The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-08-16 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

THE ZULU WAR.

Writing from Head• Quarters Camp, Drift on 'limy&lost
River, under date July 22, the correspondent of The Times
says :

" Latest intelligence confirms the news that the,
retreat of our forces from Ulundi has restored confi-
dence to Cetywayo, who believes and encourages the
belief that enormous losses and alarm compelled our
return. It is reported that Ibibene, a powerful chief
ith a following of 3,000 or 4,000 men, is with the
King in the Ngome forest. Diplomacy may shake his
allegiance, but negotiations are impeded by a belief
among friendly natives that our messengers would be
killed as spier. This revival of spirit in the north
requires the return of our forces to the advanced
position.
"Yesterday the coast chiefs assembled here to
formally tender submission. Sir Garnet Wolseley
told them that though, in accordance with their own
customs, we might now, as conquerors, take their
land, we would not touch it; that all their property
would be divided into four or five territories, ruled
over by independent Zulu chiefs; that bloodshedding
without trial must cease, the military system be
abolished, and marriage be allowed; that Cetywayo
should never rule again • that under these conditions
all Zululand was for the Zulu people, and the great
Queen would not recognize any sale or gift of land to
white men. The chiefs expressed great satisfaction,
and on leaving saluted Sir Garnet with the Royal
salute, signifying the transference of their allegiance
Under date Durban, July 22, a correspondent of The Times
says:—

"The prospect grows more peaceful. We hear this
morning from Port Durnford that Cetywayo has sent
to know what terms will be granted if he surrenders.
Sir Garnet Wolseley's answer is not known. A fear
prevails that he may be disposed to favour too lenient
a policy. This fear is based upon the extreme
moderation with which the Zulus are being treated,
being allowed to keep their cattle, to receive presents.
and to be paid 20s. monthly when engaged in working
for us, The Zulus, like other natives, regard the loss
of cattle as the chief token of defeat; and as corn.
paratively few cattle have been captured since
Landlana it is doubtful whether the balance of loss is
not largely on our side. However this may be, the
Zulus are submitting on all sides."

A number of chiefs have surrendered to Sir Garnet
Wolseley, and Dabulamanzo, the King's General, and
the supposed leader at Isandula, gave himself up at
Fort Pearson on the 11th, and was immediately sent
to Sir Garnet Wolseley at Port Durnford. Amongst
the chiefs whe have surrendered are Umlandela, who
married a sister of Pandas, and has a following of about
2000; Somkela, first cousin of the King, a younger
man and considered a very important one ; and
Oicwelecwele, who is the commander of a regiment of
young men called Mkobamakovi, who number six
thousand.

The total number of killed and wounded on the side
of the British at Ulundi was 118. Lieutenant Pardoe,
of the 13th, has since died of wounds received in
action. The average number of rounds per man fired
by the infantry during the action was a fraction over
five, or one less than the expenditure of ammunition
at Ginghilova. •

The Daily News of Monday published letters from its
Special Correspondent with General Wood's column. The
following is an extract from one of the letters, dated June
28th

Colonel Buller to•day pushed a reconnaisance near
to the Umvoloosi, and there met some Zulus driving
before them a batch of cattle. On approaching them
it was found that the party comprised the four
emissaries who came into us at Fort Newdigate, one of
whom bore in a cleft stick a letter. Several naked
Zulus drove a number of oxen before them. Buller
took the letter, and read its contents. It was
enclosed in the envelope addressed to Cetewayo
in which the message from Fort Newdigate had
been enclosed. Prefixed were the words, "To
Lord Chelmsford Esq." The envelope, of course,
was open and broken. Two men walked by the
emissaries bearing a huge elephant's tusk, and another
bore a smaller tusk. I rode out to meet the party as
they approached the camp. Such an embassy; a
drove of cattle; a couple of bones; and half.a.dozen
naked black men! It made one proud that he pays
taxes for the enjoyment of such an elevated spectacle.
The letter contained in the second•hand envelope
was written in pencil by a sick English trader,
who it appears has been at Ulundi all this time.
The following is its tenor. The Sing returns some
cattle taken at Isandhlwana as a sign of his desire
for peace. More cattle were on the way, but many
had died of lung sickness. The two seven•poundere
taken he is sending in also. He has never received
from their holders any rifles taken during the war, so
cannot restore any. You have already the terms on
which it was intimated that Lord Chelmsford would
grant an armstiee, except the stipulation that a
regiment should come and lay down its arms. The
soldiers marked the tattered condition of the convoy as
It came in.

The Daily News of Tuesday, published a letter,
dated Kwamagwasi Camp, July 12, from its Special
Correspondent with the troops in Zululand, describing
the military movements subsequent to the battle of
Ulundi. We make the following extracts : _ _

"The British soldier is proverbially cheerful in cold
and wet, so, in spite of shivering picquets and soaking
fatigues, one heard many stories of the battle—how a bullet
bad struck in one man's pouch, flattened against the bayonet
of another, or passed through the helmet of a third. In fact,
owing to our square formation offering suc.th a haystack for
the enemy to tire at, the number of shaves and grazes is
not to be wondered at. A Basuto was heard to say, "White
man make laager of flesh. Basuto want to go out and kill
Zulu. White man say, 'Wait a bit, Johnny. Come in, bring
pony in.' Johnny sit down, eat biscuit. Soon Zulu run
away. Then Johnny kill plenty Zulu.". . . .
On the 10th cf July the two columns separated, Major-
General Newdigate and the second division going towards
Fort Marshall, the flying column with two companies of the
94th Regiment and two nine-pounders striking southwards
towards Kwamagwasa. The whole of the wounded went on
with the second division, Lord Chelmsford and staff accom-
panying the flying column. Kwamagwasa was reached on
the 11th July. It was ready refreshing to rest our eyes on
the one spot in our march through &Inland which bears
traces of the hand of civilisation. Plantations of limes,
acacias, several sorts of fir and fruit trees surround the
remants of the church, school, and a few scattered dwel-
ling-houses. Paths run through the plantations from
these houses to the church. Roses, laburnums, mari-
golds, and many flowering shrubs border the paths,
and larger timber flourishes both in the planta-
tion on the spurs, and in the grassy kloofs of the
surrounding hills. Twenty years ago the place was
as bare as the surrounding country, so the present beauty
bears ample testimony to the capabilities of Zululand, as well
as to the toying care of Bishop Wilkinsoa and the Rev. Mr.
Robertson, the founders of the mission station. The people
wished to spare the buildings, and it was not until we had
used the church and buildings of Ekowe as fortifications that
Cetewayo ordered the Kwamagwasa Mission Station to be de-
stroyed. The bellin its wooden belfry alone standsintact, all
the buildings being completely demolished. Soon after we had
pitched camp, it was reported to the Brigadier that the body
of a Lancer had been found about half a mile off. General
Wood, accompanied by his aide.de-camp and Dr. Glanville,
at once rode to the place, where almost immediately they
found the body of Lteutenaut Scott Douglas, Twenty-first
Royal Scotch Fusiliers, who bad been missing since the Ist
July. The poor young fellow was attached to the signalling
party left behind at Entonyaneni. He had a messsge from
Lord Chelmsford to despatch by heliograph. On the Ist July,
owing to the mist, he could not do so, but taking a corporal
of Lancers with him, he rode off with the message to Fort
Evelyn, which he reached the same afternoon. On his re-
turn he must have mistaken the track to Kwamagwssa for
the road to Entonyaneni, and so lost his way. The bodies
were both buried, the service over Lieutenant Scott Douglas
being read by the Rev. Mr. Coax, the Rosman Catholic chap-
lain, Father Bawdrey, reading the service over the corporal
of Lancers. They were both killed by assegais. The
carporal bad evidently fought dearly for life, as his hands
were cut, he was covered with wounds, and his teeth tightly
clenched,

The correspondent of The Standard writes "Major
General Crealeck, accompanied by Colonel Reilly, R.A., and
John Dunn, went to inspect the natives who had just arrived
from Fort Napoleon. Major General Crealock told them
through John Dunn that he was glad to see that they had
followed the good counsel given to them by John Dunn,
that, they having surrendered, their cattle would not be cap-
tured, and they were at liberty to retire to their own
kraals, or. if they were afraid of Cetywayo, that he would
give them a pass into Natal, and that they might live under
the protection of John Dann, who they knew was a good
chief. Re further stated that they need not fear to enter
Natal, as there were plenty of Zulus there; that if they were
found armed they would be shot; that ships full of white
men were anchored close by, and more were coming every
week ; that Ulundi was in the hands of Lord Chelmsford;
and, lastly, he advised them to go and tell their friends to
follow their example, and thus save their cattle from being for-
feited; for if he was obliged to hunt them up assuredly their
cattle would be taken from them, as was the case when the
tribe across the Urolalaas tried to drive their cattle off.
The Zulus, who seemed cheerful and happy, listened atten-
tively, and when John Dann told them that the General
said he was a good chief, the Zulus muttered ap-
proval In their peculiar way. The married men, who
wear their hair in a thick band round their head, sat
In a circle, behind them came the young warriors, a little
distance oft all the young boys were nuddled together,
and rearmost of all a dense mass of women and young
children. About two hundred and fifty men, amongst whom
were compaiatiyely few fighting men, surrendered—all their
arms had been taken away from them—and only a few carry-
ing roughly-cut sticks. John Dunn seems to be held in high
estimation among the Zulus, as they relied upon his word
that they would be well treated if they surrendered their
arms to the English."

The Correspondent of The Times writes :—" The announce-
ment that Cetywayo could never azain be King in Zululand
was received with evident satisfaction. The answering
acclaim, that they wished for John Dunn as King, suggests a
difficult and pregnant question. John Dunn was undoubtedly
before the war a chief in Zululand, and a chief who, from his
force of character, his knowledge, his education, and his
great influence with the King and with the nation, ranked
second only to the King himself. If the territory
of Zululand Is to be parcelled out in principalities among
three or four or five chiefs of influence and of a peaceable
or friendly disposition, there can be no doubt that Mr. John
Dunn, had he been a Zulu by birth and not an Englishman.
would have received the first consideration in such an ar-
rangement. The question now is whether his nationality
impairs his position. I believe reflection will show that it
not only do.s not impair it, but fortifies it. Mr.
Dunn, though he has lived from youth among the
Zulus, though he speaks the Zulu tongue and knows the
Zulu people as well as they do themselves, is an Englishman in
birth and in education, and, above all, in the knowledge of
the irresistible power of English civilization and English
government in contact with savage life. No one meeting
Mr. Dunn in London would know him for anything but an
insular Englishman. Ills speech, his dress, his manners,
reveal no signs of a life led in the wilderness. It is very
possible that such a character in such a set of circumstances
may prove a valuable instrument for the fusion of the
savagery we are concerned with into a softer mould, and for
the sure reconciliation of the Zulu people in lasting friend-
ship with their English conquerors and neighbours."

Lord Chelmsford and Sir Garnet Wolseley met at St. Paul's
on July 18. The former resumed his journey to Durban the
next day, and arrived there on the evening of July 20. He
was met at the station by a large crowd, who escorted him to
the hotel, where an address was presented to him by the
mayor. His lordship made a brief reply, thanking them for
their unexpected reception. He expects to leave Durban for
England (yid Cape Town) very shortly.

Sir Garnet Wolin)ley, had an interview with a number of
chiefs at St. Paul's on the 17th, when he informed them that
Cetywayo must no longer be considered King, and that the
country would be governed by the British. In reply to their
objection to give up their arms, he said they would bt, pro-
tected from Cetywayo by the Government. More submis-
sions were made at the Umlatoosi river on the following
day.

The Natal Mercury states that it is intended to advance
and destroy Cetywayo's new kraal, which is believed to be
twelve miles beyond Ulundi, near the junction of the Black
and White Umvolosi rivers. Cetywayo is believed to have

intended to make his retreat in the direction of Luneberg,
probably with a view to join SecocoenL A large number of
Zulus have been seen near Kambula and Umbelini's Hill.
Commandant Schermbrucher is there with a small mounted
force, and has probably before this been reinforced by Major
Lanyon with ins volunteers.

The Cape Argus states that all the chiefs from St Lucia
Bay to the Tugelaylver have surrendered, and that a brigade
2,000 strong, under Lieutenant-Colonel Clark, is to advance
and occupy Ulundi very shortly.

"Natives who were with Cetywayo before the action of the
4th and who surrendered themselves here have been gulled
what plans the King had prepared for the contingency of
defeat. They say he had prepared none—that he had no
idea of any possibility but the victory of his arms. The
witch doctors had amsurred him that if the Zulu regiments
advanced rapidly our bullets could not harm them."—Corre-
spondent of At Times.

The Cape Times publithes a telegram on July 21 stating
that Cetywayo had sent messengers to John Dunn asking
what terms would be granted if he surrendered now, to
which question no answer had at that time been returned.

Sir Garnet Wolseley's return to Maritzbarg has created
considerable discussion, and confirms the opinion of those
who believe that the battle of Ulundi ended the Zulu war.
There are many, however, who consider that the defeat of
the enemy will not ensure a permanent peace, and that the
surrender or death of Cetywaya is necessary to secure this
end. There are several very important chiefs and, a large
number of fighting men, with all their cattle, still at large,
and but a very small portion of Zaluland has as yet been
occupied or explored.

The Times of Natal correspondent states that details of
the action at Ulundi show Lord Chelmsford's conduct to
have been splendid. He directed and regulated the fire of
the whole body of his troops.—Mr. Melton Prior, of the
Illustrated London News, who was present during the whole
of the actien, says the bravery displayed by the Zulus ex-
ceeded anything he had seen in seven different campaigns.
Another correspondent says that even when being pursued
by the Lancers the Zulus turned like rats on their pursuers,
and fought to the very last. The number of the enemy
killed is now stated to be 1,500 or more. It seems, however,
that they were not able to approach the square nearer than
300 yards on three sides, and on the other side only a few
came nearer, but one plucky young Zulu came within 70
yards and hurled his assegai to within 20 yards of our
men.

The Times in a leadar, on Wednesday, said :—" By some
means or other, not only must Zululand be pacified and
endered harmless, but the colonies must set on foot effec-
tive and permanent arrangements for self-defence. It will
be fully recognised at home that this cannot be done in a
day, and reasonable time and reasonable assistance will not
be grudged. But we, no less than the colonists, must pro-
test against "a patched up peace ; ' and any peace
will be so regarded by the English public in
which the outlines are not firmly drawn of some
system of local combination for mutual support in military
affairs. It seems probable that the Zulus will, in some way,
be brought into closer relations with the British autho-
rities ; and Ills quite possible that, it they are convinced
alike of our power and of our geodwill, they may co-operate
cordially with their BLitish fellow-subjects against aggressions
from other tribes. At all events, it is quite clear that while
the victory of Ulundi brings to an honourable close Lord
Chelmsford's share in our relations with Zululand, it is but
the starting point of a very arduous duty to Sir Garnet
Wolzeley."