The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-12 00:00:00

A VISIT TO THE SEAT OF WAR IN

KAFFRARIA.

(Cootimeed from Um Erprsse of yesterday.)

- •
Before the erection of this fort, (Fort Pato) the
troops encamped on the hill had been often at-
tacked by parties of the enemy ; and the command-
ant
who bad been in the Kafir pal eL. told us
of more than one hand to hand fight :they had bad
with them. On one occasion during the erection of the fort,
and just after nightfall, the sentry on walking his rounds
heard a noise as of something having fallen un the earth.
and looking round, he saw some object lying ou the ground
about '2O yards from where he was, and which looked to
him like the figure of a man. Ile thought it not unlikely that
it might be some Kaffir that had leapt the barrier, but who,
on finding himself in such close neighbourhood to an armed
sentry, had thrown himself flat on the ground in order to
elude discovery. On watching it attentively, the object
appeared to be slowly approaching him, and he became
convinced he was correct in his surmise that it was an enemy
in the camp. Still, not caring to alarm the encampment by
firing at what might perhaps turn out to be only a stray
dog, or even something still more ridiculous, he waited a
little, in order to make sure, taking care, however, to be
ready for whatever might take place. Some noise was
heard at the same time outside, which alarmed hint a little
fur the safety of the encampment which he feared was
about to experience a night attack. Still he hesitated, until
the object coating to within twelve yards of him,
in an instant sprang to its feet, and shoved it
to be a Kaffir, having the bundle of assegais, or
spears in hie left hand, that their warriors always carry,
while in his right lie balaricid one forj a second in
order to throw it with more deadly aim at the sentry.
But the second of time that elapsed was long enough far
the sentry to send a bullet through the Kaffir, whiiffi he
did while he was in the act of poising his weapon previous
to hurling it at him. The alarm was given on the in-
atant, and almost immediately the commandant was out,
together with some men, to inquire into tho nature of
the alLiir. The spot where the Kaffir had been shot was
marked by a small pool of blood, but the wound:a war-
rior had already gone. On instituting a search it was
found that he had not been able to remove himself far,
for coming against a mound of earth, against which he
fell, ha wanted strength to raise himself again.
In his fall he had broken the assegai iho hail
been in the act of throwing and, as his
enemies approached, was seen to feel for the blade that he
was in the art of clutching, as if in the hope of revenging
his death, which he knew to be certain ; but the com-
mandant sent a bullet through his heart when within a
few paces of him, and baulked him of a revenge that would
have removed the sting from death. Next morning the
traces of numbers of Kattirs were evident in the direction
where the man was killed, and the assegais that he carried
Ind been removed by those of his companions who hod no
doabt resolved with hint upon a midnight attack.
We got a relay of hor,es here as well as a fresh escort,
awl after half on hour's stroll about the camp set oaf tin
Fort Murray. which is the next stop, and is about Li miles
from Fort 1 The first part of the way runs through a
dense track that is some two miles in extent, and is rather
notorious in the annals of Kaffir warfare. It is by far the
mast dangerous part of the road, and at present no waggons
are allowed to pass through it without doubling their
escort.

As we rode along, one of our party, who had seen a good
deal of Kaffir fighting, gave us a stirring account of an
affair that took place here during, I thiuk, the last war. A
waggon train was defiling through, escorted by so consider-
able a party as not to thiuk it necessary to keep en close
together as they usually did. When they had advanced
about a mile through the bush, the last of the waggons was
fired at from among the stones and brushwood that lined
the road, and so brisk was the attack that five or six English
' officers, on their way to their regiments, and who were in
the rear, were forced to seek shelter in the opposite side of
the road, which was of the same nature as that from which
they were assailed. Here, adopting the same mode of firing
as the Kaffir, and covering themselves with the brush and
stones, they endeavoured to defend themselves as well as
they could, but failed in doing any mischief to the Kaffir,
who was careful not to expose himself for an instant to their
fire. Finding, however, that the Kuffirs were becoming so
numerous as not to admit of their running the slightest risk
in returning their fire, and seeing it was high time that
some street was made upon them, our heroes had recourse
to a desire, by means of which they killed more than half
a dozen of them in a very few minutes, and damped the
ardour of the rest, which was this. So long as they lay
under cover there was no firing • but the instant that one
of them exposed himself in the slightest, it was the signal
for some dozen or more shots to come rattling about their
ears. From this they took the hint, and every now and
then showed ono of their caps at some exposed place, which
the Kaffir mistaking for the head of one of them, tired at
immediately ; but while one held the cap, another was all
ready to bring the Kaffir down, which he did the moment
he exposed himself to take aim, and sometimes before even
he had time to fire. This ruse was kept up for sonic time,
and proved so effectual, that the enemy got dispirited at
their loss, and the Englishmen were enabled to rejoin the
waggons, with only two of their party slightly wounded.
As the waggons continued their journey, hundreds of
Kettles followed in their rcsr, keeping up an occasional
fire, though the most of them were beyond gun-
shot, and their only anxiety was for another
officer with an orderly who had not started with them, but
whom they had been on the look out for ever since they
enterea the bush, and who could not now be fur off. This
officer, who, I think our informant told us, belonged to the
Cape corps, on bearing the firing at once spurred on in
order to join his party, but only got up in time to see the
waggons a good way ahead, while between them and him
was this large body of the enemy. To turn hack, even had
he thought of it, was out of the question, for Kaftirs were
now to be seen in every direction, and more than one shot
bad been already fired at him. There remained no alterna-
tive but just to trust to the speed and power of his horse,
and make a dash right through the midst of them ; so,
drawing Ida sword and plunging his spurs into his horse's
flanks, be was soon surrounded by the savage foe, who set
up a yell of delight:as he advanced. A hundred assegais
went hovering through the air, and as many bullets went
whizzing past him, but neither rider nor horse was hit.
Seeing the English officer still unhurt, and fearing he
might escape them, the Kaffirs rushed forward in a body,
in order to stop him in Isis career, but all in vain. With
one blow be severed the hand that grasped his rein, and for
a moment checked his horse, when the noble animal, as if
aware of the value of his exertions, plunged through the
thick of them, trampling down some of them under his
own hoofs as he did so, land brought his rider in safety to
the waggons. The orderly was nut so fortunate, fur he was
seen to fall dead from his horse,
_ as he gallantly charged
side by aide with his master. A Kaffir who was present on
this occasion, when telling his story some time afterwards,
described the scene by Baying that the air was dark with
assegais, nor could he be made to believe by the missionary
to whom he told it, otherwise than that both horse and
rider bore charms about them that turned aside the assegais
and bullets, and prevented them doing any harm.
The road we now travelled was very dithreut front what
we had gone over in the morning, being more hilly and
wooded. The acacia grew here at our side to a considerable
tree, and its yellow flower that was now in full bloom per-
fumed the air, this being ono of the few flowers in South
Africa that possesses the rare gift of doing ea ; the Kaffir
boom, a tree that has the peculiar quality of flowering be-
fore it shoots forth its leaves, spread high over our heads its
great arms that were now bare, except when some flower-
buds could be seen bursting through its rugged coat, while
from its highest branches depended the strange parasite
known by the name of " monkey ropes," that hung about
its stem and branches as thick as the ropes and running gear
of a full-rigged ship. Gaps in this wooded road allowed us
frequent glimpses of the country beyond, that appeared to be
one plain, if I may so express it, of swelling bills. The more
sheltered of these was frequentlythe site of a Kaffir village,
that generally consisted of some 20 or more huts scattered
about the brow of the hill. Each of these villages
had its kraal for cattle about a stone's throw off,
which is a circular enclosure made of thorny brushwood,
into which the cattle would be driven at sunset that were
now to be seen browsing in hundreds on the slopes of every
bill. On leaving this bushy country we got upon a long
ridge or backhorn of rock, along which we travelled till it
stopped at Mount Cobri, where there is a Wesleyan
minkn. On our way we halted for ten minutes at a place
where the escorts usually breathe their horses, and where
we had not stopped for more than a minute before numbers
of Kaffir came about us on all sides, though it puzzled us I
to think from whence they came, unless it was that every
bush contained a Kaffir. Their number soon amounted to
some seventy or eighty, all armed after some fashion or
other, and mostly fine handsome fellows, having an open
unabashed bearinjg, that in some few of them looked almost
like effrontery. They came close up to us asking pteseuts,
which they did in rather an off-hand peremptory sort of
manner, though they did not appear to care much whether
they got what they asked for or not. I confess I did not
half like their familiarity, and took care to have my pistols
handy so long as we were in such close neighbour-
hood to them, though they were what is called
friendly Kafiri. After rounding the skirts of Mount Cock,
Fort Murray comes in view, lying at our feet in the hollow
between some hills, and beside the Buffalo ricer, whose
gleaming surface relieves the monotony of a rather dreary
succession of hill and dale. This fort is a well-built mili-
tary station, being a quadrangle of substantial stone build-
ings, occupying a pleasant valley much too low to be of any
importance as a military post.
At a little distance was Captain M'Lean's house, the
H'lamleie commissioner, a very pretty spot, and laid out in
great taste and offering quite a contrast to everything else
en the country. Captain M'Lean possesses great influence
with the chiefs and people among whom he is placed, and
has shown himself to be eminently qualified for being
their commissioner. He appears to possess the rare
quality of being able to influence them strongly, with-
out straining the principle of interference so far
as to disgust them by meddling with harmless customs that
exist side by side with our efforts to improve them; and
there can be no doubt that it is mainly through his influ-
ence that the H'lambie people aro not in tke field against
us at this momeut. Pato, the chief, is at present under
M'Lean's surveillance, and occupies a room adjoining his
house, where we went to pay him our respects. We found
him sitting on the floor, with two or three of his councillors
or amapakati about him, all huddling themselves round a
fire of rather green wood that was lighted in the centre of
the room, and gave forth huge volumes of a very pungent
smoke. The old chief was very cold, and looked quite
sulky as we stood in tho open door-way that admitted
the cold air, to protect him against which he had
only a scanty blanket, that was not even long enough
to reach past his knees. By degrees he became rather more
communicative, and condescended so far as to take me to
one side, in order to whisper something in my ear. In
doing this ho assumed so mysterious an au, that I was in.

clined to think he was about to repose in me all the
wrongs of his race and to seek my mediation, and I began
to compose my features to a gravity becoming such an occa-
sion. But what was my astenishmeut to find him conclude
a short but pathetic appeal, by asking me to give him " one
shilling to buy tobacco. Of course, the honour of confer-
ing a favour of that kind, on so important a personage,
was not to be lost, so I gave him &shilling accompanying it
with profuse expressions of delight at being able to accom-
modate hint, which sent the old chief away chuckling at
his success over a ninny that allowed himself to be so
easily talked over.
We again changed horses and escorts, and then went at
a hard gallop to King William's Town, that is about eight
miles off, and which we reached about: an hour before
sunset,
This town occupies one extremity of a plain, that is some-
what more than a mile in extent, and is built close to the
river which flows in a fine sweep to the left, and with its
straggling appearance reminds one of some pleasant Eng-
lish village. After passing through the numerous tents and
huts that occupied either side of the road to form the en-
campment of sonic two thousandHo;tentot levies, we found
ourselves in the capital of British Katfratia, which, though
only some four years old, has already become a place of con-
siderable importance. The houses which form it are chiefly
thatched cottages, of a very unpretending appearance, each
one separated from its neighbour's by well laid-out gardens
that add greatly to the beauty of the place, and no doubt
contribute much to the comfort of the inhabitants. Even
his excellency the Governor's house is no larger than a pea-
sant's cottage, for which it might be mistaken but for the
sentry that paces before the door, and the occasional ap-
pearance (daily of his staff, that serve to give it a character
the reverse of what its humble appearance would suggest.
We were somewhat wearied with our ride ; and, after pay-
ing our respects to Sir Harry, were gladto rest ourselves for
an hour before going to dinner. After that we smoked a
cigar in the ante-roost of the 6th regiment,
where we heard the Klein question discussed in all
I its bearings, with free comments on the nature of the policy
pursued toward them, and on the kind of warfare best
suited to so subtle an enemy, front men, toe, who well knew
' the subject they were talking about, and whose names may
be read in almost every despatch. Nest day we rode round
the town, to have pointed out to us the various military
arrangements. As we before obecrved, the Hottentot levies
are disposed on each side of the entrance into King NU-
liam's Town, while leading out of it in the opposite direc-
tion are to be seen the circular beehive huts of some 300
lingoes, that cling to us anti tight for us, for no other rea-
-1 een titan that they hate us less than they do their old
masters the Kettles, to whom they lime much the same rela-
tion as the Ilelots did to the Spartime. Within the town arc the
6th regt., the Cape corm, who occupy barraeks, this being
their head-quarters, and the 73rd, with about a company of
marines that are encamped in small bell-shaped tents
among the houses!. Immediately in advance of its out-
s',irts the town is protected by some lunette batteries, each
one capable of containing some thirty men, who could do
prodigious execution among an advancing body without
running any risk themselves+, sail on the neighlsoering
heights pickets are stationed, whose duty it is to keep a
good look out on the enemy in case of a surprise. We con-
tinued our ride to the top of the nearest hill, where we had
a tine view of the Buffalo and Ametela ranges of mountain,
with some cf the fastnesses and other places intimately
associated with Kaffir warfare. Right before us was the
Belie Neck, as the pass is named that leads to the Belie
Flats, perhaps the finest plain in Salted Africa, and where'
the liattire invariably collect in great masses to resist the
patrules; to the right was Irlambies Koss, stud conspieu•
out among them ad frout its lofty shaggy head was the
Tabinde do or Man Mountain, that is visible for thirty miles
in every direction. From the place where we stood, every
thing reminded us of being in an enemy's country, though
no enemy was to be seen, nor yet a trace of one. There
was the mounted pickets on the hill beside us, theic was
the military population moving to and fio in the town, and
arming the various encampments ; we could hear the
words of command and the clatter of muskets from the
regiment that ewes going through its evolutions almost at
our feet; and the occasional bugle calls, with the merry
rattle of the drum every now and then struck upon the ear
clear and distinct lame theconfueed hum that is heard when
masses of men are gathered togethi r. On our way back we
rode through thousands of cattle that armed guards were
driving down to the river to water previous to their being
secured within kraals for the night. Many of them be-
longed to Kafllrs, front whom they had been taken in the
various patroles; and it was the more necessary to guard
these well, inasmuch as they understand a peculiar cry or
whistle of the Kaffir, that has the effect of making them
scamper to where the well-known sound proceeds from : so
that, unless they were confined, there would be but a poor
choice of any being left the following morning.
In conversing about the Kaffir, no one appeared to think
him any other than a formidable foe, which it may be said
soldiers will always say of the enemy ; inasmuch us far a
soldier to depreciate his autaonist, would be very like
damaging his own reputation ;but we had so many anec-
dotes about their pluck and daring as convinced us nut only
that they are the brave people they arc said to be, but that
in some of them their courage amounted to a perfect in-
sensibility to danger. Sir Harry spoke of them as being
splendid skirmishers, saying that all they wanted was offi-
cers. Ile complained of the want of faith of the Kaffir,
whom he has no doubt treated with great kindness and
generosity. Sandilli, above all men, ought to have been the
last to rise against him, seeing that to Sir Harry he is in-1
debted not only for his liberty, but perhaps his life. It is im-
possible not to sympathise with Sir Harry, placed, us he is, in
such an embarrassing position, where the ground on which
he thought he stood firmly has so often given way under his
feet. Even the militaty genius of Wellington could not
possibly effect much with such an enemy as there is to con-
tend with.

As we arrived just as the troops had returned from
patrol, our interest was kept :diva by the various details
that different individuals gave of their share Of the fighting.
How well the bush was cleared by A--'s horse ; how
It— was engaged hand•to-hand with the enemy ; how he
conducted himself so bravely, that his commanding officer
fairly hugged him in his arms in a paroxysm of delight at
witnessing his gallantry ; haw M— owed his life to the
generosity of the officer who fought by his side, and who
bore him from the field when ho was faint with
loss of blood, though not before M— had slain
five of tho enemy, whose bodies lay in a heap
around him. How Colonel E— was always in the
thickest of the fight ; how that, as he was smoking his
cigar, after an hour's rather hot work, he heard ono of his
men say : The colonel will be in good humour for three
days now ; for he's had a fight and a cigar to-day ;" and
how that the whole army relish a patrol under him or W—,
because, they are sure then that they will have some
brushes with the enemy before they come back.
On tho third morning we bade good-bye to our friends in
King William's Town, and, wishing them a safe return
from the wars, returned to East London, and lost no time
in getting ou board the steamer which was to start the
same night, and was already fretting and fuming at being
so long delayed.