Death of the Prince Imperial--Lieutenant Carey's
account--Discrepancies in and comments thereon--Feeling in the
camp--Expedition under General Marshall to search for the
body--Description of the spot--Recovery of the body--Court-martial
on Carey.
We now come to an event which, though it in no way affected the course
or result of this war, was nevertheless so deplorably sad in itself, as
well as to the British army, and was, furthermore, of such world-wide
interest, altering, as it undoubtedly did, the history of one of the
mightiest nations of Europe, that no apology is required for a detailed
narrative.
Ever since the arrival of the Prince Imperial in the colony he had
continued to win the friendship and esteem of all ranks, and his
unassuming quietude and modesty, genial humour, and readiness to learn
the most minute details of the profession he had adopted, made him a
universal favourite. It has been previously mentioned that the Prince
had been engaged in several reconnaissances, and only three days before
his death he had been with Lord Chelmsford upon a patrol extending more
than twenty miles into the Zulu country. On May the 28th General Wood
received orders to move parallel to, but slightly in advance, of
General Newdigate's column, from Kopje Allein, in a south-easterly
direction towards the Itelezi hill. After three days had been spent in
carefully exploring the country, General Newdigate moved forward on June
1st with his division, as nearly as possible 10,000 strong, and with a
baggage train of 480 waggons. The country had been carefully scouted by
Buller's Horse for twenty miles round, and no Zulus were reported near.
On the evening of the 1st the column laagered not far from the Itelezi,
and on the following day the General moved south-east along a level
country towards the Inguita range; and the flying column being one march
ahead, a communication was kept up by the vedettes of General Newdigate
and General Wood. On Sunday, the 1st, General Wood with a small escort
reconnoitred in advance of the column, which was about five miles in
advance of General Newdigate's force. Away on the right and left were
Buller's horsemen dotting the ridges of the hills on either side. In
front lay green slopes, which were traversed here and there by
watercourses, and bounded by the most singularly shaped mountains, flat
at the summit and crowned with a sort of rocky dome. A good deal of rain
had fallen in the night, and the morning was as clear and fresh as a May
day in England. The General and his escort had ridden about six miles,
when the path suddenly made a bend to the left, skirting a clump of
trees, which grew near the edge of the stream. Pushing a way through
thick thorny underwood mingled with date-palms and tall reeds, they at
length looked down upon the still deep waters of a narrow river, flowing
across a long red sandbank. A ledge of granite formed a rugged barrier
eight feet or ten feet high across the river, and down the hollows of
this the clear water rushed and gurgled in fantastic rills, cascades,
and rapids, bubbling and eddying among the great masses of rock above,
in many of which great holes were worn by stones which during the floods
had settled in small hollows. Traversing a sandstone hill, with a long
spur stretching away to the eastward, and rising in cliffs of 300 feet
to the south of the river, they came upon a grove of fan-palms and
mimosa, where the banks of the stream were covered with golden-blossomed
acacias. Crossing the river by an easy ford, they had ridden on about
another mile, when they observed some of the vedettes on the high ground
to the left signalling that horsemen were approaching. Soon they came
out upon an immense cultivated flat, terminating to the right in a long,
dark, and winding gorge, black with bush, and arched by huge precipices
of sandstone and granite. Into this they turned, and, following a Kaffir
path marked with tracks made by Buller's men, they came upon a bush of
about six or seven acres, in the centre of which were the remains of a
burnt kraal and marks of recent fighting. On the edge of a small stream
they discovered a path to the extreme right, in fact quite on the
hillside, and here the surface showed numerous boot-marks, where the
scouts had evidently been. They had now reached a plain, from which they
were divided by a broad and well-worn watercourse, and here they were
joined by three or four vedettes, who came to report that they had
noticed some horsemen coming at a rapid canter from the direction of the
Tombalaka and the Iyohgazi rivers, which were about equidistant between
Wood's late camp and that of General Newdigate. They had not long to
wait for the solution of the mystery, for, riding in the direction of
the horsemen, they were met by Colonel Buller and a dozen of his men,
who was equally anxious with General Wood to discover who the fugitives
could be. They all rode on together, and rounding the base of the cliff
came up with Lieutenant Carey and four troopers of Bettington's Horse.
In a few seconds more the terrible secret was revealed, and Lieutenant
Carey, whose horse was almost dead beat, and covered with foam, was
rapidly relating to General Wood the details. "Where is the Prince?"
exclaimed Wood, as he breasted his horse at some fallen trees which
intervened, and dashed forward to meet the fugitives. "Speak, sir; what
has happened?" "The Prince, I fear, is killed, sir," said one of the
men, Carey being at first unable to speak. "Is that the case? Tell me
instantly, sir," answered the General. "I fear 'tis so, General," was
the answer; upon which our chief exclaimed, "And what are you, sir,
doing here?" A veil must be drawn over the rest of the interview, which
was of the most painful character. A short despatch was at once written
while on horseback by the General, and in this a _résumé_ of the fearful
tragedy was told, how English soldiers had had the unutterable shame of
seeing an English officer and four English troopers unwounded and
escaped from a Zulu ambush, in which a gallant young Prince, the guest
of England and the hope of France, had been barbarously slain. This
letter was at once despatched by the General to headquarters, where he
ordered Lieutenant Carey and his party to proceed and make their
report.
The story elicited from Carey and the four men, in spite of a few
discrepancies, was in the main as follows:--
On Sunday, the 1st of June, the Prince learnt that a patrol was to be
sent out in advance of the column, to choose the site for the camp on
the following day, and his Highness at once applied for and obtained
permission to accompany it. At six o'clock on Sunday morning the Prince
Imperial sent for his groom, and consulted him as to what horse he
should ride, and the man strongly advised him not to take the large grey
horse, which was eventually one of the causes of his death. This animal
was not one of those selected for the Prince by Sir John Bissett, who
had assisted him in the choice of others. He was a big, awkward-looking,
but very powerful animal, but an inveterate buck-jumper, and, moreover,
excessively timid under fire, a fault which in a charger is dangerous to
the last degree. Two of the Prince's horses had died, either on the
voyage out or soon after landing, and upon the fatal Sunday the grey
horse was the only steed not lame or upon the sick report, so he had to
be taken as a case of "Hobson's choice." At seven o'clock a note arrived
addressed to the Prince, in which he was informed that permission was
accorded him to go with the patrol about to be sent on to choose next
day's camping-ground. This note was from Colonel Harrison, the acting
quarter-master-general, and the Prince at once went over to his tent,
and received final instructions from him verbally; which it must be
assumed, were in accordance with the wishes of the Commander-in-chief,
who expressly stated that the Prince was to be well cared for, to have
no military responsibility, and yet, at the same time, was not to be
interfered with, or in any way prevented from seeing the country.
Lieutenant Carey's account of these matters is somewhat at variance with
this statement of Colonel Harrison, as he (Carey) says that he was told
that the Prince was to have the entire charge of the escort and the
entire duty of selecting the camp. Lieutenant Carey says in his written
statement, that it was by his express desire that he was named to
accompany the escort, and he made this request in consequence of his
knowledge of the country and, in some degree, of the language. Six men
of Captain Bettington's Horse and the same number of Shepstone's Basutos
were ordered to parade at half-past eight a.m. as escort, but for some
hitherto unexplained reason the latter never appeared, and when Carey
suggested they should wait for them the Prince, with that utter contempt
for danger for which he was always remarkable, exclaimed, "Oh, no; we
are quite strong enough!" At nine a.m. all was ready, a frugal breakfast
of black coffee and biscuit had been partaken of, saddles, carbines,
swords, revolvers, and accoutrements had been carefully inspected, and
the word was given to "mount" and "away!" Before leaving the camp,
however, a message was sent to Captain Shepstone to say that the escort
would halt and wait for the six Basutos on the ridge between the Incenzi
and Itelezi hills. A messenger was again sent to hurry on these natives,
but it seems they never came, and therefore the patrol consisted only of
the Prince, Lieutenant Carey, six mounted men of Bettington's Horse,
and one friendly Zulu. This was certainly not a fit escort for such a
charge, and it seems impossible not to attach a grave responsibility to
the staff officer who made the detail. All the six Europeans were well
armed and well mounted, their weapons consisting of the Martini-Henry
slung across the back, ammunition in bandoleer, and a stout serviceable
knife, which could be used for meals or on emergency as a weapon at
close quarters. The Prince and Lieutenant Carey had not rifles, but
swords and revolvers, and unfortunately the latter were not worn upon
the person as they invariably should be, but in the holsters. The Prince
had been on several visits to General Wood's camp, and was an
enthusiastic admirer of both Wood and Buller, with the latter of whom he
had become very intimate ever since the last two patrols he had made
with him. With Lieutenant Carey his Imperial Highness had also an
intimacy of some standing, and as Carey's skill as a draughtsman was
well known in the camp, he had been selected on several occasions to
assist his Highness in surveying operations.
The day had broken on this fated Sunday with all the glory of a real
South African morning. It had been raining during the night, but this
only served to give a more delightful perfume to the odorous plants that
were crushed by the hoofs of the horses belonging to the escort. The
rain of the previous day and night had refreshed the ground, and filled
the various pools with water, and the plains were cheerful with the
animals and birds coming out of the bush to feed. The patrol met with no
adventure for some time, but continued its course along a valley running
north-east, and narrowing gradually. The track in some places crossed
bad spruits, and was undefined, and in parts obliterated by thorn-trees
and bush. It was also commanded here and there by projecting spurs and
bluffs, where an enemy could have easily hidden in force, and have
attacked them at an advantage, but on either side could be seen the
friendly Basutos scouting in the distance. The watershed of the mountain
was reached about an hour after the patrol started, and on arriving at
the ridge the Prince and Lieutenant Carey dismounted, as they wished to
fix the position of some important hills with their compasses. Here
Colonel Harrison overtook them, and remarked that the whole of the
escort was not with them, adding that the patrol had better wait for the
Basutos to come up. The Prince said, "Oh, we are quite strong enough.
Besides, we have all our friends around us, and with my glass I can see
General Marshall's cavalry coming up." Lieutenant Carey, as soon as he
had finished his sketch, proposed to off-saddle and breakfast; but he
states that the Prince overruled this suggestion and expressed a wish to
push on to the river. The patrol accordingly proceeded on for about four
miles, where for some distance the way was along the bottom of a deep
sandy nullah with very precipitous sides, which they were forced to take
as the only practicable place. This at length debouched into an open
space, from which there appeared to be an entrance to a disused kraal
some two miles up the ravine. Here the escort found that there was good
drinking-water in some pools under a large kopje in front, situated in a
complete amphitheatre of hills, and upon this kopje were some of our
Basuto skirmishers. After watering the horses, the party advanced for a
mile and a half along a commanding and rocky range of hills a short
distance beyond the Ilyotosi river. Here Carey again proposed to
off-saddle, but the Prince did not approve of the spot, and after some
more sketching and surveying the country with telescopes and compass,
the valley was descended as far as an isolated kraal, and the order was
given to off-saddle. The Prince, who did not appear very strong, now
complained of being tired, and while coffee was being prepared lay down
beside the door of a hut.
The place where this halt was made would appear, from the statements of
Lieutenant Carey and the surviving men of the escort, to be about as
ill-chosen and suspicious a locality as could be found. The kraal where
they now were consisted of about half a dozen huts, and was situated
about three hundred yards from the river Moazani (so called by the Zulu
who accompanied the party). Between the kraal and the river stretched a
tall and luxuriant growth of that most dangerous cover, five, six, and
seven feet in height, Tambookie grass interspersed here and there, as is
customary, with equally tall mealies and Kaffir corn. The plains beneath
this spot afforded every temptation to the artistic eye of the Prince,
and here again another sketch of the panorama was quickly made. The
bright glowing tints of the foreground, whose colours were lit up by
green and fresh grass and wide-spreading acacia and flowering shrubs,
well mellowed away in the middle distance, while far away towards the
horizon were to be seen the shadowy outlines of the blue Itelezi hills.
The kraal was not completely surrounded, for in front there was an open
space where broken cooking utensils and burnt-out embers, bones, and
other _débris_, showed that the place had not long ago been occupied.
Some hungry-looking dogs came out and snarled at the intruders. Here the
fatal order was given to off-saddle, and, in defiance of the most common
and ordinary precautions, which the merest tyro should have taken, the
horses were knee-haltered and turned out to graze, while coffee was
prepared, and not the slightest search made in the cover around.
The friendly Zulu was sent down to the river for water, and also to see
that the horses did not stray too far. All this time a party of Zulus,
supposed to have been about thirty or forty, were concealed and watching
the doomed party, who, utterly unsuspicious of an ambush, were seated
around, chatting and sipping their coffee. A deep donga lay right across
the path subsequently taken by the fugitives, and this served to screen
the enemy as he stealthily crawled to his prey. Stealing noiselessly
along, hidden by the rank vegetation, and unheard by the unwatchful
escort, the savages came nearer and nearer to their quarry, but while
creeping along were descried by the watchful eyes of the Kaffir, who,
not losing a second, darted back to the Prince, and gave the warning of
danger. A little delay now occurs, for his Highness fails to understand
the native, who has to appeal to Corporal Grubb, one of the escort, to
interpret. The corporal explains to the Prince, who looks at his watch,
and (we are told) seeing it was ten minutes to four, says, "You can give
your horses ten minutes more." But this must have been countermanded,
for the horses were at once collected, and in a few moments were
prepared to start. The Prince is carefully and calmly examining his bit
and bridle, and, it is surmised, had not sufficiently tightened his
girths. His grey horse is a fidgety, troublesome animal to mount, and
now appears to be nervous and anxious to break away. Meanwhile all the
escort stand to their horses and await the word, which the Prince now
gives, "Prepare to mount." But this was the death-signal, for hardly had
the order escaped the lips that gave it, and that spoke no other word on
earth, than the fearful traditional "Usulu! Usulu!" awoke the echoes of
the valley, and a tremendous volley was poured in from the favouring
cover of the grass and mealies. All the horses swerved instinctively
with terror, and some broke away. Private Rogers was shot before he
could mount, and the Prince's tall grey, half mad with fright, became
impossible to mount. Where is the English iron nerve that is proof
against the panic of a moment? Where are the guardians of England's
princely guest? All have lost their courage and their sense of manhood.
_Sauve qui peut!_ is the craven spirit of those who had they rallied
back to back could have probably saved a noble life and preserved a
nation's honour. Not a carbine was loaded, not a sentry placed.
Surprise, the most unsoldierlike crime, was allowed, and white with fear
each trooper galloped away to save himself, nor drew bridle-rein till
miles of country placed safety in his path. Meanwhile, the gallant and
unfortunate Prince is losing every chance of escape which the slightest
attempt at succour would have given. One friendly hand to steady the
scared and ill-broken steed; one carbine, even unloaded, presented at
the bush--for the savages had not dared to come forth--or one gallant
heart like Buller, Leet, or Wood to have shown the chivalry of France
that England's sons were worthy of their ancient fame, and the Prince
would have been alive to-day. There is, it is true, the testimony of one
man, borne away by his frightened and possibly wounded horse, who says
that not being more than half in the saddle, and having no control over
his mount, he could not stay to aid the Prince. "Dépêchez-vous,
monsieur!" he cried, as he swept by at a racing gallop, and that was all
the warning he could give. And then--oh, shame and humiliation!--this
young lad, schooled to arms with English soldiers' sons, wearing an
English uniform, and escorted by British soldiers to a bloody grave, was
left alone to be speared to death, without a sword being drawn or a shot
fired, even from a distance, in his defence.
The Zulus, seeing only one man unable to mount, burst at length from
their treacherous cover, and with fiendish yells rush upon the Prince,
who, holding the stirrup-leather with one hand and the holster-flap with
the other, must have made one final and desperate attempt to spring into
the saddle. But all is in vain, the untrustworthy leather gives way in
his hand; his feet slip from under him; he falls beneath the horse,
which treads upon his body and gallops away! The last that was seen of
the Empress's beloved son was, that he was alone and on foot, with some
dozen Zulus poising their assegais within a few feet from him, and his
body was afterwards found pierced in front with some eighteen or twenty
thrusts, and stripped of all but his mother's amulet.
It cannot have escaped the reader that there are some discrepancies and
anachronisms in the accounts given by Lieutenant Carey and the survivors
of that fatal and ill-omened day, the 1st of June. These contradictions
were not unnoticed by General Wood when he took down the report and
forwarded it to the headquarter camp. In the first place we are told
that the Prince was too rash and venturesome, and that he nearly lost
his life on the day when, accompanied by Major Bettington, some of his
men, and a party of Basutos, he visited a Zulu kraal in the
neighbourhood of the camp, and was fired upon by the enemy. Now, on this
as on former occasions, when the Prince went out with Colonel Buller,
Lord Chelmsford, and other officers in charge of patrols or
reconnaissances, he was perfectly well aware that he was merely
incurring the same risk as were other English officers, whose lives to
the British nation, if not to France, were as valuable as his, and whose
temerity--if such it can be called--was absolutely necessary to the
conduct of the campaign. But on the last fatal occasion his Highness was
allowed to go alone, or virtually alone, for Lieutenant Carey does not
seem to have taken his honest and proper share of responsibility, or
looked after the most ordinary precautions which a subaltern of a week's
standing would have carried out in a time of profound peace. We are told
that the Prince gave all orders and words of command during the day,
that he selected, approved of, and disapproved of each halting-place
that was arrived at, and that when Lieutenant Carey wished the escort to
muster and leave the deserted kraal at a certain hour the Prince
demurred, and gave the order to stay much longer. Now this, if
authentic, indicates a lack of military knowledge which it is difficult
to understand as appertaining to an officer of Lieutenant Carey's
standing. The rule of the service is imperative, and no civilian, no
volunteer, and no guest, whatever his rank, may, can, or should at least
be allowed to give a word of command when an official authority is
present. If Lieutenant Carey, out of compliment or out of courtesy,
allowed the Prince Imperial to choose the halting-places and to give the
words of command to the troopers, whom he and not his Highness
commanded, he betrayed an ignorance of the customs, duties, and
etiquette of his profession which renders him totally unfit for the
possession of her Majesty's commission. If he did not allow our deplored
and gallant guest to select these halts, to choose the places for
"off-saddle," and to give the necessary cautions and words of command in
regard to mounting, why, then, he is still more to blame, as knowing, as
he should have known, that he and not the Prince was in command, his
first and transparently obvious duty was to post vedettes and keep a
soldierlike look-out on all sides. Lieutenant Carey was specially
ordered to take half a dozen Basutos with him, in addition to the scanty
escort allotted by the Quarter-Master-General of six of Bettington's
Horse. He says that the escort of Basutos never came, and that the
Prince, when told of their absence, would not wait, but insisted on
pushing forward. The captain of a ship who, at the instance of an
impatient passenger, puts to sea with only half his water and provisions
on board, endangers the lives of those under his command, and for ever
forfeits his claim to future confidence in his conduct and prudence. We
are told that as the first division and the flying column of General
Wood were on converging lines, and were rapidly approaching, and that as
the ground over which this fatal reconnaissance was made had been
previously explored by the Prince, Lieutenant Carey was justified in
arriving at the illogical conclusion that it must be safe from an enemy.
A more preposterous assertion was never before made to hoodwink and
blind justice. Why, not a day passed during this unhappy war when the
troops, in all their camps, were not dogged and followed by parties more
or less numerous, whose duties were to lie in wait for and cut off any
imprudent scouts or stragglers from the camp. The officer in command of
the escort should have been aware of this, and should have known that
the fact of a particular neighbourhood or kraal having been searched a
week previously and found deserted afforded no presumption that the
locality would not be full of Kaffirs some days further on.
After the word "Mount" was given by the Prince, a fact which is to most
minds somewhat doubtful, we are told that the volley of musketry was
fired, and that some of the horses broke away, while that of the Prince
became so frightened that he could not be mounted. "One by one the party
galloped past the Prince, who was in vain endeavouring to mount." Where
was the friend and associate of England's guest? Where was the officer
who had specially applied for this sacred and most honourable duty?
Where, we want to know, was the English officer in command of the
"escort"? His place was with his men, not leading them away with their
backs to the paltry handful of Zulus, which, it is now known, were in
the mealies, but holding the ground, and covering the body of his
charge. The captain of a sinking or waterlogged vessel is not the first
man in the boats, leaving passengers and crew to sink without him. His
place is upon his deck, trumpet in hand, and even if death-doomed,
sinking like an Englishman under the shadow of the British flag. Such,
comparatively, was the place and the _devoir_ of the officer in command
of the Prince's escort, and had he devoted one brief half-moment to see
and aid our guest to his saddle he would, even if killed or wounded in
the act, have earned a name in every English and French household more
cherished and lustrous than the star of valour which our Queen gives to
her bravest men.
We now come to the statements of the survivors, and here we are at a
considerable loss to reconcile the accounts. It is distinctly mentioned
by one witness that the abandoned Prince was seen vainly endeavouring to
spring into the saddle by the aid of the holster and the cantle. The
story must be received with considerable reservation, if not utter
mistrust. The Prince, it is well-known, was a most accomplished
horseman, and especially distinguished by his proficiency in all the
arts and minutiæ of the _manége_, and he therefore would be most
unlikely to attempt to mount in the way described. Almost the first
lesson given in the riding-school to a recruit is the one which teaches
the method of mounting the horse. The merest novice in military
equitation must be aware that the first motion with the left hand is to
grasp a lock of the mane, before placing the right hand upon the cantle
of the saddle, or horse's back if not saddled. The Prince was too
well-drilled a cavalier to think of mounting by grasping either the
saddle-flap, holster, or stirrup-leather, either of which would tend to
turn a loosely-girthed saddle round under the horse. If the witnesses
had sufficient time to minutely describe the details of the Prince's
desperate struggle, they undoubtedly had equal time and opportunity to
have drawn rein and assisted him to mount. From all that can be gleaned
of a reliable nature, it would appear that the one exception of devotion
and courage displayed in this otherwise disgraceful affair was exhibited
by the friendly Zulu who was with the party. He it was who first
discovered the proximity of the enemy, and who, not being mounted, might
have had some excuse for trying to save his life by timely flight. But
he stayed loyally and gallantly with his white comrades, and came back
with quiet and deliberate consideration to give warning of the concealed
Zulus. Even then it would appear that he did not attempt to fly, but
fought with his breast to the foe until overcome by numbers. This poor
fellow's body was afterwards discovered not far from that of the Prince,
riddled with wounds, and in a pool of his own and the enemy's blood,
together with a number of his own assegais broken, but reeking with the
gore of his assailants. Doubtless, the first and real great error was
committed by the Prince and his party advancing without the Basutos
detailed to accompany them. Had these native scouts, whose powers of
observation and eyesight so far exceed those of any white man, that no
reconnaissance was considered complete without them, paraded as they had
been ordered to, it is beyond question that they would have detected
the vicinity of the concealed Zulus, and a fearful tragedy would have
been averted.
The sad news thrilled the whole camp. In every tent, and amongst each
group of old and young soldiers around the bivouac fires, the tidings
were discussed during the whole of the evening, and late into the night.
General Newdigate was applied to by General Marshall for permission to
take out a cavalry patrol, during the night, to recover the body of the
ill-fated Prince, but the former thought it would be more prudent to
wait for the daylight. At four a.m., however, two squadrons were paraded
in front of the camp, and, under General Marshall's command, proceeded
in the direction of the plateau three miles above the junction of the
Tombolaka and Ityolyozi rivers--about equidistant between the cavalry
camp at the Incetu Neck and that of Wood at the Munhla hill, and some
twelve miles from either. About eight miles from Incetu the horsemen
came to a bend of the river, and after crossing the spruit, which in the
rainy season helps to fill the Ityolyozi, they came to the base of one
of those flat-topped hills which are so common in this country. With
some considerable difficulty they ascended to the summit of this kop,
from which was obtained a splendid view of the river below as it wound
along the valley, and at the further end fell over a ledge of rock by a
directly perpendicular descent of 150 feet high and fifty feet wide.
Here the water whirled down into the abyss beneath, and seemed to be
carried off in a serpentine form through a deep channel between great
red scarped rocks. In the ascent to the kop several small but
well-built Zulu kraals were passed, and it was noticed that the huts
were very neatly built. The wickerwork was made of wattles, light and
straight, and bent over at regular distances. The kraals were well
plastered and very neatly thatched, while the doors were made rather
small, with the flooring hard and smooth. At the upper end there was a
raised ledge running right across the hut, which served as a cupboard
where all utensils are placed. Firewood was neatly packed inside between
two grass copes which were fastened against the wall. The furniture was
scanty and all of native manufacture, and some large clay pots to hold
native beer were in several of the huts. Looking down over the ground
dividing the lower ground from the higher range, a fine view broke upon
the eye in the foreground. Mount Munhla stood well out of the range upon
the plain like some huge bastion, while behind it endless grassy slopes
filled up the foreground of the picture. The hill ascended was one of
the spots selected by the Prince for his sketches, and here it was that
the party had made their first halt. Here they could be in no danger of
surprise, and well would it have been if the party had chosen an equally
safe position to off-saddle on Sunday. There is no doubt that the
Prince's talent with the pencil and the pen, combined with his
remarkable proficiency in military surveying, while making his services
so valuable to the army, contributed in no inconsiderable manner to the
risks which on several occasions he ran. From this spot, the Prince,
when he had finished his sketches, pointed out to Lieutenant Carey the
kraal at which he had been fired at on a previous occasion. From here
might be seen the Umbazini, about two miles farther on, and the kraal,
consisting of five huts, where the Prince was killed. Vedettes were now
ordered to push along the ridges to right and left, and to signal as
they advanced, while the main body of horsemen, in sections of fours,
were led by the General down the north-eastern side of the krantz. It
was an interesting sight to see the long blue and white line of horsemen
winding like a huge serpent round the sides of the mountain; the
steel-topped bamboo lances and fluttering pennons glistening bravely in
the morning sunlight, while the horses' hoofs, noiseless upon the soft
and elastic veldt, were in harmony with the silence and sad expression
that were maintained in the ranks. From the General and all the officers
to the rear-rank files there was a subdued and solemn determination of
countenance which was far more eloquent in sympathy for their dead
comrade than any words could speak, while might be seen, at the same
time, in every eye and on every lip, a stern resolve of retribution
should opportunity occur. The cry of "English cowards!" so often hurled
at our men at Ekowe, at Zlobani, at Kambula, Ginghilovo, and, above all,
on the fatal Sunday, was rankling in the hearts of our men, as they
longed to find themselves in the presence of a Zulu force. As they rode
cautiously yet speedily down the slopes of the mountain and came nearer
and nearer to the place of blood, low whispers and murmurs in subdued
accents were heard in the ranks, bronzed and bearded faces seemed to
grow more ironlike and hard, weapons were grasped with a tighter clutch,
and every eye scanned and searched the horizon for a hidden enemy. No
trumpet was sounded, but lance signals were employed to tell the
vedettes to close in upon the column as it advanced nearer to the kraal.
Now could be seen the long and luxuriant patches of Tambookie grass and
mealies intermixed which gave shelter to the foe, and whose proximity
was so strangely and unaccountably ignored by the escort of the Prince.
In front, with General Marshall and two other officers of the 17th
Lancers, rode Captain Wyatt-Edgell, their eyes fixed on the donga, where
the massacre--for it is difficult to give it another name--took place.
Would the lifeless remains of one whose bright spirit was part of a
widowed and stricken life, whose pure and Christian nature ennobled the
profession of strife to which his heart was devoted, be left intact by
the savages or mutilated by the instincts of their brutal superstition?
Would the young, calm, and somewhat sad eyes so well remembered by each
be torn or defaced by the vulture, or his still more repugnant rival the
common aasvogel (gyps fulvus), and would that lithe and graceful form
which used to lounge at evening into the homely bell-tent and
interchange camp gossip and pleasant badinage with glad and devoted
comrades--would all these be gone to human sight and ken? Were they to
have the mournful and defeated joy of bearing those poor shorn relics
back even one stage on the way to a broken-hearted mother's hearth; or
had the wild dog and the eagle feasted upon all that once was the pride
and the hope of Imperial Gaul? As they neared the horrible pit, for it
was nothing more, where the boy so well loved by all had given his
spirit to Him who gave it, they were startled and horror-stricken at the
sight of some bearded vultures, hawks, falcons, and secretary-birds,
which mounted on the wing from the long, dank grasses as the advance was
made; and they shuddered at the thought of the ghoul-like banquet of
which they might have partaken. But a deep and impassable kloof had to
be crossed, and although time was of the greatest importance at that
moment, General Marshall was too good a _sabreur_ to hazard the lives of
the living without precaution, in order to recover the relics of the
dead. Consequently, as it was quite possible that the foes might have
discovered how valued was the life which had been so carelessly
squandered, and that a large force might be hidden in other and
neighbouring ambush, the usual simple but most effectual precautions
were taken while the advance was continued. Vedettes were again thrown
out, lance in sling and carbine on thigh. Oh! what a moment of pride for
Drury-Lowe, for Boulderson, for Edgell, for Cooke, or for "Dick" Boyle
(had he been there to see). Every trooper's eye gleamed with excitement,
every thigh pressed the horse's flank, and every heart throbbed with
unspeakable rapture at the thought that a chance might be gained to dash
as an _enfant perdu_ at the Golgotha where the dead friends should be,
even though the living enemies were waiting to wrap and twine them in
their grim embrace. Twelve men were selected to ride to the right, left,
and front, and report. They had orders to dash at once into the bush
should a Zulu appear. To run away in the open before these people is not
only madness, but almost certain death to those whose misfortune it is
to be left behind; but the merest tyro in North American, South African,
or, indeed, any bush warfare, must know that once in the bush the
assailed well armed is more than a match for the antagonist ill armed.
But a ravine yet intervened between them and the scene of slaughter, and
they were compelled to make a somewhat wide détour, during the passage
of which, however, each eye and ear was on the _qui-vive_ to the
slightest rustle of branch or bough.
A group of officers were riding in front; but one topic could be
discussed--a sad and yet a cherished and welcome theme. There is that
peculiar temperament and idiosyncrasy about the soldier, a mixture of
sentiment, poetry, and practical common sense, which makes up a
philosophy all its own, and a measure of life and death, which no man
who holds not his life in the hollow of his palm can pretend to
comprehend. "_Dépêchez-vous, s'il vous plait, monsieur_," rang in every
ear, and seemed to be echoed through the eldritch and ghostlike
solitudes of the greystones and caverns above. The ravens, disturbed at
their approach, screamed as they passed on, while the monkeys, nestling
among the luxuriant clusters of imporotla or peopisi,--fruit whose pods,
three feet long, full of large broad beans, hanging from the branches
like cucumbers or sausages, gave a singular, a cultivated, and almost
civilized aspect to the scene,--seemed as wishing to point out the spot
where the gallant young Prince was slain.
Some Zulus, about one hundred in number, were now seen hiding in bushes
and caves; but they were quickly dislodged by a party of dismounted
Lancers under Adjutant Frith, a smart officer and worthy follower in the
old traditions of his corps. The line then brought its shoulders sharply
round to the left, and covered the five huts forming the kraal, while
the officers in front galloped through the tambookie grass and maize,
and posted vedettes at each angle of the plantation. Taking open order,
General Marshall now advanced and surrounded the donga, and, dismounting
himself, with three other officers, descended the slopes of the worn and
steep shelter that held what once was a bright and gallant spirit.
A small bank of sand, over which the sparse and struggling wild flowers
were striving to blossom and flourish, gave a pillow to the young
Prince, whose body divested of all clothing, and stripped bare save for
a charm or locket round his neck, lay extended, not in writhed
contortion, but graceful as in slumber. The face was composed and almost
smiling, and looked up to the sky towards which the pure and unselfish
spirit had soared. No trace of a violent and bloody death could be seen
on the fair and unwrinkled brow, where the lines of thought, care, and
sorrow, were as yet unploughed. The eyes were open, and seemed to gaze
up with human sympathy, though one was injured by a cruel wound which
gashed the lid and eyebrow. The body was not mutilated, and save for the
eighteen assegai wounds in the chest and front, no desecration of the
clay had been committed. The left arm lay across the chest as if
striving to shield the heart from some cruel thrust, while the right
grasped in deathly rigour a tuft of human hair, which showed in
conclusive evidence that the boy must have had time to close in the last
death-struggle with one at least of his assailants. Beyond this fact,
the ground near where the body lay was trampled and tossed, while here
and there, in the direction towards which the Zulus fled, dark
congealed clots of blood were still to be seen. Hence the conclusion
that the generous and high-souled boy, whom all loved so well, had
preserved, if not his revolver (which probably was left in his holster),
at least his sword, and that, accomplished swordsman as he was, even in
his mortal agony he had been able to sell his life dearly, and strike as
he fell. Hard-hearted and hard-headed troopers, impervious to danger and
to hardships, bowed their heads in sorrow and shame to their horses'
manes, while the fierce light of battle which is to be seen when the
trumpet sounds the "charge" gleamed through the mist of tears, as these
honest fellows looked upon the remains of him whose gashed body seemed
to appeal to them. But the sad duty was but half achieved, and, under
the kind supervision of General Marshall, a soldier's bier was quickly
improvised of 17th lances, covered with cut rushes and mealies laid
above, while a horseman's cloak lay like a shroud to cover the whole.
Tenderly and reverently as soldiers only can lift was the body lifted to
its carriage, and it was carried in relays by loving and respectful
hands back over the long and difficult road to the camp, where, on the
same day, the whole of the division paraded to do honour to the dead.
When the camp was nearly reached a messenger was sent on, and General
Newdigate and his staff came out to meet the sad _cortège_, and when
inside the lines, a gun-carriage was brought, upon which, decently
wrapped in linen clothes and covered with the Union Jack, the remains
were tenderly laid, while the funeral service was impressively performed
by the Rev. Charles Ballard, the Roman Catholic chaplain, Lord
Chelmsford, who was deeply affected, being the chief mourner. The same
evening the corpse was enclosed in a rough deal coffin and conveyed by a
mule waggon to Maritzburg. It was met bare-headed by the
Lieutenant-Governor, the Colonial Secretary, General Sir John Bissett,
and General Clifford, while minute-guns were fired from the fort, and
all the flags were at half-mast. Here again there was an elaborate and
impressive funeral, the coffin being carried by the representatives of
every branch of the service, and followed out of the town by the whole
of the large garrison, the civic authorities, and the Roman Catholic,
Protestant, and Dissenting clergy. At Durban, where the remains arrived
on the 10th inst., the body was received by the Mayor and Corporation.
The streets leading to the Roman Catholic Church were lined by the
garrison, leaning on their arms, reversed, and a requiem mass was
celebrated the same day. The following morning the coffin was received
on board her Majesty's ship "Boadicea," being escorted to the point of
embarkation by the naval and military authorities, while the sad boom of
the minute-guns accompanied the procession. The "Boadicea" then sailed
for Simon's Bay. Arrived there, the relics were transferred to her
Majesty's ship "Orontes," and so conveyed to England. After
identification and lying in state at the Woolwich Arsenal, the body was
conveyed to the Empress's residence at Chiselhurst; there, with all the
pomp and pageantry of full military honours, it was laid in the tomb in
the same chapel, where rest the remains of his loved father, Napoleon
III., Emperor of France. The utmost sympathy was shown for his bereaved
mother by the whole English nation, from highest to lowest. The Queen in
person attended the funeral at Chiselhurst, and amongst the pall-bearers
were the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Connaught,
the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Leopold.
A court-martial was held on Lieutenant Carey, on the charge of having
behaved in an unsoldierlike manner in face of the foe; but the sentence
was kept secret, awaiting its confirmation by the Commander-in-chief in
England. Meanwhile Lieutenant Carey was sent home under arrest. On his
arrival there the proceedings of the court-martial were declared null
and void on account of some technical irregularity, and he was ordered
to resume his duties.[1]
[1] It is untrue that he has since received a high staff appointment.
It was generally understood that the sentence was dismissal from the
service with ignominy, but that it was not confirmed by the special
desire of the Empress, who made a personal request to the Queen that
nothing should be done in the matter.