The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-28 00:00:00

Time.

LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 28, 1853.

IE KAFIR WAR.
. ..
ANOTHER BATTLE—HEAVY LOSS IN
KILLED AND WOUNDED.
PLYMOUTH, FEB. 26; 7 P.M.
Thip7,General Screw Steam-ship Company's ves-
sel. Irtilana; Capt. Lambert, arrived here at 5 p.m.
to-*- from India and the Cape of Good Hope. She
was not due till the 26th.
Her dates are—Caleutta, Dec. 19 ' • Madras, Dec.
23 ; Point de Galle, 28 ; 31auritius,Jan. 9 ; Cape,
Jan. 24 ; St. Helena, Feb. 1; Ascension,- Feb. 4 ;
St. Vincent, Fely,;ls.
The Indiana waa: detained at Point de Galle to
coal two days, and • she, •remained at the Cape of
Good Hope three days. • She spoke the Queen of
the South, which left-here on the 15th February,
on Sunday last, all well.
The Indiana experienced a very strong gale on
the 21st January, when but a short distance from
Algoa Bay, and was obliged to heave to for twenty
hours. During the last five days she has also had
to encounter strong winds from the eastward. She
has not had to stop an hour since she left from any
accident to her engines or machinery. She brings
35 passengers and a general cargo.
The passage of the Indiana from the Cape is the
quickest yet made • it occupied 32 days 19 hours,
including days stoppage.
The advices from India have all been anticipated
by the overland mail.
The Cape Monitor of the 24th. January adver-
tises 10 ships for England, one for St. Helena, one
for Algoa Bay, and two for the Mauritius, but
none for Australia ; neither is there any indication
of immediate emigration from the Cape to the gold
colonies.
The Adelaide was detained at St. Vincent's 17
days for want of coal. -
The Mauritius arrived in Table Bay Jan. 19.
The screw steamer Formosa was at• Point de
Galle when the Indiana left, on her way to Singa-
pore, from Australia. Her engines having broken
down she would be detained some weeks.
The screw-steamer Calcutta arrived at Mauritius
on the 11th December, and left on the 19th.
The Nile, Nisbet commander, arrived at Madras
on the 22d December. She had been on shore at
Waltair Point, near Vizapatam, but providentially
got off again, and had sustained little damage.
The Indiana sailed at 8 p.m. for Southampton, ,
having remained here for only three hours.
From the Cape there is intelligence, of consider-
able interest, of both a military and 'political
nature. - _

turned to their father's " great place," Thaba
Bossiou, accompanied by Mr. commissioner Owen,
who was the bearer of the following message :

"Platberg, 13th December, 1852.
" Chief Moshesh,—When I was sent by the Queen to
,be governor, and to command her army in this part of
world, six months past, I wrote to acquaint you and the
other chiefs, and I told you that I would visit you as
soon as the rebellion of thie Gaikas, and Tambookies,
and the Hottentots was endeil. This has been done, as
you have no doubt learned, And I now visit this country
as I promised, and desire to see you.and the other chiefs,
as my friends, at my camp at Platberg, without delay.
"My proclamation will have told you the righteous
cause in which I am come, and what it is my duty to do.
"As I told you in my letter, I now hope my visit to
you may be in peace ; but I must do justice, whether it
be by war or in peace. I have been told that you are a
great chief and a good man, but I find that though you
are a man of good words you have not done what you
'premised:

"I find not only that you have not paid the fine of
cattle imposed on you by the assistant commissioners
(Major Hogge and Mr. Owen), and which you promised
to pay for the robberies of cattle and horses committed
by your people and with your knowledge, up to the time
of your agreement with them, but, since then, you and
the people over whom you rule, including Molitsani and
Morosi, and your own son Letsea, with their people,
and certain robbers called Jan Letell and Bashuli, have
been stealing cattle from your neighbours, and other-
wise doing them harm. Even murders have been com-
mitted by them, and this village has been plundered and
destroyed. In short, the Bain** people under your rule
have become a nation of thieves.

"This state of things must not be, and I have come
to put an end to it, and to restore peace between you
and your neighbours if 1 ran, and if not, to put you and
your people out of the♦ . kyle dnr:f; them wrong, nd
this I must do promptly.
"I will not,. therefore; stop to talk, but tell you now
once for all, that having carefully inquired into the busi-
ness, and judging as justly and as mercifully as I can,
what is the amount of cattle and damage you should be
required to restore, I demand of you ten thousand head
of cattle and one thousand horses, to be delivered over
to the British resident at this place within three days'
time, in order to be restored to those from whom they
have been stolen.

" If this be not done, I must go and take either cat-
tle or other things from you and your people, and from
Molitsani and his people, and if resistance be made, it
will then be war between us, and I must then take three
times the amount of cattle, as well as kill many of your
people and destroy their dwellings and kraals, which I
should be very sorry to be obliged to do. But if this
cattle be paid within three days, and that lam assured
peace is restored, I will take the army back agaih in
peace. .

" Now, chief, if you are an honest man, it is for you
to pay the just fine, which is not more than the cattle
stolen, and save yourself and your people from rgin, or
else prepare for war, for on the fourth day I must bring
you to account.
" You must also pay back to Sikonyella and Moroka
what you have stolen from them, and be'at peace with
them. Carolus Batjee and his people must return to
Platberg, and the boundaries fixed by Governor Sir
Harry Smith must be respected.
" When all this is done, you must remain at peace
with all your neighbours, and the Basutos must cease to
be a nation of thieves, for if I come again it will, not
be to talk, but to make an end of the Basuto nation, as
has been done of the Gaikas and Tambookie tribe of
Mapassa.

The most important transactions had occurred in
the Orange River sovereignty. The Governor,
Lieut.-Goneral the Hon. G. Cathcart, had' entered
the sovereignty according to the tenour of his pro-
clamation—to administer justice to all—and had
required compensation of Moshesh, the chief of the
Basouta tribe, for robberies of cattle that had been
committed by the people of that chief on the neigh-
bouring boers and some native tribes. The Gover-
nor demanded of Moshesh 10,000 head of cattle and
1,000 horses, informing him that the alternative
would be the seizure of treble that number by force.
The chief himself had a " talk" with the Governor,
and engaged to supply the cattle within a specified (Signed) " G. CATHCART.
time,' and sent in 3,500 ; but failing in the remain- Next day Moshesh himself made his appearance,
der, General Cathcart advanced his troops into the and an interview took place between him and the
Basouta country, towards Thaba Bassigo, Moshesh's general, highly characteristic on both sides. The
great place. The camp, it would appear, lay
" talk " is thus reported in an official notice after-
between the Caledon River and a mountain wards published :
called Berea, which lay in front of Bassigo.
The Governor—l am glad to see you, and to make
According to the reports of Colonels Eyre, your acquaintance.
Napier, and Cloete, lylo.
sh esh—l am glad to see the Governor, as since his
named officer, with ' the intention was that the first
his column of 500 men, should
arrival in the country I have been expecting a visit from
him, which his letter led me to expect.
cross the summit of this hill ; the second, with
about 250, should pass round by its southern and The Governor—l told you in that letter that I hoped
western base :and the other by the northern. to meet you in peace, and I still hope so, as I look to
you as the great chief in this part.
With the column of whose proceedings Colonel Moshesh—l hope so too ;"for peace is like the rain
Cloete gives an account were the Governor and staff, that makes the grass grow, while war is like the wind
Colonel Eyre fell in with large quantities of cattle, which dries it up. You are right in looking to me ; that
and seems to have succeeded in striking a' severe is in accordance with the treaties.
blow on the enemy in his course, capturing at one The Governor : I will not now talk much, but wish to
time about 30,000 head of cattle. Of these, owing
know whether you received my message yesterday, in
to the smallness of his force, he was enabled to which I made the demand of cattle and horses ! I have
secure only about 1,500. Colonel Napier's force nothing to alter in that letter.
also met with severe fighting, and sustained heavy* Moshesh
ht 4. •Do you mean the' letter I received from
r
casualties. It however broug,ooo cattle safely MThe Owen 2
Governor : Yes.
to camp. Moshesh—l , received the letter' but I do not know
The duties of the day *ere extremely severe fey' where ..I shall get the cattle from.. Am Ito understand
the small number of troops engaged. The fighting that the 10,000 head demanded are a fine imposed for
lasted from the morning until late in the evening. the thefts committed by my people, in addition to the
The Basoutas mounted 6,000 horsemen, fought cattle stolen ?
more, and consider this a
with much intrepidity and with well organised The Governor—l demand but 10,000 head, though
movements. Their attacks on the soldiers were your people have stolen many.
repeated, but the honours of the day rested with just award. It
must be.
paid in three days.
the latter, for the enemy was eventually dispersed.
Moshesh—]Jo the three days count from yesterday, or
A battle so obstinately disputed on both sides could to
The Governor- - To-day is the first of the three. ?
not fail to be deadly in its effects. Although the MOshesh—The time is short, and the cattle many ;
enemy suffered by far the greater loss, it is melan-
choly to find the list of killed and wounded on the will you not allow me six days to collect them ?
The Governor—You had time given you when Major
side of the British so lengthy. Captain Faunce, Rogge and Mr. Owen made the first demand, and then
73d Regiment, was killed, and Captain Wellesley, promised to comply with it, but did not.
73d Regiment, and Lieutenant the Hon. H. Annes- Moshesh--But I was not quite idle. Do not the
ley, 434 Regiment, were wounded. Four non- papers in the commissioner's hands show that I collected
commissioned officers and thirty-three privates cattle 1
were slain, and four non-commissioned officers and The Governor—they do, but not half of the number
nine privates wounded. . demanded.
The blow struck on the enemy would appear to
Moshesh—That is true, but I have not now control
be a decisive one. The immediate result was a
enough over my people to induce them to comply with
letter of submission from Moshesh to' the demand, however anxious I may be to do so. the Governor The Governor—lf you are not able to collect them, I
suing for peace, which his Excellency was very must go and do it, and if any resistance be made it will
ready .to grant. He lamented that so many were then be war, and I shall not be satisfied with 10,000
killed, and expressed a wish to see the chief again head, but shall take all I can.
on the same friendly terms as before the battle. Moshesh—Do not talk of war, for however anxious I
The result of the chief's letter was the immediate may be to avoid it, you know that a dog when beaten
withdrawal of the troops from the sovereignty, and will show his teeth.
his Excellency has urged the Europeans of the dis- The Governor—lt will, therefore, be better that you
trict to organise themselves as soon as possible for should give up the cattle than that I should go for them.
self-defence, and has given them full license to carry Moshesh—l wish for peace, but have the same diffi
out the old commando system, in case any change c ulty with my people that you'have in the colony ; your
prisons are never empty, and I have thieves among my
should take place in Moshesh's present professions le.
peop
of friendship. Full particulars of those stirring The Governor—l would then recommend you to catch
transactions will be found below. the thieves and bring them to me, and I will hang them.
The eastern provinces were still in a disturbed Moshesh—l do not wish you to hang them, but to
state. The banditti maintained a system of rapine, talk to them, and give them advice. If you hang them
attended occasionally with murder. The bulk of the cannot talk.
the Gaika tribes were said to be interspersed among The Governor—lf I hang them they cannot steal, and
the friendly tribes, probably not without the con- lam not going to talk any more. I have said that if
You do not give up the cattle in three days I must come
nivance of tt:e friendly chiefs. The affair in Basouta Y
had been loo':ed upon with lively interest by the
I beg of you not to
Kafirs, some of whom regarded the speedy with- TMhoes hGe
os h e—o
0r
I have
you to
or go to
talk of war.
and take them.
inr peace— in threene days,more to say. I
Tmhuabstaeißthoear
drawal of troops from the sovereignty in the light
leave thisv
of a retreat. It was reported to be the intentionand collect the-
go
of the Governor to visit King William's Town at an sigo. I, therefore, advise
cattle as quickly as possible.
early day, with the object of proclaiming and de- Moshesh—Do not talk of coming to Thaba Bossigo ;
tiding on the terms of peace. The present appears if you do I shall lay the blame on the Boers from whom
to be a crisis in the affairs of the Cape frontier, the the cattle were stolen, but whom I requested to come
issue of which will much depend on the prudence, and point out to me their cattle, that I might restore
foresight, and resolution of General Cathcart. them. I will go at once and do my best, and perhaps
The political horizon of the Cape colony would God will help me.
seem to be loviering. The speech of Sir J. Palling- After leaving his Excellency's tent, but before
ton (when Secretary of State for the Colonies) de- returning home, Moshesh sent to request that the
ferring the grant of a representative system to the day on which the interview took place might hot
colony, and drawing a distinction between the Bri- count in the three. This request his Excellency
tish, Dutoh, and native subjects of the Crown, has acceded to.
occasioned the greatest discontent, and many of On the third day, the 18th, 3,500 head of cattle
Sir John Pakington's statements are flatly denied were brought in by Moshesh's son Nehemiah, and on
by the press. the 19th, no more appearing, the order was given
The . Cape Town Mail furnishes the subjoined for the troops to advance. Colonel Eyre, with a
details of the circumstances which led to the en- large body of cavalry and infantry and two guns,
counter, and of its consequences : moved forward and encamped upon the Upper Cale-
Having issued the proclamation which appeared 'don waggon drift, in order to cut off the co uni-
in our last summary—declaring that his object was cation between the country of Moshesh and that of
"not to make war, but to settle all disputes, and Molitsani, a neighbouring chief, from whom the
to establish the blessings of peace," and command- Basutos were expected to obtain assistance, and on
ing " all chiefs, and men of all classes and tribes" the 20th a combined attack was made in three co-
te remain quiet, and abide by his judgment and lumns upon the Berea Mountain, where vast droves
decision—General Cathcart proceeded across the of cattle were known to be collected. Here a des-
Orange River, into the sovereignty, and on the Ist perate resistance was encountered, no less than
of December encamped at Commissie Drift, on the 6,000 armed Basuto horsemen assailing the troops
Caledon River, where he was joined by Colonel in the plain, while on the mountain large bodies on
Eyre, 734 Regiment, and Colonel Duff, 74th, with foot used every effort to prevent the cattle from
their respective columns ; the whole force, in- being captured.
_Ltiotwtlearcdis.
eluding the column under his Excellency's imme- According to Colonel Cloete's official dispatch,
diate command, amounting to about 2,500 men of the Basutos, to defend their vast droves of cattle,
. Percy Herbert, were
all arms. Here, in reply to an address presented first fired on him and Captain Tylden. An attempt
to him by the inhabitants of Caledon, General at parley by the Governor was answered by a shot,
aadev:PeadnYcros d
Cathcart announced
rtthat he had summoned the when two rounds of shrapnel caused the eonfetrahey4t3oa
chiefs Moshesh, Mo 1 sane, Sikonyella, Moroko, fly from the southern angle of the
and Gert Taaybosch, to meet him at Platberg, on Thaba Bossigo. The dispßaotscshio.prwiolc
compelledt h e l 3 th , andto payt h that t
the e each c h
amountof those o
os ef
cattlechiefs
whichwould
the b e
nitoew,g.
i` Tmbhreoeuutign,
hfoatunudt
up, and
, astrengthenedCarmbonyn
advanced, se the
deep mountain stream ‘Riets ruit ' and
think fit to award. On the Bth, a camp moved were posted on
a commanding knoll at its P junction'
ledon River, on the Thaba teh33ecisethreae:
commissioners, after due investigation, should
forward towards Platberg, and was joined by a de-
tachment of the 45th Regimeat, under Lieutenant
plains covering the
approaches by which Lieut.-Colonel
Howard, with some field pieces; while 40 Burghers, Eyre and Lieut.-
Colonel Napier's columns were to join.
of a neighbouring field cornetcy, turned out to ~ While in this position the enemy
protect the border, in the rear of the Governor's fresh patches of horsemen in all were collecting in
directions • those - p
operations. Unfortunately, during the first day's proaching within distance were driven back ' On 116.
march, his Excellency lost the valuable aid of his clearing away of a thunderstorm and rain the enemy
the
military secretary, Colonel Seymour, who was suddenly displayed his whole force. Maises of horse-
thrown thrown violently from his horse, by which his left , men were observed to move from the Thaba Bossi e-
ge
shoulder was fractured, and he had consequently 1 Poort to turn the General's right, while large bodies ex-
to be conveyed in a cart to the neighbouring village tended along the front. These movements were con-
of Smithfield. ducted with the utmost order and regularity.
On the morning of the 13th his Excellency ar-
1" Lieutenant-Colonel
oi)lcoanttelleEwyrhei'eshdiivtision joined at 5 p.m.,
rived at Platberg, which he found deserted by the with
li
r which purpose' some kraawlsasi necessary to se-
natives, the only person remaining there being Mr. cucrse,ie
it on
were ordered to be occupied. ,rrillcommanding
Giddy, a Wesleyan missionary, who has for aeon- i
it'ad now mustered not less than 6,000 horsemen,
who
siderable number of years laboured among the every effort to assail the troops moving into &rill'. bi-
Basoutas. In the evening two young chiefs, sons of vouac, repeating their attacks on front and rear, brit
Moshesh, came to the camp, but General Cathcart were repulsed by the troops. The demi-battery, by; a
refused to see them, and next morning they re- round of canister, silenced the enemy's fire, which lisd

been kept up till 8 p.m., when they disappeared from
the field, having suffered severely."
Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre in his report states his
force to be—

Rank and File,
3 2th Royal Lancers ll
Cape Mounted Rifles
Royal Artillery l3
43d Light Infantry lO2
73 Regiment 271
Rifle Brigade

Total..

499

And says—
" Having reached the foot of the Berea mountains, I ob-
served the Basutas drawn up in considerable force. A
herd of cattle was presented in view, as if to entice.us
on, while by their war shouts they evidently defied our
arms. On the right I detached the light company of the
73d, under Lieutenant Gawler, with directions to climb
the krantz which commanded the enemy on that side,
arid, bringing his right shoulders forward, to turn the
left flank of the enemy. I directed the Hon. L. Curzon
to advance with the Rifle Brigade, and ascend the moun-
tain a little on the left of the light company of the 73d.
I moved up simultaneously with the remainder of my
force along the regular but rugged path which seemed to
lead into the centre of the enemy's position. The enemy
fired and attempted to oppose our progress until we
reached the crest of the heights, when they instantly dis-
persed. I pursued them with the few mounted men
under Lieutenant Goodrich, of the Cape Mounted Rifles,
and we succeeded in capturing at least 30,000 head of
cattle, with many horses having saddles on them. The
enemy sustained some loss ; 38 were killed, and
several were found dead ; and so completely de-
feated did the enemy appear, that some were taken
prisoners and made to drive back, their o'vtn cattle.
.We found it, however, quite impossible, with so few
mounted men, to drive on such large numbers, and in
the effort to do so many thousand were driven by the
few mounted Fingoes attached to my division down the
opposite side of the mountain to that which my instruc-
tions required me to take. I was therefore obliged to
abandon them and content myself with some 1,500.
About 1 o'clock p.m. from 200 to 300 mounted men,
with white caps and lances (which caused us to mistake
them for his Excellency's escort), suddenly appeared in
our front. Before the mistake could be discovered two
or three of our party fell into their hands, and I deeply
regret to state that Captain Faunce, 73d Regiment,
Deputy-Adjutant Quartermaster-General was of that
number. The enemy's force now rapidly increased until
we were opposed to at least 700 on 800 mounted men,
who drew up in line in admirable order, and attempted
to attack our front and left flank. As it was necessary
to present a front, in order to protect our cattle and
baggage, I formed three companies in skirmishing order,
two in front and one thrown back on our left, keeping
one in close order in support. The enemy charged up to
us several times within 200 or 300 yards, but daunted by
the coolness and steadiness of the men lying down to
receive them, dared not to approach nearer. As my in-
struction required me to proceed to Thaba Bossigo, I
directed the cattle to be drivers down a path on my right,
intending to follow with the remainder of my force. No
sooner was this discerned by the enemy, than he cheered
and charged us, on which we halted and reformed in
skirmishing order, and again repelled him. Captain the
Hon. G. Devereux at the same time made some good
shots with the rockets, and the result was the total dis-
appearance 'of the enemy."
Lieutenant-Colonel G. Napier states his force to
have been-12th Lancers, 114 rank and file, under
Major Tottenham ; Cape Mounted Rifles, 119,
under Major Somerset, and says—" Having col-
lected a great number of cattle, I commenced
driving them down the north-east side of the Berea
mountains; when half way down, 700 mounted
men attacked the rear, who retired. On the open
ground the Lancers charged, and the enemy fled.
Near the drift, on the Caledon, a large body of
mounted Kafirs were repulsed by the Minie rifles
of the 74th Highlanders, under Captain Bruces."
In this contest, begun early in the morning of
the 20th of December, and not closed until 8 p.m.,
6,000 mounted Kafirs are said to hare been en-
gaged. At the close Colonel Eyre had secured 1,500
and Colonel Napier 3,000 head of cattle.
The casualties on the part of the British were very
severe. Killed—Captain Faunce, 73d, and 2 pri-
vates ; 12th Lancers, 4 non-commissioned officers
and 23 privates ; Rifles, 3 privates ; and 5 Cape
Monted Rifles. Wounded-2 officers, 4 non-com-
missioned officers, and nine privates. Total—killed,
38 ; wounded, 15.
The great sacrifice seems, however, to have se-
cured the submission of Moshesh, who, the next
day, the 21st of December, sent to the camp the
t following letter :

" Thaba Bossigo, Dec. 20th, 1852.
" Your Excellency,—This day you have fought against
my people, and taken much cattle. As the object for
which you have come is to have a compensation for
Boers, I beg you will be satisfied with what you have
taken. I entreat peace from you ; you have shown your
power, you have chastised,—let be enough I pray you,
and let me no longer be considered an enemy of the
Queen. I will try all I can to keep my people in order
in the future.

" Your humble servant,
" MOSIIESH."
To which his Excellency returned the following
reply : _

" Camp, Caledon River, Dec. 31st, 1852.

" Chief Moshesh,—l have received your letter. The
words are those of a great chief, and of one who has the
interests of his people at heart. But I care little fcrr
words, I judge of men by their actions. I told you
that if you did not pay the fine, I must go and take it.
I ani a man who never breaks his word, otherwise the
Queen would not have sent me here. I have taken the
fine by force, and I am satisfied.
_ _ _

" I am not angry with your people for fighting in de-
fence of their property ; for those who fought—and
fought well—were not all of them thieves, and I am sorry
that many were killed. This is your fault ; for if you
had paid the fine, it would not have happened. I now'
desire not to consider you, Chief, as an enemy of the
Queen, but I must proclaim ?martial law in the sove-
reignty, 'to give to commandants and fieldcornets power
to make commandos in a regular manner, and, with the
consent of the Resident, enter your country in search of
plundered horses and cattle that may be stolen after this
time. And I expect you to assist them ; for though you
are a great chief, it seems that you either do not, or can-
not, keep your own people from stealing ; and among the
cattle you sent as part of your fine there were three
oxen the property of Mr. Bain of Bloem Fontein, stolen
since I crossed the Caledon River. Now, therefore,
Chief MosheSh, I consider your past obligations fulfilled,
and hope that you will take measures for preventing
such abuses in future. In the meantime, as the Queen's
representative, I subscribe myself
" Your friend,
" GEO. CATHCART, Governor."
" I shall be glad to see either yourself
or your sons, in the same friendly manner, and in the
same good faith as before the fight, at Platberg, to-mor-
row or next day, but I shall now send away the army,
and go back to the colony in a few days' time.

" G. C."

General Cathcart issued the following Proclama.
ion : .

" Whereas the Chief Moshesh, as the result of the
battle of Berea, has made full and humble submission,
and sued for peace, which has been granted.
"And whereas, although the said chief has evinced
his desire to preserve the good understanding and amity
with her Majesty's Government, now happily restored,
by promising to do all in his power to keep his people
in order, it is scarcely to be expected that he will be
able so to restrain their lawless practices as to entirely
prevent cattle stealing for the future.
" And whereas, in my last reply to the said chief, I
expressed my intention of proclaiming martial law, in
order to restore to the burghers full powers of making
commandos, which seem to have fallen into disuse ; and
whereas, upon further consideration, I have reason to
believe that the course of proclaiming martial law might
be misinterpreted and misunderstood, and tend to un-
necessary irritation, excitement, and alarm, and that
the object I have in view can be attained without pro-
claiming martial law as aforesaid ; now,'therefore, I do
hereby, by virtue of all the powers vested in me, provi-
sionally and until sufficient legal enactment may be
framed with the same intent, order, command, and di-
rect all civil commissioners, commandants, and field-
cornets within the Orange River territory, to be ready
to organise their burghers for self defence, and for the
protection, security, and recovery of their property in
case of need.