The Cape and the Kaffirs Part 16

Sir Henry Pottinger left Cape Town on the 10th February, 1847, in the "President" flag-s.h.i.+p, Admiral Dacres, and an address was presented to him on his landing at Algoa Bay, by the inhabitants of Port Elizabeth, to which he replied in a manner that evinced his determination to meet the difficulties before him unflinchingly.

Whilst Sir Henry Pottinger was receiving and replying to the addresses of the inhabitants of Algoa Bay, Sir Peregrine Maitland, his family and suite, were embarking at Cape Town for England. Every demonstration of respect towards the ex-Governor and Lady Sarah Maitland, was displayed by the inhabitants, who pressed forward to offer a kind farewell.

On the 24th of February, the guns from the battery above the Drostdy Barracks announced the arrival of Sir George Berkeley, K.C.B., the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's forces on the South African frontier; and, on the 27th, another salute told of Sir Henry Pottinger's approach to the then immediate seat of Government, Graham's Town.

The registration system has not succeeded. A farmer misses his cattle, sheep, and horses, or his garden is trampled down, or stripped of its produce. He represents the case to the officer of the line, or the Burgher in command of the nearest post, or bivouac. A patrol is ordered; the spoor is traced, and the men enter the thick bush, creeping on their hands and knees. They first come on the ashes of a fire, and the _debris_ of a meal; the eyes of a savage scout gleam through a screen of mimosa thorns, and then disappear; there is a rush through the bush, a Kaffir exclamation of "Ma-wo!" a stray shot or two from the enemy, fired with deadly intent, but unsuccessfully generally, from the very desire to take unerring aim, a volley from the patrol, then a chase to no purpose; for, shortly after, the savages utter a yell of defiance from some distant or impracticable pa.s.s, or more frequently vanish in silence, leaving, perhaps, the traces of blood, the Kaffirs possessing extraordinary vitality, and rivalling, though in a different sense, that celebrated British Corps, the "Die Hards." The deserted bivouac of the enemy is then examined, and the booty that presents itself as a reward of toil and courage, consists of the bones of an ox, the remnant of a roasted goat, or sheep, some trophies from Burn's Hill, in the shape of an artillery powder-bag, part of a leather belt, a few stray a.s.segais, perchance a good hair-trigger gun, some filthy karosses, and a registration ticket or two, setting forth how Cana, or Weni, or Tuti, Number 300, or 3000, etc, had "surrendered himself at Fort Hare, or Fort Peddie, on such a day, 1847," the said surrender, by the way, having been followed up on some occasions by a gift of cattle recaptured by the troops on the very morning perhaps that it was presented to the said Cana, Weni, Tuti, etc, etc.

On the 25th of February, the Grenadiers of the 91st Regiment having been detained many days on the eastern side of the Fish River, in consequence of its being impa.s.sable from its swollen state, the soldiers adopted a peculiar mode of getting the baggage-waggons across this gulf of dark and sluggish waters. Availing themselves of a short period when the drift became navigable, these patient and experienced soldiers took the waggons to pieces, and embarked them piecemeal with their cargoes in the clumsy craft which forms the sole means of conveyance.

The first two years of our sojourn here, the locusts devastated the land. The prophet Joel describes this dreadful visitation as "Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains," "Like the noise of flame of fire that devoureth the stubble," as a "strong people set in battle array;" and any one who has ridden through a cloud of locusts, must admit the description to be as true as it is sublime. On one occasion, at Fort Peddie, the cloud, flickering between us and the missionary station, half a mile distant, dazzled our eyes, and veiled the buildings from our sight; at last it rose, presenting its effects in some acres of barren stubble, which the sun had lit up in all the beauty of bright green a few hours before. Verily, "the heavens" seemed "to tremble,"

and the sky was darkened by this "great army," which pa.s.sed on "every one on his ways," neither "breaking their ranks" nor "thrusting one another." So they swept on, occupying a certain s.p.a.ce between the heavens and the earth, and neither swerving from their path, extending the mighty phalanx, or pausing in the course: the noise of their wings realising the idea of a "flaming blast," and their whole appearance typifying G.o.d's terrible threat of a "besom of destruction."

"They shall walk every one in his path!" Nothing turns them from it.

And, if the traveller endeavour to force his way through them with unwonted rapidity, he is sure to suffer. I have ridden for miles at a sharp gallop through these legions, endeavouring to beat them off with my whip, but all to no purpose! nothing turns them aside, and the poor horses bend down their heads as against an advancing storm, and make their way as best they can, snorting and writhing under the infliction of several sharp blows on the face and eyes, which their riders endeavour to evade with as little success. One draws a long breath after escaping from a charge of locusts, and looking round you, you exclaim with the prophet, "The land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them."

The white ants are another plague--books, dresses, carpets, etc, all fall a prey to their voracity in a few days; the very houses give way before them; and when they are on a march, never swerving from their path, some thousands in number, the earth has the appearance of being covered with ashes. Twice, then, have I seen the land subject to this curse; and in 1846 the droughts proved perhaps a worse misfortune. Here again the prophet's words were applicable: "How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate!"

The rise of the rivers is another of the wonderful sights of Africa. At one moment the bed of the river presents little but a surface of mud; a distant murmur is heard, then a roar; nearer, yet nearer, and a wall of water is visible up the stream. On, on,--not foaming, nor leaping, nor glancing in the bright sun,--like a cheerful, honest, English torrent-- but with a slow sluggish movement, the wall advances, swelling in its career, and gradually filling the great chasm with a dull and sluggish volume of lead-coloured fluid; while the cattle stand trembling and gazing on the brink of this African Styx, their Fingo herdsman making no bad representation of "Charon grim!"

Pato's last message to Colonel Somerset might be admired for its coolness, if the intentions implied in it were serious in all their bearings. His amba.s.sadress, a Kaffir woman, came into Graham's Town lately, to tell Colonel Somerset that Pato desired to meet him [Note 1], and that speedily, as his (the Chief's) tobacco-pouch was worn out, and he only waited for his enemy's skin wherewith to make a new one! There is no doubt that Pato would readily appropriate the said skin of his persevering foe to the purpose required, but as to meeting Colonel Somerset, that is "quite another thing."

Witchcraft is working its mischief in Kaffirland, accompanied with the most revolting ceremonies. After the first affair on the Amatolas, Sandilla presented Umyeki, one of his numerous fathers-in-law, with a trophy of victory. The skull, skin, and right hand of our unfortunate friend, Captain Bambrick, 7th Dragoon Guards, were considered by the young Gaika chief as worthy offerings to this celebrated witch-doctor, or worker of spells. These wizards outrival the chiefs in power, and have hitherto carried on their incantations with a success that baffles both missionary and military exertions.

The wizard, Umyeki, then gathers round him a vast a.s.semblage of his fellow-savages; and, after going through the usual harlequinade attendant on those mysteries of Kaffirland, he exhibits a decoction, a mixture of herbs with Sandilla's trophies, and as this boils and foams over on the fire he has prepared according to form, under it, he dips a stick into it, stirs it up, and then pointing the magic wand in the direction of our outposts, camps, bivouacs, and leaguers, he decrees as he thinks fit, sickness to one, fear to another, and so on; and thus by persuading his deluded and superst.i.tious countrymen that he paralyses the colonial forces, the Kaffirs acquire fresh courage, and persevere in their aggressions. A clever artist has seized on this for a subject, which promises to make a fine picture. The demon look of the wizard, the curiosity depicted in the faces of some of the spectators, the terror of others who turn aside, or shrink away, with faces half-averted, are all well portrayed. Such a scene can only be imagined by people who are accustomed to the study of the Kaffir countenance.

Those who witnessed Sandilla's first offer of _amende_ to the British Government described it as singularly impressive, and were touched with some feelings of compa.s.sion for the restless Gaika. The image presented is a mournful one. Sandilla, at the age of twenty-four, hitherto Lord Paramount of the Amakosas, including Gaikas, I'Slambies, and many smaller tribes, sits moodily on the mountain-ridge, awaiting an answer to the conciliatory message wrung from him by force of the British arms; and, surveying in silence the territory he has forfeited,--lands extending as far as the eye can reach--mountains and deep valleys, green pastures, and sheltering bush--the home of the savage, all threaded by the Tyumie stream--those waters, of which he once vowed "the white man should never drink,"--on its fertile banks, the tents of the English now stand in proud array. The echoes round that vast s.p.a.ce give back the bugle call, the fife's shrill notes, the drum's dull rolling sound, where once was heard the hunter's shout, the jackal's cry, the peevish whine of the wolf, the mocking laugh of the hyena, and but lately the wild whoop of the Gaika warriors. Silently sits that young Chief upon the mountain edge, but not alone--to him, at least, his people are true.

A chieftain's power is absolute, but, alas! it is only applicable to mischievous purposes. His va.s.sals watch him, and a proud sorrow is depicted in their countenances as they gaze on him, turning from time to time their fierce and scowling eyes on the British Commissioner. In strong contrast to this, Sir Peregrine Maitland, with his Staff, rides slowly by--his calm features totally unmoved, as he hands a written decree to his delegate, and pa.s.ses on. With their arms folded, and yet with every nerve on the alert, and hands ready to seize the short destructive a.s.segais at their feet [these are used when compelled to close with the enemy], the warriors of the Amatola, unsubdued in spirit, haughtily await the "word" of the "White-headed Chief of the children of the foam," to which Sandilla vouchsafes no reply. Apart, a young Gaika, Anta (Sandilla's brother), speaks words of bitter scorn. Eye and hand sweep round the glorious territory, and at each pause in his vehement harangue, a low and solemn sound, like the distant roar of many waters, rolls through the circle of his auditors. No notice of what is pa.s.sing is vouchsafed by the Amakosa Chief. At last, drawing his robe of tiger-skin around his withered limb, he moves slowly and, in spite of his lameness, with dignity, from the council-ground, and is lost in the deep recesses of the "bush."

All this, I say, presents a mournful image to the mind, and many a romance has been formed on poorer incidents; but we must remember when we hear the broad a.s.sertion of philanthropists at home, that we are not justified in taking from the Kaffir, "the land of his fathers," that the country is only his by might--no more his than ours, he having driven the aborigines from the dwelling-place G.o.d originally led them into.

Where are these poor Bushmen now? Far up the country, among the steep recesses of the mountains, where they form a link between the animals of the wilderness and human nature. Thither civilisation may follow them when the land of their forefathers shall be under British rule!

It may here be remarked that the Zooluh tribes, near Natal, now punish witchcraft among themselves with death. Umw.a.n.gela, a chief, lately ordered a Zooluh wizard to be destroyed by one of the tribe, named Nomgulu; both the chief and his subject were seized by the British authorities, and tried for murder. Umw.a.n.gela's defence was, "I was dead; I had lost my family by the wizard, and determined to have his life in return." Nomgulu pleaded that he was "only the dog of Umw.a.n.gela; that witchcraft was a crime punishable by death." Umw.a.n.gela and his "dog" were found guilty of murder on the British territory, and sentenced to death; but the sentence was not carried into effect. The witnesses who discovered the prisoners arrested them when returning from bathing, it being the custom of the Zooluhs to wash after an execution.

Part of the 1st battalion 45th Regiment, stationed at Natal, have lately been engaged in hostile operations against a chief named Fodo, who had a.s.sembled his warriors near the Umzunculu River, and carried off a quant.i.ty of cattle, killing some of the peaceable inhabitants of the Ambaca tribe. On the 27th January, the troops, consisting of some Artillery, Cape Corps, and a party of the 45th, in all not three hundred, encamped on the banks of the Umzunculu. They were accompanied by some natives subject to our Government. The country was too rugged for the Artillery rockets to be of much use, and the bush aided Fodo's escape. Some five hundred head of cattle were recaptured from the enemy, and five prisoners were secured. The Lieutenant-Governor has wisely offered a reward for the apprehension of Fodo and his colleague, Nomdabulu.

I have touched on the subject of this skirmish in the district of Natal, because, although that district is under a Lieutenant-Governor of its own, it is closely connected, commercially, politically, and in a domestic way, with these south-western territories, and also because our troops have been engaged there.

As a set-off to such hostilities, there are some hopes that the Dutch will pause [they paused to fight, and be conquered] in their career beyond Natal. A few words about their settlements in that part of Africa will not be irrelevant to my subject, inasmuch as, from the extension of our possessions to Natal, we are fast approaching the line of demarcation they would wish to establish.

About two hundred miles north-west of the Portuguese settlement at Delagoa Bay, a town has arisen, called by the emigrant Boers Orichstadt, after its founder Orich, one of the first who _trekked_ in a spirit of discontent against the English. The natives of the country round Orichstadt are a branch of the Baraputses, but are called by the Dutch _k.n.o.b-neus_, or k.n.o.b-noses, from that feature being tattooed after the fas.h.i.+on of a string of beads. With these natives they have lately made an expedition against some of the Zooluh race, to rescue cattle. This commando lasted one day, and was successful, many Zooluhs being killed, and the cattle taken from them. Throughout South Africa the cry is still "Cattle! Cattle! Cattle!"

A sort of trade in ivory has been established between Orichstadt and Delagoa Bay, but the chief obstacle is the intervening low swampy country, which is so unhealthy that both men and oxen frequently sicken and die on the journey. The natives near the bay navigate the river Maponta in canoes. These are a half-caste race, employed by their masters, the Portuguese, to purchase ivory in the interior.

The fort at the bay is not the residence of the Governor-General of the Portuguese on the east coast of Africa. He resides at Mozambique, and the officer commanding the troops at the fortress has absolute rule over all the natives within the small district, among whom are a few European settlers, living in wretched dwellings near the native huts. The fort is useless as a defence, being built of mud, and the interior is a mere stock-yard for the Lieutenant-Governor, who traffics in ivory with the vessels which touch here. There is also some suspicion of a trade in slaves.

Near Delagoa Bay is a tract of country, called Tembia. Here Captain Owen, R.N., once proposed to occupy a position for watching the slavers on the coast. A mission was also established here, and progressed favourably for two years; but England giving up her right in Tembia to Portugal, the unfortunate natives who had gathered round "the Teacher,"

were soon disposed of to the slavers. The Dutch are also suspected of being connected with this melancholy trade. Let us hope that the future state of their adopted country will be such as to induce them to return to it. The droughts which devastated this part of Africa in 1846, did equal mischief at Orichstadt, and there has been much consequent distress. It is the a.s.surance of this which has arrested the travelling Boers from advancing further to the north-east with their families.

March 24th.--The troops again take the field this day. Pato's message to the Government is conciliatory, based on the usual grounds--a scheme to gain time until the corn is gathered in. The Governor's reply is, that "Pato must surrender himself unconditionally."

Sir Henry Pottinger and his suite have pitched their marquees at Fort Peddie, in the immediate neighbourhood of the I'Slambie tribes. It is possible his Excellency will find more difficulty in dealing with these savages than with His Celestial Majesty the Emperor of China. Active operations are now been carried on under Sir George Berkeley and Colonel Somerset in the I'Slambie country; and, in the mean time, the key to Kaffirland is to be made use of, at last; the Buffalo Mouth is to be opened at once; and, for the present, the haughty spirit of the Gaikas seems at rest.

Note 1. The Kaffir _sobriquet_ for Colonel Somerset implies, in their language, a peculiar species of hawk, famous for its keen sight and its activity.

PART TWO, CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

OPENING OF THE SECOND CAMPAIGN.

The opening of the mouth of the Buffalo river, for the transmission of stores seaward to Kaffirland, will, I trust, prove the usefulness of this key to the seat of war and turmoil. With what breathless eagerness will the first boat be watched careering through the foam, which at times separates, as a veil, the stream from the ocean! Intent as we, poor exiles, are upon every movement that affects the progress of operations, languis.h.i.+ng for home, as well as interested in the welfare of the colony, we gaze earnestly on each convoy of waggons wending its slow, uncertain way up the hill "hard by," on its way to the front. On the 22nd of March, we paused in our evening walk to observe the train of twenty-six waggons, _en route_ for the Buffalo mouth. What an example of African locomotion it presented! Some of these contained ammunition, and it struck me that the nature of their contents might have been concealed rather than manifested by their funereal coverings of black canvas. The foremost in the train suddenly stopped. Had a steam-engine led the van, it would have panted, and puffed, and tugged in vain, along such a pathway. The transport for soldiers' necessaries in this country is so small, that this waggon had been loaded beyond the capabilities of so c.u.mbrous a machine, and it stuck fast; none of the others, therefore, could move along the narrow road. In vain, the driver slashed his long whip,--the echoes only mocked it. In vain, he shouted "Bosjeman!"

"Abeveldt!" "England!" to his oxen; in vain, the Hottentot _forelouper_ screamed, and leaped, and scolded "Ireland" and "Scotland." He might as well have attempted to move those two ancient kingdoms from their foundations, as the oxen named after them: they only tossed their heads at him and their tails at the driver as if in pure scorn. They were weary, and chose to rest! The despairing escort, foreseeing delay, used frantic exertions to push the huge vehicle from behind, and the drivers in the rear took advantage of the blockade to light their pipes and smoke them with their usual imperturbability. The shrill voices of the vrouws, who accompany their husbands on all occasions, to make their coffee, light their fires, and broil their carbonatje, formed a chorus, in very high treble and very low Dutch, to the unmusical medley.

At length, there was at attempt at an advance; but, as the leaders would only move up the face of the hill on one side, or down the slope on the other, very little ground was got over; and, soon after sunset, the opening between the hills was illuminated by the fires of the encampment formed there.

In March the second campaign fairly commenced; Pato was yet unconquered.

Three companies of the 73rd marched from King William's Town for the Buffalo Mouth, and were relieved by the same number of the 45th, from Fort Hare. Colonel Buller, Rifle Brigade, commanded the field-force at King William's Town; Colonel Van der Meulen, the 73rd, at the mouth of the Buffalo, where Lieutenant Jervois, R.E., selected the site, and made preparations for building a military post for 300 men. Colonel Johnstone, 27th Regiment, was appointed Commandant at Fort Hare. The great Chief, Macomo, went wandering about the town at Fort Beaufort in a state of frenzy, from intoxication, having made the canteen his head-quarters. The only wife, out of ten, who clung to him in his fallen fortunes, complained, at last, of the injuries he had inflicted upon her, by blows, as well as with a sharp instrument; and his child, whom he had in some whim named "Magistrate," narrowly escaped the fate of the poor little creature at Fort Hare, which, if not murdered at once by him, died from the effects of his savage treatment.

The intelligence received from the Buffalo Mouth on the 4th of April, was, that Major Smith, 73rd, had been wounded by the enemy in ambush near the camp, when visiting the sentries; and two Burghers and a Fingo shot. There was the usual detail of cattle stolen and recaptured, with casualties on both sides pretty equal, waggons fired at, and a successful chase by Captain Armstrong, Cape Mounted Rifles, after a Kaffir lad, whom he rode down, but who would give no satisfactory information, although he was endeavouring to communicate with some mounted Kaffirs, swimming their horses across the Keiskama. Colonel Somerset, in his dispatch, suggested "the expediency of establis.h.i.+ng a cavalry post on the cast bank of the Keiskama, to intercept marauding parties, who are constantly pa.s.sing out of the Colony with cattle." Sir Henry Pottinger decided on shooting all such captured cattle as could not be removed without enc.u.mbering the troops, or delaying them in their operations.

Colonel Somerset's plan, of dotting the Colony with troops, was the means of protecting it materially from Kaffir thieves. An old Dutch settler's cattle were once driven, by a band of these robbers, right into Commatje's post, on the Fish river; proving that they were hurried or intercepted in their march, or, what is equally probable, that they had come from a distance. One lot of cattle was recaptured in the neighbourhood of Double Drift, another post of the Fish River; the Kaffir thief was first observed reclining under a bush, calmly contemplating his precious booty. Occasionally, we were without milk, in consequence of the milkman's cows having vanished in the night, within three miles of Graham's Town. Such losses, however, not unfrequently occurred from carelessness on the part of the owners, or herds; the cattle straying to the edge of the bush, where there were always Kaffirs lying in wait to "lift" them.

Bathurst, in Lower Albany, may be said to defend itself to its best ability. This pretty settlement has risen and flourished under the patient labour of emigrants, sent thither in 1820, chiefly through the instrumentality of the Duke of Newcastle. The labourer, the mechanic, the unthriving tradesman, the servant without work, may not only find employment, but are absolutely wanted here. The former may plant his three, and sometimes four, crops of potatoes in the year, to say nothing of other produce, and manifold resources of gain and comfort. It is singular that Great Britain, in 1847, suffered from the failure of the crops; the gardens of corn, pumpkin, etc, in Kaffirland, were more than usually productive.

One of the most thriving establishments I have seen is a location called Clumber, five miles from Bathurst, originally established by an emigrant sent hither by the Duke of Newcastle. Here, as in other places, the chapel is built as a place of refuge in case of war; it stands on a green mound, commanding an extensive view, and its position is admirably adapted for the purposes of defence and observation. I am struck with the church, which would be an ornament to any large, well-built English town.

The ride to the Kowie, from Bathurst, is exceedingly pretty, and I shall never forget the by-path to the sands, from the small inn at Port Frances. Such is the name of the scattered village (for it cannot be called a town), rising in the immediate neighbourhood of the little bay, or, more properly speaking, creek. On turning a corner, we entered a shrubbery, thickly planted, by the graceful hand of Nature, with a variety of flowering shrubs and trees. On each side rose tall grey rocks, relieved in shape and colour by the euphorbia, and other stately plants. The velvet turf under our feet was enamelled with flowers of various hues; wreaths of jessamine floated over our paths, and festoons of the wild cuc.u.mber, with its glorious scarlet, but poisonous fruit, hung in graceful garlands, forming natural arches above our heads.

Silently our little party wound its way through these fragrant and beautiful arcades. How grand was Nature in her solitude! undisturbed, save by the occasional trill of some bird, the more valuable because the voices of birds are seldom heard in the magnificent solitudes of South Africa! Amid such fair scenes, I have often regretted the want of water, which always adds life to a picture; but here, on emerging from this green and quiet nook, our horses bounded upon firm sands, with the sea before us, das.h.i.+ng up its vast and glittering volumes of spray and foam in indescribable grandeur.

The house built for Mr c.o.c.k, the enterprising individual who has resolved on establis.h.i.+ng the harbour, gives evidence of great expectations of success, and, should Port Frances ever a.s.sume the character of a moderately thriving town, it will form a charming locality for the settler.

One ordinance of the Lord High Commissioner was important, and doubtless had a great effect on the Kaffirs, especially at the opening of the South African winter. All traffic was forbidden "between her Majesty's subjects (whether residing within or without the boundaries of the Colony) and the different Kaffir tribes who were still in arms, or had been recently so, against Her Majesty's paramount authority and dignity." Instructions to this effect were given to Mr Calderwood, (Commissioner for the Gaika tribes) on the 25th of March, 1847, but "that no persons may plead ignorance of, or want of information with respect to the said notice," Sir Henry Pottinger again announced that "any of her Majesty's subjects who might attempt, under whatever plea or pretence; to evade it, would do so at their peril, and would be held to be in treasonable intercourse with her Majesty's enemies." The withdrawal of the traders from Kaffirland must have worried the enemy considerably. The Kaffir is miserable without tobacco; men, women, and children indulge in smoking to an extraordinary degree; and as the winter advances they will feel the loss more and more. Snuff is another luxury with which they have become fairly infatuated--they will even _eat_ it, frequently swallowing it in the shape of a ball; and the English blanket is now one of the necessaries of life. They carry their love of ornament to such an excess, that they have certain fancies relative to their beads, which have as much sway over the fancies of the sable belles of Kaffirland, as any fiat, or caprice, from the divan of a Parisian modiste, or the penetralia of a Mayfair beauty. One year the leathern bodice of a Tambookie bride is _pa.r.s.emented_ with beads of a dead white; another season, the I'Slambie girls will quarrel for a monopoly of bright blue, and the Gaikas set up an opposition in necklaces of mock garnet and amber. Birmingham b.u.t.tons ornament the skin cloaks of the women of Kaffraria, and bra.s.s bangles, from our manufactories, conceal the symmetry of their arms, which are models for sculpture.

Although our British traders would suffer individually, for a time, by this cessation from their traffic, the most respectable of them acknowledged that they saw the necessity of it, and antic.i.p.ated advantageous results hereafter. The great object of this measure was to prevent, or rather check, the sale of gunpowder. It is by these means that the Kaffirs have been enabled for years to collect it, and it is still to be feared that there are many men among the "pale faces,"

wicked enough to traffic, not only in the articles named above, but in arms and ammunition. Magazines have long been stored with the latter; and as the traveller pa.s.ses through a village of Kaffir huts, he little imagines that two or three of these rude edifices, standing side by side, were unceasingly and jealously watched by as many idle-looking savages, whose listless air well conceals the importance of their real occupation.

Our enemies soon learned that we were determined on tiring them out; that we could not only reduce them to subjection, but leave nothing undone to keep them so. They were made to understand, that we were not merely "fighting for a hatchet!" During the operations of the troops under the command of General (late Colonel) Hare, against the Gaika tribes, the enemy, when beyond the range of our musketry, would call out from the ridges of the hill, "Well, Umlunghi, have you found the hatchet yet?" In January, 1847, a Kaffir woman's body being discovered near the camp at Fort Hare, horribly mutilated, the legs and arms amputated, some of her countrymen stated that, a stolen hatchet having been found in her possession, they had determined to make an example of her, lest an additional cause should arise for the continuance of the war. Had this been legally investigated and proved against the perpetrators of the deed, they would have suffered for the atrocity; but, although the story wanted official confirmation, it was believed by most of those who were in camp at the time.

A long line of posts was immediately planned along the Buffalo River.

The General, Sir George Berkeley, had a narrow escape on the 31st of March, being fired at by the enemy from behind a bush, the ball pa.s.sing at no great distance from him. He was encamped at the mouth of the Buffalo, awaiting the arrival of s.h.i.+ps with stores and provisions. No field operations could take place until the question was decided as to the practicability of landing cargo there; the surf is at times tremendous, but the place is allowed to be equal to Waterloo Bay, if not safer.

In the mean time patrols were scouring the bush in the neighbourhood of Pato's gardens, near the Buffalo; and although shots were occasionally fired into the camps, they were too uncertain to be often effective. As usual, the enemy was scarcely ever seen; he fired from his cover of rocks, and thus, his own loss was concealed. Stock and Nonnebe profess to be friends, and to protect certain pa.s.ses, but Colonel Somerset recommended caution in this respect, as he knew they were not to be trusted.

In dwelling on the necessity of emigration, as a refuge and amelioration for the condition of the Irish especially, I have called to mind circ.u.mstances under which I have known great solicitude expressed by them, when separated from all communication with their priest. The Roman Catholic clergyman who left this, in 1846, was unremitting in his duties towards his flock. Suns.h.i.+ne or storm, Father Murphy and his black horse, each identified with the other, were seen wending their way, at a sharp pace, towards the humble cottages of Irish emigrants, or the hospital, where lay some poor Catholic, who "could not die" until he obtained comfort from his pastor. His successor, the Rev Mr Devereux, is rapidly gaining the esteem and confidence of his people, by his unremitting attention and exertions. It is, indeed, honourable to the colony to witness the readiness with which all unite in the great purpose of forwarding relief to the poor stricken creatures at home.

"April 13th.--News from the Front! Sir Henry Pottinger has received an order from the Home Government to augment the regiment of Cape Mounted Riflemen to twelve companies, thus adding a battalion to that efficient corps.