St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1879-03-01
The XssEaaS.
THE SAVAGE AFRICANS WITH WHOM THE
ENGLISH ARE JUST NOW AT WAR.
New York Word. ]

New York Word
Cetevayo is the most powerful Afri
can monarch south OF the equator. He
has 100000 subjects within the 10000
square miles of Zululand, and they are
A powerful, well-b race, capable OF
great endurance. He has alreadey as
sembled 5000 men on the frentler ana
called out his army. There are forty
regiments, seven Of which, however,
consist of men over sixty. Ot the re-
naming thirty three, fifteen are COM
noseA of bachelors and eighteen OF mar
ried men, the latter being distinguished
by their shnven heads, on which only Il
circlet Of hair is allowed to grow. Eacli
corps has its distinctive marks ana
| sDecial station. At fourteen OF tltten
| the Zulu males pass into the army ana
are formed into regiments With winch
older soldiers are mixed. Not till forty
| is marriage permitted. At present the
army contains 20, 800 men under thirty,
10000 between thirty and forty, 54OO be
tween forty, and fifty, and $500 between
fifty and sixty total, 40,4OO. The sol
diers have breech-loadcrs and some can
non. Each regiment has two wings OF
equal strength, subdivided into com
nanies. The regiment has a commadcr
and second ID command e; there are two
officers to each wing, besides company
officers and two or three junior of1lcers:
All have their regulated duties ana
responsibilities, and their orders are
readily obeyed. Drill there is none,
though the Lulus perform some simple
movements with method, such us form :
inc q circle OF companies or regiments,
heading into companies from the circle
or forming line of march in order OF
!, COMPANIES or in close order or regiments
The commisaliat and tran sport are
simple, The former consists OF Il pro
, vision of maize or millet and a herd OF
cattle proportioned to the distance tt
be travelled the latter of the youths OF
, the regiment, who carry mats, blankets
and provisions and drive the cattle
That they are "careless of the single
lifen in the field appears sufficiently
from their tactics when they have tt
+ cross an unbridged torrent. lhey torn
: in dense column, each holding on tin
other, and force their way through thu
flood by sheer weight, those behlnt
8 pressing the others forward.
The last and greatest opponents o
0 the whites in South Africa will be con
4 fronted by between $4,000 and 1900
= men, of whom 5OOOare British regular
e and 5000 native lcvies. OF the Caffre
5 10 per cent are armed with rifles AM
s the remainder with assegals. The.
s are oificered by whites experienced il
: Cape warfare. The regulars are tW
e battalions of the Twenty fourth Regi
7 ment, one battalion Of the Third (Butfs,
0 one of the Nineteenth, and several com
d NAMES from the Thirteenth and Elgh
/. teenth, with twenty-siN guns, manned
0 by 500 artillerymen. There is also navN
Z brigade 800 strong from the ships Actlv
S and Tenedos, and the King Own Roya
# Regiment, to which the Queen presente
: new colors in December, is on its way t
e the Cape. The Colonial forces consist
n of eight corps OF mounted volunteer:
The disposition of the forces is as TO!
lows: The Northern column Qeft
q commanded by COL Hugh RoWands, I
e B., Victoria Cross man, consisting {
q the Thirteenth and Eightieth, is esche
l. Toned from Middlesburg TO Pretoria
l. The central column, under Col. +. Woo
Re c.. b., also Wearer OF the V. Co. cor
le sisting of the Ninetieth and Colonial
st is at Utrecht, ready to strike at the heal
"a of Zuuland from the west. The Soutl
s. ern column (right), commanded by Lol
II, Chelmsford, and comprising the Ihll
>" and Twenty-fourth regiments, is on I'll
l. Natal frontier, facing northeast. II
"a Catfre contingent is divided among tt
D. commands, and will come into play !
In desultory warfare rather than Ill any {
u the regular operations.