The Cape and the Kaffirs Part 20

On his Excellency's arrival at Government House, he sent for Sandilla, whom he addressed in severe terms. Sandilla, of course, admitted, in the old style, that he had been in error. On Sir Harry asking him who was now the "Inkosi Enkulu," (Great Chief) of Kaffirland, he, after a pause, in true Kaffir style, and closely observed by his councillors, replied "Kreli." At this Sir Harry broke forth, in terms of great anger. "No!" said the Governor, "I am your paramount chief--I am come to punish you for your misdoings--your treachery--and your obstinate folly. You may approach my foot and kiss it, in token of submission, but not until I see a sincere repentance for the past, will I permit you to touch my hand."

Sandilla was released from confinement by Sir Harry's order.

Chieftains.h.i.+p, in a Kaffir sense, being abolished, and the ex-chiefs being invested with a sort of magisterial influence over their people, checked by British rule, a baton of office was sent to to be placed in the ground before his hut, side by side with the wand always planted there as a symbol of authority. His wand is surmounted by a cow's tail, and marks the chief's residence from the other huts of Kraal. The baton given by Sir Harry is a stick, with a bra.s.s k.n.o.b at the top of it. A proclamation, dated the 17th of December, 1847, announced the Keiskama as the boundary of the Colony. The advantages of such a line of demarcation, I have before alluded to.

At noon, on the 20th, his Excellency was in the saddle, _en route_ for King William's Town, _via_ Fort Hare and Post Victoria. He was accompanied by the heads of departments in general, and by his staff.

At Fort Hare, the party was entertained at dinner by the officers of the 45th Regiment, and next day, proceeding to King William's Town, breakfasted on the road in the Tyumie valley. At King William's Town, Sir Harry had appointed a meeting of the Chiefs of Kaffirland, desiring them to obey him, or abide the consequences. They knew him too well to hesitate.

In the mean time, Pato, hearing that Colonel Somerset was again on the track in search of him, grew frightened; and, as this officer was _en route_ with his force, the rebel savage sent his councillors, with an offer of five thousand head of cattle, and a promise of surrender, if his life might be spared.

It was on Sunday, the 19th of December, while Sir Harry Smith was yet in Graham's Town, that the work of Colonel Somerset was, so to speak, brought to a close by the surrender of Pato.

While moving with his forces towards the Kei, and debating where he should "off-saddle" and bivouac, for a short refreshment, Colonel Somerset observed two Kaffirs riding at a rapid gallop towards him.

These were two of Pato's councillors, who looked tired and frightened beyond description, but they rode direct for Colonel Somerset; and, as soon as one of them could get breath, he spoke. He had been sent by his chief, he said, to make terms of surrender. "The tribe was broken up.

Pato was hunted down, and could hold out no longer." Colonel Somerset asked what guarantee he should have that Pato would keep his word: a word which had been broken so often? "I am Pato's mouth," said the messenger; "I speak his word, and _now_ it is true. I have been told to ride and find Somerset, or _die_."

Colonel Somerset refused to give any promise until Pato came forward personally, and surrendered at discretion. With this answer, the councillors departed. Old Cobus Congo, Pato's brother, next made his appearance, and Colonel Somerset's peremptory command to have the arms given up was followed by the approach of Kaffirs in all directions, hurrying down the hills, and emerging from the apparently uninhabited kloofs, with guns and a.s.segais. The eminences, which had appeared untenanted by man, were now dotted with these wretched creatures; the silent krantzes gave up the warriors long concealed therein; and, two days afterwards, Pato, with twelve councillors, all haggard, dirty, and trembling with terror, approached the bivouac, and, in a state of the most abject misery, the treacherous savage surrendered himself. He had been "hunted from rock to rock," he said, "for three months: he was no longer a man, but a baboon, for he had been dwelling among the monkeys; he had concealed himself where no cavalry could come, but the dreaded name of Somerset had stirred him from his hiding-place, and he now implored to be taken out of the bush." He spoke of the miseries to which he and his people had been subjected; at times, they had not been able to kill an ox for food, and some of his followers had been compelled to eat their s.h.i.+elds. (This was no more than our allies, the Fingoes, were frequently obliged to do.)

All his professions were in a tone of the deepest humility. In short, he had been hunted like a dog, as he deserved, and he was ready to submit to anything to be allowed to have the mountains near the Amapondas, and to "sit still," at least, for a season.

Colonel Somerset was, of course, perfectly aware of the motives which directed this pacific movement on the part of Pato, who was quite ready to submit to any terms for the present. Cattle were demanded. Pato promised _five thousand head down_. More arms were asked for; the ease with which many guns and a.s.segais had already been produced, was sufficient guarantee for the future. Colonel Somerset, however, held no responsible position as a diplomatist; during the whole war he had only been the fighting-man in Kaffirland. So, having beaten Sandilla, Pato, Umhala, Souto, Stock, etc, etc, and their tribes, he was to submit the rebel and his propositions to Sir Harry Smith, and his Excellency was to meet the Chiefs at King William's Town, and hold a parley there on the 23rd of December, preparatory to the great meeting on the 7th January, 1848. This last a.s.sembly was fixed on that day as the anniversary of a solemn convocation of the kind, held on the 7th January, 1836.

The present Governor has, as Umhala would say, "ears that hear," and "eyes that see," and will not abuse or neglect the confidence reposed in him by the colonists. His Excellency's decisive replies to the Chiefs when he met them at King William's Town, and the clearness with which he impressed on their minds that they held their present position only by right of active allegiance on their parts towards the British Government, were the best guarantees of the manner in which he would carry _out_ the plans as yet only in abeyance. "I am the Inkosi Enkulu (the Great Chief) of Kaffirland," said he. "From me, as the representative of the Queen of England, you hold your lands. My word shall be your law, and whoso shall disobey it, him will I sweep from the land!"

Now, one great secret of Sir Harry Smith's rule is, that the _Kafirs know he will execute what he threatens_. They are sure he will _keep his word_. As Pato knew Colonel Somerset would never rest till he found him and hunted him and his people down, so Gaikas and I'Slambies, Tambookies and Zooluhs, feel that Sir Harry Smith, too, will be "up and doing" among them, if they fail in their promises.

When Sir Benjamin D'Urban resigned the Government, in 1836, he took up his residence near Cape Town, and there, for ten long years, he sorrowfully abided the result of the system which had been introduced by his opponents. His friends thought that he ought to proceed to England, and there expose the mischiefs that were gathering round the Colony; but he "bided his time," and it was not until the events of the war had proved the soundness of his former arguments, and that he had truly described the Kaffirs as "irreclaimable savages," that he repaired to the Colonial Office in London. His statements had now their due weight, and the offices of Governor and Commander-in-Chief were again united in the person of Sir Harry Smith, whose opportune arrival in England from India was hailed with joy by the very party that had, in 1836, discarded the opinions and overthrown the policy of Sir Benjamin D'Urban and Sir Harry himself. His appointment to the Government of the Cape soon followed his triumphant reception at home as the hero of our Indian successes.

PART TWO, CHAPTER TWENTY.

CONCLUSION.

Enthusiastic as his English welcome had been on his return from India, his Excellency's _entree_ into Graham's Town, escorted by at least five hundred friends, independently of all military attendance, must have been deeply gratifying to him. How much more so must have been his sensations on the morning of the 23rd of December, 1647, when he galloped into the centre of the square formed by the garrison drawn up to receive him, "at the old place of meeting"--King William's Town! The band of the Rifle Brigade received him with the National Anthem, and the cheers of the mult.i.tude formed a n.o.ble chorus; but, as the General rode down the line, the troops, presenting arms, the air changed to "See the Conquering Hero comes!" Shouts rose from the concourse, consisting of the military, the colonists, Kaffirs, Fingoes, and others of many different grades and denominations.

When these had subsided, Sir Harry Smith addressed the troops. His Excellency complimented Colonel Buller, of the Rifle Brigade, on the command of such a body of men, calling the attention of the latter to their advantage in having such a Commander; and having noticed "that bravery and endurance which they had displayed during the long and hara.s.sing warfare through which they had struggled," he beckoned Colonel Somerset to his side, and thus addressed him:--

"To you, Colonel Somerset, we are mainly indebted for the satisfactory close of this severe contest. You have been in the field throughout, and have exhibited equal courage, patience, perseverance, and ability in the discharge of the severe duties which have devolved upon you. To an officer so nearly of my own rank, it is not for _me_ to return my thanks. But I thank you in the name of Her Majesty the Queen, for your efficient services in this command; I thank you in the name of the eminently ill.u.s.trious and immortal Duke of Wellington, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, for the manner in which you have prosecuted this war until you have brought it to a final issue."

The scene at King William's Town, at this period, was very imposing: the Kaffirs, in number at least two thousand, all unarmed, formed a semicircle of perhaps eight deep; in front of this semicircle stood the Chiefs, facing the General, Colonels Somerset, Buller, and Mackinnon, and Mr Shepstone, the Interpreter. In the rear of the latter were the troops, consisting of the Rifle Brigade, part of the 7th Dragoon Guards, and 73rd Regiment. His Excellency scanned the a.s.sembly before him with a searching look; and, as his eye rested on the line of Chiefs, he missed Sutu, and her son Sandilla, in a moment. Punctual himself, he was naturally angry at their absence, and demanded where they were?

Mother and son had retired from the great crowd to a little drift in a hollow. They were sent for, and obeyed the summons. The dense semicircular ma.s.s opened in the centre, and the lame Chief and Sutu entered the area. Some Kaffirs were disposed for a moment to press inward; but a low murmur went round, and those in front seated themselves the moment the young Gaika and his mother took their places at the head of the line of Chiefs. There was then a silence among the mult.i.tude, and the Governor addressed them, every word he uttered being carefully translated by Mr Shepstone.

Previously to his Excellency's address, two large staves were brought forward, one was surmounted by a bra.s.s k.n.o.b, the other was a Serjeant's halbert. These Sir Harry Smith planted on each side of him as symbols of peace and war.

He opened his speech with bitter reproaches against the Kaffirs for their treachery and violence, upbraiding them for their faithlessness while he scorned them for their folly.

He told them the Queen of England had sent him to Africa to put a stop to their violence, and to organise the country over which they had so ruthlessly stalked as destroyers. Pointing to the staves, he called on them to advance, and to take their choice of peace or war. It mattered not to him, they might fight, but he _would_ conquer them: he _would_ be Chief. They had seen already how the troops of England could hara.s.s them; the grasp and vengeance of England could never be eluded. "You, Sutu," said his Excellency, "I call upon you to come forward, and make your choice, by touching one staff or the other."

Sutu advanced, and, placing her hand on the staff of peace, her example was followed by all the rest in succession. As Stock approached, his Excellency exclaimed, "Stock, son of Eno! is not your sleep disturbed by evil spirits, as a punishment for the contempt with which you treated your father's last words?--And for you, Pato, Colonel Somerset has taken you out of the bush this time: you may thank him for your life; had I been there, you should have lost your head." [Note 1.]

Pato's appearance was miserable. He more resembled a Hottentot than a Kaffir, being of the Gona tribe, which is a mixture of both races. An old handkerchief was wound round his head, and his shrunken limbs were enveloped in a dirty blanket. Several times during Sir Harry Smith's address, those peculiar murmurs of wonder, approbation, and a.s.sent, which I have elsewhere compared to the waves of a great ocean, rising and falling in the distance, went through the mighty circle. As the Governor took care to remind them occasionally that Chieftains.h.i.+p, in their sense of the term, was abolished, and declared, from that moment, _he_ was the Great _Inkosi Enkulu_, and the representative of the Queen of England, an irrepressible groan burst forth from the Kaffirs; but none attempted to reply; all seemed paralysed by fear. Not even an a.s.segai was to be seen in their hands--a most unusual circ.u.mstance among these savage tribes.

At the close of his stern address to the a.s.sembled Kaffirs, his Excellency read the Proclamation defining the conditions on which British Kaffraria is to be occupied for the future. Colonel Mackinnon was appointed to the command of the district. While reading this, he paused at several pa.s.sages, giving the Chiefs an opportunity of ascertaining the exact meaning of what they heard; as he uttered the word "conquered," in reference to the territory, his manner and tone were such as could not be misunderstood.

The Chiefs, declaring it was "good," were ordered to advance separately, and to touch the staff of Peace or War, as pleased them best. There was no hesitation in deciding: the voice of Young Kaffirland had been silenced, and the Chiefs stepped forward one by one, kissing Sir Harry Smith's foot as he sat on horseback, in token of their repentance for the past, and as a guarantee for future submission.

Not one of them approached the new Inkosi Enkulu, without eliciting some severe remarks. Threats were not spared, accompanied by significant gestures. "He would teach them," he said, "who should henceforth be their masters; and, if they failed to obey _his Word_, he would sweep the disobedient from the land." In short, he gave them to understand, in plain English, that they were a set of unworthy miscreants, who had forfeited all claim to indulgence; but who, upon a promise of future good behaviour, were to be mercifully tried once more, _but not to be trusted_. No! Sir Harry Smith knew them too well for that!

Words like these, from his lips, carried with them more weight than all the written doc.u.ments the Colonial Office could send forth. As the Chiefs retired to their position, his Excellency, having possessed himself of a piece of paper for the purpose, held it up to the mult.i.tude as emblematic of the former Treaties; and, tearing it to pieces, scattered it to the winds, exclaiming with his accustomed energy, "There go the Treaties!" He next seized the staff of war, and, poising it for a few moments, cast it to the ground with great vehemence. "Behold,"

said he, "the end of war! And now, three cheers for Peace!" Lifting his hat, he bade those beside him follow his example. The loud hurrahs ascended to the sky, sending their echoes along the banks of the Buffalo River. All united in the acclamations which the occasion called forth.

From soldiers, spectators, and Kaffirs arose one simultaneous shout, and from kloof to kloof, from plain to plain, resounded the cheers which proclaimed "Peace on earth, and good will towards men!" two days before the great festival of Christmas.

On the evening of the 23rd, some of the chiefs being offered coffee in an officer's tent, old Botman was heard making sundry remarks on the occurrences of the day. On being asked what he thought of the Governor's address, he replied, "The day was stormy--the wind blew very strong." But there was no gaining from him his real opinion as to past circ.u.mstances, or future arrangements.

It is the custom of the Kaffirs to a.s.semble after any great gathering, whether of peace or war, a wedding or a witchcraft scene. Those who have not been present are always desirous of hearing "the news." When Sir Harry Smith was in Kaffirland in 1836 he had occasion to summon the Chiefs to a meeting, when he reproached them severely for sundry aggressions. On their dismissal, they repaired to the Kraal, where several members of each tribe awaited their return with the eager question, "What news?" "There was a storm," said one, "Much thunder!"

"But," asked another, "was it followed by refres.h.i.+ng rain?" "Oh! yes, when the thunder ceased there fell some cooling and pleasant showers;"

alluding to food and gifts.

One secret of Sir Harry Smith's success is, that he does not suffer the Kaffirs to parley with him. He looks upon them now as unworthy to be listened to, and they feel this; they make no attempt to reply. As for reasoning with them, it were but lost time; they are the cleverest logicians in the world, and have always an answer more suitable to their own purpose than we could possibly antic.i.p.ate.

Umhala was once told he could not be permitted to marry a Christian Kaffir girl, as he had eleven wives already. After repeated messages and munificent offers of cattle, etc, on his part he pressed his suit by saying, "his wives knew not the white man's G.o.d; he desired to have a Christian wife, that she might teach him!" He did not succeed, however, with the lady. "We know," said a Kaffir to a missionary, "that what you tell us is for our good. We feel it must be so, because you bid us be kind to one another, and to be neither thieves nor liars. You bid our children be dutiful, our wives obedient, our neighbours peaceful; but when you tell us to abide with our old wives, and take no more young ones, then the teacher's words are no longer good, and our ears are deaf to them."

A Kaffir prisoner, having been six months in the Graham's Town gaol, was tried at the a.s.sizes in April, 1847, and acquitted of the crime of which he had been accused. Before leaving the box, he was observed speaking to one of the officers of the court. "What is he saying?" asked the Judge. "He wishes to know," replied the functionary, "why he has been so long in prison, and afterwards brought here, as he has committed no crime."

The Keiskama River was proclaimed the immediate boundary of the Colony; and between this and the Kei lies what "shall be called and known as British Kaffiraria," to be held by the Kaffirs "under such rules and regulations as Her Majesty's High Commissioner, or other Representative, who shall be the Great Chief of the whole of the said territory, shall deem best calculated to promote the civilisation, conversion to Christianity, and general enlightenment of the benighted beings subject to her rule."

In order "to define and fix a certain line of boundary, that no dispute or disaffection might hereafter arise among the people on a question of right or occupation," the lands appropriated to the different chiefs of their tribes received English names. The "Great Place" of Sandilla is now called York; the country allotted to the Amabala people, under Stock, Lincolns.h.i.+re. The location of the Amagunuquebes, under Palo, son of Gasella, is named Bedfords.h.i.+re; and Umhala's district, with the I'Slambies, Cambridges.h.i.+re; another portion of the I'Slambies, under Tois, are settled "within the limits of the county of Suss.e.x." Tois's own place is to be called Goodwood. The Tambookies, under Umtikaka [Note 2.] and Mapa.s.sa, are to be located to the north of Yorks.h.i.+re and Suss.e.x; and the various villages which are to be established within the limits of British Kaffiraria have yet to be defined.

The subst.i.tution of English names for the ancient and poetic denominations by which the Kaffirs have hitherto distinguished their abodes, is a necessary measure; but who can reconcile himself, at this juncture, to London at the mouth of the Buffalo River, on the borders of Kaffirland; York some forty miles distant, lying among the Amatola Mountains; Cambridge near Fort Waterloo, (late Waterloo Bay,) and so forth?

The 7th of January brought together another a.s.semblage, from all parts of the frontier, at King William's Town. The absence of Lady Smith, who had been present on that spot in 1836, was regretted by all who remembered her. Old Sutu presented herself at Fort c.o.x, when _en route_ for the Buffalo, and begged some intelligence of "her mother." His Excellency's movements had been too rapid and fatiguing to permit of a lady's accompanying him, and Lady Smith remained at Cape Town during the absence of her gallant husband.

At half-past nine in the morning the Rifle Brigade were under arms, awaiting the arrival of His Excellency. The Kaffirs lingered about the camp, talking in groups, and finally dropping into the semicircle, in front of which, as before, the Chiefs and great men stood. There were about two thousand a.s.sembled by the time Sir Harry rode up, and Pato, having desired the tribes to greet the Governor as a great Chief, the usual cheers arose from the throng as, dressed in the uniform of the Rifle Brigade, and wearing the star of the Order of the Bath, the hero of Aliwal made his entrance, surrounded by his staff.

The opening of the Governor's address was well suited to the occasion, and to the character of his auditors. "My children, G.o.d, you see, blesses this occasion: your gardens were dry, and burnt up, and He, last night, sent you a copious rain."

A prayer was read, in the Kaffir language, by the Reverend Mr Dugmore, a missionary, and, at the conclusion of this, Sir Harry Smith continued his address to the mult.i.tude.

Nothing could be clearer than Sir Harry Smith's explanation of affairs to the wretched people now at his feet. He pointed out the line of demarcation between the colony and "British Kaffraria," and again between that and the Amapondas, reminding them that henceforth there would be no more treaties; the Kaffirs were British subjects, holding the lands forfeited by their late aggressions only on condition of good behaviour. That at the great meeting, eleven years ago, he had advised them to be industrious and honest. "I left you," said he, "learning to be English. Look upon yourselves now, and then see the miserable wretches war has made you! Where are the large herds of cattle of which I left you in possession? _Fools_!" and Sir Harry advancing within a pace or two of the Kaffirs, struck the ground vehemently with the staff of peace... "The great Queen of England has sent me back to you to show you that she has not thrown you away, if you still desire to be her children. _Did I ever tell you a lie_?" ... "Hear! I am your Inkosi Enkulu--no Kreli, no Sandilla, no Macomo... But I shall keep every chief at the head of his own tribe, and I will make English and good men of you. Now, you great chiefs, come forward, and touch my staff of office; the staff of war I have thrown away."

The following oath of obedience was then administered, the Kaffirs holding the staff of peace with one hand, while two fingers of the other were lifted up, according to the custom of these people.

"Know you _this_, our own Inkosi Enkulu, representative of our great Queen of England, that I (here each chief repeated his name) will be faithful and true unto you, or whomsoever Her Majesty pleases to place over us, and faith to you bear for the lands which I hope to hold of you--and that I will lawfully do to you the customs and services which I ought to do in the terms a.s.signed, viz..." The terms pointed out to them by his Excellency were then agreed to. These were, to obey the laws established by him; to abolish and "disbelieve" (?) in witchcraft; to protect their people, and encourage them to honesty; to hold the lands conditionally; to acknowledge no Chief but the representative of the Queen of England; to cease from buying wives; to listen to the missionaries, and send the children of the tribes to their schools; and, on the anniversary of the 7th of January, to bring each a fat ox to King William's Town, in testimony of acknowledgment of the footing on which the land was held.

This ceremony over, Sandilla offered his "great thanks," professing, in the usual strain, to be "under the Governor's feet," and abjuring all idea of chieftains.h.i.+p in his own person, except as it was reflected in him by the "White Inkosi Enkulu." He then added, "Your children now beg for more land, as they are very much crowded."

His Excellency remarked that there was plenty of land towards the Kei, but Sandilla answered "He did not know that country; he was not brought up there." "Nor," said Sir Harry, "were you brought up in the Colony, into which you so lately found your way." Sandilla "wished to protect both sides of the drifts!" "The soldiers will do that," was his Excellency's answer. Umhala spoke his thanks, which had as much meaning in them as Sandilla's, but Pato's were very characteristic of his nation. "I thank you as a great chief," said he; "to-day you have taken me from among the monkeys [Note 3]; to-day I may sit in the sun--I could live under you before--to-day I can sit outside. There is the Chief; (Sandilla); where we churn we take our b.u.t.ter; speak to him, that we may listen to his word."