The Sun.
London, England, 1852-05-31 00:00:00

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S N 7 MAY 31, 1852.

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", Sir,—Agreeably
,to my instructions, which I re-
ceived late, at night on the 28th ult.; 'I moved off frbm
Fort BeresfOrd on the 29th ult. at daybreak, sod reached
Hangman's Balk that night, bat, with. 'great difficulty,
being obliged to cat my way for the waggons, there
being tie road, and the drifts being impassable froua the
late rains. On the 30th ult. I reached Major Totten-
ham's Damp on the Kabousie. On the 31st , I made a
night , march to the Kei,. reaching it by daylight.
Pushing rapidly on, we surprised a body of Kafirs, and
got upon the spoor of cattle, which 'took immediately
into the:deep bed of the Kei. Anticipating the direc-
tion in which the cattle would probably be driven, I had
previously, dispatched Major Armstrong, with one hun-
dred horse (composed of a troop' of the 12th Royal
Lancers, a' detachment of Cape Mounted Rifles, and
Armstrong's' Horse), with directions, tq seize a pass on
' the-4eft bank of the Kei, near its .eonfleence with the
Some; By this pass alone could the enemy :efeepo into
'the interior pf the country from the mountain fastnesses:
through which the two rivers force their tray near their
junction. also detached a troop of the 12th Royal.
ai:leers, under Captain Oakes, to my right, to recon-
noitre the country-between the Ka.housiet And the Sotto.
In seaport of thisparty, and to oechpythe tight' bank of
the lei, `l' left ',the reminder of • the. cavalry -under
Maior.Tottenhana, and five co,mpaaies of the.43d light
infantry, and the leviei-Lthe whole under the cora-
l:nand, rfettienant!Colonel Skipworth; With the
remainder of 'my force—aiz., 270. rank and file
ot_ahe 573 d Regiment, and, one company of, the 43d,
the Fingoes; and one troop of the 12th Lancers under
Captain Carden, Iproceeded to follow the spoor down the
'bed of the Kei. We followed:it for fivelhours, long after
sunset. We ;bivouacked in the bed of the river,
and resumed, the pursuit at daylight on the following
morning, the 2d instant. I was soon met by Major
Armstrong, who had had a most 'gallant affair with the
meaty the day before (his- report Lbeiewitit „inclose),
and who,, on his return by the.pass I have before'de-
ieribed, had seen the cattle, the spoor of which we were
pursuing, driven upon an apparently insulated mountain,
formed by the bed of the river, and most difficult of ac-
mes. I immediately detached small parties right and
left, and we succeeded in surrounding the cattle. The
result was the capture of 1,220 head of Gaika cattle
(mostly cows) and 15 horses. The enemy were in con-
siderable force, and frequently came forward with appa-
rent boldness, but the moment the troops went at them
they fled instantly, and attempted 11p serious resistance.
Oar casualties were—one sergeant of the 12th Royal
Lancers and one man of the Cape Corps wounded. On
the 3d inst. I halted on the banks of the Kei, horses and
men being quite done up. This day I returned to Ma-
jor Totteeham'a camp on the Kabousie, where I was
rejoined by Lieutenant-Colonel Skipworh, the report of
1 whose transactions daring our separation I herewith
enclose. I beg particularly to, bring to the notice of his
Excellency the Commander-in-Chief the gallant conduct
of Major Armstrong,' and that of the officers and men
tinder his command on this occasion. Major Armstrong
wasei
,but h
sharplye forcedoppo hissed by
way w
theenemy h on first
determinationgn,
and
K
afterwards had an• opportunity of charging the enemy,
which he did roost Aucceisfully, leaving many dead on
the field. I would alto bring to the marked atten-
tion of his Excellency the soldierlike daring of Cap-
tain Cureton, 12th Royal Lancers. This officer com-
manded my advanced guard, and was twice warmly
engaged with the enemy. On the second occasion,
while following up the spoor of the enemy, he dashed
fearlessly across the Kei with only a few followers, and
in the face of the enemy, who lined the opposite bank,
and 'who kept up a sharp, but happily ineffectual
'fire. I beg also to express my thanks to the following
officers:—Lieutenant-Colonel Skipworth, 43d Light In-
fantry; Major .Pinckney, 73d Regiment, who with his
usual zeal and activity pressed the enemy most oppor-
timely, *thereby insuring the capture of a large portion
of the cattle; Major Tottenham, 12th Royal Lancers,
commanding the cavalry; Captain the Hon. P. E. Her-
bert, who judiciously conducted his detachment through
a most difficult pass, taking up en admirable position,
and also capturing cattle; Lieutenant, Gawler, 73d, my
Deputy Adjutant-Quarter,Master-General, • who
,ren-
dered me on, this, as on all other occasions,during this
war, most .efficient services; Lieutenant and Adjutant
Reeve, 73d Regiment; and Lieutenant Rainsbottom, of
Armstrong's Horse, who kindly offered me his. assistance
at a staff officer, Making himself most useful on all occa-
sions. I must also add that Mr. Conway's zeal and
activity were, as usual, most conspicuous. From Mr.
Crouch, also, we received much assistance.
" Our total of captured cattle was 1,35 a head, and 15
horses and numerous goats.
" I have, &c.,

" WM. EYRE, Lieutenant-Colonel, 73d Regiment,
Commanding Patrol.
" Colonel Cloete, C.B. K.H."

MAJOR ARMSTRONG'S REPORT.

" Camp, Right Bank of the Kei, April 3, 1852

" Sir,—l have the honour to acquaint you that having
separated from your column on the morning of the Ist
inst., with a force of cavalry as per margin,* I proceeded
to cross the liei, according to your instructions. About
300 Kafirs rushed down to dispute the ford. I forced
my way through under a spirieed fire from the enemy.
Having gained the high ground on the left bank of the
Kei, I halted for two hours. During this time the
enemy collected in considerr.ble numbers from all sides.
Upon my moving off they followed in rear on both
flanks to the number of upwards of 100 mounted men,
and about 400 on foot. After moving some distance I
found that they were pressing on my rear guard, and
having now got them into tolerably favourable ground
for cavalry, I turned round and charged them with my
whole force, and completely routed them. A party of the
12th Royal Lancers charged, under my orders, to the right
rear, turned the enemy's flank, exposing their positions
in some dry gullies, from which they were driven. The
enemy must have suffered severely, and many were seen
going away wounded. From the nature of the ground it
was impossible to find out the exact number killed. Ten
bodies were counted, but I think they must have lest
considerably more. They did not again molest my lino
of march.
"I halted again for some hours on the high ground
above difficult pass between the Kei and the Some rivers.
At 1 p /If. I proceeded through the pass and met you at
an early hour on the morning of the 2d inst.
" I proceeded to support Major Pinckney, according
to your orders, and having been informed by that officer
that a lot of cattle had passed in the direction of the
Thomas River, I followed them up, and captured about
100 head, three miles beyond that river.
" I have to bring. to your notice the services of the
officers commanding the different detachments under my
orders, viz.,—Captain Digby, 12th Royal Lancers; Lieu-
tenant Smith, Cape Mounted Rifles; Lieutenant Brink,
Armstrong's Horse; also Mr. Conway, the guide, for
his zeal and activity.
" My casualties are—one private of the Cape Mounted
Rifles, slightly wounded; one troop Horse of the Cape
Mounted Rifles, and one ditto of Armstrong's Horse,
killed by rolling over the krantz coming through the
pass.

"I have, &c.,
"J. ARMSTRONG, Brigade-Kijor,
Cape Mounted Rifles, Commanding Detachment.
" Lieutenant• Colonel, 73d Regiment,
Commanding Division."