. Lieutenant Hook was shot from
behind, the bullet entering the right buttock and coming out near
the groin, but most luckily, though severing the sciatic nerve, just
missing both the thigh-bone and the femoral artery. Nearly at the same
time, too, a bullet just grazed Captain Grey's forehead, half-stunning
him for an instant. "Texas" Long, a well-known member of the Scouts,
then went to Baxter's assistance, and was helping him along, when a
bullet struck the dismounted man in the side, and he at once let go of
Long's stirrup leather and fell to the ground. No further assistance
was then possible, and poor Baxter was killed by the Kafirs immediately
afterwards. Whilst these brave deeds were being performed, Lieutenant
Fred Crewe, with some others of the Scouts, amongst whom I may mention
Button and Radermayer, were keeping the Kafirs in check and covering
the retreat of the wounded men. Just as Lieutenant Hook got near to
Crewe, his horse was shot through the fetlock and buttock at the same
time, and rolling over, threw Hook to the ground, causing him at the
same time to drop his rifle. Hook got on his legs and was hobbling
forwards when Crewe said to him, "Why don't you pick up your rifle?" "I
can't," was the answer; "I'm too badly wounded." "Are you wounded, old
chap?" said Crewe; "then take my horse, and I'll try and get out of it
on foot." Crewe then assisted Hook to mount his horse, and fought his
way back on foot, only escaping with his life by a miracle, keeping
several Kafirs who were very near him, but who had no guns, at bay with
his revolver, whilst he retreated backwards. So near were these men to
him, that one of them, as he turned, threw a heavy knob-kerry at him,
which struck him a severe blow in the back. Nothing could have saved
him had not the Kafirs been constantly kept in check by the steady fire
of Radermayer, Button, Jack Stuart, and others of the Scouts, and also
by a cross-fire from some of the Colonial Boys, directed by Captain
Fynn and Lieutenant Mullins.
The splendid gallantry and devotion to one another shown by Captain
Grey and his officers and men on this day will ever be remembered in
Rhodesia as amongst the bravest of the brave deeds performed by the
Colonists in the suppression of the present rebellion. Such acts, too,
speak for themselves, and bear eloquent if silent testimony against the
cruel and malicious calumnies on the character of the white settlers
in Matabeleland which have so frequently disgraced the pages of a
widely-read, if generally-despised, weekly journal.
As soon as Grey's Scouts and the Colonial Boys had reached the guns,
these latter were limbered up and the whole patrol retired slowly on
Bulawayo, the Matabele making no attempt to follow. Indeed their loss
must have been severe, and had Grey's Scouts and the Colonial Boys only
been supported instead of being recalled, the Matabele would never
have rallied, but would have been kept on the run and killed in large
numbers by the mounted men. At least this is my view, and it has been
thoroughly borne out by the experience gained in subsequent fights
during this campaign.
Our loss on this day was, Baxter killed and Wise and Hook wounded
amongst Grey's Scouts, while five or six of the Colonial Boys were
wounded, but none dangerously. Wise has long ago recovered from his
wound, and Lieutenant Hook is on a fair way to do so. I have forgotten
to mention that my horse must have been captured by the Matabele, as he
did not return to Bulawayo, and has not since been heard of. The lucky
savage into whose hands he fell became possessed at the same time of a
very good saddle and bridle, and a brand new Government coat.