<> #. ^> i>^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 2.5 IM 1.8 1.25 1.4 J4 ^ 6" _ ► ^. <^ /a /a "^c-i \\ 'i'^ ;\ % V 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTE»/:.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 ^^ i/.A CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques :\ Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D n D D n Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ D Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul^e Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ Lareliure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intdrieuru Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmdes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppldmentaires: L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage sont indiquds ci-dessous. D D D n 2i D D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6color6es, tachetdes ou piqu6es Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Showthrough/ Transparence I I Quality of print varies/ Quality in^gale de I'improssion Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 film^es ck nouveau de fagon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqud ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X SOX • 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X jiaire )s details iques du nt modifier Kiger une Je filmage d/ iu6es The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: National Library of Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —^> (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grSce d la g^ndrositd de: Bibliothdque nationale du Canada Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettetd de l'exemplaire filmd, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim^e sont film^s en commengant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte unc empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de chaque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". aire Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. by errata ned to lent une pelure, fapon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 fflSTO imSTOEY OF THE BOERS IN SOUTH AFRICA: v- ' ■,-:■?! A I I / \--* lwey & CV. StiXJifi.-.r.H aeag\Estaii^ ^.*« THE OF THI AT HISTORY OF THE BOERS IN SOUTH AFRICA OB THE WANDERINGS AND WARS OF THE EMIGRANT FARMERS FROM THEIR LEAVING THE CAPE COLONY TO THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THEIR INDEPEND- ENCE BY GREAT BRITAIN. BY GEORGE M^CALL THEAL, OF THt CAPE COLONIAL CIVIL SERVTCE ; MEMBER OV THE MAAT8CIIAPPIJ DER NEDER- LANDSOHE LKTTERKUNDE TE LEIDEN, MEMBRB U0RRE8P0NDANT DE LA COMMISSION POUR l'hISTOIRE DE8 BQLISEM WALL0NNE8. AUTHOR OF "A COMPENDIUM OF SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY," "KAFFIR FOLK LORE," &c., &c. ith ^ M^psf. LONDON: SWAN SONNENSCHEIN, LOWREY, & CO., PATERNOSTER SQUARE. 1887. ^.•« I PREFACE. rpHE emigration of the Boers from the Cape Colony -■- and the establishment of the two Republics in the interior of South Africa have never before this been re- corded in detail. The most complete account, indeed, previously given, is that in my " Compendium of South African History and Geography " (454 demy octavo pages), the third edition of which was published at the Lovedale Missionary Institution in 1877. For that work I received my information partly from bluebooks and earlier authors, and partly from narratives which I obtained from a great manj'^ individuals, European and native, who had been actors in the events described. I happened to be in possession of unusual facilities for collecting oral information, and I availed myself of them. Mr. John Noble's account in his admirable work entitled "South Africa, Past and Present: a Short History of the European Settlements at the Cape " (345 crown octavo pages), published in London in 1877, is / VI Preface. with respect to several occurrences, more complete than my owii here referred to. A great many other writers have devoted a few pages to the subject, but none have entered deeply into any portion of it except the occur- rences in Natal. After a long residence on the Cape Frontier in a position which brought me into constant contact with the different races, on the outbreak of the Kaffir War towards the close of 1877, I was requested by the Government to undertake a diplomatic task requiring special knowledge of native character. Having suc- ceeded in performing the duties entrusted to me, when the war was over I asked fc>r and obtained the charge of the Colonial Archives preserved in Cape Town. During the period from March 1879 to January 1881, I prepared a volume of Abstracts of Early Cape Records, which was published by the Government, and I collected a quantity of material for a History of the Foundation of the Cape Colony. Transferred again to the Native Department, I returned to the frontier and acted as magistrate of Tamacha until the close of the Basuto war, when I obtained leave of absence for six months and proceeded to the Hague to complete by research in the Archives of the Netherlands the infor- mation required for my early Cape History. That Preface. Vll plcte than er writers lone have ihe occur- itier in a tact with 'affir War i by the requiring ving suc- me, when le charge e Town. iry 1881, ly Cape ent, and y of the 3d again frontier close of jence for plete by le infor- That volume was published in Cape Town in 1882, under the title of " Chronicles of Cape Commanders : an Abstract of Original Manuscripts in the Archives of the Caps Colony, datini from 1651 to 1691, compared with Printed Accounts of the Settlement by various Visitors during that time." A few months earlier a volume containing a selection from a number of KafSr Folklore Stories and Proverbs, collected by me while residing on the frontier from 1861 to 1877, was published in London. Upon my return from Europe the Cape Government instructed me to collect, arrange, and publish all the authentic records that could throw light upon the history of the Basuto tribe. While engaged in this work, which occupied my time until March 1884, a very large ainount of correspondence relating to the Emigrant Farmers passed through my hands. I found that the most important of these documents, those which were of the greatest historical value, had never appeared in bluebooks. In tliese papers the motives of the various actors could be clearly traced. After read- ing, comparing, and digesting them, the only labour in writing the history of the emigration was that of guid- ing the pen. Of books upon South Africa I have a fair collection. vm Preface. After obtaining all those in ordinary circulation, ex- cluding only such as are devoted to theological contro- versy, poetry, fiction, and special sciences, I made lists of rare works from the catalogues of great libraries in England and Holland, and succeeded gradually in pro- curing many of them. To C. A. Fairbridge, Esq., of Cape Town, whose collection is unrivalled, I am in- debted for the use of those which are not on my own shelves. But something more than bare knowledge is needed in writing histor}^ Determination to be strictly im- partial, freedom from prejudices which might involun- tarily affect that determination, are equally requisite. I believe that I possess these qualifications, at anj^^ rate I have done my utmost to work in that direction, I h^ve no interests to serve with any particular party, and I am on equally friendly terms with all. Though a resident in South Africa for more than a quarter of a century, I am by birth a Canadian, the descendant of a family that sided with the king at the time of the American Revolution, and afterwards removed from New York to New Brunswick with the other Royalists. The early years of my life after boyhood were spent in the United States and in Sierra Leone. Thus no ties of blood, no prejudices acquired in youth, stand as barriers is needed ictlv im- V involun- requisite. any rate 3tion, I irty, and hough a 'ter of a ant of a of the d from oyalists. spent in ) ties of carriers Preface. ix to my forming an impartial judgment of events that transpired in South Africa a generation ago. In the most important matters in dispute between the Emigrant and the Missionary parties, when the evidence is not overwhelming on one side or the other, I have given the leading points of the case for both, and left the reader to judge for himself. Regarding the acts of various missionaries, there is certainly a difference in the tone of this volume and of my *' Compendium of South African History " written sixteen vears ajro. I had not then read the mass of missionary correspondence in the colonial records nor the comments upon their complaints and the refutations of many of their statements made by officers of the Colonial Government. But no one will find a word in this volume condemnatory of mission work properly so called, for no one can be more favourably disposed towards it than I am. Having thus stated what the material at my disposal has consisted of, and that circumstances have placed me in a position to write without bias, I must leave to others the decision as to the manner in which I have carried out the work. While the last sheets of this volume were in the ll. X Preface. press, the Imperial Bluebook C — 4889 of 1886 reached South Africa. Among its contents is an Outline History of the Barolong to the end of the year 1884, by Mr. A. H. F. Duncan, a member of the Betshuuna- land Land Commission. Considerable labour has been expended in the preparation of this paper, and from the position of its compiler and the fact of its publica- tion in an important bluebook, it will probably be re- garded as authoritative. In it the following paragraph appears : " Friendly relations subsisting between the Barolong and the Boers led to an offensive alliance for the de- struction of the common enemy. One stipulation, however, which afterwards assumed importance, made by the Barolong before taking arms, was that should Moselekatse be defeated, they should be guaranteed the independent and continued right to the land of their forefathers, and that they should live under their own rule. The combined commandos attacked and defeated Moselekatse in the neighbourhood of Marikwa; but he was subsequently driven out of the country by Tshaka. After the Marikwa fight, a written agreement was signed by the Boer Commandant, Hendrik Potgieter, restoring their lands to the Barolong. Some years seem to have elapsed before a move was made. t XI 6 reached L Outline ear 1884, ►etshuuna- has been and from 3 publica- )ly be re- )aragraph Barolong c the de- pulation, 3e, made t should teed the of their leir own iefeated va; but itry by reement lendrik Some 5 made. Preface. . . . In 1850 Tawane and people took up their residence at Lotlakana. In consequence of encroach- ments made by the Boers on the Barolong territory, a remonstrance and protest were sent on the 14th Decem- ber, 1851, to the Commandant General A. "VV. Pretorius, by Montsiwa, who had then succeeded his father Tawane. The Boers thereupon appointed a commis- sion, who njet Montsiwa on the Molopo, and on the 30th of the same month agreed to a boundary, which ran from Mosega by a waggon road to Buurman's Drift, and thence to the sources of the Hart River. The Boers further desired that the boundary should proceed thence along the Hart River to its junction with the Vaal, but Montsiwa demurred, saying that the line further down the Hart River than opposite to the Makwasi Spruit was that part of the land of Tao which Avas the inheritance of Moroko, who was not present. Montsiwa, however, was induced to accept the boun- dary so far as he himself was concerned, and thus the matter remained." The authorities upon which these statements are made are given by Mr. Duncan, and are solely the evidence of certain 'natives before the Bloemhof Con)- raissioners in 1871, letters written in the name of Montsiwa in 1868 and produced at the Bloemhof arbit- 4^^-. y4 Xll Preface. ration, and, for the boundary, the testimony of the Rev. Mr. Ludorf on the same occasion. • 7^he rebutting evidence, which was that given by som.e of the natives and by all the Europeans who were examined, except Mr. Ludorf, is not referred to, and has not been weighed. The Bloemhof award, as is generally known, was the origin of much of the trouble that South Africa has experienced since 1871, as it developed an intensely bitter sectional feeling. For that result the Govern- ment of the South African Republic was more to blame than most people in this country are willing to admit. The republic had a case very different from that which was shown at Bloemhof by the documentary evidence. Its Government went into court without pre- paration, without a proper search for written and printed records, without even a consistent plan of action, with nothing but chance to guide it. It had one of the keen- est intellects in South Africa as an advocate in opposi- tion, and it did not examine the volumes from which he put in attested extracts. It was not even aware of their existence until it was too late to procure them. With the knowledge of events which a close study of the records of 1836-54 has given me, I am simply amazed at the imbecility of the government of Mr. Preface. xiii Pretorius in this matter. From the evidence at the Bloemhof arbitration a great deal of information can be gathered, but the historian must go beyond it to as- certain the truth of the early intercourse between the Boers and the Barolong. The arbitrators disagreed ; and the final referee, Lieu- tenant Governor Keate of Natal, gave judgment against the republic. Then there was an outcry, coupled with the assertion that the production of other evidence would not have made anv diiference, for the award was a foregone conclusion. Such an assertion I take to be unjust. Lieutenant Governor Keate was bound to be guided solely and entirely by the evidence, docu- mentary and oral, recorded at Bloemhof, and though I am in a position to see the defective nature of that evidence, he could not see it, and if he had seen it he would have had no right to take it into consideration. President Burgers tried to repudiate the arbitration, but the High Commissioner would not allow him to do so. The Transvaal people were very sore, and not in a mood to admit that Mr. Keate was justified in giving the award that he did. His acceptance of the fiction of Tawane's alliance with Potgieter on condition of the *' country of Tao " being handed over to him was spoken of with indisnation. In the body of thi^ wa^'k I have XIV Preface. shown that no such alliance took place. There is not a word in support of it in any document for more than a quarter of a century after the expulsion of Moselekatse by Potgieter. It then appears for the first time as a clumsy invention of the European advisers of Mont- siwa. I am not writing to support any theory or any party or nationality, but to place on record an accurate version of events ; and before 1854, I have found no- thing to indicate that Tawane and Monts'wa were other than subjects of the Emigrant Government, but over- whelming evidence that they were. As for Moselekatse havirg been driven out of the Betshuana country by Tshaka, as set forth in some of the native evidence at Bloemhof and accepted as cor- rect by Mr. Duncan, it will be sufficient to say that Tshaka was assassinated nine years before the expul- sion took place. There are some genealogical tables of the Barolono chiefs following Mr. Duncan's paper. In two unimpor- tant instances they do not agree with those given in thi^ volume. Mine were compiled in the first instance from those furnished by Montsiwa to Governor Sir Henry Barkly; they were then sent to various Barolong chiefs and councillors for revision, and have been submitted to a great many authorities since, without any alteration Preface, XV being made in them. The differences arise from Mr. Duncan's using the word son in the European sense, and I in the native signification. I have explained one such difference in the body of this work, when treating of Moshesh's descent. If the native rule be not followed in such instances, the history of the tribes becomes in- volved in inextricable confusion. One of the differences is the parentage of Tsepinare. I have put him down as son of Moroko ; Mr. Duncan puts him down as son of Seatsale and grandson of Tawane. It is perfectly true that Moroko was not his father in the English acceptation of the word. But in correspondence with the Colonial Government, Moroko invariably termed Tsepinare his son, he put him forward as his representative, the clan officially received him as Moroko's son and proper heir, and at Moroko's death he succeeded to the chieftainship with the concurrence of the council. Under such circumstances, it seems to me that native ideas ought to be respected, and that Tsepinare should be placed in the genealogical table where I have placed him. The case of Moshete is different, because his right to chieftainship was not derived from Gontse, but from another descendant of Ratlou, who was nominally his father, though his actual parentage, as Mr. Duncan i'!| •:ii xvi "Preface. shows, is a matter of dispute. He does not appear in South African history until 1871, and it is only inciden- tally that he is mentioned in this volume. I have on one occasion termed him Gonste's son, though if I had to refer to him at an J^^^ would not use that word to explain the relationship between them. I have, how- ever, before me several lists of Ratlou's descendants, drawn up by natives, and in all of them Moshete is re- presented as Gontse's son. He is so termed because he is received by the Baratlou branch of the tribe as their principal chief, and Gontse was before him the principal chief of the same people. GEORGE M. THEAL. Cape Town. \:.>i ■^ ppear in ' inciden- have on if I had hat word ,ve, how- jendants, ite is re- cause he as their )rincipal EAL. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Comparison of the Bantu Tribes I CHAPTER II. Tshaka — Dingiswayo — Tshaka's Military Organisation and Rule — Gubela — Bungane — Ravages of the Batlokua and Makololo — Devastation of the Mountain Tribes — Moshesh — Umsilikazi— The Matabele — The Missionaries and their Operations — Establishment of the French Mission in the Lesuto — Bethulie — The Barolong Tribe — Tao^ Foundation of the London Society's Station of Kuruman — The Bangwaketsi — Ravages of Moselekatse — The Barolong and the Wesleyan Missionaries — Other Natives — Wesleyan Missionary Settlements — Increase in the Population of the Lesuto — Beersheba — Additional Works of Reference. 26 CHAPTER IIL The Causes of the Great Emigration from the Cape Colony — Fate of the First Party of Emigrants — Purchase by Commandant Potgieter of a Tract of Land from the Bataung Chief, Makwana — Massacre of Emigrants by the Matabele — War yrith Moselekatse — The b XVlll Contents. American Mission to the Matubolo — Foundation of the Village of Winburg — Appointment of Piotor Rotiof to bo Command- ant General of the Emigrants — Moaelekatso driven away to tlie far North, and his Conquests taken possession of by Commandant Potgieter. 5{* If! I II : CHAPTER IV. Formation of an English Settlement at Port Natal — Assassination of Tshaka, and Accession of Dingan to the Zulu Chieftainship — Flight of the Amakwabi — Murder of Mr. Farewell and othera, by the Amakwabi — Failure of the Exploring Expedition under Messrs. Cowie and Green — Visit of Colonial Farmers to Natal — Captain A. F. Gardiner in Natiil and Zululand — Foundation of the Town of Durban —Treaty between Captain Gardiner and Dingan — Establishment of the American Mission in Natal and Zululand — The Cape of Good Hope Punishment Bill — Visit of Pieter Retief to Dingan — Conditions on which Dingan offered Natal to the Emigrant Farmers — Fulfilment of the Conditions — Arrival of a Large Party of Emigrant Farmers in Natal — Second Visit to Dingan of Pieter Retief, with Sixty-five White Men and Lar^ ^, and about Thirty Hottentots — Deed of Cession of Natal — Massacre of Retief'a Party by the Zulus — Dreadful Massacre of Men, Women, and Childre*", in Natal — Unsuccessful Expeditions against the Zulus — Proceedings of the Emigrant Farmers in Natal — Arrival of Mr. A. W, J. Pretorius, and his Election as Commandant General— Commando against Dingan — Battle and Victory at the Blood River — March to Umkungunhlovu— Occupation of Port Natal by a Military Force — Foundation of Pietermaritzburg — Negotiations with Dingan — Withdrawal of the Troops from Port Natal — Revolt of Panda against his brother Dingan — March of Allied Forces of Pretorius and Panda against Dingan — Unjustifiable Execution of two Zulus — Great Battle between the Forces of Dingan and Panda, and Victory of the latter — Flight of Dingan, and his Assassination — Installation by Mr. Pretorius of Panda as King of the Zulus — Proclamation of Mr. Pretorius, taking possession of the country to the Umvolosi River. 87 Contents. XIX CHAPTER V. Boundaries of the Ropublic of Natal — Foundation of tho Village of Weenen — Constitution of the Republic— Form of Union with tlie Districts of Winburg and Potchefatroom — Correspondence with Sir George Napier concerning Recognition of Independence — History of the Pondo Tribe — The Bacas — Attack upon the Bacas by tho Emigrant Farmers — Application to Sir Goorgo Napier hy tho Wesleyan Missionaries in Pondoland for Protection of Faku — British Troops sent to Pondoland — Resolution of the Natal Volksraad with regard to the Natives— The Troops in Pondoland moved on to Natal — Mr. J. A. Smellekamp in Natal — Action between tho Farmers and tho Troops — Sioge of the English Camp at Durban — Relief of tho Camp by Troops under Colonel Cloote — Conditions of the Capitulation of tho Republic — Views of the Imperial Government — Advocate Cloete sent to Natal as Oora- missionor — Murder by Panda of his Brother Xoxo — Rush of Zulu Refugees into Natal — Proceedings of Commissioner Cloete — Stormy Meetings at Maritzburg — Submission of the Volksraad — Retire- ments from Natal of tho Great Body of Emigrant Farmers — Proposals of tho Volksraad as to Future Government — Treaties with Panda — Treaty of Sir Peregrine Maitland with Faku, giving to tho Pondos the Country as far north as the Umzimkulu — Natal made a Dependency of tho Cape Colony — New Boundaries — Ap- pointment of a Staff of Officials. 134 CHAPTER VI. Cleverness of Moshesh — Rapid Growth of the Basuto Tribe — Settlement at Mekuatling of the Bataung of Molitsane — Growth of the Bap- huti under Morosi — Removal of some Barolong Clans to the Mooi River District — Acts of Lawlessness along the Lower Caledon — Missionary Project of Native States under British ProtCv.,ion — Application of Moshesh to tho Colonial Government — Proclamation of Sir George Napier concerning the Emigrants and the Clans north of the Orange — Views of the Imperial Government — His- tory of the Griquas— Treaty with Andries Waterboer— The Emi- grant Farmers and the Griquas of Adam Kok — Establishment of rn; XX Contents. a Magistracy at Colesberg — Proclamation of Judge Menzies — Movement of Troops to Colesberg — Application of Adam Kok to the Colonial Government — Creation by Treaty of Griqua and Basuto States — Contentions raised by the Treaties — Violent Pro- ceedings of Adam Kok — Commandant Jan Kock — War between the Emigrant Farmers and the Griquas of Adam Kok — Troops sent to Kok's Assistance — Skirmish at Zwart Kopjes — Visit of Sir Peregrine Maitland to the Country north of the Orange — New Treaty with Adam Kok — Appointment of Captain H. D. Warden as British Resident in the Territory north of the Orange — Preten- sions of Moshesh — Report of Commandant Gideon Joubert — Pur- chase of Land between the Modder and Vaal Rivers by David Fourie — Expansion of the Basuto Tribe — Removal of Poshuli to Vechtkop — Meeting of Chiefs at Platberg — Submission by the Chiefs of their Disputes to the Governor's JUecision — Foundation of Bloemfontein — Progress of the French Mission — Movements of the Emigrants north of the Vaal — Foundation of the Villages of Ohrigstad and Lydenburg and of the District of Zoutpansberg— Account of the Bapedi — Proceedings at Winburg — Mission of Messrs. A. W. Pretorius and J. Duplooy to Sir Henrj' Pottinger — Attitude of the Governor — Its Results. ... 192 i n ' 1 1 II CHAPTER VII. Arrival of Governor Sir Harry Smith — Enlargement of the Cape Colony — Creation of the Crown Colony of British Kaflfraria — Proclamation of Her Majesty's Sovereignty over the Territory between the Orange and Vaal Rivers — Armed Resistance of the Emigrant Farmers — Battle of Boomplaats— Confiscation of the Property of the Insurgents — Constitution of the Orange River Sovereignty — Commission of the Dutch Reformed Church — The Synodical Commission — Regulations for the Government of the Sovereignty — Feuds of the Basuto and Batlokua — Delinition of Natives Reserves — Movements of the Barolong. ... 238 Contents. XXI CHAPTER VIII. Treatment of Natives outside the Reserves— Churches and Schools- Revenue and Expenditure— Publication of a Newspaper— Assign- ment of Locations to Kausop or Scheel Kobus, Goliath, Yzerbek, David Danser, and Jan Bloem — Claims of the Captains Cornells Kok and Andries Waterboer — Issue of Letters Patent creating a Constitution for the Orange River Sovereignty — Murders by Bashmen — Dealings with Poshuli — Feuds of the Batlokua and Basuto — Interference of the British Resident — Plunder of Mor- oko's Barolong — Conduct of Poshuli — Hostilities with the Baphuti — Objection of the Farmers to interfere in Native Feuds — Com- mando against Moshesh — Battle of Viervoet — Disastrous Results of the Defeat at Viervoet — Arrival of Troops and Native Aux- iliaries from Natal — Plunder of the Loyal Farmers by the Basuto — Views of the Imperial Government — The Kaffir War — Action of the Republican Party in the Sovereignty — Alliance of Moshesh with the Party hostile to England — Attitude of Mr, Pretorius — . Arrival in the Sovereignty of the Assistant Commissioners Hogge and Owen— Proceedings of the Assistant Commissioners — Conference between the Assistant Commissioners and Dele- gates from the Country north of the Vaal — The Sand River Convention, by which the Independence of the Transvaal Emi- grants was acknowledged — Ratification of the Convention by the Volksraad and its Approval by the Imperial Authorities— The Barolong of Montsiwa, 280 CHAPTER IX. Condition of the Republican Party in the Sovereignty — Negotiations with Moshesh — Agreement of Peace— Neglect of the Basuto to carry out the Conditions — Devastation of the Batlokua Country — Raid by the People of Carolus Baatje— Mr. Henry Green's Ap- pointment as Successor to Major Warden— Plunder of the Bara- long by the Basuto— Meeting of Representatives of the People at Bloemfontein— Resolutions adopted — March of General Cath- cart with a Strong Army t(j tlie Lesuto— Terms offered to M(jshesh —Rejection of the Terms by the Basuto— Battle of Berea— Re- Ill i' Hi .'i r!i I'lh XXI 1 Contents. treat of Geiidial Cathcart — Prudent Conduct of Moshesh — De- claration of Peace by Gen'Tal Cathcart — Murmuring in the Army — General Ca*-hcart's Retirement from the Sovereignty — Conster- nation of the Europeans and Allied Natives — Decision of the Im- perial Government to abandon the Sovereignty — Politic Attitude of Moshesh — Ejection of Tulu from his Location. Eflfects of Moshesh's Attitude upon the Tribes north of the Vaal — Correspondence concerning the Supply of Arms to the liorthern Tribes— Campaign against the Bapedi — Events that led to Hos- tilities with the Bakwena — Destruction of the Rev. Dr. Living- stone's Property at Kolobeng — Flight of Montsiwa's Barolong from Lotlakana — Trial of the Rev. Messrs. Inglis and Edwards and their Banisliment from the South African Republic — Effect* of the Battle of Berea upon the Northern Tribes — Trouble with the Barolong of Muntsiwa — Their Migration to the Country north of the Molopo — Death of the Commandants General Hendrik Potgieterj and Andries Pretorius — Appointment by the Volksraad of their eldest Sons as their Successors — Arrival of a Clergyman from the Netherlands — Last Letter of Andries Pretorius — Form of Government in the South African Republic. Appointment of Sir George Clerk as Special Commissioner to withdraw British Rule from the Sovereignty — Wretched Condition of the Country — State of Affairs in the Griqua Reserve — Meeting of the Delegates convened — Proceedings of the Delegates — Invitation to the Republicans to elect a rival Assembly — Mission of the Rev. Mr. Murray and Dr. Fraser to England — Conquest of the Batlokua Country by the Basuto — Death of Gert Taaibosch in Battle — Fate of Sikonyela — Memorials against Abandonment — Investigation of Charges made against the Boers — Meeting of the two Assemblies at Bloemfontein in February 1854 — Dissolution of the Obstruc- tionist Assembly by Sir George Clerk — Agreement with the Well- disposed Assembly — Terms of the Convention — Negotiations with Adam Kok — Failure of the Mission of Messrs. Murray and Fraser — Additional Literature ... 309-10 GLOSSARY OF COLONIAL WORDS USED IN THIS VOLUME. ASSAGAI, a javelin or b'qht spear. The word comes to us from tho Portuguese. BERG, a mountain. Plural bergen. This is a pure Dutch word. BOER, a Dutch word signifying a tiller of the ground. In South Africa the word is now used as a proper name to denote any one of European descent who uses ordinarily the broken Dutch language of the country. BURG, a village. It is the same word as the English borougli, and originally meant a stronghold, but it is now used in South Africa in a less restricted sense. COMMANDO, a military force, either composed exclusively of burghers, or of burghers and soldiers united. DRIFT, a ford of a river. KAROSS, a garment used by natives, made of akins sewn together in the form of a scjuare. A corruption of a Hottentot word. KRAAL, a group of native huts. The word comes to us from the Portuguese. Lager, a fortification usually made by drawing waggons in a circle, but sometimes constructed of stone walls or earthen banks. It is an old Dutch word corresponding to the English Icagver. POORT, a jhort passage between two hills or mountains. A corruption of tho French word porte. i .! 1 ''I ■ ! Ii.i 1i' XXIV Glossary. RAAD, a Council. This is a pure Dutch word. HEEMRAAD, the council that administers justicb with the landdrost or magistrate (plural heeraraden). KRIJGSRAAD, a council of military officers, VOLKSRAAD, the elective council representing the people. RIEM, a thong of raw hide usually seven or eight feet in length, made supple by rubbing it with grease. Diminutive RIEMPJE, a little thong. SPOOR, the marks left by cattle in travelling, whether hoofprints, turned pebbles, bent grass, or anything else that can be detected by the 4. keen eye of a trained native. SPRUIT, a tributary stream. STAD, a town. TSETSE, a kind of fly found in certain localities in the interior, whose sting is poise nous to horses and horned cattle. VLEI, a patch of swampy ground or a shallow lakelet. HISTORY OF THE BOERS. nterior, whose CHAPTER I. Comparison of Bantu Tribes. THE whole of Central and Soutfi-Eastern Africa is occupied by a section of the human race which European writers now usually term the Bantu. This word in the dialects spoken along the coasts of the Cape Colony and Natal simply leans people.^ In the division of mankind thus named are included all those Africans who use a language which is inflected prin- cipally by means of prefixes, and which in the construction of sentences follows certain rules depending upon harmony in sound. The Bantu fjimilv is divided into numerous tribes politically independent of each other. Each tribe is com])osed of a number of clans, which generally have traditions of a common origin at no very remote date ; in some instances, however, the tribes consist of clans pressed together by acci- dent or war, and whose relationship is too remote to be traced by themselves. The individuals who make up the Bantu group vary in colour from light bronze to deei) black. Some have features of the lowest negro type : thick piojecting lips, broad flat ^ In the langunge of the Xosa, Tembu, Pontlo, Zulu, and other coast tribes . UMNTU a person, plural ABANTu ] eople ; diminutive L'JINTWANA a child, fe., a little jierson, plural AUANTWA.VA children, aljstract derivative uhuntu the qualities of human beings, diminutive UBUNTWANA tlie qualities of children. In the language of the Hasuto motho a personal plural hatho i)ersons. The pronunciation, howeve.'r, is nearly the same, the h in batho being sounded only as an aspirate and the ) as oo, baat-hoo. r' I III' 2 The Bantu Tribes. noses, and narrow receding foreheads; while others are almost Asiatic in appearance, with prominent and in rare instances even aquiline noses, bread upright foreheads, and lips but little thicker than those of Europeans. Among the southern tribes these extremes may sometimes be noticed in the same village, but the great majority of the people are of a type higher than a mean between the two. Ordinarily they present the appearance of a peaceable, goo J- natured, indolent people ; but they are subject to outbursts of great excitement, when the most savage passions have free play. The man who spends the greater part of his time in gossiping in idleness, preferring a condition of semi-starvation to toiling for bread, is hardly recognizable when, plumed and adorned with military trappings, he has worked himself into frenzy with the war dance. The period of excitement is, how- ever, short. In the same way their outbursts of grief are very violent, but are soon succeeded by cheerfulness. They ate subject to few diseases, and are capable of under- going without harm privations and sufferings which the hardiest Europeans would sink under. Occasionally there are seasons of famine caused by successive droughts, when whole tribes are reduced to eat wild roots, bulbs, mimosa gum, and whatever else unaided nature provides. At such times they become emaciated, but as long as they can procure even the most wretched food they do not actually die, as white ])eople would under similar circumstances. Nor does pestilence follow want of sustenance to the same extent that it would with us. It is probable that no people in the world have less of what Europeans would term the necessities of life than the Balala or Betshuana^ slaves. They are tribes broken in war, who have lost everything but life. They can cultivate no grain, for their home is the des.ert, and every ear grown at a watering- 1 This word is spelt in many different ways, according to the fancy of the writer. The language of the coast natives contains three clicks, which are usually represented by the superfluous letters c, q, and x. There are no clicks in the dialects of the interior, and peisons accjuainted only witli tliem often use these letters to represent the Siimo sounds that they do in the English words. To avoid confusion, I have foUoweii for all the dialects the rules of spelling adopted by the translators of i\vi Kaffir Bible. The Bantu Tribes. place would be taken by their masters. The choicest portion.s of all the wild animals they kill and all the peltries are ap- propriated by their lords. Garbage, such as the poorest Euiopean would turn from with loathing would be to them a luxury. Yet they thrive and multiply, and, when a favour- able opportunity occurs, can emerge from this condition, make gardens, breed cattle, and inflict upon other tribes the evils they have themselves undergone. At the beginning of the present century the great range of mountains which forms the eastern rim of the central basin of South Africa was a dividimx line between two sections of Bantu that have many characteristics in common, but between whom there are some remarkable differences. The section on the outer side of the rim, and occupying the lower terraces^ between it and the sea, comprised the following tribes : — 1. The Amaxosa, bordering on the Cape Colony, and inhabit- ing the district between the Great Fish and Bashee rivers. This tribe was the advance guard of the Bantu race, and was in contact on the south and west with Eu)-opeans and Hottentots. 2. The Abatembu, occupying the district between the Bashe*^ and Umtata rivers. 8. The Amampondomisi. 4. The Amampondo. '). The Amaxesihe. 0. A number of tribes — the Amabele, the Amrzizi, the Ama- hlubi, the Abasekunene, and many othe s of less im- portance — occupying the territory that is now the Colony of Natal. The Amamfengu or Fingos of the present day are descendants of these people. 7. The Amabaca, who also occupied at that time a portio i of Natal, and whose descendants are now to be found in Griquland East. 1 Until this century was well advanced tlio greater part of the liighest terrace, or that adjoining the Drakensberg, wns almost uninhabited except by IJushmen. The coast tribes fancied tiiat it was too cold for tiiem in tiio winter months ; and the mountain tribes, wiio were accustomed to a mucii severer climate, had never been so pressed for space on the inner side as to necessitate a surplus population crossing the barrier. :i I U': I III I 4 The Bantu Tribes. 8. TIic Amangwane. 9. The various tribes that were welded together by Tsliaka and have since formed the Araazulu or Zulus. With these must be included the Matabele, who under Umsi- likazi migrated into the interior, and are now to be found near the Zambezi. 10. The Amaswazi. Beyond these, or from Delagoa Bay northwards, the coast region was thickly populated, but tlie tribes there were too re- mote to need mention in connection with the subject of these chapters. This group, from the Amaxosa to the Amaswazi, may con- veniently be called the Coast Tribes of Southern Africa. Most of them derive their titles from the name of their first great chief or founder, thus the Amaxosa are they of Xosa, the Abatembu they of Tembu, the Amaswazi they of Swazi. A few are called after some peculiarity of the jieople ; but in s^'ch cases the titles appear to have been originally nicknames given by strangers, and afterwards adopted by the members of the tribe. The Amamfengu (the Wanderers) of our own times l)resent an instance of this manner of acquiring a title. On the other side of the a[)er carefully compiled for the information and guidance of the Government . " The Basuto chiefs differ from the frontier Kaffir chiefs only in deceit and j^lausibility. There is not that manliness of character so often met with amongst Kaffir chiefs. They are either most arrogant or abject, and have veiy little sense of honour, which virtue you will find to some extent among Kaffir chiefs. They are subject to the most degraded forms of superstition and (belief in) witehcralt, which applies to the tribe generally. I am not speaking of those under the influ- ence of the missionaries, who are looked upon by the chiefs a!id their heathen followers as having lost caste and as i6 Marriage Custo^ns. m ' enemies of their tribe and the customs of their forefathers The Basuto chiefs as a whole are much more morally degraded than the chiefs of any other tribes." The above graphic paragraph is quoted because of the autho- rity of the writer, and because it contains in a few words the substance of a large amount of trustworthy evidence that has not yet been published, all tending to show that in falsehood and plausibility the coast tribes are surpassed by those of the interior. The native of the coast is brave in the field, as our force?? liave over and over again experienced : his inland kinsman is in general an arrant coward. The one is modest when speak- ing of his own exploits, the other is an intolerable boaster. The difference between them in this respect is very great, and is exemplified in many ways, but a single illustration will give an idea of it. Faku, son of Gungushe, chief of the Pondos, by no means the best specimen of a coast native, once wished to show his regard for Mr. Henry Fynn, who was then residing with him in the > aracter of diplomatic agent of the Colonial Government. He brought him a hundred head of cattle and presented them with this expression, " You have no food to eat, and we desire to show you our wishes towards you, take this lasket of corn from the children of Gungushe." An inland chief presents a half-starved old goat to his guest with the ex- pression, " Behold an ox ! " There is a very important dilTerence in their marriage customs. A native of the coast region will not marry a girl whose relationship by blood to himself can be traced, no matter how distantly connected they may be. So scrupulous is he in this respect that he will not marry even a girl who belongs to another tribe, if she has the same family name as himself, though the relationship cannot be traced. He regards himself as the protector of those females whom v/e would term his cousins and second cousins, but for whom he has only the same name as for the daughters of his own parents, the endearing name of sister. In his opinion union with one of them would be incestuous, something horrible, something unutterably dis- graceful. The native of the mountains almost as a rule ',^. Circumcision, 17 of the autho- 3W words the encB that has [, in falsehood ^ those of the , as our forccf? id kinsman is t when speak- jrable boaster, ery great, and ation will give :he Pondos, by )nce wished to ; then residing »f the Colonial , of cattle and ive no food to ards you, take le." An inland it with the ex- Lheir marriage t marry a girl iced, no matter lulous is he in [vho belongs to le as himself, -ejiai^ds himself l^vould term his only the same L the endearing of them would lutterably dis- lost as a rule marries the daughter of his father's brother. The sons of Moshesh, the present chiefs of Basutoland, are nearly all mar- ried to their own full cousins. It keeps wealth and power in the family, they say. There is nothing else in their customs, not even the fearful depravity which is yet to be mentioned, that creates such disgust as this intermarriage does in the minds of the coast natives. They attribute to it the insanity and idiotcy which are prevalent in the mountains, and they say the Basuto desp ve to have idiots for children, as their mar- riages are like the marriages of dogs. The circumcision rites of the tribes are also different. On the coast there is nothing secret about the ceremony. The youths of a clan wait until a son of the chief is sixteen or seventeen years of age, when all are circumcised at the .'lame time. The retainers are held to be bound by the very strongest ties to the young chief who is their associate on this occasion, and as a rule they are found through life always ready to do or to suffer anything and everything for him. This ceremony gives them the privileges of men. At its close they are lec- tured and instructed in their duties by their elders, their friends make them presents to start them in life, and as soon as con- venient after it they conclude the marriages which their fathers or guardians have arranged. With the mountain tribes, there are ceremonies by which the youths are formed into guilds or lodges with passwords. The members of these lodges are bound never to give evidence against one another. The rites of initiation are kept pro- foundly secret, but certain horrible customs performed on some of these occasions have become known. One of these customs is that of infusing courage, intelligence, and other qualities. Whenever an enemy who has acted bravely is killed, his liver, which is considered the seat of valour, his. ears, which are con- sidered the seat of intelligence, the skin of his forehead, which is consider d the seat of perseverance, and other members, each of which is supposed to be the seat of some desirable quality, are cut from his body and baked to cinders. The ashes are carefully preserved in the horn of a bull, and during the cir- cumcision ceremonies are mixed with other ingredients into a li r i [ I ii <' !■■■■ ! Ill " 'II' li 11 : I I:!-* P !!- i8 Married Life. kind of paste and administered by the tribal priest to tlio youtlis, the idea beiiig that the virtues wiiich they represent are communicated to those who swallow them. This practice, together with that of using other parts of the remains of their enemies for bewitching purposes, accounts for the mutilation of the bodies of those who fall into their hands in war, a prac- tice which has more than once infuriated white men whose friends have been thus treated, and caused them to commit deeds from which they would otherwise have shrunk. The corresponding ceremony through which young females pass, as practised by the coast tribes, might be deemed the most degrading rite that human beings have ever been subject to, if it were not known that among the mountain tribes it is even more vile. All that the most depraved imagination can devise to rouse the lowest passions of the young females is here practised. A description is impossible. Chastity in married life can hardly be said to exist among the coast tribes. By custom every wife of a polygamist has a lover, and no woman sinks in the esteem of her companions on this becoming publicly known. The law allows the husband a fine from the male offender and permits him to chastise the woman, provided he does not maim her, but in the opinion of the females the offence is venial and is not attended with vere the most densely peopled districts of South Africa. The soil was rich, the water plentiful, the cimate such as the coast natives love. If the tribes there had united for defence, they might have succeeded in holding their own, but combinat> '.. in the time of danger, apparently so natural, appears seldom to be resorted to by barbarians. Frequently, on account of some petty jealousy, they rejoice at the do\;'nfall of neighbours, and lack the foresight to see that their owa turn will come next. It was so with the tribes of what is now Natal. One after .30 Gttbela. another they were attacked, and though several of them fouorht desperately, all were overpowered and ruined. Some instances of obstinate defence by isolated parties are still preserved in the memory of the aged, of which the following may serve as a specimen : Umjoli, chief of the Abasekunene, had taken to wife a woman named Gubela, of the Amabele tribe. She was a person of most courageous disposition, and as her husband'a character was just the reverse, sh i ]>laced herself at the head of his warriors, and resolved to die rather than flee. For a long time she succeeded in defending herself and the portion of the tribe that adhered to her, for after her first achievements, she separated from her craven husband, an 1 the people were di- vided be-tween them. Her name soon grew so famous that a . song was composed in her honour, two lines of which read as follows : — At Gubela's they don't use bars to kraals, But for gates makes heaps of lieads of men. Valour, however, did not prevail, and in the end Gubela's people shared the fate of all the rest. Remnants of the Amabele, the Amazizi, the Abasekunene, the Amalilubi, and a few others of less note managed to escape by fleeing south- ward and taking refuge with the tribes on the border of the Cape Colony. Their descendants are the Fingos of the present day. The Amabaca, now living in Griqualand East, are de- scendants of the remains of another fugitive tribe. The only ])eople left in the -reatcr part of the present Colony of Natal, were the remnants of a few clans who had adopted cannibalism as a means of existence. One section of the Amahlubi demands particular notice. The oriofinal home of this tribe was the district between the Buffalo and Tugela rivers, where they were living in the year 1S20. Their great chief at that time was named Bungane, and as from him some men have descended who have played an important part in South African history, a genealogical table of the family is here given. 1 B them fouofht me instances preserved in nay serve as. AIq a woman a person of d'fl character head of his r a long time 1 of the tribe vements, she 3ple were di- 'amous that a ^hich read as len. end Gubela's inants of the mahlubi, and fleeing south- border of the Df the present East, are de- 36. The only ony of Natal, d cannibalism ticular notice. between the g in the year Bunganc, and ,ve played an jaloixical table k Bungane Umtimkulu Langalibalele Ludidi Umpangazita Sidinane Methlomakulu I Zibi. The Amahlubi were not attacked directly by Tshaka's armies, but by Matiwanc, chief of the Araangwane, who was himself endeavouring to escape from the Zulu spear. The Amahulbi were driven from their homes with dreadful slaughter, in which their great chief Bungane and his principal son Umtimkulu both ])erished. Some clans of the defeated tribe, as has been already stated, fled southward. One division, under Umpa- ngazita, the second son of Bungane in rank, endeavoured to escape by crossing the mountains to the westward. An in- cident strikingly illustrative of savage life caused them to set their faces in this direction. Some fifteen or eighteen months ]n'eviously a quarrel had taken place between Umpangazita and his brother-in-law Motsholi, who thereupon left the Hlubi country with two or three thousand followers, and took refuge with the Batlokua. The chief Mokotslio v/as then dead, and his widow, Ma Ntatisi, was acting as regent clin'ing the minority of her son Sikonyela. Ma Ntatisi received Motsholi with hospitality, and for about a twelvemonth the intercourse between the Batlokua and the strangers was of a friendly nature. But Motsholi, v/hen visit- ing Ma Ntatisi, would never partake of food presented to him, and was always accompanied by some of his own followers carrying jirovisions for his use. He assigned as a reason that what was ofiercd to him was the food of the deceased Mokotslio, as if he would say that he suspected Ma Ntatisi of having caused Mokotsho's death by poison, and feared to eat what she piepared lest he might share the same fate. This came at' length to be considered a gross insult by the regent and her people. 32 Ravages of the Batloktia. Tn the winter of 1821 Sikonyela, then about IG or 17 years of age, was circumcised, when he determined to notify his entrance into the state of manhood, by a deed becoming a warrior. With a band of youthful adherents he fell by stealtli upon Motsholi, killed him and about twenty of his people, and drove off the cattle. The murdered chief wore a necklace without a fastening, and to obtain this Sikonyela cut off his head. Some of the adherents oi Motsholi fled to Umpangazita, and informed him of what had taken place. It was just then that the Amahlubiwere compelled to leave their own country. Umpa- ngazita thereupon resolved with assagai in hand to demand the restoration of the well-known necklace from the treacherous Batlokua, and to avenjje the death of his brother-in-law while escaping from his own antagonist. It is owing to this circum- stance that the natives accuse the Batlokua of being the cause of the wars of extermination west of the Drakensbergr. The Amahlubi were closely followed by the Amangwane, and so hot was the pursuit that the aged and feeble with thou- sands of helpless children, were of necessit}'' abandoned on the way, that the more vigorous might escape.^ They crossed the Drakensberg and fell upon the Batlokua, who were dispersed and compelled to abandon all their possessions to their con- querors. The whole of the tribes living along the streams which flow into the Upper Vaal, were then driven from their homes. In one great horde thej"^ fled northward, and, crossing the Vaal, fell upon the inhabitants of the southern portion of the present South African Republic. Their principal leader was named Tshuane, but the one whose fame has been most widely spread was Ma Ntatisi, the chieftainess of the Batlokua. From her the whole horde, though composed of the remnants of numerous tribes, has ever since been known to European and native alike as the Mantati destroyers. After crossing the river, the Mantatis turned to the north- west, and created awful havoc with every tribe in their line of 1 I have co'lccted a number of narratives of this event from individuals who took part in it. The clearest and best of these statements, I published in the Cape Monthly Magazine for April 1877, under the title of A Story of Native Wars, by an Aged Finyo. )r 17 years notify his becoming a [I by stealtli people, and a necklace cut off his ngazita, and 3t then that itry. Umpa- demand the treacherous in-law while this circum- ig the cause ►erg. A.mangwane, e with thou- oned on the crossed the ;e dispersed ,0 their con- the streams from their md, crossing portion of icipal leader been most he Batlokua. remnants of Liropean and the north- their line of dduals who took le Cape Monthly y an Aged Finyo. Ravages of the Batlokua and Makololo. march. As each was overcome, its cattle and grain were ilevoured, and then the murderous host passed on to the next Their strength was partly kept up by incorporating captives in the usual manner, but vast numbers of the invaders, especially of women and children, left, their bones mingled with those of the people they destroyed. Twenty-eight distinct tribes are believed to have disappeared, leaving not so much as a trace of their former existence, before tlie Mantatis received a check. Then Makaba, chief of the Bangwaketsi, taking advantage of an opportunity when they were encamped in two divisions at a distance from each other, fell upon them unawares, defeated them, and compelled them to turn to the south. In this direction, the Barolong lay in their route. These they dispersed and drove into the desert, and then they fell uj)on the Batlapin. They took possession of Lithako, the second Batlapin kraal in importance, and were about to march to Kuruman, when they were attacked by a body of Griq^as under Andries Waterboer, Adam Kok, and Barend Barends 2Gth of June, 1823. Being mounted and provided with firearms the Griquas easily secured a victory, without loss to themselves.^ After this second defeat, the Mantati horde broke up into several sections. One of these went northward, destroying the tribes in its course, and years afterwards, was found by Dr. Livingstone on a branch of the Zambezi. It was then known as the Makololo, and its chief was the celebrated Sebetoane. Another section returned to the Caledon, and under Ma Ntatisi and her son Sikonyela took an active part in the devastation of the country along that river. This branch of the Mantati horde will frequently be before us in tliese pages. The people composing it were of various clans, but henceforth they were all called Batlokua, as tlieir chief was originally the head of the tribe of that name. Some smaller bands wandered about destroying, until they were themselves destroyed. One band, a section of the Bataung, under the chief Molitsane, 1 For full particulars of the engagement nee Thomson's " Travels and Adventures in Southern Africa," and Jloffat's " Missionary Labours and Scenes." C Pi ■ 'II in; I ill' !. I'l i:| 34 Devastation of ike Motmtain Tribes, moved up ptxI down the wasted country fur years. It will often api)ear again in these pages. Excepting these and a clan of the Bataung, under a chief named Makwana who managed to hide away for a time, tlio whole of the original Bantu inhabitants of the northern half of the present Free State passed out of existence. After this, the Amahlubi and the j^niangwane, still fighting with each other, fell upon the country occupied by the five tribes of the Mayiane, Makhuakhoa, Bamonageng, Batlakoana, and Baramokhele. At that moment, just when these tribes most needed an able head, there was not a single man of note among them. Motlomi, chief of the Bamonageng, whose name is still held in great veneration b}' the Basuto, had exercised paramount power over them all during his lifetime, but he had died in 1814 or 1815, and there was no one of suHicient ability to take his place. It was, therefore, not as one strong, deter- Diined peojile that the five tribes met the torrent of invasion, but as little bands, each trying to lioiu *ts own, without a common plan of action. Vast numbers of people of all ages died by the club and assagai. In a short time the cattle were eaten up, and as the gardens ceased to be cultivated, a terrible famine arose. Thou- sands, tens of thousands, of people perished of starvation, other thousands fled from the wasted land, and many of those who lemained behind became cannibals. It is imi)ossible to form an estimate of the number ot individuals belonging to the Mountain Tribes who perished at this time. The only tribe whose losses can be even ap])roximately computed is that of the Batlokua. They were reduced from about one hundred and thirty thousand to fourteen or fifteen thousand in number, only a small proportion '.f the loss being from dispersion. If the destruction of human beings in what is now the Lesuto, and in the north-east of the present Free State, be estimated at three hundred thousand, that num'oer must be greatlv under the mark. And on the other side of the mountains, at least lialf a million liad perished. Compared with this, the total loss of human life, occasioned by all the wars in South Africa in wliich Europeans have engaged since first they set foot in the country, sinks into insignihcance. .*;'« Moshesh. Jer a chief a time, tlio. lern half of bill fighting by the five Batlakoana, these tribes nan of note whose name id exercised , but he had cient ability brong, deter- of invasion, L, without a he club and >, and as the •ose. Thou- v^ation, other »f those who ible to form • dnnr to the le only tribe -d is that of 3ne hundred d in number, spersion. If the Lesuto, estimated at reatlv under lins, at least the total loss th Africa in t foot in the While these devastations were taking place, a voung man, son of a petty chief of the Baramokhele, began to attract atten- tion. His name w?.d Moshesh. His family was one of so little note that in a country where the genealogies of men of rank have been carefully handed down for twelve or fifteen genera- tions, antiquarians cannot trace his lineage with absolute certainty beyond his great grandfather. Some of them, indeed, since Moshesh's rise, pretend to give the names of several of his more remote ancestors, but these names are disputed by others, and all that is generally agreed to is thr.t the family was in some way related by marriage to the ruling house of the Bamonageng. Certainty begins with Sekake, a petty chief who died about the middle of last century, leaving a son named Mpiti. If the custom of his people had been followed, after Sekake's death his brothers should have taken his widows ; but either by accident or design his great wife fell to one of his friends who was a stranger, being a native of the coast region. By this man the woman had a son, who was named Pete. Accord- ing to European ideas, Pete would certainly Lave no claim to represent Sekake, but his mother having been Sekake's wife, by Bantu custom he was considered Sekake's son. His elder brother, Mpiti, was, however, held to be the heir. Pete lived until the year 1823, when he was killed, and eaten by canni- bals. He left two sons, Dibe the elder, and Mokatshane the youngei About the year 1793, Mokatshane's wife gave birth to a son, ;vho, on attaining manhood, took the name of Moshesh, and subsequently became the most prominent individual in the mountain land. Moshesh was thus by birth only the heir of a younger son of a younger son " by cattle " of a petty chief, a positiori of very little note, indeed. The foUowinnr iienealoirieal table will show his descent at a glance : — Sekake o o^ Mpiti Pete Masotwane I Makwai Dibe Ilamakha Mokatshane Moshesh f ^: ''l - .'I ! pi f 11 I 36 Moshesh. Many years later, the official praisers, a class of men who attend upon every native chief, related that Motlorai, the last paramount ruler of the five tribes, had named Moshesh as his successor, and had predicted his future greatness; but their statement rested upon flattery alone. Motlomi was dead long before Moshesh had an opportunity of emerging from obscurity. The family of Mokatshane was a large one. Among his sons who were born after Moshesh were Makhabane (father of Lesowana, or Kamanela, as now called), Poshuli, Mohali, Moperi, and Lelosa (or Job), all of whom will appear in these pages, Moshesh first saw the light at Lintshuaneng, on the Tlotsi, where his father's clan was living. He grew up to be a man of commanding appearance, attractive in features, and well formed in body. In his youth he was an ardent hunter of the elands and other large animals that were then to be found at no great distance from his home, and this exercise developed his strength and activity. Upon the invasion of his country, Moshesh, then a vigorous young man of eight or nine and twenty j'ears, collected a party of warriors, chiefly his former companions in the chase, and made a stand at the strong position of Butabute. There he held his own for a considerable time, but in the winter of 1824, he was attacked by Ma Ntatisi, and was driven away, when his followers were brought to great distress. He then removed some distance to the south-west, and took possession of Thaba Bosigo, a mountain so formed by nature as to be a fortress of great strength, and which has never yet been taken by a foe. None, a Baphuti chief, had a village at the foot of the hill, but he was plundered of his provisions by Moshesh's chief warrior, Makoniane, and was then driven a-vray by the new- comers. Moshesh now conducted various expeditions against the Batlokua and the Amahlubi, and owing to the adroitness with which his plans were formed, he was invariably successful. His fame as a military strategist rapidly spread, and from all parts of the mountain land men came to Thaba Bosigo to join Mos/ics/i. 37 ■ men who li, the last esh as his ; but their was dead ging from A.mong his 3 (father of li, Mohali, ir in these the Tlotsi, be a man 3, and well inter of the »e found at ! developed a vigorous ted a party chase, and There he ter of 1824, iwaj'^, when en removed n of Thaba fortress of n by a foe. of the hill, lesh's chief y the new- igainst the itness witli successful, id from all igo to join liiin. With an iminegnablo stronghold in his possession, in which the families and ort'ccts of his retainers were secure, it was easy for the rising chief to make sudden forays, and fall upon his enemies at unguarded points. Each successful ex- ])edition broutrht new adherents, until the Basuto of iMoshcsh became a strong ])arty, devoted to tbeir leader. For two or three years, the Amangwane were the most powerful jicoplo in tie country, and during this time Moshesh paid court to their chief, professing to be his vassal, and paying him tribute from the spoil taken in his excursions. After a time, the most formidable of the invaders perished, or left the ravislied country. A great battle was fought on the banks of the Caledon between Umpangazita, or Pakalita as he Mas called by the Basuto, and Matiwane, in ^vhich the Ama- hlubi were defeated with great slaughter. The chief and those who escaped fled to a mountain, but were followed by the onemy, and driven from the stronghold. In the last stand that they made, near Lishuane, Umpangazita was killed. Most of the young men were then taken to be carriers for the Aman- gwane, and such as remained placed themselves under the ])rotection of ^Moshesh, and with his consent settled in the district of Mekuatling. These people and their descendants, tosfether with some fraijments of the Amangwane and other tribes subsequently broken, are the Fingos of recent Basuto liistory. After the destruction of the Amahlubi, an army whi -V, was «ent by Tshaka fell upon Matiwane, who was defeated, and compelled to retire from Basutoland. Crossing the Orange River and the Kathlamba Mountains in a southerly direction, he then attacked the Abatembu. This tribe applied to the Colonial Government for assistance, and to save the natives on the frontier from annihilation or dispersion, a combined mili- tary and burgher force was sent against the Amangwane. The Calekas also joined the Tembus against them. In August 1828 Mati wane's power was completely broken. He, with a few of his adherents, fled northwards to Dingan, Tshaka's successor, by whose orders they were all put to death. Those of his people that were left in Kaffirland then lost their distinffuishinfr ^1 il' 38 3los/icsk. < ii name, and were absorbed in other tribes, some of them even becoming mixed with the Fin<]fos of the frontier. The Batlokua, reduced to one eighth or one tenth of their original number, now settled along the Upper Caledon, and began to resume the occupations of an agricultural and pastoral people. Sikonyela, son of Ma Ntatisi, was their recognised chif^f, !»i;t his mother, who was considered a person of ability, still exercised supremo control over the tribe. The frovernment of Moshesh was mild, and he had sufficient wisdom and prudence to spare and protect all who submitted to him, whether they had been previously friendly or hostile. Even partiesof cannibals left their caves, placed themselves under liim, and began again to cultivate the ground. By a couple of successful forays upon some Tembu clans below the mountains, he acquired considerable wealth in cattle. Most of the adult individuals of hijrh rank among the mountain tribes had ]>erished, so there was no obstacle to the ])cople adopting as their head the young chief, whose abilities as a ruler as well as a military leader were soon widely recognised. Moshesh thus became the central figure round whom the scattered and im- povei'ished Basuto rallied, with a view of recovering and retaining tlie teri-itory that had been occupied by their fathers, or, more correctly, a portion of that territory, together with the district between it and the Orange River, which had been pre- viously inhabited partly by the Baphuti, but chiefly by Bushmen. He had already become by conquest the paramount chief of the Baphuti, a tribe of mixed blood, an account of whose origin will sliow how easily in times of peace bordering people become blended together. About the beginning of last century a band of refugees callino- themselves Bamaru, or people of the clouds, migrated from Zululand to the country south of Thaba Bosigo. These people adopted Basuto customs and int- rmarried with the BamonafTfenc' by wliom they were termed Mapethla, or the pioneers. After the establisshment of the Bamaru, some Bahalan Tlic higlicHt estimate of the munhcr of the Mntahele is that given hy .Me«8r«. Scooii ami Luckie, two tiailiMs who visitL'd MoKeli'kiits. in ISL'it. Thoy coinputcd the tiihe at lit'lity thoiiHaiid kouIs. Tli- Hiilistaiice of a .liaiy kci-t hy them was pub- lii»lieopjnare Rapulane Molekano Makhowe Matlabe ifii;j 48 London Socuiy s Station of Kuruman. It was not alone a tlivision of the Barolong proper that followed the death of Tao, but the adopted clans took advan- tage of the favourable opportunity, and made themselves in- dependent. Among these were the Batlapin who occupied the southern jmrt of the country. From this time until 1823 the difierent divisions of the Baroloiig were continually moving about from place to i)lace, and it was seldom that all the fc^ections were at peace. ^ In 1817 the London Society founded the mission station of Kuruman with the Batlapin, who were then under the chief Mothibi, and absolutely independent. In 1821 the Rev. Mr. Moffat went to reside at Kuruman, and very shortly made the acquaintance of the Barolong. He was an eye witness of the disastrous events of the next few years, and has given a graphic account of them in his " Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa," a volume published in London in 1842. In 1823 the waves of war which originated in Zululand began to roll over the Barolong country. The ^lantati horde, before its defeat by the Griquas at Lithako, destroyed some sections of the tribe. Then its Makololo offshoot attacked the clan of Tawane. Next the Bataung under Molitsane fell upon the wretched people, and plundei'cd them. One clan, under the chief Sifunelo, had already migrated southward, and early in the year 1823, was fortunate enough, in its wanderings, to fall in with two Wesleyan missionaries, the Rev. Messrs. Broadbent and Hodgson, who were seeking a field of labour in Betshuanaland. These gentlemen took ui> their residence with the clan, which shortly afterwards tried to find a resting place at Makwasi, on the northern bank of the Vaal. On one occasion, during the temporary absence of the missionaries, Makwasi was attacked by Molitsane's Bataung, and a considerable amount of spoil was taken, among which were a few cattle belonging to Mr. Broadbent. Thereui)on the 1 The Rev. John Campbell trRvellutl through the " country of Tao " in 1820, and reached the chief kraal of the Dulmrutsi, tlien some distance north of the Molopo. The general condition of the people at that time may bo ascertained by referring to his work cntited " Travels in South Africa undertaken at the reijuest of the London Missionary Society being a Narrative of a Second Journey in tlio Interior of that Country." Two voln. 8vo., London, 18'J2. 'The Baiiczua/ccisi. 49 Griqua chief Andries Waterboer, constituting himself protector of tiie missionaries, procccLlod with an armed party to Mak- wasi, j)retended to liold an investij^ation, found Sifunelo guilty of seizinu: the cattle, and fined him six Inindred oxen. The fine was paid, as the Gri(iua band was armed with muskets and was too strong to be resisted. It was subsequently ascertained that Sifunelo was entirely jjuiltless, and throuf;h the influence of the missionaries the Colonial Government brought such pressure to bear upon Waterboer that ho restored the six hundred oxen. This was the first occasion on which our Government had any dealings with the Barolong. In 182G Sifunelo's clan left Makwasi, and, moving about a hundred and twenty miles to the south-west, halted at Platberg, on the soutiiern bank of the Vaal. There they remained until the close of the year 1833, when the Rev. Messrs. James Archbell, John Edwards, and Thomas Jenkins, Wesleyan missionaries who succeeded Messrs. Broadbent and Hodgson led them to Thaba Ntshu, a mountain west of the Caledon and distant from Thaba Bosigo about fifty or sixty miles.^ The pressure of circumstances brought the remaining Barolong clans together, and in 1824f Mr. Moffat found the chiefs Gontse, Tawane, and Intshi, residing together in one large town, which contained some twenty thousand inhabitants, in- cluding clans of the Bahurutsi and Bangwaketsi. Each chief governed his own section of the town. Gontse had the largest following, though Tawane was considered the strongest of tl em. The great tribe of the Bangwaketsi under the chief Makaba was not yet broken. :Mr. Moffat went to visit Makaba, and found him living north of the Molopo. The missionary estimated the number of the Bangwaketsi at seventy thousand at the lowest computation. in 182() Mr. Andrew Geddes Bain visited the country. He found Tawano with his clan living in a miserable condition by a filthy pool in the bed of the Molopo. The water of the pool ' See "A Narrative of the First Introduction of Oiristianity amongst tlio Uaro'orii; hibe of IJeclmanas," l)y the Ifev. Samuel IJrouiIbent. A small 12mo volume, London, ld66. 50 Ravao^cs of Mosclckatse. was so foul that Mr. Bain's dogs would scarcely lap it. Tawano had been driven by his enemies from his former residence two days' journey further up tiie Molopo, but he intended to return immediately. The traveller described the chief as a " sedate- faced old fellow wrapped up in a dirty buclc-skin kaross, with a very flat nose and a remarkably ]tri>jecting under lii».' From Tawane's wretched kraal Mr. Bain went on to tho Bangwaketsi country. Tiie princii)al kraal of this tribe was in a valley called Silokwalali, which the traveller found " literally strewn with human skulls." A short time previously Makaba had fallen in a great battle with one of the marauding hordes, and his brother Sobeka was then acting as chief of the remnant of the tribe, Gasitsiwe, the rightful heir, being a minor. The condition of the whole country north of the Orange and west of the Drakensberg at this time was such that the Griqua and Korana marauders, who have already been described as ttinbfcr 1830. /uiz'irj^cs of Alosclckatse, 51 Tawanc joined Moroko, and moved onward witli liiin. In the country of the Baluirutsi, Bangwaketsi, l^akwena, and Barolonj^, to use tlic expressive words of one of the cliiefs when giving evidence many years later at Blocmhof, thcro was now no other master than Mosclekatsc and the lions.^ ,se in the South 1 Tlic uttor desolation of tho territory between ^fosclekatHc's outposts ant', tho eieighbourliood of tlie Caledon is known to us not only from native accounts, hut fmni tlio ipulilished works of a number of English travellers who visited it during the next few years. The extracts which follow will indicate whuro more complete information is to be obtained : — In 18ar> an cxidoring expedition under direction of Dr. (afterwards .Sir) Andrew .Smith left the Cape Colony and penetrated the interior as far as tho Liinpoiio. The < xpcilititin went up and rciturned through tho " country of Tao." In his iiublished ileport (18il(») Dr. Sniitii states that between Kurunian and the Kalahari Dehcrt, that is in the territory respecteil by Moselekatse on account of 3Ir. ^lotfat, he found ''some large kraals of JSatlupin, liarolong, and Batlaro." On the border of tho desert he found "a small community of ISurolong trusting entirely for support to tho spontaneous jiroductions of nature." These and the fallowing are tho only references to the ]5arolong which he makes : "After leaving the neighbourhood of Latakoo wo !net witli few inhabitants till we reached the country of the Matabele, distant about two hundred miles in a north-eust direction. In former days this intervening district was inhiibited l)y IJatlapin and IJarolong, but at present it is only the resort of the poor of those tribes and of the Bahurutsi." Captain (afterwards General) William Cornwallis Harris traveled and hunted in this territory in the year ISHIJ, when ho visited Jloselekatse. His account of tho country and tiie peoi)le is one of the most valuable works on that part of South Africa ever publislied. It is entitleil "The Wild Sports of Southern Africa, bein^ the Xarrative of a Hunting Kxpedition through the Territories of the Chief Moselekatse to the Troi»ic of Capricorn." The fifth edition was published in London in l^'iL'. Captain Harris says : " We continued to advance to the northward by marches of ten ani with the small and starving remnants of some pastoral tribe of IJechuana that had been plundered by Moselekatse 's warriors. These famished wretches hovered around us, disputing with vultures and hyenas the carcases we left, which they devoured with such brutish avidity as scarcely to leave a bone toattest the slaughter." In 1814 Mr. Henry M. Methuen travelled through the "covmtry of Tao," and hunted in it. In his "Life in the Wilderness or VVonderingsin South Africa (1840),'' though he gives much information concerning other tribes, lie never mentiotis tho IJarolong, thus showing by negative evidence how few of them were left in tho land unh«'(1 tlirotigh tliu "country of Tiio" acvurul tiiiioH niul liuntcil in it, Imt onu HunrclioH in vain for any nu-nt)on of tlio Ilarolong in IiIn "Five YfiuH* Advintun-H in tliu fnr Interior of Houtli Afriuit, with NoticuH of tliu Nutivu Trilu-H and Muvugu AniiiialH (18.'t0)." Tho winio may l)0 Haid of .Mr. •InmoH ('>m|ininu, who wam fri>i|ui, nnd yet inakoH no niuntion of the lUruloiig in liiM "TravuU in tho Intuiior. of South Africa. " (Two Inrgu volume*, 18«N ) The Barolong and the Wcsleyan Missionaries. 53 ami one goat. But there was nocoiiipetont interpreter present when the arrangement was made, and it is very evident that Moshesh did not regard tlie transaction in the light of a sale, H8 he nmst at that time have been entirely unacquainted with any other system of disposing of land than that practised by tribes of his own race. He could not have comprehended the nature of the document, and in after years he constantly main- tained that he had never intended to alienate the ground. On the other hand the Wesleyan missionaries have always held that the ground was not his at the time to alienate, that it was really open for any one to settle upon, and that the deed of sale was only drawn up to prevent any claim to it thereafter being made by the Ba.suto. \Vith the same object in view, on the 17th of .Hily, 1834, they jturchased from Moshesh and Sikonyela jointly an ex- tensive tract of land round Platberg and bordering on the Caledon. \n the deed of sale, which is signed by both the chiefs, it is stateil that eight head of horned cattle, thirty-four bheep, and live goats were given in payment, but the view of missionaries some years later, when Moshesh claimed to bo their feudal lord, was that the purchase had been concluded as a friendly arrangement to prevent either the Basuto or the Butlokua from interfering with them or making pretensions* to the ownershij) of tin; land. The whole of the lliuojong wer« located by the Wcsleyan missionaries at Thaba Ntshu, where a town was built and a niissicm station established. Matlabo was still a subject of Mcselekatse, but shortly after this, hearing that his kinsmen had found a place of comparative safety, he made his escape and joined them. Of the four Barolong chiefs then at Thaba Ntshu, Gontso was the highest in rank ; but so thoroughly impoverished was he, and so 'jouipletely had his followers been dispensed or destroyed, that his nan»o hardly ever appears in the nunierous docunicnts written at that period by Kuropean residents at the station. Being without talents of any kind, ho was of no note whatever. Tawane, the next in rank, ha.H left more traces of his residence at 'i'haba Ntshu, l>ccauMO ho liad Burticient energy to turn his followoi's into u band of V<--f.!' 54 Other Natives. '( ; ti robbers, and was one of the wasps that iMosheah afterwards charged witli having dared to sting liim.^ Matlabo was en- tirely sunk in obscurity. Moroko alone, owing partly to his clan having fled before the great disasters and partly to the guidance of the missionaries, was a man of power and influence. The other natives who '.vere brought by the We.sleyan mis- sionaries at this time to the western bank of the Caledon were : 1. A clan of Koranas under a leader named Jan Hanto, who died shortly after this and was succeeded by Oert Taaibosch. These were Hottentots, with habits ill-fitteil for a settled life, as they were still a purely ])ast()ral people. In disposition, language, and eustoms, as well as in colour, they differed greatly from all the members of the liantu family. The least stable in charactDr of any people on earth, without attachment to locality of birth or residence, so impatient of restraint, that their chiefs possessed little or no power, indolent to the last degree, careless about the future so long as immediate wants were supplied, regardless of the rights of others, callous to the sufferings of human beings oi* dumb animals, theso Koranas yet surpassed the Bantu in power of imagination and in specu- lations upon the workings of natuvo. The clan under Jan Planto njitjfrated from beyond the Vaal River, the grazing grounds on which they had previously tended their herds being far away to the north-west. They were now located at Merumetsu. 2. A small [tarty of half breeds, of mixed Euro[)ean and Hottentot blooil, under a captain named Carolus Baatje. These people, who were located at Platberg, came from the northern districts of the Cape Colony. 3. A small party of (Jriijuas under a captain named Peter Davids. This was the reiuiumt of a compiiratively largo body of Hottentots and people of mixed luiropean, Hottentot, Bushmen, ' Jamen liavkhoune, a iiiimionaiy of tlio Hucitity uf FriuiulH, who vikituil Tiuilia NtHhu ill 183U, in liin " Narmtivu of n Viitit tu tliu Mur.iitiua ami hoiitli Africa," kivi h a lirief iiutioo uf Tawaiio. In tho Hcv. Mr. liroadliciit'M book airt-aily rufurn-il to, liiit ii.iine ia mentionuil tiireu or four tiniiii. TrucvH of liii rvnidcnvti at Tiiuha NtMiiu aro nliio to be fonnd in the Journal of tho French Mimionary Hocioty, ami in th« thrcu ^•'iuinei of "]la»).itolanil Itcoonia" |iui)liiihu «)Utposts. liut from this j»i'riod they continued to cross the river wiienover pastUH'ge failed in the south, and gradually the)- made their way eastward. I.. J. 1 ! > ill 56 //urease in the Pofynlalion of the Lcsido. At len^tli a ]>arty of foiirttMni or flftetM. fiuniucs sciilod at a |)lacu wliicli tlioy naincd Zeventontein, or- tho westr rr })ank of th?^ Caledon, with the intention of remaining d^X'i o*; ima .eiitly. Thij found no people in tliat neighbor rliood l"t Buc^iiien, and no one objected to tlieir occupation of tiio land. With this exception, hardly any of the Boers who moved into the coming country n refuse ion, and •annical. lutlu-rs, )ulatioti. tivni'th. licv had lie most te man, a-'ainst »y liad ro also i^'biT.nt •rosity ler liis Bccrsheba. 57 u i( The [I, alter villay:e ;it, and ii^lit to f littlo 1 )y one nd for ^vay to 1st tlie Kaffirs, aiid wlicn tlic war was over and "^omo of them returned, tbcv found that tl»e .ivids, the enptain of Lishuane, was with the party, and witii the thor ''itles.>nes8 characteristic of his race, he haar MM. T. Arboussct et F. Daiunas, Missionaires do la SoeietcV des Missions lCvan,,a'li(|ueH de Varis." An <»ctavo volumo of OOS paj^es, with map atid jilates, pul)iished at Paris in IS iL*. This work contains aii account )t ajourncy from Morijato the \'aal Uiver and hack by another route, witli a desciiption of the country traversed and the various clans eucountercd. It j.?i.os a vivid piituro of tl»e desolation and misery caused by the wars in those re;;ions a short time prcvi(tusly. It :iIm> contains .. lari^e amount, of informatii>n u|)on native customs. Tliere is un Knj;lish translation published at Caj)e 'I'own in 18 Hi, but ir is wn'iout the chart or plates. An edition published at London i\i\A Al" r.wu octavo volume of r>j;; pages, Kdinburgh, 1871. (J- CHAPTER in. The Causes of the Great Emigration from tlio Cape Colony — Fate of the First Party of Emigrants— Purchase by Commandant Pot- gieter of a Tract of Land from the Bataung Chief, Makwana — ilassacrc of Emigrants by the Matabelo — War with Mosclekatso — The American Mission to the Matabele — Foundation of tlic Village of Winburg — AppoMitmcnt of Pietcr Iletief to bo Com- mandant (loneral of the Emigrants — Moselekatse driven away to the far North, and his Conquests taken possession of by Com- mandant Potgietcr. THE emi^iation from the Cape Colony of many thousands of substantial burghers, with the determination to seek a new home in the wilderness where they could be fit-.d from what they regarded as intolerable oppression, is an event unique in the history of modern colonization. No people not of British descent ever presented such favour- able material for tlie formati(m of a dependency loyal to Britain as did those South African colonists, when forty yeai^s before they came, by conquest, under British rule. They were men of our own race, of that sturdy Nether Teuton stock which peopled England and Scotland as well as the delta of the Rhine, With the main stream of their Bafavian blood had, indeed, mingled many rivulets not of Batavian source, but the stubborn current had Ho wed on unchanged, absorbing and assimilating them all. Fii-st, and most important, was a tributary of Huguenot origin. At one time it had made up about a sixih of the whole blood, bi'i before tlie midd'j of the eighteenth century it was com- pletely absorbed. Larger in vohnne, but e 'en more easily aRsimiiated, was a tributary fnun IuikIm now li^cluded in the German Empire. Upon close examination, however, it is seen that nearly the whole of the Gt!rnjans, so termed, who made their homes in South Afri(ra in the onHy days of the settlement, were from the border land, when* the High and Low Teutor»fl / 6o Causes of the Great Emip'ation. were intermingled, so that much of this blood was probably akin to the Batavian. Denmark, Sweden, even Scotland, sup- plied rills, but so tiny that they were lost at once. One family, now widely spread, traced its origin to Portugal. These South Africans spoke a dialect which our great Alfred would have understood without much ditficulty, which is nearer to the language of the men who fought under Harold at Senlac than is the English tongue of to-day. Their religion was that of the people of Scotland, of a large proportion of the people of England. That there was nothing of the nature of race an- tagonism between them and the people of Great Britain is shown b}' the readiness with which intermarriages have taken place ever sJnco the Colony came under our flag. Even the fcel'ng of dislike which long commercial rivalry engendered between the English and Dutch in Europe was not shared to any appreciable extent by the colonists of South Africa. There is, in truth, hardly any difference in sentiment between these men and a body of Englishmen or Scotchmen of equally limited education that can not be referred to what hereditary instinct would create between a purely agricultural and ])ast()ral people living for nearly two centuries in seclusion from the rest of the world and a people chiefly engaged in manufactures and com- merce with the working of modern ideas pJ! around them. Why, tlien, did these men abandon their homes, sacrifice what- ever property could not be carried away, ar.d flee from English ."•lie as from the most hateful tyranny ? The causes are stated in a great mass of correspondence addressed by them to the Colonial Government and now preserved with other colonial records, in declarations published by some of them before lea-ving, in letters to their relatives and to newspapers, and in hundreds of pages of printed matter prepared by friendly and hostile hands. The declaration of one of the ablest mea among them as.signs the following as the motives of himself and the party that went with him : — (iruham's Town, I'lxvS. January, 1837. 1 . Wo (Icapuir of Hiiviug the Colony from tliufto evils which throutcn It by tlio tiirliulont and (Ushonest comluct oi vagrants, who aro ulJowetl to ii»fost the country in every piirt ; nor do wo ihju any proMpoot ot' Causes of the, Great /inu\ ration^ 6r peace or liappiuesM for our cliildron ill a country thus distracted l»y iutcrnid cotuniotiouH. '2. Wo conipluin of the severe losses which wo l»ave heen forced b* sustain hy the emancipation of our shives, and the vexatious law* which have been enacted respectin;,' tlioin. o. We complain of the continual system of plunder which wo Imvo for years endured from the KatKrs and other coloured classes, and particularly by the last invasion of the Colony, which has desolated the frontier districts and ruined most of the inhabitants. 4. We complain of the unjustifiable (kHuui which has been cas!, upon us by interested and dishonest persons, under the name of Helij^ion, whose testimony is believed in Kn^dand to the exclusion of all evidence in our favour ; and we eun foresee, as the result of this prejudice, nothin-j; but the total ruin of the country. f). Wo nro resolved, wherever wo go, that we wl'l n[)hold the just principles of liberty ; but, whilst we will take care that no one is l)ro)ii;ht by us into a condition of slavery, wo will establish stjch re- gulations as may suppress crime and preserve proper relations be- twecji master and servant. 6. We solenudy declare that \\v leave this cohtuy with a desire tO' enjoy a (luieter life than we have hitherto had. Wo will not molest any people, nor dej)rive them of the smallest ])roperty ; but, if at- tacki'd, we shall consider ourselvi's fidly justified in defending our persons and ellects, to the utmost of our ability, against every enemy. 7. We make known that w hen wo shall have franud a code of law s for our gJiidanc", copies shall be forwarded to this colony for geiicral information ; but wo take the opportunity of stating that it is our firm resolve to make provision for tho sunnnary punishment, even with death, of all traitors, without exception, who may be found amiaigst us. 8. We purpose, in tho course of our journey and on arrival at the country in which we shidl permanently nside, to niake known to the native tribes our intentions and uxw desiro to live in [a ace and friendly intercourse with them. 1). We (piit this colony under the full assnvanco that the English (jovermnent has nothing more to re(piire of u>i, and will allow us to govern ourselves without its interfertMice in future. 10. We are now leaving the fruitful land of oin* birth, in which wo liavo suffered enormous losses and continual vexation, and are about, to enter a strange and dangenais f ei-ritory ; but we go with a firm reliance on an all-seeing, just, and merciful (Joil, whom wo shall always fear and Innnbly endeavour to obey. In the name of all who leave this colony with me, 1'. Uktiep. 62 Ca2iscs of the Great Emigration. But foiinal declanitions such as tin; abovo arc not in all instances to be trusted. It is nnicii safer to com])are nurneivius documents written at diH'erent times, by diHerent j)ersons, and under difi'erent circumstances. For our subject this means of information is as complete as can bo desired. The correspond- ence of tlio emii^M'ants with the Cape (lovcrnment was the work of many individuals and extended over many years. Tiic letters are usually of great length, badly constructed and badly s})elt — the ])roductions, in short, (>f uneducated men ; but 80 uniform is the vein of thought running through them all that there is not the slightest difllculty in condensing them into a dozen j)ages. When analysed, the statements con- tained in them are fv)und to consist of two charges, one against the Imperial Government, the other against the agents in South Africa of the Loudon Missionary Society. The Imperial (Jovernment was charged with cxi»osing tho white inhabitants of the Colony without protection to robbery and murder by the blacks ; with giving credence in every dis- ]>utu to statements made by interested jjcrsons in favour of savages, while refusing to credit the testimony — no matter how reliable — of colonists of Kuropcan extraction ; with liberating the slaves in an unjust manner ; and generally with such undue partiality for p "sons with black skins and savage habits as to nuike it ])rererable to seek a new home in tho wilderness rather than remain luider the Enfdish flag. The missionaries of the London Society were charged witii usurping authority that .should })roperly belong to the civil magistrate ; with misrepresenting facts ; and with advocating schemes directly hostile to the progress of civilization and to the observance of order. And it was asserted that the in- lluence of these missionaries was all ]K)werful at the Colonial Oflico in London, by which the Colony, without a voice in the numagement of its aflairs, was then ruled absolutely. \\\ support of the charges against the Imperial Government, tho emigrants dwelt largely upon the devastation of tho Kastern Districts by the Kaflir inroad of December, 1834, which was certainly unprovoked by tho colonists. Yet Lord Glenelg, who was then Secretary of State for tho Colonies, Causes of the Great Emigration. (>\ lonts con- justificd tlic Ivadirs, and not only refused to punish them, but actually gave them a largo slip of land — including the dcnso iunL'lcs alon«r the Fish lllvcr — that had hmg been part of tho Colony, and made no other jtrovision against the recurrence of a destructive invasion than a series of treaties Avith a number of barbarous chiefs who had no regard for tlieir engagements. This event is the most ])rominent feature in the corres|)ondence of the emigrants ; it is fairly recorded, and the languagt; used is in geneial much more moderate than that employed by tho Ku'-'lish frontier colonists when relating the same circumstance. xs'oxt stands the removal of all restraint froui the coloured ])opulation of the Colony, without the jjrotection to the whites of even a Vagrant Act. ScNcral of the Colonial divisions had been for ten or twelve years overrun by fugitives from tho I>asuto and 13etshuana countries, wlu) had been driven from (heir own homes by the troubles already recorded. Tlieso people were usually termed Mantatees or !Makatees from tho supi)osition that they were all subjects of Ma Ntatisi. . To- wards the Eastern Frontier, Kalllrs, and after the war Fingos, wanderi'd about juactically wherever they chose. In tho remainder of tho Colony, Hottentots, free blacks, and mixed breeds came and went as th( y pleased. How is it jtossible, said the farmers, for us to cultivate tlu ground or brei^d cattlo with all these; savages and semi -savages constantly watching for opj)ortunities to plinuler us, with no police, and no law under which suspicious characters can be anvsted and made to account for their nianner of livini: ? Much is said of the reproofs of Sir Iknjamin D'Fi])an by tho Secretary of State, and, after 18.'KS, of tho dismissal of that Governor.^ The emigrants asserted that Ijo was the best CJoveinor the Colony luid had since it became sultject to England ; they dwelt upon his benevolence, his ability, his strict justice, his impartiality to white and black, a\h efforts to promote civilization; and then the}' comj)laincd, in words more bitter than are to be found when they referred to any ' Sir Ik'iijamiii D'lTrboii remained in South Africa nflcr heinjj depriveil of ofHca until till- revuriMil of liii policy towunlM the niitivi-H wan mlniittcd hy Miont jx-oplo even in Kn^land to have been ii mlHttiki'. Hit ilid not Icavo tliu Capo until Ajuil, 1846, jukt utter the coniinuncuuieiit of tlic War of tlio Axe. V] ^ /}. v: ^: ^ ^1 ew J^i 7 "^I' '% o 7 /A IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I It is 112.0 1.25 II 1.8 U 1111.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation A 4^ V .^ ^\ ;\ 23 WEST MAIN STREIT WEBSTER, N.Y. MSBO (716) 872-4503 o -^ ^\ 6^ 64 Ccutscs of the Great Emigration. r*' . 1 other subject, that the good Governor had been reproved and finally deprived of his office because he had told the plain truth regardless of the London Missionary Society, and had endeavoured to mete out to black criminals the same justico that he would have meted out had they been white. There is- now no one in South Africa who does not agree with the emigrants in this matter. Nearly half a century has passed away since Sir Benjamin D'Urban was forced into retirement by Lord Glenelg, and during that period the principal measures which he proposed have been approved of and adopted, while the successors of those missionaries who were his bitter opponents are at present among the strongest advocates of his system of dealing with the natives. Concerning tlie liberation of the slaves, there is less in thi.s correspondence than one might reasonably expect to find. Many scores of pages can be examined without any allusion whatever to it. Nowhere is there a single word to be found in favour of slavery as an institution, the view of the emigrants, with hardly an exception, being fairly represented in the followinsf sentence taken from a letter of the Volksraad at Natal to Sir George Napiei* : — " A long and sad experience has. sufficiently convinced us of the injury, loss, and dearness of slave labour, so that neither slavery nor the slave trade will ever be permitted among us." It is alleged, however, that the emancipation, as it was carried out, was an act of confiscation. It is stated that most of the slaves were brought to the Colony in English ships and sold by English subjects ; that when in 1795 the C lony was invited by English officers of high rank to place itself under the protection of England, one of the inducements held out was security in slave property, at the same time those officers warning the colonists that if France obtained possession she would liberate the slaves as she had done in Martinique, thereby ruining this Colony as she had ruined that island ; that the English Government had recently and suddenly changed its policy, and required them to conform to the change with e(iual alaxrity, whereas they were convinced that gradual emancipa- tion, with securities against vagrancy, was the only safe course. Causes of the Great Emigration. 65 The emancipation had heen sudden, and the slaves had been placed upon a perfect political equality with their former pro- prietors. Tlie missionaries applauded this as a noble and generous act of the Imperial Government, and they were told that by every one in England it was so regarded. But at whose expense was this noble and generous act carried out ? Agents of the Imperial Government had appraised the slaves, generally at less than their market value. Two-fifths of this appraisement, being the share apportioned to the Cape out of the twenty million pounds sterling voted by the Imj^erial Par- liament, had then been offered to the proprietors as compensa- tion, if they chose to go to London for it, otherwise they could only dispose of their claims at a heavy discount. Thus in point of fact only about one-third of the appraised amount had been received. To all slaveholders this had meant a great reduction of wealth, while to many of those who were in debt it was equivalent to the utter deprivation of all property. Their case against the missionaries of the London Society, briefly stated, was this : — In the month of March, 1799, the first agents of this Society, Dr. J. T. Vanderkemp, Mr. J. J. Kicherer, Mr. James Edmonds, and Mr. William Edwards, landed at Cape Town from the Ilillshorough, a convict ship bound to Botany Bay, in which they had taken passage from England. The Moravian Society was already working in South Africa, but on a small scale, and was then, as it has been ever since, on the most friendly terms with the colonists. The four missionaries of the London Society, who announced that they would speedily be followed by others, were received with enthusiasm. Fifty-seven years earlier the Established Church had driven from the Colony a foreign teacher who had ventured to administer the sacraments to his converts, but now the ministers of that church were among the foremost to welcome the agents of the London Society. Two of these were laymen, and within a few weeks after their arrival they were ordained in the Dutch Reformed Church at Tulbagh. The South African Missionary Society, which is yet in existence, was formed at this time with a view of co-operating in the work of converting the heathen. No- 66 Causes of the Great Emigration. ii '1 . %\ i I thing indeed could surpa , the kindly welcome which the mis- sionaries received from the Colonists, nor the expectations of cordial assistance which they were induced thereby to entertain. But in a few years all this was changed, and the agents of the London Society and the Colonists had no other feeling towards each other than that of direct antagonism. Among the missionaries, who in large numbers followed close on the ])ioneer party, were many men of ability and of undoubted piety, but there were also many so illiterate that they were unable to write their mother tongue correctlv, and so bigotted that they denounced as unchristian all. views but their own. These ati'ected an air of sanctity and superiority, were con- tinually speaking of their " high and holy calling," and when they met with opposition they termed it persecution. They were to Christianity what the Jacobin Club in the early da3'^s of the French Revolution was to political liberty.^ The views and interests of the colonists and of these men were so different that concord was hardly possible. The missionaries desired that the blacks should be collected together in villages ; the colonists were unwilling that they should be thus withdrawn from service. Teach them the tirst step in civilisation, to labour honestly for their maintenance, and add to that oral instruction in the doctrines of Christianity, said the colonists. Why should they be debarred from learning to read and write and as there can only be schools if they are brought together in villages, why should they not be collected together ? replied the missionaries. Then came another and a larger question. By whom should the waste places of the land, the vast areas which wore with- out other occupants than a few roving bushmen, be peopled ? By the white man, said the colonists : it is to the advantage of the world in all time to come that tlie higher race s^^ould ex- pand and be dominant here ; it would be treason to humanity to prevent its growth where it can grow without wrong to 1 The colonists were not alone in making such statements concerning the mission- aries. Sco Lichtenstein's truthful and temperately written work. And ample proof that these charges were not overdrawn may be found in missionary letters preserved in manuscript in the Colonial Becords, and in their printed reports and corrcspomi- ence. Causes of the Great Emigi'aiion. 67 were to othei's, or to plant an inferior stock where the superior can take root and flourish. By Africans, said the missionaries : this is African soil, and if mission stations are established on its desolate tracts, people will be drawn to them from the far interior, the conununity will grow rapidly, those enlightened by Christianity here will desire in their turn to enlighten their friends beyond, and thus the Gospel teaching will spread until all Africa stretches out its hands to God. Coupled with such arguments, which were constantly used by missionaries in the early part of this century, before their enthusiasm was cooled by expei'ience, were calculations that ap})ealcd strongly to the commercial instincts of people in England. A dozen colonial farmers required something like a hundred square miles of land for their cattle runs ; on this same ground, under missionary supervision, three or four hundred families of blacks could exist ; these blacks would shortly need large quantities of manufactured goods; and thus it would be to the interest of trade to encourage them rather than the colonists. Already, said the}^, after only a few years' training, many blackt} can read as well or better than the ordinary colonists, and are exhibiting a decided taste for civilisation. There was thus a broad line of demarcation between the colonists and such of the missionaries as held these views, and the tendency on each side was to make it still broader. It was deepened into positive antipathy towaids these mis- sionaries who, following Dr. Vanderkemp's example, united themselves in marriage with black women, and proclaimed themselves the champions of the black population against the wliite. Everyone acquainted with South African natives knows how read}'' they are to please their friends by bringing forward charges against any one whom those friends dislike. Unfortunately the missionaries Yanderkemp and Read were de- ceived into believing a great number of charges of cruelty made against various colonists, which a little observation would have shown in most instances to be groundless ; and thereu[)on they lodged accusations before the High Court of Justice. In 1811 between seventy and eighty such cases came before the Circuit Court for trial. There was hardly a family on the frontier 6"^- o Causes of the Great Emigration. iT?^ ^ :'■■ of which some relative was not brought as a criminal before the judcjea to answer to a cliarge of murder or violent assault. Several months were occupied in the trials, and more than a thousand witnesses were examined, but in every instance the most serious charges were proved to be without foundation. Only a few convictions, and those of no very outrageous crimes, resulted from those prosecutions, which kept the entire colony in a ferment until lone; after the circuit was closed. Thus far every one will approve of the .sentiments of one party or the other according to his sympathy, but in what follows no unprejudiced person who will take the trouble to study the matter thoroughly can acquit the anti-colonial missionaries of something more faulty than mere error of judgment. '^or years their writings teemed with charges against the ^.^jonists similar to those they had bi'ought before the High Court of Justice. These writings were circulated widely in Europe where the voice of the colonists was never heard, and they created impressions there which no refutation made in South Africa could ever counteract. The acts, the language, even the written petitions of the colonists, were so distorted in accounts sent home that these accounts cannot now be read by those who have made themselves acquainted with the truth without the liveliest feelings of indignation beinfj excited. The great bulk of what was thus written in prejudice never indeed came to the notice of the colonists, but occasionally a missionary report or letter was translated into Dutch and circulated among them. Dr. Philip's " Researches in South Africa," published in 1828, added greatly to the bitterness already existing. Some extracts li-om Dr. Vanderkemp's letters, quoted in that work, were specially irritating. In one letter, alter grossly misrepresenting certain public events, Dr. Vanderkemp had written that " it was not so easy to eradicate the inveterate prejudices against our work among the heathen out of the stony hearts of more baibarous inhabitants ; and it was evident that our relation to English benefactors was only a pretext to give vent to a deeper rooted enmity against God, His Christ, and the extension of His kingdom of love and grace h II Causes of the Great Emigration. 60 among the heathen." By the " more barbarous inhabitants" Dr. Vanderkemp meant a body of coh^nists, and his dreadful ciceusation against them was made because they held ditt'erent views concerninor the best means of civilizins: the Hottentots. In another extract it was seen that Dr. Vanderkemp had pro- posed to the Government that " no Boer may engage such a member (i.e., one whose name was inscribed on the books of the Bethelsdrop station) in his service, by annual contract, ex- cept in presence and with consent of the missionaiy, and that no field(!ornet have any authority within the institution." The Rev. Mr. Read was found petitioning that the missionaries and residents at mission stations should be exempted from payment of the ordinary taxes. These and many more quota- tions of a similar tendency were endorsed and eulogized by Di-. Philip. The colonists learned that in England they were regarded as cruel barbarians because they refused to permit Hottentot herds swarming with vermin to be seated in their front rooms at the time of family prayer. They found themselves pictured as the harshest of taskmasters, as unfeeling violators of native rights. And of late years it had become plain to them that the views of their opponents were being acted upon at the Colonial Office, while their complaints were wholly disregarded. Although the expression London Missionarj'^ Society, without the names of individual missionaries, is frequently found in the correspondence o^ this period, it was really only a section of its agents that was in collision with the colonists. Instances were not rare of missionaries of this Society commanding the highest esteem and affection of the population of European descent. Among these may be mentioned Mr. Kicherer, who, while continuing the work which he came to this country to peiforra, ministered as a clergyman of the Established Church to a large European congregation ; Mr. Pacalt, the founder of the station close to George, whose earnest devotion to duty, blameless life, and Christian love for white and black alike, caused him to be regarded almost as a saint ; and Mr. Brown- lee, the founder of the first permanent Kaffir mission ; without referring to very many of later date. With the agents of the yo Causes of the Great Etmgratio?t. ; « '» ;s :■ otlior Societies, the Moravian, who were earlier in the field, and the Wesleyan, Scotch, German, and French, who arrived at a later date, the colonists were in general on friendly terms, though they were far from being in accord with all of them on all subjects. Several causes of dissatisfaction besides those above men- tioned contributed to the impulse for Cxiigration, but all in a very slight degree. Judge Cloete, in his " Five Lectures," mentions the severe punishment inflicted upon the frontier insurgents of 1815 as one of them, and there is no doubt that it was so with some families, though no trace of it can be found in the correspondence of the Emigrants. The substitution in 1827 of the English for the Dutch language in the colonial courts of law was certainly generally felt as a grievance. The alteration in 1813 of the system of land tenure, the redemption in 1825 of the paper currency at only thirty-six hundredths of its nominal value, and the abolition in 1827 of the courts of land-drost and heemraden unquestionably caused much dis- affection, though all of these measures are now admitted by everyone to have been beneficial. The long delay in issuing titles to farms, the cost of which had been paid to Government ;ears before, is mentioned as a grievance in some of the di elarations. Some years later when, owing'to the internal weakness of the different Emigrant Governments coupled with security against violence by natives, it became possible for runaway debtors and rogues of different descriptions to live and thrive upon the borders of their settlements, it was frequently asserted by their enemies that the farmers had left the Co'^^ny principally to free themselves from the restraints of law. But this charofe was as untrue as it was ungenerous. The early Emigrants constantly maintained that they left the Colony to free them- selves not of law but of lawlessness. A few men of indifferent character may have gone with the stream, but the boast of the Emigrants as a bod3'' was that they left in open da^' and after their intentions had been publicly announced. That they should be followed by men whose motives were different was quite natural, but they cannot in justice bo blamed for it. 5 1 Causes of tJie Great Emigration. 71 On leaving the Colony the Emij^rants maintained that they ceased to be British subjects. They asserted that the Cape having become an English possession by conquest and sub- sequent cession b}' its former sovereign, they were English subjects while they remained within its bounds, but that no allegiance was Jue to the King by them when they left it, as they were not His Majesty's subjects by desGent. This claim, however, was not admitted by eithei* the Colonial or the Imperial Government, who denied their right to throw off their allegiance in this way. Most of the Emigrants aband ^ned the Colony in parties or bands, each party under an elected leader termed a com- mandant. The first to leave was a little band of forty-nine individuals^ from the division of Albany, under a leader named Louis Triechard. Triechard was a man of violent temper, and had given vent to his animosity to the Imperial Government in such blustering language that he was regarded by the Colonial authorities as capable even of joining the Kaffirs ao-ainst the English. At the close of the war of 1834-5, Colonel bmith offered a reward of five hundred head of cattle for his apprehension, which led to his leaving at once. This party was joined before it crossed the Colonial border by another of equal size under Johannes Rensburg.^ Together they had thirty waggons. Travelling slowly northward, in May 1836, they reached the Zoutpansberg, where i/hey halted for a while. After a short delay, Rensburg's party moved on again, and soon afterwards encountered a tribe of natives, by whom it was believed thay were all murdered. Many years later, however, it was ascertained that two of the children had been spared, and had grown up among the savages. hi 11-3 m ^ Louis Triechrrd with wife and four children, Carel Triechard with wife and two children, Hendrik Botha with wife and five children, J. Pretorius with wife and four children, G. Scheepeis with wife and nine childrt.-, H. Strydom with wife and five children, J. Albrccht with wife and five children, and a young man named Daniel rfeffer. 2 Johannes Rensburg with wife and four children, S. Bronkhorst with wife ai»d six children, C Bronkhorst the elder with wife and one child, G. Bronkhorst the younger with wife, Jacobus de Wet with wife, F. van Wyk with wife and two children, P. Viljoen with wife and six children, H. Kraukamp with wife and three children, N. Prins with wife and eight children, and M. Prins. 72 Fate of First Emigrants. With a view of ascertaining the distance of Delagoa Bay and the nature of the interveninsf country, a few months later Triechard's party also left the Zoutpansberg, though with an intention of returning and forming a permanent settlement there. Tlieir design was frustrated by fever, which attacked them and carried off several of their number, and the tsetse fly, which destroyed nearly the whole of their cattle. In April 1838, feeble and impoverished they reached the Bay, where they met with unbounded hospitality from the Portu- guese authorities. There they remained for more than a year, during which time their number was constantly diminishing by fever. At length tlieir friends, hearing where and in what condition they were, chartered the schooner Maze-ppa to pro- ceed to Delagoa Bay to their relief, and in July 1830 the remnant of the party, twenty-five in immber,^ were landed in Natal. One young man, a son of Louis Triechard, had gone to Mozambique in a Portuguese vessel before the Mazeppa reached the Bay, but in the following year he managed to travel over- land to his friends in Natal. Thuf? of the ninety-eight indi- viduals who formed the first body of emigrants, all had perished except the twenty -six who reached Natal in a state of destitu- tion and the two still more wretched who were living with the savages. During the winter of 183C preparations for emigration were being made all over the Eaatern and Midland districts. The Government was perfectly helpless in the matter. The At- torney-General, Mr. A. Oliphant, was consulted by the Go- vernor, and gave his opinion that " it seemed next to an impossibility tc prevent persons passing out of the Colony by laws in force or by any which could be framed." On the 19th of August, Sir Benjamin D'Urban wrote to the Lieutenant- Governor, Sir Andries Stockenstrom, that "he could see no means of stopping the emigration except by persuasion and attention to the wants and necessities of the farmers." In that direction the Governor had done all that was in his power, but he could not act in opposition to the instructions of the Secre- 1 Mrs, H. Botha and five children, Mrs. G. Scheepers and five ohildren, Mrs. J. Pretorius and two cliildren, three young men, and seven orphan ohildren. Comnianiiants PotHder and Makwana. 72> were The } At- Go- iary of State. Sir Andrles Stockenstrom himself, in replying to an address from the ' ihabitants of Uitenhago, stated that " he was not aware of any law which prevented any of His Majesty's subjects from leaving his dominions and settling in another country, and such a law, if it did exist, would be tyrannical and oppressive." Before this time the second party of emigrants had left. It consisted of farmers from the Tarka, and was under Com- mandant Andries Hendrik Potij:ieter, a substantial buniher of kindly disposition and moderate views. Attached to this party, and acknowledging Potgieter as Chief-Commandant, was a body of burghers from the district of Colesberg. The sub- sequent sufferings of this section of the party and the events which those sufferings gave rise to, entitle it to particular notice. It consisted of Carel Cilliers with his wife and six children, Johannes du Toit with his family, Johannes Botha with his family, three families Kruger, eight families Liebenberg, four families Brookhuizen, four families Brits, and three families Rensburg. Thes^ did not all move out in one body, but about half of them joined Potgieter and went on in advance, and the others followed as fast as they could get away. Commandant Potgieter directed his course n^ rthward past Thaba Ntshu until he came to the Vet River. >p 'ts banks close to the site of the present village of Winbur- ; found a remnant of the Bataung tribe under the cIuli "^akwana. Makwana claimed the whole country between the Vet and Vaal rivers as having been in possession of his tribe before the recent wars, but he was then in an abject condition, poor, powerless, and afraid to do anything that might draw upon him the notice of Moselekatse. Under these circumstances he was very ready to enter into an arrangement with Potgieter, by which he ceded to the emigrants all the land between the Vet and Vaal rivers, except a tract which he reserved for the use of his own people, upon condition of being protected from the Matabele and provided with a small herd of cattle. This arrangement having been concluded, the emigrants in fancied security scattered themselves over the vacant country, and :m,*rml^ 74 Massacre by the Matabclc. 1 '■,! \' \ II iU'i some of tliom oven crossed the Vaal and went down along its nortliorn bank to the junction of the Mooi. On the 24th of May a party consisting of the Commandant Hcndrik Potgietcr, his brother Hermanns Potgieter, Messrs. Carel Cilliers, J. G. S. Bronkhorst, R. Jansen, L. van Vuuren, A. Zwanepoel, J. lloberts, A. de Lange, D. Ojiperman, H. Nieu- wenhuizen, and C. Liebenborg, left the Sand River for the pur- ])Ose of inspecting tlie country as far as Delagoa Bay. For eighteen days, or until they reached Rhenoster Poort, they met no nativeb, but from that point they found the country thinly inhabited. Seeking in vain for a passage through the rugged country on the east, they pushed on northward until they reached Louis Triechard's camp at the Zoutpansberg. There they turned back, and on the 2nd September arrived at the spot where they had left the last emigrant encampment on their outward journey, where they found that a dreadful mas- sacre had just taken place. The massacre had been committed in the following manner. Mr, Stephanus P. Erasmus, a field-cornet living on the Kraai River in the present division of Aliwal North, had got up a party to hunt elephants in the interior, and had gone some distance north of the Vaal River for that purpose. The hunt- ing party consisted of Erasmus himself, his three sons, Mr, Pieter Bekker and his son, and Messrs. Johannes Claasen and Carel Kruger. They had with them a number of coloured servants, five waggons, eighty oxen, and about fifty horses. They had not been very successful, and were slowly returning homewards, still hunting by the way. One morning they left the waggons and cattle as usual in charge of the servants, and forming three small parties, rode away in different directions. In the evening Erasmus and one of his sons, who were together during the day, returned to the waggons and found them sur- rounded by five or six hundred Matabele soldiers, being a band sent out by Moselekatse to scour the country. It was ascertained long afterwards that the other two sons of Erasmus and Carel Kruger, who formed a separate hunting party, had been surprised by the Matabele and murdered. The Bekkers and Claasen were out in another direction, and when the Mata- Massacre hy Ihe Matabcle. 75 hole came upon them tlicy were some distance from eacli other. The first two escaped, the last was never heard of again. Erasmus and the son who was witli him rode for their lives towards tiie nearest party of Emigrants, who they knew were not further off than five hours on liorseback. They obtained the assistance of eleven men, and were retiirning to ascertain the fate of the others, when they encountered a division of the ftlatabele army, and turned back to give notice to those behind. The families furthest in advance had hardly time to draw their waggons in a circle and collect witliin it, when the Matabelo were upon them. From ten in the morning until four in the afternoon the assailants vainly endeavoured to force a way into the lager, and did not relinquish the attempt until fully a third of their number were stretched on the ground. Of thirty-five men within the lager, only one, Adolf Bronkhorst, was killed, but a youth named Christian Harmse and several coloured servants, who were herding cattle and collecting fuel at a distance, were murdered. Another party of the Matabelo had, in the meantime, gone further up the river, and had unexpectedly fallen u|)on the encampment of the Liebenbergs. They murdered there old Barend Liebenbergs, the patriarch of the family, his sons Stephanus, Barend, and Hendrik, his son-in-hiw Johannes du Toit, his daughter, Du Toit's wife, his son Hendtik's wife, a schoolmaster named Macdonald, four children, and twelve coloured servants ; and they took away three children to present to their chief. The two divisions of Matabele v.^arriors tlien united, and returned to Mosega for the purpose of pro- curing reinforcenents, taking with them large herds of the Emigrants' cattle. Six days later, Erasmus, in his anxiety as to the fate of his sons, rode to the spot where his waggons had stood, and found there nothincj but the bodies of five of the servants. His waggons were seen at Mosega by Captain Harris a few days later, and the same traveller learnt that two of the captive children, being girls, had been taken to one of Moselekatse's residences further north. He does not seem to have heard of the captive boy. At • that time, the Emigrants themselves ral IHl ai,.M!l, ,!.; iij?! i^ii 76 ^^r wil/i Moselekatse. were ignorant that the children were still alive, as until Captain Harris's return they believed that all had been murdered. As soon as the Matabele were out of sight, the farmers hastened across the Vaal, and formed a lager at the place since known as Vechtkop, between the Rhenoster and Wilge rivers. The lager was constructed of fifty waggons drawn up in a circle, firmly lashed together, and every opening closed with thorn trees. The month of October was well advanced when, one morning, a few frightened Bataung rushed into the camp and announced that a great Matabele army was approaching. Innnediately the horses were saddled, and after a short religious service conducted by Mr. Carel Cilliers, the farmers rode out witii Commandant Potgieter at their head, and encounterod a division of Moselekatse's forces, about five thousand strong, under Kalipi, Moselekatse's favourite captain. Riding close up, they poured a volley into ihe mass of savages, and then retired to reload their clumsy guns. This manoeuvre they repeated, constantly falling back, until the lager was reached. The Matabele now thought they had the farmers in a trap, and encircling the camp, they sat down at some distance from it, and feasted their eyes with a sight of their supposed victims. After a while they suddenly rose, and with a loud hiss, their ordinary signal of destruction, they rushed upon the lager, and endeavoured to force an entrance. There were only forty men, all told, inside, but luckily they had spare guns, ^r^ the women knew how to load thctn. The assailants were received with a deadly fire, and they fell back, but only to rush on again. The waggons were lashed together too firmly to be moved, and finding it impossible to get to close quarters, the foremost Matabele soldiers abandoned their usual method of fiirhtinaf. and hurled their heavy assagais into the lager. One thou:sand one hundred and thirteen of these weapons were afterwards picked up in the camp. By this means they managed to kill two of the defentlcrs, Nicholas Potgieter and Pieter Botha, aiid to wound, more or less severely, twelve others. Still the fire kept up by those who remained was so hot tiiat Kalipi judged it expedient to retire, and in less than half an hour V. Wa7' with Mosclekatse, 77 after the first rush, the Matabele turned to retreat. Thev, however, collected the whole of the cattle belonging to the Emigrants, and drove them off, leaving not a hoot* except the horses which the farmers had been riding, and which were within the camp. Potgieter, with his little band, folh ed them until sunset, and managed to shoot a good many, but could not recover any cattle. On their return to the camp, they counted a hundred and fifty-five corpses close to the waggons. Altogether, the Matabele had now killed twenty whites and twenty-six persons of colour, and they had swept off a hundred horses, four thousand six hundred head of horned cattle, and more than fifty thousand sheep and goats. Just at this time the first families of the third party of Emigrants from the Colony arrived in the neighbourhood of Thaba Ntshu. This party came from the division of Graaflf- Keinet, and was under the leadership of Mr. Gerrit Maritz, who had previously been the proprietor of a large waggon- making establishment, and was a man of considerable wealth. They had not less than one hundred waggons with them, and as their flocks and herds were very numerous, they were obliged to travel slowly, and to spread over a great extent of country. Almost the first information of the earlier Emigrants which came to their ears after they crossed the Orange was brought by Hermanns Potgieter to Thaba Ntshu, to which place he was sent by his brother to seek assistance for the families at Vechtkop, who were left in a helpless condition by the loss of their cattle. The Rev. Mr. Archbell, Wesleyan missionary at Thaba Ntshu, spared no exertions to procure aid for his suffering fellow Christians. Through his influence, Moroko lent some oxen, the missionary sent his own, the farmers in the neighbourhood went with their teams, and by these combined means, the whole of Potgieter's camp was brought back to Thaba Ntshu. Upon the arrival of the distressed people, Moroko treated them with great kindness. He gave tliem corn, and even lent them cows to supply their children with milk. On the 2nd of December 1830, a general assembly of the » I *:, M I % III i?i'l I 7S War with Moselekatse. Emigrants was held for tlie purpose of deciding upon the form of their future government. They resolved to elect a body of seven members, which should have supreme legislation and judicial power. Tlie choice of the electors fell upon Messrs. Gerrit Marthinus Maritz, Andries Hendrik Potgieter, Jan Gerrit Bronkhorst, Christian Jacobus Liebenberg, Pieter Gre3'ling, Daniel Kruger, and Stephanus Janse van Vuuren, who constituted the fir^it Emigrant Volksraad. As soon as possible tlie Commandants Potgieter and Maritz assembled a force for the purpose of punishing Moselekatse, The Griqua captain Peter Davids eagerly tendered tlie services of his followers, in the hope that the expedition might effect the release of his daughter and his nephew. Matlabe, the petty Barolong chief who had once been a soldier in the Matabele army, volunteered to be the guide. A few Koranas and Baro- long engaged their services with a view to sharing the spoil. As ultimately made up, the force consisted of one hundred and seven farmers on horseback, forty of Peter David's Griquas and five or six Koranas, also on horseback, and sixty natives ^ on 1 This does not agree with the statements made of late years on behalf of Montsiwa, in which Tawane is represented as having entered into alliance with Potgieter and as liaving furnished a powerful contingent on the express understanding that he should h:»ve the whol<3 "country of Tao" restored to liim. (Sec among numerous other statements to t'lis effect. Par. 38 of Captain Harrell's Memorandum in Imperial Bluebook C — 3035 of 1883.) The authority on which I give total number of Bar jlong that accompanied the commando is the following : — In an account of their proceedings drawn up by the leaders of the Emigrants at Sand River on the 3rd of December, 1838, and addressed to Sir George Napier, it is stated tliat " sliglit iissistance " was received from Moroko, Peter Davids, anil Sikonyela, but Tawane is not even mentioned, Mr. Gtrrit Maritz, wlio having quarrelled with Mr, Potgieter took the whole credit of the expedition to himself, in a letter which he wrote to a friend on the 17th of March 1837, and which was immediately published in several of tlij Colonial news- papers, says, "ik ben uitgetrokken tegen Masselikatse met 107 man Burgers, bene vencns 40 Bastaords, en GO man van de Marolesen." Captain Harris, wlio had just returned from Moselekatse's country and who was ac(iuainted with all the circumstances, in his account in " The Wild Sports of Southern Africa" states it as " sixty armed savages on foot." Judge Cloete, in his "Five Lectures on the Emigration of Dutch Farmers," deli- vered in Natal in 1852 and 1855, and publisiicd in Cai)e Town in 185G, gives the number of the entire commando as two hundred, without saying in what proiiortions the force was composed. The Kev. Mr. Grout, in his "Zululand," follows Harris and says "sixty armed savages on foot," and as he like Judge Cloete had the very best means of information American Mission. 79 foot belonging in about equal numbers to the clans of Gontse, Tavvane, Moroko, and Matlabe. Under Matlabe's guidance the commando pursued its march tlirough a country so desolate that alter crossing the Vaal not a single individual was met, and the approach of a hostile force was quite unknown to the Matlabele. At early dawn on the morning of the 17th of January 1837, the military camp in the valley of Mosega was surprised. This camp consisted of fifteen separate kraals, and was under command of the induna Kalipi, who happened at the time to be away at Kapayin fifty miles further to the northward. Seven months earlier, three American missionaries, Dr. Wilson and the Rev. Messrs. Lindley and Venable, had taken up their residence at Mosega with Moselekatse's permission. The chief liad met Christian teachers before, but he had never comprehended even the first principles of tiie doctrines which they endeavoured to expound. As soon as he ascertained that concerning this event, while the sources of t!ieir knowledge were different, if this was an error and the iiarty had been a largt one he wouM most likely have corrected it. Mr. Carel Cilliers, who accompanied be til this and tlie next expedition against Moselekatse, in his journal published in H. J. Ilofstede's " Geschiedenis van den Oranje VriJ8taat"('s Gravenhage, 1870), never once mentions auxiliaries. He says; " En de nood drong ons dat wij met 107 man bet ondernam oin tegen de magtige vijand op te trekkcn, en onzo God gaf hem in onze handen, dat wij hem een groot nederlaag gaf en 0,000 beesten van hem namen, en niet een van ons gemis." Mr. G. J Kruger, who was both with this expedition and the one in the following November, in an account of the emigration written February 1852, for the Assistant Commissioners, Hogge and Owen, does not allude to native assistance on either occasion. His account remained in manuscript among the documents relating to tlio Orange River Sovereignty until 1880, when at my instance it was published in Zaid Afrikaansche Tijdschrift. Mr. J. G. van Vuuren, who was with the commando, in his evidence before tho Bloemhof commissioners in 1871, says: "about forty coloured people with us under Matlabe." Matlabe himself, in his evidence on the same occasion says, "Tawane gave two sons, Gontse also gave two of liis sons ; Ta wane's sons took a small number of KallirH with them, also Gontse's sons, and I took fourteen, including myself ; Moroko did not send any men, but three of his men joined us afterwards." Against all this evidence, in addition to the overwhelming testimony or .'ubseijueut events, the advocates of Montsiwa have to support their views nothing but a letter from Mrs. Erasmus Smit, who was in the Emigrant camp at the time and who wrote to her Kon in overdrawn language uf hundreds of the Marolesu helping them ; the evidence of Moroko at Bloemhof, in which be says " we mustered a great many men ; " and the assertions of some of Montsiwa's followers made for the first time more than a quarter of a century after the event. 8o Foundation of Winburg. 'ii. i ^ i va t \ I 1 1 the preaching of the American missionaries was against his actions he forbade the people to listen to them, and shortly afterwards he left Mosega and went to reside at Kapayin. The missionaries had been attacked by fever, and some members ot their families had died ; but they still continued at their post, hoping and praying for an opportunity of carrying on the work to which they had devoted themselves. On the morning of the 17th of January they were awakened by the report of guns, and rushing out of their hut they saw clouds of smoke rising above the entrances of two of the passes into the vallej', indi- cating the position of the farmers under Potgieter and Maritz. The Matabele soldiers grasped their spears and shields, and rushed forward ; but volleys of slugs from the long elephant jruns of the farmers drove them back in confusion. Their com- manding officer was away, and there was no one of sufficient authority to restore order. The soldiers took to flight, and were hunted by the farmers until the sun was high overhead, when it was computed that at least four hundred must have been slain. The commando then set lire to the military kraals, and having found in the valley most of the waggons that had belonged to their murdered friends and six or seven thousand head of cattle, it was considered advisable to return to the Caledon. Not a single individual, European or native, had been hurt on their side. The missionaries and their families returned with the commando. The native continsrent acted as herds, and received payment in cattle for its services. Matlabe, in his evidence at Eloemhof, stated that lie " got forty-seven head, and Tawane's and Gontse's sons each thirty-seven head ; he received the most cattle because he was the leadinihaka allowed liiin to collect these jioor w/etches together, and afterwards iiermittod liim to receive some refugees from Zululiind upon his reporting each case. Tsliaka would not per- mit any trade whatever with his suhjects, and all their business transactions were with liim in person. They made him presents, rarely of less value than £100 at a time, and in return lie gave them large quantities of ivory and grain and droves of cattle. IMr. Fynn says lie fretjuently received fifty and sometimes a hundred heail at a time, and corn in such abundance that he had no use for it. The Xolo tribe had once owned the country between the Umzimkulu and Umtentu rivers, but it was re- tlueed to a few wretched wanderers. Its chief, I'mbnmbe by name, was a soldier in Zululand. Tshaka allowed l\Ir. Fynn to locate the Xolos on a part of their old terri tory and at his request gave Umbambo liis liberty. Rlr. Fynn says that lie then formed two establishments, one near the Port, and one west of the Umzimkulu. To the peoi)lo of each of these establishments lie gave cattle and grain, which he derived from Tshaka's liberality. After a time the Zulu chief granted him the whole country between Mr. Farewell's district and the Umzimkulu, and attached his mark to a document to that effect. Over that largo tract of country Le was the chief, being responsible to Tshaka for the conduct of the people residing in it. Ho estimates the number of natives ultimately collected under the different European chiefs at over Ave thousand souls. The Xolo tribe is still living where it was located by Mr. Fynn, the district being now part of Alfred County, Natal. Umbambo was succeeded by his son Kani, wiio got into trouble with the Natal Governmetrt, and fled into I'ondoland, where lie died. A few of his followers who entered Fondoland with him then returned to Natal. Patwa, great son of Kani, is the present representative of U^mbambe. ! i 92 Assassination of Ts/iaka. Ik ill Tsliaka himself, with one regiment as a body guaihurch Missionary Society. By dint of coaxing, Dingan's con- sent was obtained to Mr. Owen being stationed at Umkunsfu- nhlovu. The missionary had his wife and sister with him, and was accompanied by an interpreter named Richard Hulley, who with his family had joined the party at Butterworth on its way overland from Port Elizabeth to Natal. Captain Gardi- ner took up his residence at the Bay, at the station which on his former visit he had named Berea, where he endeavoured to act in the double capacity of a missionary and a magistrate under the Imperial Act of August 1836, which is commonly called " The Cape of Good Hope Punishment Bill," as it was framed " for the prevention and punishment of offences com- Cape of Good Hope PiinishviaU Bill. loi mitted by His Majesty's subjects within certain territories ad- jacent to the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope." This Act extended the colonial criminal law to all British subjects within any territory adjacent to the Colony and south of the twenty-fifth degree of latitude, and made crimes com- mitted by such persons cognizable in colonial courts. It empowered the Governor of the Cape Colony to grant com- missions as magistrates to persons in such territories to arrest, commit to custody, and bring to trial before colonial courts His Majesty's subjects charged with crime. The Act, however, was not to be construed as investing His Majesty with any claim or title to sovereignty or dominion over such territories. The Europeans in Natal, upon being informed of the authority claimed by Captain Gardiner by virtue of a commission which he held under this Act, immediately resolved not to submit in any way to his control. They desired, they said, to be recognised as a British Colony, and to have proper courts of law established ; but to submit to the operation of an Act which took no cogni- zance of offences committed against them, which left them without protection to be robbed or murdered, while it tied their hands even against self-defence, was something which as free men they could not consent to. This was then the condition of affairs when Pieter Refcief visited Natal. Dingan claimed the whole country between the Drakensberg and the Sea as far south as the Umzimvubu, but did not practically exercise direct authority south of the Tugeila. There were six mission stations, three nortb of the Tugela and tliree south of that river, occupied by five ordained clergymen (four American Presbyterian and one Church of England), two medical men, and one Captain of the Royal Navy, nearl}^ all of whom had families with them. At Durban and in its vicinity there were about thirty Englishmen residing either permanently or in the intervals between hunting excursions. The leadinoj man and lar^iijest trader amono: them was Mr. Alexander Bifjirar whose fate, with that of his two sons, will presently be told. Several of these Europeans were living as chiefs of native kraals, and exercised power even of death over their followers. The actual number of blacks between the Tugela and the I !p !(! ' I02 Pzeh^r Reliefs Visit. Umziinvubii cannot be accurately given. No estimate of tliat period rises as higli as ten tiiousaml, yet it would not ho sate to say that there was not fully that number between the two rivers. They were living in the most secluded places, and kept out of observation as much as ])ossible.^ Early in October 1837 Pieter lietief in company with a few of the leadinsj: Emi^jrants set out from the neighbourhood of Thaba Ntshu for the purpose of examining the capabilities of Natal and obtaining Dingan's consent to its occupation. On the 10th the party arrived at the Port, without having met a single individual after they crossed the Drakensberg. The residents of Durban were greatly pleased on hearing that it was the desire of the Emigrants to settle in their neiohbour- hood. They presented Mr. Retief with a warm address of wel- come, and did all that was in their power to assist him. A messenger was immediately sent forward to announce his in- tended visit to Dingan, and some days were then spent in examining the harbour and the country around it. On the 27th the party left the Port for Undvungunhlovu, ac- companied by John Cane and Thomas Holstead, two of the oldest inhabitants of Natal, in the capacity of guides and in- tei-})reters. Their reception by Dingan was outwardly as friendly as it was possible to be. He seemed to agree with what Mr. Ketief said concerning the advantages to his people of a European settlement in their neighbourhood, and he promised to take the request for land south of the Tuj^^la into consideration and give a decisive reply in a few days. In the mean time he entertained the farmers with exhibitions of dances, in one of which nearly two hundred oxen, all of the same colour, were mixed with the men of a regiment and went through certain manoeuvres with the most perfect accuracy. Among the stock recently captured from Moselekatse were some of the sheep taken by the Matabele from the Emigrants on the Vaal. Dingan informed Mr. Retief that most A these 1 A list of the titles of the fragments of tribes then occupying the present Colony of Natal, furnished by Sir Theophilus c>hepstone, is given in an Apjiendix to the " Report and Proceedings of tlie Commission on Native Laws and Customs," printed at Cape Town in 1883. Diitmus Conditions. 103 wore dead, but ho restored one hundrod and ten as a present, and oHVred the skins of the others. On the 8th of November Mr. Retief arranged to return to his friends. On leaving, Dingan gave him a document written by the Rev. Mr. Owen, in which the Zulu chief stated that he was willing to grant the land asked for, but the farmers must first recover and restore certain cattle that had recently been stolen from one of his outposts by a party of horsemen clothed as Europeans and armed with guns. He asserted that some of his people suspected the robbers were farmers, and ho wished them to prove tlieir innocence. It was, however, certain that the Zulus knew the plundering band to bo some of Sikonyela's Batlokua. The conditions seemed to Mr. Retief very easy of fulfilment. Tiie stolen cattle were only about seven hundred in number, and the Batlokua, by driving them through an Emigrant en- campment and thereby bringing tiie trail upon the farmers, had made themselves liable to be called to a reckonin<''. Mr. Retief therefore returned to the Caledon, sent for Sikonyela, and when that chief appeared informed him that he would be detained as a prisoner until the cattle stolen from the Zulus were given up. They were at once surrendered, and the great body of the Emigrants thereupon moved off to Natal, In the course of a few weeks nearly a thousand waggons crossed the Drakensberg. The Emigrants spread themselves out along the Blue Krans and Bushman rivers, and Mr. Retief then prepared to visit Dingan again to deliver the cattle recovered from Sikonyela. But by this time many of the farmers had acquired such a feelinu of uneasiness as induced them to urge their leader not to venture again into the Zulu despot's power, A man whose life was of less value to the community they thought should be sent, and there were not wanting many who nobly volun- teered to fulfil the dangerous task. Mr. Maritz offered to go with only three or four others. But Mr. Retief objected to anything that might lead Dingan to suspect that they dis- trusted him, and he therefere determined to go himself and take a suitable escort of volunteers. Some sixty of the best I Dingan^s Deed of Cession. men among the Emigrants offered to accompany him, and several of these imprudently allowed their sons — boys from eleven to fifteen years of age — to go also. Before they left, Thomas Holstead and George Biggar arrived at the Bushman River. The last named was a young man who had been re- sidii^g in Natal since 1834, and who came up from the Port as his father's agent to ascertain the requirements of the Emi- grants in the way of trade. He remained for this purpose after Mr. Retief's party had left. Thomas Holstead, who had been thirteen years in Natal, and who spoke the Zulu language as readily as the English, went again with Mr. Retief as inter- preter. There were also about thirty Hottentot servants lead- ing spare horses with the party. On their arrival at Umkungunhlovu, 3rd of February, 1838, Dingan expressed himself highly satisfied with their conduct, regretting only that they had not brought Sikonyela bound to him to be put to death for having dared to plunder a Zulu cattle post. He asked for some firearms and horses which the Batlokua chief had been required to give up, but appeared satisfied when he was informed that these had been restored to their legitimate owners. As on the former occasion, the farmers were entertained with exhibitions of dances and sham fights. The day following their arrival, Dingan requested the Rev. Mr. Owen to draw up a document to show that he had given the farmers a country to live in. Mr. Owen thereupon drafted a paper in the English language, which met with Dingan's ap- ];roval after it had been thoroughly explained to him. The document was then signed, and the chief handed it to Mr. Retief. It was as follows : — Umkunkinglove, 4th February, 1838. Know all men by this, That whereas Picter Retief, Governor of the Dutch Emigrant Farmers, has retaken my Cattle which Sinkonyclla had stolen fmm • hich Cattle ho the said Retief now delivered imto mc: — I, Din- gaan, /> ing of the Zoolas, do hereby certify and declare, that I thought tit to resign unto him, lletief, ami his Countrymen, the place called Port Natal, together with all the laud annexed ; that is to say, from Massacre of Reliefs Party. 105 the Togela to the Omsovoobe River, Westward, and from the Sea to the North, as far as the Land may be useful and in my possession. Which I did by this, and give unto them for their everlasting pro- perty. Mark x of King Dingaan. Witnesses, M. OOSTHUIZEN, A. C. Greyling, B. J. LlEBENBERG, MoARO X Great Counsellor. JULIAVIUS, X Do. Manondo, X Do. Grants similar to this, and covering the same ground or por- tions of it, had been previously made by Tshaka and Dingan himself, successively to Messrs. Farewell, Fynn, King, Isaacs, and Gardiner ; and under no circumstances would such a ces- sion, in native estimation, mean more than permission to occupy the ground during the lifetime of the reigning chief, whose supremac}'^ as feudal lord would be assumed. But Din- gan from the first was only seeking to lure the farmers to destruction, and never intended his cession to mean anything. The farmers were entirely thrown off their guard by the trouble that was taken, apparently, to entertain them. On the morning of Tuesday the Gth, Mr. Retief and his party pre- pared to return to their friends, and went to take leave of Dingan, whom they found, as usual, surrounded by warriors. Great care liad been taken to show them that according to Zulu custom no one could approach the chief armed, and con- sequently wlien they were requested to leave their guns out- side the kraal, they did so without suspicion of danger. They were received in the ordinary manner, and were pressed to seat themselves and partake of some beer, which was being handed round freely. While in this defenceless position, into which they had been so carefully entrapped, Dingan sud- denly called out, " Seize them," when instantly tlie Zulu soldiers rushed upon them. Thomas Holstead, the interpreter, cried out, " We're done for," and added in the Zulu language, " Let me speak to the king." Dingan lieard him, but waved ililii! ill-' j'lll lli'!) Bl'li .■'■ill 1 06 Massacre of Reliefs Party. his hand in token of dissent, and called out, repeatedly, " kill the wizards." Holstead then drew his knife, and mortally wounded two of his assailants before he was secured. One of the farmers also succeeded in killing a Zulu, but the others were seized before they could spring to their feet. They were all dragged away to a hill where executions were commonly performed, and were there murdered by having their skulls broken with knobkerries. Mr. Retief was held and forced to witness the death of his companions before he was murdered. His heart and liver were then taken out and buried in the path leading from Natal to Umkungunhlovu, but no other mutilation of the bodies took place, nor was their clothing re- moved. Some of the servants had been sent for the horses when the farmers went to take their leave. These were surrounded by a party of soldiers, and were also put to death. One of them nearly made good his escape by the fleetness of his feet, but eventually lie was run down and killed like the rest. In all there perished on this memorable morning sixty-six Europeans^ and about tliirty Hottentots." ^ Tlieir names were Dirk Aukamp, Willem Basson, Joliannes de Beer, Matthys de Beer, Barcnd van den Berg, Pieter van den Berg the elder, IMeter van den IJerg the younger, Johannes IJeukes, Joachin IJotlia, Gorrit Botluna the elder, Gerrit Botliina the younger, Christian Breidonbach, Joliannes Britz, Pieter Britz the -jldcr, Pieter Britz the younger, Pieter Cilliers, Andries van Dyk, Marthinus Esterhuizeii, Samuel Estcrhuizen, Hermanns Fourie, Abraham Greyling, Rynier Grobbelaar, Jacobus Hatting, Thomas Holsteail, Jacobus Hugo, Jacol)us Joosto, Pieter Jordaan, Abraham de Klerk, Jacobus de Klerk, Johannes do Klerk, Baltliazer Klopper, Coenraad Klopper, Lukas Klopi)er, Pieter Klopper, Hendrik Labuschag 0, Barend Liebenberg, Daniel Liebenberg, Hercules ^[alan, Carel IMarais, Johannes • .tn der l^Ierwe, Pieter Sloyor, liarend Oostliuizen, Jacobus Oosthuizcn, Joliannes Oostliuizen, Marthinus Dosthuizen, Jacobus ()i)perman the elder, Jacobus Opiierman the youiiger, Frederik I'retorius, Johannes Pretorius, Jlartliinus Pretorius, Matthys Pretorius the elder, Mattliys Pretorius tlie younger, Pieter Uetief, Isaac Koberts, Johannes Roberts, Christian van Schalkwyk, Gerrit Scheepers, Johannes Schceiiers, Marthinus Schee- pers, Stephanus Sclieepers, tStephanus Smit, Pieter Taute, Gerrit Visagie, Stei)hanus van Vauren, Hendrik de Wet, and Johannes de Wet. '"* It was at one time generally asserted, and is even yet believed by some persons, that iJohn Cane instigated Dingan to commit this massacre. In tie Colonial llecoro Port consisted of about twenty English traders and hunters, the same number of Hottentots, and from a thousand to tifteen hundred natives. These last were nearly all fugitives from Zululand, so that their fidelity could be depended upon. The whole expedition was nominally under command of Mr. Robert Biggar, a brother of the young man who had been murdered ;^ but in reality each white chief, such as John Cane and Henry Ogle, had absolute authority over his own people and obeyed only such orders as pleased him. Four days after leaving the Port this commando reached a Zulu kraal, from which most of the men were absent. They secured here the whole of the cattle, variously estimated from tlwee to seven thousand head, and a considerable number of women and ijirls. The bonds of discipline were too weak to stand the strain of this success. Cane's people raised a quarrel with Ogle's as to the division of the spoil, and a combat with sticks took place in which the latter were badly beaten. The English leaders saw that they ^ He had been resident in Xatal slucc 1S3H. 1834. His father and brother arrived in III Expeditions against the Ztilus. 1 1 1 could not advance further until the plunder was disposed of, and they therefore returned to Natal. In the meantime Commandants Potgieter and Uys were advancing towards the Zulu capital. Between them they had three hundred and forty-seven men. Take the fact of their being mounted and armed with muskets into consideration, and this expedition must still remain one of the most daring events on record, considering that Dingan could bring into the field at least a hundred times their lumber of warriors, trained to des])ise death in battle, disciplined to move in concert, and armed with the deadl}'' stabbing assagai. The loss of their horses at any moment must have been fatal to the commando. For five days their march was unopposed, the country which they passed through ajipearing to have been abandoned. On the 11th of April they came in sight of a division of the Zulu army, which they attacked impetuously, and were drawn into a skilfully planned ambuscade. Before them were two parallel ranges of hills, between which was a long defile, and into this the farmers were led by the Zulus a])])arently I'etreat- ing before them. Uys's division was in advance. When in the narrowest part of the gorge they found themselves sur- rounded by an immense force Avhich had been lying in ambush, and by which they were so hemmed in that they could not fall back rapidly after firing and again load and charge, as was their mode of fijjhting with Moselekatse. The horses of Pot- gieter's division became almost unmanageable through the din created by the Zulus striking their shields. There was but one course open. The farmers directed all their fire upon one mass of the enemy, when, having cleared a path by shooting down hundreds at once, they rushed through and esca))ed. They left their led horses, baggage, and spare ammunition behind. The loss of the farmers in this engagement was ten mcn,^ among them the Comu cindant Pieter Lavran Uvs. He was assisting a wounded comrade when he received an assagai stab. As he fell he called out to his followers to leave hin. and fight ^rieter Lavras Uys, Dirk Cornelis Uys, Joscpli Krugcr, Francois Labusc^lmgno, David Malan, Jacobus Malan, Jolmnnea Malan, Louis Nc). I'ieter Nel. and Tlicuiiis Nol 112 Expeditions against the Zulus. their way out, for he must die. His son, Dick Cornelis Uys, a boy of fifteen years of age, was some distance off, but looking about he saw his father on the ground, and a Zulu in the act of stabbing him. The gallant youth turned his horse and rode to help his parent, but could only die at his side. Englishmen will remember how bravely another son of the same Com- mandant Uys conducted himself forty-one years later in our war with Cety wayo, and the manner of his death at Hlobane on the 2Sth of March 1879. While this event was taking place, the Englishmen at the Port were about to leave for the second time. The quarrel concerning the division of the spoil taken on the first occasion was, however, not altogether made up, so that neither Ogle, nor his people, nor his partizans, would go again. The second expedition consisted of seventeen Englishmen, about twenty Hottentots, and fifteen hundred natives, of whom between three and four hundred were armed with muskets. It was nominally under command of Mr. Robert Biggar, as before. A few miles south of the Tuorela the commando came in sifjht of a Zulu regiment, which pretended to take to flight, left food cooking on fires, and even threw away a number of shields and assagais. The Natal army pursued with all haste, crossed the Tugela, took possiLsion of a kraal on the northern bank, and then found it had been drawn between the horns of a Zulu army fully seven thousand strong. The battle that was fought, on the 17th of April, was one of the most desperate contests that ever took place on that blood- stained soil. Three times in succession the Natal army beat back the regiments that charged furiously upon it. Then a strong Zulu reinforcement came ix^ sight, and renewed the enemy's courage. Another rush was made, which cut the Natal army in two, and then all hope of successful resistance was over. One of the divisions tried to escape, but the only open path was down a steep bank of the Tugela and across that river. A Zulu regiment hastened to cut off the retreat of the fugitives, and many were killed in the water ; but four Englishmen, two or three Hottentots, and about five hundred Natal natives managed to get through. The other division Massacre by the Zulus. T I was entirely surrounded. But no lion at bay ever created such liavoc among hounds that worried him as this little band caused among the warriors of Dingan before it perished. The young regiments were selected to charge upon it, while the veterans looked on from a neighbouring hill. Whole masses went down before the withering fire, the survivors recoiled, but again they were directed to charge. At last a rush of a regiment, with another in reserve close behind, carried every- thing before it, and the stubborn fight was over. A thousand Natal natives had perished, and probably three times that number of Zulus. Thirteen Englishmen lay dead on the field of battle, Robert Biggar, Henry Batts, C. Blanckenberg, William Bottomley, John Cane, Thomas Garden, John Campbell, Thomar. Campbell, Richard Lovedale, Robert Russell, John Stubbs, Richard Wood, and William Wood. After this victory Dingan's army marched leisurely to Dur- ban ; but, fortunately, the Comet, a small vessel bound to Delagoa Bay, had called at Natal and was then lying at anchor there. The American missionaries, except Mr. Lindley, who had volunteered to remain behind and report occurrences, had already left in a vessel bound to Port Elizabeth. Mr. Owen and his family, with Mr. Lindley, and the surviving residents of Durban, took refuge on board of the Comet at night and on one of the islands in the lagoon during the day. The natives retired to the thickets. The Zulus remained nine daj'-s at the Bay, during which time they destroyed all the property they could find, leaving not even a dog or a fowl alive. They then returned to Umkungunhlovu to report themselves. Some eifjht or nine Englishmen — amoncr them Alexander Biggar, Henry Ogle, Daniel Toohey, Charles Adams, and Richard King — now resolved to try their fortune once more in Natal, and accordingly they left the island and sought out the natives in the thickets. The missionaries sailed in the Comet to Delagoa Bay and thence to the Cape Colony. They and most of their colleagues intended to return as soon as prospects should be favourable ; but of them all only Mr. lindley, Dr. Adams, and Mr. Aldin (^rout saw Natal again. Commandant Hendrik Potgieter with his adherents also left H til. ~< m ■&> In i |i| 'I 114 Proceedings of the Emigrant Farmers. lii^^h Natal at the same time. Party feeling was running so tliat tliere was not wanting those who attributed the disaster in wliich Pieter Uys lost his lite to mismanagement on Mr. Poigicter's part. He had the country purchased from Mak- wana, and that abandoned by Moselekatse, to fall back upon ; and he did not therefore care to remain in Natal, where the oiiposing faction was much stronger than his own. A largo ])arty rccrcssed the Drakensberg with him. On the 16th of J\Iay an officer sent to make inquiry by the Civil Commissioner of Colesberg met them two days march on the inland side of the mountains, moving towards iSand River. There they re- mained until ti:e month of November following, when they l)roceedcd on ward to Mooi River and formed on its banks the first permanent settlement of Europeans in the present South i\frican Republic. To the town which they built there they gave the name Potchefstroom in honour of their chief. Hence- forth until September 1840 this party had a government of its own, sei)arate from and independent of that of the other emigrants. Its Volksraad claimed jurisdiction over the whole territory north of the Vaal ajid also over the northern half of the present Orange Free State. The secession of Mr. Potgieter's adherents was, however, more than compensated by the arrival at Natal of fresh parties from iihe Colony. The largest of these consisted of thirty-nine families who came from Oliphants Hoek pnd were under the leadership of ]\Ir. Carel Pieter Landman.^ In May, Mr. Maritz's camp was visited by Fieldcornet Gideon Joubert, of the Division of Colesberg, and Mr. J. N. Boshof. Mr. Joubert's object was to endeavour to induce the Emigrants to return to the Colony. Mr. Boshof was Civil Commissioner's clerk at Graaflf-Reinet, and visited Natal from sympathy with his countrymen, whom he joined shortly after- wards. Both of these gentlemen drew up reports upon the condition of the people and the country. That of Mr. Boshof has been published, and that of Mr. Joubert is still in manu- script in the Colonial Office. The Emigrants were found to "•■ Lieutenant-Governor Pine aptly described Mr. Landman's character in one short but expressive sentence : " He is a stranger alike to fear and to falsehood." — Des- patch to Sir Harry Smith of 9th August 1851. i .i L^ Procccdin<;s of the Emigrant Farmers. 1 1 5 be fully resolved to remain in Natal, and to punish Dingan as speedily as possible. Mr. Landman had been appointed Com- missioner, and was absent on a visit to the Port, near which, in compliance with a rccpiest of the English settlers, a camp was about to be stationed. At this time there were in Natal about six hundred and forty male Europeans capable of bear- ing arms, and three thousand two liundrcd women and children. On the IGth of May, Mr. Landman, with the concurrence of the few remaining Englishmen at Durban, issued a proclama- tion taking possession of the Port in the name of the Associa- tion of South Aii'ican P]migrants. He appointed Mr. Alexander Biggar landdrost, and Mr. William Cowie lieldcornet. Mr. Biggar, who was suticring under great depression of spirits consequent upon the loss of his sons, did not care to perform the duties, and therefore, a few weeks later, Mr. L. Badeidiorst was appointed landdrost in his stead. He, in his turn, after a ve. J short tenure of office was succeeded by Mr. F. Roos. In July, Sir George Napier issued a proclamation inviting the Emigrants to return to the Colony, promising them redress of well-founded grievances, stating that they could not be absolved from ^neir allegiance as British subjects, and an- nouncing that whenever he consid(?red it advisable, he would take military possession of Port Natal. It had previously been announced that " the determination of Her Majesty's Government was to permit no further colonisation in this part of Africa, nor the creation of any pretended independent State by any of Her Majesty's subjects, which the Emigrant Farmers continued to be." But proclamation and announce- ment alike fell upon deaf ears, for those to whom they were addressed were resolved not to return. In August, Dingan's army attacked the camp on the Bush- man's River again, and on three succ(>ssive days endeavoured to force an entrance, but on each occasion was compelled to retire with heavy loss. Only one farmer, Vlodman by name, was killed. Most of the Emigrants were at this time in great distress from want of proper food, and other needs of life, so much 1 i" ii6 Arrival of Mr. Andrics Prctorius. pi'()})L'rty having been destroyed and so many cattle swcspt oil". ])Lsease, in tlie form of low fever, broke out among them, pruLaLly induced by insufficient nourishment and clotliing ; and many must have perislied if supplies of medicine and other necessaries had not been forwarded by their countrymen at the Capo. This winter was, indeed, one of such sufi'ering and hardship that it was long remembered as the time of the • -•teat distress. Mr. Landman was now the nominal head of the Emigrants in Natal, for the health of Mr. IVIaritz had completely broken down, though he lingered in life until early in October. In November a Commission sent by Governor Sir George Napier visited Natal. Its object was to ascertain exactly the condition and number of coloured apprentices with the Emi- grants — these being entitled to full freedom on the 1st of December — and to demand that they be permitted to return to the Colony. Mr. Gideon Joubert, the Commissioner, found no difficulty in carrying out his instructions. In most in- stances the farmers had already freed their apprentices, and where this was not the case they were without exception ofiered the choice of returning with Mr. Joubert or of remain- ing as servants with wages. Nearly all of them preferred to remain, so that Mr. Joubert brought back with him only eight men, eleven women, and twenty-one children. In November Mr. Andries W. J. Pretorius, a man whose name was often to be heard during the next fifteen years, arrived in Natal, and was immediately elected Commandant General. Mr. Pretorius had visited the country on a tour of ins]>ccti on just before the massacre of Mr. Retief's party, and had been so well satisfied with its appearance that upon his return to Graaff-Reinet he and his friends resolved to remove to it. The new Commandant General was a man of consider- able wealth and of high character. His family traced its des- cent through many generations to Johannes Pretorius, son of a clergyman at Goeree in South Holland, who arrived at Cape Town in the early days of the settle me it; and they prided themselves upon having ]Dreserved an unstained reputation for integrity during that long period. Mr. Pretorius, like most Ciwiiuando aminst Dinzan. 117 of tlic farmers of tliat day, had received so little edneatioti from books that ho liad no knowledij;e of modern history or the condition and relative strenL,^tli of European naticHis, hut in Bihlo history he was as well versed as his remote ancestor could have l)een. Ilisknowledge andhisopinions inen feet deep, which opened into the stream. The Zulus attempted to eti'ect an entrance into the camp by sheer j)ressure of numbers on the two open sides, and they persevered in their efforts for two full hours, notwithstanding the terrible havoc created among them i^y the lire of the artillery and of the farmers' guns. At last they concentrated their strength to one point, when Mr. Pretorius led a body of horseman out and attacked them in the rear, wliile they were being mown down in front. This movement decided the action, for the Zulus, finding themselves between two fires and utterly unable to reach either, broke and fled. There were four or five hundred in the water drain, a-ric" along the bank of the river, and these were all shot djwri The farmers had three men slightly wounded, Mr. Pretoi-ius himself being one of them. They estimated the number oj Zulus 1} ing dead around the camp at over three thousand. The ground was covered with corpses and gore, and even the water was discoloured. From this circumstance the stream on the bank of which the carnage took ])lace received the name of the Blood River. On the I7th the connnando moved forward, and on the 21st reached Umkungunhlovu, when it was found that Dingan had set fire to his capital and had fled with his army to the thickets and ravines skirting the Umvolosi River. The first man to enter the still burning town was Mr. Jacobus Uys, bi-other of the late connnandant, and next to him was young Jacobus Uys, the late commandant's son. Mi-. Carel Cilliers, the most earnest j^reacher and at the same time one of the very best '< ■ ■■'! March to Umkiingtmhlovti. 119 warriors in the camp, was not far behind. But they found nothing living in that awful place which had been the scene of so many murders and so much woe. On the liill outside of the town they discovered the skeletons of Mr. Retief and his companions, who ten months before had fallen victims to Dingan's treachery, and whose murder they were then aveng- ing. The bodies appeared never to have been disturbcl since the day of the massacre. Tiie riems with which the victims had been dragged to the place were still attached to the skeletons. All the skulls were broken, showing how thoroughly the murderers had done their work. The skeleton of Mr. Retief was recognised by some fragments of clothing and a leather despatch bag which he had suspended from his shoulder. In this bag was found the deed of the cession of Natal, written by Owen, in a perfect state of preservation. After the interment of the remains, a camp was formed some miles further on, and then Mr. Pretorius sent a patrol of two hun- dred and eighty horsemen in pursuit of Dingan. A Zulu army was found in an extensive and broken valley having rocky and precipitous sides, and here for nearly a whole day the farmers were skirmishing. Towards evening they found that another body of Zulus was closing them in from belind, when they resolved to turn at once and cut their way out. In doing so they were obliged to cross a swollen rivulet, and here the enemy got among them, and killed Mr. Alexander Biggar, live Emi- grants, named Gerrit van Staden, Barend Bester, Nicholas le Roux, Marthinus Goosen, and Johannes Oosthuizen, and five of the Natal natives. The others got away in safety. The commando then commenced its return march. When it reached the Buffalo River, a patrol was sent out, which was fortunate enoujxh to fall in with a herd of four or five thousand cattle, guarded by only a hundred men. The guards were shot, and the cattle seized. During the absence of thiscommando, a military detachment arrived from Port Elizabeth, and took ])ossession of the l)iiy of Natal. It consisted of a company of the 72nil Highlanders and a few ii'unnors, altogether about a hundred men, and was under command of Major Samuel Charters of the Royal Artillery. i! |]1 1 20 JMilitary Occtipation of Poi^t Natal, Mr. (now Sir) Theopliiliis Shepstone, accompanied it in tlie capacity of Kaffir interpreter. After landing the troops, on the 4th December Major Charters proclaimed that he had taken military possession of all the ground surrounding the Bay within two miles of high-water mark, and declared martial law in force within these bounds. There was standing near the Point a substantial stone building, recently erected as a store for Mr. Maynard, with a small wooden building close by, be- longing to Mr. Jolin Owen Smith of Port Elizabeth. These were obtained from their ( ecupants, and were converted into storehouses for jirovisions, magazines for arms, &c. Three guns were landed, and mounted on neighbouring sand-hills which connnanded an extensive range. The troops were provided witli tents, which they occupied until wattle and daub barracks could be erected. The whole encampment was enclosed as soon as possible with stockades cut in the mangrove thickets, and it then received the name of Fort Victoria. The ol)jects of this military occupation are stated by Sir George Napier in a despatch to Earl Glenelg, dated IGth of October I808, to have been 1. To i)revcnt all supplies and warlike stores from entering the Port, by wliich means alone he could previiut aggression against the native tribes by the Emigrant Farmers, and thus put a stop to further bloodshed. 2. To prevent the Emigrants establishing an independent Government, by being in possession of the only seaport through wliich gunpowder and other necessary supplies could be conveyed to them ; and by which means he was sanguine enough to hoi)e that emigration would cease. In a proclamatit)n dated the 14th of November 1838, His Excellency declared his determination to seize the harbour of Port Natal, erect a fort, and keep possession of the same until otherwise directed by Her JVlajesty's Govennnent, in conse- (pience of the disturbed state of the native tribes in the territories adjacent to the Port, arising in a great degree from the unwar- jvuited occupation of parts of those territories by certain Emi- Military Ocaipatioit of Port Natal. 1 2 1 grants from the Colony, being British subjects. In this pro- clamation it was stated that — " The said occupation shall be purely military, and of a temporary nature, and not partake in any degree of the nature of colonization or annexure to the Crown of Great Britain; wherefore the said Port shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, closed against all trade except such as shall be carried on under the special licence and permission of the Government of this Colony, any clearance or permis- sion granted by any British, Colonial, or Foreign Custom House to the contrary notwithstanding. And in order to ensure the maintenance of this prohibition, I do hereby authorise and require the officer who shall be in connnand of said fort to ]jrevent, by force of arms if neccss^ary, the entry of any vessel into said harbour for the purpose of trade, or the landing from any vessel of any cargo of what description soever on the coast adjacent to the said fort, unless such vessel be provided with such licence as aforesaid." The proclamation gave the commander of the fort power to expel or confine any persons whom he might consider danger- ous. It directed him to search for, seize, and retain in military y)Ossession all arms and munitions of war which at the time of seizure of Port Natal should be found in possession of any of the inhabitants, care being taken that tlio same should be kept in proi)er order, and receipts being granted to the owners thereof. This action on the part of Sir George Napier was regarded in a very unh iendly light by the Emigrants, but neither he nor any other Englishman could look with inditl'erence upon their design of establishing an independent republic upon the sea coast, with a harbour through which access to the interior could be had. Even those who S3'm])athised most deeply with them approved of tlie Governor's taking possession of tlie Port, but would have been better pleased if it had been declared a permanent British possession, and the safety and welfare of the Emigrants had been provided for. Major Charters took ])()ssession of a large quantity of ammu- tion which was found in the stores of Messrs. Maynard and f' m» 1 2 2 Military Occupation of Port Natal. Jolm Owen Smitl), as well as the contents of a small majraziue belonging to the Emigrants, Upon the return to Natal of the commando under Mr. Pretorius, the Volksraad deputed Mr. Landman to confer with Major Charters, and to receive from him the ammunition which they hoped he would not detain after full information concerning them had been eriven. The Major, however, declined to release it without a pledge from tlie leading Emigrants that they would not again cross the Tugela, and would only use it foi defensive purposes. This pledge they declined to give, on the ground that they were a free people, and the ammunition wy property which the" had a right to. At this time there were three small Emigrant camps close to the Port. One consisting of about five and twenty or thirty families, under Mr. L. Badenhorst, was near the head of the Bay. A second, ratlier larger, was at the XJmlazi ; and the third, of about fifteen families, was ten or twelve miles beyond in the same direction. The last two were under Andries de «'ager and Jacobus Uvs. Major Charters returned overland to Cape Town as soon as the troops were settled, leaving Caj)tain Henry Jervis of the 72nd in command. This officer held a commission under the Imperial Act for the prevention and punishment of offences committed by British subjects within the territories adjacent to the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. Under it he sum- moned a farmer who was accused of assault to appear before him, but the farmer declined to attend, alleging that he was a member of an independent community, and responsible only to the landdrost appointed by the Volksraad. Tiiereupon Cap- tain Jervis referred the case to Sir George Napier, by whom lie was informed that it would be inexpedient to press the matter. Thus began and ended the attempt to exercise judi- cial authority over the Emigrants at Natal, for in no other instance was the slightest eff'urt made to interfere with their civil government. In the absence of instructions from the Secretary of State, which were rei)eatedly solicited, but in vain, tlie Govei'nor could do nothing more than inform them on every opportunity that they were still regarded as British Foundation of Pietermaritzbnrg. 12 subjects, and officially ignore their Volksraad and courts of law, while all the time they were acting as an independent people. At this time Pietermaritzbure:^ was laid out. It received its name from the late Commandants Pieter iietiof and Gerrit Maritz. Here, from this date onward, the Volksraad, or Governing Council of the Emigrants, met. It consisted of twenty-four members, elected annually, who met every three months, and not only exercised supreme legislative power but appointed all officials, the Commandant General in- cluded. Early in 1839 an attempt was made by Captain Jervis to bring about an agreement of peace bcuvv^een the Emigrants and Dingan. He obtained a messenger from Henry Ogle, whom he sent to Dingan to ask tliat he would appoint delegates and direct them to ])roceed to Natal to talk mattei's over. As afterwards seen, Dingan had no intention of concluding peace. He had lost about ten thousand men in all the engagements, but his army was still so large that he was by no means humbled. He was, however, quite ready to enter into an arrangement which v/ould enable him to ke p a constant watch upon the Emigrants' proceedings, He therefore sent delegates to Natal with three hundred and sixteen horses and a message indicating a wish for peace. On the 2Gth of March, Dingan's delegates had a meeting close to the fort with ]Mr. Pretorius and some other leading Emigrants, in presence of Captain Jervis, vvhen they were in- formed that peace would be made on the following terms : — 1. That the cession of land by Dingan to the late Mr. Ketief for the farmers should be confirmed and ratified by hi.n. 2. That Dingan should restore all the cattle, horses, arms, am- munition and other property which his arrny had sto en from the camjis and the farmers, and make good on de- mand all the damage sustained by the Emigrants from his people. 3. That any Zulu passing the boundary of th-i land ceded by ^ Now usually termed Minitzbuig for the sake of brevity. ;l, i.J ■ ■■ t 1 T 1 '15 K' 124 Negotiations with Dingan. Dingan, and thus coming within the acquired territory of tlie farmers, should be shot, and vice versa} Tlie Zuhi delegates professed to consider these conditions fair and reasonable, but said they would require to be approved of by Dingan. They accordingly returned home, and shortly afterwards came back to the Bay with a message to Captain Jervis to the effect that the farmers' property had been col- lected and would be delivered to them if they would send for it. Captain Jervis hereupon communicated with the Emigrants at the nearest camps, and they with the Volksraad at Maritz- burg, Upon this, Mr. Pretorius assembled a commando of three hundred and thirty-four burgliers near the junction of the Mooi and Tugela rivers, where lie formed a camp, and then sent a Commission, consisting of Messrs. William Cowie, J. A. van Niekirk, and J. P. Roscher, to Dingan for the property. Dingan was found by the Commission at a new town built about four hundred yards from the site of the one that had been burnt six months before. He stated that much of the farmers' stock had died, and that many of tlie guns had been lost, but he sent back with the Commission thirteen hundred head of horned cattle, about four hundred sheep, fifty-two guns, and forty-three saddles, which were delivered at the camp on the 7th of June. To the Commission, Dingan expressed him- self as very anxious for peace, but circumstances that indicate the still unbroken spirit of the people are noted in the report of the interview which Mr. Cowie furnished to Captain Jervis. The great indunas v/ere not sent to the Emigrant camp, on the alleged ground of fear, but two petty cayttains were deputed to arrange matters. These iniorraed the Emigrant leaders that Dingan was quite willing to agree to the terms delivered to the Zulu delegates in presence of Captain Jervis at the Ba}-, to which Mr. Pretorius replied that there was then no obstacle to peace, that they estimated the losses and damages still due at nineteen thousand three hundred head of cattle, but part ot' that might be paid in ivory if more convenient. The captains 1 In Captain Jcrvis's report of tluB meeting (manuscrijit in the Colonial Office) the ;''.ondition8 are stated differently, but imply almost the same. The above is the wcrding of the terms as subsequently signed. Negotiations luith Dingan. 125 then affixed their marks to the conditions of peace, and pro- mised on behalf of their master that delegates of rank should ratify their acts and that a quantity of ivory which had al- ready been collected should, immediately on their return liome, be sent to Wx. Pretorius on account. As soon as the conditions were signed, the Commandant- General wrote to Captain Jervis, requesting the delivery of the ammunition belonging to che Emigrants, on the ground that there could be now no pretence for detaining it. Captain Jervis replied tliat he would give it up immediately upon the following declaration being signed : — ** We, the undersigned, Leaders of the Emigrant Farmers, parties to the late treaty of peace with the Zulus, and others, do hereby solemnly declare that provided the ammunition which was seized by the troops on the occupation of Port Natal is restored to us, it is not the intention of ourselves and people to turn our arms against the Zulus or any other of the native tribes, but to restrict ourselves to measures of self de- fence alone, on the territory which we now occupy." Neither Mr. Pretorius, nor any other of the principle leaders, however, would admit the right of an English officer to impose any conditions whatever, and so the powder and lead remained in the magazine of Fort Victoria. That there was no scarcity of ammunition among the Emigrants was well known, and if other evidence had been wanting it was proved by a fire which broke out on the evening of the 3rd of June, in one of the camp 5 near Pietcrmaritzburg, in which nine individuals lost their lives, ten others were severely injured, and the waggons and household effects of twenty-nine families were utterly de- stroyed. The principal damage was caused by the explosion of the gunpowder stored in the different waggons. On the 30th of June, two messengers arrived at Maritzbur^' from Dingan. They brought no ivory, but said they had come to ratify the terms of peace and to inquire when the cattle would be taken over. But the Volksraad, ascertaining tliat they were persons of no rank, declined to confer with them further than to direct them to inform Dingan that he must I ^IH I 126 Withdrawal of Troops from Port Natal. send some of his chief captains within twelve days, otherwise they would treat with him no longer, but settle matters with a commando. On several occasions after that messengers arrived, but they did nothing else than deliver compliments, make pro- mises, and apologize for mistakes, until it became evident that Dingan's only object was to ascertain whether the farmers kept in lager or were dispersing over the country. At this time the Emigrants were agitated by a rumour that a large body of English colonists would shortly be landed at Port Natal with the object of overturning their Government. Great as was the danger from Dingan, they regarded this as greater. On the 31st of July, the Commandant-General and tlie Volksraad wrote to Captain Jervis : " We shall never allow people to establish themselves here without subjecting them- selves to the jurisdiction of this community." " The bones," wrote they, " of our innocent and treacherously murdered rela- tives and friends at the Bushman's River will remain a lasting evidence of our risht to this land until another beacon of similar materials shall overshadow ours." On the llth of November the Volksraad passed a resolution to oppose the landing of immigrants without its previous consent, and if such iunnigrants should be attended by a military force too great to be resisted on landing, to carry on a guerilla warfare against them. But their fears were groundless. The Home Government was indisposed to add another acre of land in South Africa to the Empire. Sir George Napier could get no instructions how to act. The 72nd Highlanders were expecting orders to em- bark for Europe, and the Governor therefore made up his mind to withdraw the little garrison from Fort Victoria and to leave the Emigrants entirely to themselves. His own opinion, often repeated and urgently pressed upon the successive Secretaries of State, was that Natal should be constituted a British Colony, but, as he stated in a despatch to Lord John Uussell, dated 22nd of June, 1840, " the reiterated expression by Lords Glenelg and Normanby of their merely temporary and conditional approval of the military possession of the port, their observations on the expense attending it, and the apparently fixed determina- tian cf Her Majesty's Government not to extend Her Colonial I Revolt of Panda against Dingan. 127 possessions in this quarter of the world, made liim feel confi- dent that the colonization of that country woukl never bu sanctioned, and therefoie he felt the further retention of the post might give rise to hopes or even fears which it was pro- bably the wish of Her Majesty's Ministers not to foster." On the 24;tli of December, 1839, the troops embarked in a vessel that had been sent for them. The ammunition of the farmers was at last restored without any guarantee as to its use, and they saw all the symbols of English sovereignty dis- appear, though in a friendly farewell letter of Cc-ptain Jervi.s he stated that they were still considered British subjects. Under such circumstances, however, they might reasonably conclude that the Imperial Government had practically aban- doned its claim to their allejiiance. About four months before the departure of the troops, a very important event took place in the Zulu country. Umpande, or Panda as he is usually termed by Europeans, (me of the younger sons of Senzangakona, entered into a consi)iracy against Dingan In ability, he was far inferior to either of his brothers, and al- most immeasurably lower than his son (^ety wayo in later years. But he possessed a large amount of low cunning, and he was clever enough to seize the oi)portunity that then occurred to improve his position. A great number of the incorporated Zulus — the remnants of tribes that had come under Tshaka, as the only means of saving themselves — was ready to rally round any leader who could give them reasonable hope for deliver- ance from incessant bloodshed and. tyranny. The induna, Nongalaza, who was in command of the district along the northern bank of the Tugela, declared for Panda, and they joined him. The rebel chief, with a very large following, then crossed the Tugela, and seiit three messengers to Landdrost Roos at the Bay to ask protection from the Europeans. These "onessengers arrived on the 14th of September, and stated that Panda was accompanied by Nongalaza, Sotobe who had been sent by Tshaka to the Cape with Mr. King in 1828, and six other great indunas. The Emigrants at first regarded Panda with suspicion, as it was by no means certain that his flight was not merely a pre- 1 1 m Sj i 'S si- 128 March of Allied Forces against Dingan. tcnce to draw them to destruction. But in an interview which he had with the Volksraad on the lotli of October, he convinced the members of his sincerity, and jiermission was given to him to occupy for the time being a tract of land between the Tugela and Umvoti rivers. On tlie 26th of the same month he was installed " Tleigning Prince of the Emigrant Zulus " bv a Commission from the Volksraad, of whicli Mr. F. Roos, land- drost of the camps around the Bay, was President. An arrp.nge- ment was soon afterwards entered into that the Volksraad should demand from Dingan innnediate payment of their losses, and that in the event of Dingan's non-compliance the Emigrants should assist Panda to depose his brother, in whicli case he undertook to pay the debt. It was understood on both sides that the first clause v/as a mere matter of form, and Panda therefore paid about two thousand head of cattle at once. In accordance with this arrangement, on the 4th of January, 1840, the Volksraad directed Commandant General Pretc-ius to march against Dingan, to demand from him forty tUousan. head of horned cattle, and if they were not given, to take them by force. Ten days later a burgher commando of four hundred men, supported by five or six thousand of Panda's adherents under Nongalaza, set out for Zululand. During the campaign several prisoners were taken, and to the astonishment of the Zulus, who were acting in concert with the farmers, the}'' were released. On one occasion this happened after a mountain had been occupied with difficulty.^ Panda's followers could not appreciate such gentleness towards enemies, which they considered reprehensible. A tragic deed, which must always remain a reproach on the reputation of this commando, was more in accordance with their views of propriety. 1 Tlio traveller Delegorgue, who was with the commando, says : La manidre dont Ics Boers so comportaicnt en uette circonstance mtrigua beacoup leurs allies amazou- I0U8 ; elle excitait leur admiration en mume tempa que leur mecontentemcn*', et plus d'un parlait, avec mepri du systeme de guerre quo pratiquent les blancs. " Com- ment," disait Noiiglass, "apres les avoir contrainta k quitter une position aussi difficile, vous leur laisse^ la vie ! Ceci n'est pas faire la guerre, ce n'est pas profiter dc ses advantages. Eu guerre, il faut tuer beaucouxj, tout mdme s'il c»t possible. " — \'ol. I., page 237. u. Unjustifiable ExeaUion of Zulu Officers. 129 ;w wliicli onvinced n to him vdQn the e month ulus " by )0s, land- arrp.nge- bJksraad of their ance the in which stood on orm, and cattle at Januarv, Pretc'ius bUousan. Lke them hundred dherents 1, and to concert uon this ifficulty.^ towards gic deed, tation of views of anidre dont ies amazou- en*^^, et plus js. " Com- sition aussi pas profiter possible." — toD mizaii The api^roach of the commando was made known by his s})ios, and recognising the gravity ai' the position in which he was phiced, ho attempted — })ossibly in earnest — to come to terms with the Emigrants. There were two otUcers immediately under him whose advice he frequently sought, and through whom he carried on his government. Their names were Tambusa and Umthlela. The first mjued of these ho now sent to the Emigrant camp to renew negotiations for peace. Upon Tambusa's arrival he and his servant Kombazana were made prisoners, and contrary to all law and justice were brought to trial before a court martial. Panda and some of his officers were kept by Mr. Pretorius in his own camp as security against treachery, the column under Nongalaza being at some distance and marching in a parallel line. These ])ersons, who would assuredly do all in their power to cause the death of one of Dingan's magnates, were allowed to take part in the mock trial. Panda acted indeed in the double cai)acity of prosecutor and judge. He attributed the massacres of the Emigrants to the advice given to Dingan by Tambusa, and accused the chief prisoner of many other enormities. Tambusa, finding himself in the hands of those who were determined on his death, acted with the utmost calmness and dignity. He did not deny the truth of Panda's assertions, but said he was not there to defend himself : he had come as an envoy from a great chief to arrange terms of peace. He scorned to ask mercy for himself, but demanded the release of his ser- vant on the ground that \\q was obliged to obey any orders given to him. Kombazana, on his part, displayed equal pride by refusing to be separated from his master even in death. They were both condemned to be executed. When the sentence was pronounced, Mr. Pretorius spoke to the prisoners of God, the Almigiity master in whose presence they must soon appear, and besought them to pray to Him for pardon of their sins while yet there was time. Tambusa answered that he had but one master ; that it was his duty to remain faithful to Dingan to the last moment of his life ; and that if he did this the Great Chief of whom Mr. Pre- torious spoke could not fail to be satisfied with his conduct. i 130 Great Battle between Panda and Dmj^an. A few hours later on the same clay, 31st of January, 1840, the condeiinied men were led to execution. They were manacled together, and both were perfectly naked. Two farmers from a distance of sixty paces fired at them, when Kombazana was killed instantly. Tambusa fell to the ground with a ball in his body, though he was not mortally wounded. Rising immediately, he again stood erect, though manacled to the still quivering corpse of his servant, and faced the execu- tioners with an undaunted eye. 'J'he second discharge followed speedily, and laid him low to rise no more.^ This act of Mr. Pretorius, — for the chief blame must rest upon him — was a great mistake as well as a great crime. It gave those who were jealous of his intluence an opportunity to attack him, which they at once availed themselves of. In the Yolksraad he was accused of having exceeded the authority entrusted to him by creating a tribunal with power of life and death. His partisans, however, were so strong that after a time the charges against him were allowed to drop. Immediately after this event a messenger from Nongalaza brought word to the burgher column that on the day preceding. 3()th January, he had fought a great battle with Dingan's army led by Umthlela, and had won a comi)lete victory. This battle proved to be a decisive one. At its commence- ment Ding^,n's army was superior in number, but a body of his troops weni jver to Panda's side, and turned the scale. Those who were faithful stood their ground, and fell as became Zulu warriors. Tlie slaughter on each side was enormous. The two best regiments of Dingan perished. The veterans who had won their plumes under Tshaka preferred to die rather than show their backs to the traitors who had deserted their cause. Umthlela placed himself at the head of the reserve, and went into the hottest part of the field, where he was pierced through the heart with an assagai. Still the issue of the day was doubtful, when the cry echoed along Nongalaza's ranks, " The Boers are coming." It was not so, but the belief that it was answered Nongalaza's purpose. The remnant of Dingan's army ^ Delegorgue was a witness of this tragic scene. See his '* Voyage daus rAfiinuc Austialc;" Volume I., pages 223 et seq. I Prcclaviatlon of JMr. Prctorhts, \\\ tlie men who could not flee from a foo armed with spear and shield, gave way in their fear of tho.se dreaded horsemen wiio had power to deal out deatli without meeting it themselves, A bushy country spread out before thorn, and favoured their escape. The battle was over, and the terror which the Zuki name had inspired for twenty years was a thing of the past. Dingan fled northward to the border of the Swazi country, where ho built a kraal in a secluded and tolerably secure position. There he was soon afterwar Is assassinated by a Swazi who stole upon him unawares. Those who had adhered to him in his misfortunes then tendered their submission to Panda, by whom they were received with every mark of favour. After the decisive battle, an enormous booty in cattle fell into the hands of the conquerors. About ibi'ty thousand head were delivered to Mr. Pretorius, and were subsequently distributed among the Emigrants in projjortion to their losses- On the 10th of February Mr. Pretorius formally installed Panda as king of the Zulus, but in vassalage to the Emigrant Volksraad, to which he promised fidelity. It was arranged that he should remove his followers to the north side of the Tugela, but that the ground on which he was to reside should be an appanage of the Republic of Natal. To this end tho following proclamation was issued by Mr. Pretorius on the 14th of February 1S40 :— "In the name of the Volksraad I take possession of all the laud from the Tugela to the Black Umvolosi ; and our boundary shall in future be from the sea along the Black Umvolosi River to where it runs through the double mountains near its source, and so on along the Randberg in the same direction to the Drakensberg, including St. Lucia Bay, as also all sea coasts and harbours already discovered, or that may yet be discovered, between the mouths of the Umzimvubu and tho Black Umvolosi rivers." While writing this cha[)ter and the next, the following printed books were before me : — " Vovnge dans I'Afrique Australe, notamnient dans le Tcrritoirc do Natid, itc, execute durant les Annees 1838-1844." Pur M. Adulphc Del egoiguo. Two volumes octavo, Paris, 1847 ! 132 IVorks of Reference. " Onlinancrs, rroclanuitioiis, Jcc, A'c, relating to the Colony of Natal," 183(;-1S47. (OfHciaL) An octavo voliuuo of 200 pages, Cape Town, 1848. "Natal, Cape of Good Hope, comprisinjj; Descri[)tions of this woll- endowcd Colony from the year 1575 to the ])resent time by Coverii- iiient Oflicials and Travellers." ]}y J. S. Christopher, of Natal. An octavo volume of 14G pat^es, London, 1850. " A Journal of the liisliop's Visitation Tour through the Cape Colony in 1850." A small volume of 227 ])agos, London, 1852. A pt»rtion of this volume is devoted to Natal and the Orange llivcr Sovereignty. '' The Dorp and the Vekl, or Six ^lonths in Natal." By Charles IJarter, B.C.L. A crown octavo volume of 251) ])ages, London, 1852. "History of the Colony of Natal, South Africa, to which is added an Appendix containing a brief History of the Orange River Sovereignty, kc." By tlie Ilev. William C. llolden, upwards of fifteen years a resident in the ( 'lony. An octavo volume of 4G3 i)ages, Ijondon, 1855. "Ten Weeks in Natal." By John William Colenso, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese. A small volume of 271 pages, Cambridge, 1855. "Life with the Zulus of Natal, South Africa." By C H. Mason. A crown octavo volume of 232 pages, London, 1855. "Tiie Settler's (;uide to the Cape of (Jood lloi)e and Natal." ]iy W. Irons. A small volume of 230 pages, London, 1858. " The Colony of Niital." By Robert James Mann, M.D., F.R.A.S., Suj)erintendent of Education in Natal. An octavo volume of 221) pages, London, 1851). "Emigrant's (Juide Book to Port Natal." By James Arbuthnot. A small volume of 143 |)ages, Aberdeen, 1802. " Natal en Nieuw Gelderland." Door W. K. Ente. A pamphlet Kii 40 pages, Arnhem, 18G2. "Narrative of the Entrance of the Conch at Port Natal with Troojis to relieve Captain Smith." P»y William Bell, who com- manded the Co'nc/i. A pan>i)hlet of 24 pages, Durban, 18G9. "Notes on Natal." By John Robinson, F.R.(J.S. A suiall volume of 227 pages, Durban, 1872. " Among the Zulus and Amatongas, with sketches of the natives, itc." By the late David Leslie. Edited by tl»e lion. W. H. Drum- mond. A crown octavo volume of 43G pMgcs, Glasgow, 1875. " Natal : a History and Description of the Colony, including its Natural Features, Productions, Industrial Comlition, and Prospects." \\y Henry Brooks, for many years a Resident there. Edited by Dr. R J. Mann, late Superintendent of Education in Natal. An octavo Volume of 33G pages, London, 187G. An excellent work, beautifully illustrated. " Natal, Transvaal, and Zululand." By W. Hartley, thirty years a Resident in Natal Colony. A pamphlet of i)2 pages, Leeds, 187U. dte«Ai.; .<^^ IVor/cs of Reference. 133 " The Zulus .and Boers of Soutl) Africa." By Robert James Mann, ^r.D., late Supcrinteudcnt of Education in Natal. A paniphlet of S() pa ,2ient or modern, except from Scripture history, and were only ex- perimenting until they could work out a system adapted to their needs. The details of the administration having been settled, the Yolksraad deemed it advisable to enter into correspondence with the Governor of tlie Cape Colony, with a view of obtain- ing a recognition of their independence. Sir George Napier liad long been urging the Imperial Government to take pos- session of Natal, and establish a strong Government there, but the Ministry was unwilling to increase England's responsi- bilities in South Africa, and could resolve upon nothing. The Governor, believing that the interests of Great Britain, and of the Cape Colony alike, were being endangered by delay, was 3'et powerless to take any action except under extraordinary circumstances, and could only temporize until distinct instruc- tions sliould arrive. He was not apprehensive of any cruel or unjust treatment of the natives by the Emigrants as a body, but the weakness of their Government he rightly regarded as a fruitful source of individual acts of wrong.^ Tiie correspondence commenced with a letter, dated 4th of September, 1840, from Mr. ^ Badenhorst, then President, and Mr. J. J. Burger, Secretary of the Volksraad, informing Sir George Napier that peace had been established with the sur- rounding tribes, and asking through His Excellency that Her ^lajesty might be graciously pleased to acknowledge and de- 1 In a despatch to Lord John RusspI, dated 22nd June 1840, he wrote : " Consider- ing the feelings of exasperation which the perfidious slaughter of so many of their friends, under the command of Retief, must have produced in their minds, it ajipears to mo^ as far as I have been able to learn, that their treatment of the natives has not been, generally sjieaking, characterised by flagrant injustice, or productive of misery to these iicojde. . . . The alleged misery and cruelties inflicted on the abori- ginal tribes by civilized men are light in comparison to the injuries they suffer from perpetual tyranny and despotism among themselves. . . . That the security they at present enjoy under the temporary dominion of the Emigrants is less jicrfect than it would be under an established Government is, I think, obvious, because although the majority of them arc not, I believe, animated by feelings which might lead them to the habitual perpetration of cruel acts, still where men are left without sufiicient law to control their acts and punish crime, instances will certainly and often occur in which the natives will suffer more under their present protectors than under the in- fluence of a firmly estaldished Government which postcsscs the jwwcr as well as tho iuolinatiou to restrain its subjects from the commission of crimes." : I40 Terms of Alliance. dare the Emigrants to be a free and independent peo])le. They proposed to send two Commissioners to Cape Town to treat for " an acknowledgment of tlieir independence, with tlie rights of British subjects." Such a sentence as this is an illustration of much of the corresi)ondence of the Volksruad when the letters were not drafted by Mr. Boshof Sir George Napier replied on the 2nd of November, asking for '* an explicit statement of the terms on which they were disposed to treat," but without making any promises or ad- missions. On the 14th of January 1841, the conditions which they de- sired to embody in a tre ^v v:er'\ after long discussion, agreed to by a majority of th( "" ylks^-aad, and communicated to Sir George Napier in a letk iigiit'^ by Carel Pieter Landman, then President, and twelve mei. • :'s. The following is a translation of the terms : — "We arc willing and desirous to enter into a perpetual alliance with the (Jovernnient of Her Majesty the Queen of England, on the following principles : 1. That the honoured Government of Her Majesty the Queen of England would be pleased to acknowledge and declare our settle- ment here as a fren and independent State, under the name of The Republic op Port Natal and Adjoining Countries, the boundaries whereof can be hereafter defined. 2. That Her Majesty's Government declai-e itself willing to treat with the said Republic in the character of an ally. 3. That the said Republic reciprocally declares itself to stand in the closest alliance with the British Government, 4. Tiiat Her Majesty's Government shall be at liberty, in case of any hostile undertaking against this Republic by sea, by any other Power whatever, to interpose itself either in a friendly manner or to repel the same by force. 5. That in case of war between the British Government and any other Power, this Republic shall be viewed as neutral, and all private commercial vessels lying at anchor in the ports of the Republic shall be left unmolested. G. That the British Government shall have tlie right to place here an Ambassador or Representative Agent. 7. That the trade in British merchandise shall not be made subject to higher imposts than that of other people or nations, but the same duties, as far as practicable, shall be levied as are levied on British goods entering British Colonies with the exception of Terms of Alliance. 141 wines, strong liquors, and other articles prejudicial to this IJc- ])ublic;, the unnocesstiry importation of whicli it would be advis- able to restrain by higher duties. In consideration of which all articles of trade of this llepublic shall be rec«ived in all British possessions, and not bo subject to higlier dutios than those of British settlements. That this lleimblic engages never to make a hostile movement against any of the native tribes who reside betwee i the boundary of the said Republic and that of the Colony of the Cape of Cood Hope, without first giving notice thereof to the representative of tliat Government here, or to the Governor for the time being of the Colony aforesaid, and stating also the cause which may have given rise thereto, with exception, however, of occasions when it will bo our duty to take immediate steps against the enemy cither in up[)Osing or repelling their inroads or contemplated at tacks upon us or upon any of the natives on our frontier and in alliance with us, or in case of robbery to pursue immediately the robbers and overtake them, and in all such other cases wherein delay or neglect would be dangerous and prejudicial to us. Tiiat we further bind ourselves not to extend our bound y ^iuo further, to the detriment or disadvantage of any of the suj.oi d- ing tribes, nor to make any hostile movement against .: em, un- less any tribes by preceding liostilc attack shall givo ua such occasion thereto that we, for the maintenance of our rir'hts, or for the security of our property, shall bo compelled to take up arms iigainst them. That the Republic promises to give every cncouragciiicnt to the spreading of the Gospel among, and for the civilization of, the heathen tribes which surround us, or are residing under our Government. 11. That this Republic promises not to give any aid or assistance in any manner to the declared or public enemies of the British Government in any hostile u:idertaking against the same, nor to permit such known enemies' vessels to ent.r our ports, or to j)rovi8iou them; but on the contrary, in case of war with the Colony by Kaffirs or other tribes residing between us and the Colony, should the Governor of the Colony be desirous to send by sea and march overland armed forces through our territory, to assist the same with provisions, means of transport, itc, and further as far as possible to accommodate them. That this Republic undertakes and binds itself never to enter into any slave trade, or to encourage or assist the same, or to permit any vessel or craft of that trade to enter our ports, or to furnish them with any refreshment. That British subjects residing in this Republic shall be equally protected in their persons and property, and shall not be subject to higher taxes or duties than the burglers of this Republic are. 10. 12 13 142 History of the Pondo Tribes. Wliilo this correspondonco was lieing carried on, an event took place which altered the whole aspect of affairs, and which necessitates a brief account of tlu Pondo tribe being given. Tills tribe is one of tliose mentioned by the wrecked seamen of the Slaveiiisse in 108G. It was then found between the Abaniho and the Abatembu, in its present position, though the limits of its possessions at that time cannot bo ascertained. For the next hundred years there appears to have been no in- tercourse between these people and Europeans, of which a record has been preserved. In 1790-1 an expedition under the leadership of Mr. Jacob van Keenen travelled from the Capo Colony through Kaifirland to the mouth of the Umzim- kulu in search of survivors from the wreck of the English East Indiaman (Jrosvenor, wiiich was lost on the coast a short distance above the mouth of the Umzimvubu on the 4th of August, 1782. Several accounts of the wreck were published within the next ten years, from the narratives of seamen who made their way overland to the Colony ; and the journal of Mr. Van Reenen's expedition followed in 1792. These, however, throw little or no light upon the condition of the Pondos at that time. Mr. Van Reenen's [)arty visited a village in which tliey found three aged white women, survivors of a wreck which must have taken place on tlie coast about 1730 or 1740. They had been married to natives, and had a numerous offspring. Depa, the petty Pondo chief with whose people the first mis- sion in the country was established, was a son of one of these women. From the date of Mr. Van Reenen's visit more than thirty years passed by without anything being heard of the Pondo ])eople. About 1823 their name came occasionally to be men- tioned in connection with the ravages of Tshaka, and after- wards some particulars concerning them were gathered from the accounts of the Europeans at Port Natal. In July, 1828, Major Dundas, Landdrost of Albany, who was sent by the Governor of the Cape Colony en a mission to Tshaka, })assed through Pondoland and had an interview with the chief Faku, who was then living in the valley of the Umgazi River. The paramount iiiler of the Pondos was found dispiritod and in a History of the Pondo Tribes, 143 most abject condition, with only two or three attendants about him. Tshaka's army iiad swept the country of cattle, ami after an occupation of a month and a hali' had left only ten days before Major Dundas's visit.^ The Pondos had nothing to live upon or to make clothes with. Faku had sent to Ilinsta and Vusani, chiefs of the Galekas and Tembus, for assistance, but had received none, and ho was then about to become a vassal of Tsliaka. In May, 1829, the Rev. Mr. Shaw visited Faku, at the Uin- gazi. The country close around was thickly po})ulated, and the ])eople had gathered a plentiful harvest of corn, but had very few cattle. In this year, 1821), Morley mission station was founded by the Rev. Mr, Shepstone among De[)a's people. It was destroyed a few months later by the Amakwabi, when the mission family narrowly escaped ; but it was subset^uently rebuilt in another and better position on the western bank of the Umtata. In 1830, the Buntinorvillo mission was commenced bv the Rev. Messrs. Boyce and Tainton. Faku, who believed tl:e missionaries to be powerful rainmakers, gave them one of the driest sites in the whole country, in hope of benefiting by the rain which ho anticipated they would cause to descend fur their own profit. When, however, he found that his expecta- tions were not realised, he granted a nmcli better site else- where, and the mission was removed. From this time there is abundant material in existence foi compiling an account of the Pondo people. They are, in addi- tion to the official records, many statements since made Ijy individual Pondos and published, besides printed reports and letters of missionaries, and references by travellers in several books. Among these last the most important are to be foun^] in " Travels and Researches in CaflVaria," by the Rev. Stei)hen Kay, London, 1833 ; Mr. Isaacs' " Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa ; " and Captain Gardiner's " Narrative of a Journey to the Zoolu Country." From these sources it can be ascertained that the Pondo ^ It was on thia occasion tliat a Zulu army peiiLtiatod to the Baslieo. Tsliaka himself remained at the Umzimkulu with a rejjiment tl>at laid waste the Tondo country. See account in preceding tlav'tcr. V M K. I ' 1 1 t ! 144 The Bacas. tribe suffered very severely by the wars of Tshaka. It was not alone invasions of their country by armies under that dreaded chiefs commanders that harassed them. Numerous hordes, fleein*,' before the Zulu spear, sought refuge in the ruggeil district drained by the Umzimvubu, others made a pathway thiough it to safer regions beyond. Every horde that came was an enemy to all the rest, and so there was for years a continual scene of pillaging and butchering throughout the land. It w(juld be a waste of time to search out and i)lacc on record the titles of all the clans that made their appearance on the Umzimvubu at this ])eriod, let alone to trace their history. Many of them have become incorporated with the Pondo tribe. Many others are now subject to the Government of Natal. Several have perished utterly, among these being the Amak- wabi, already me.itioned. One clan only rec^uires a brief notice. This was vhe remnant of the Baca tribe, which had been driven down from the north, and which was then, owing to its hereditary chief being a minor, under a regent named Ncapayi.^ The Baca clan was the most powerful body of re- fugees in the valley of the Umzimvubu. Its propensities for plundering all within its reach were no greater than those of the others, but its strength enabled it to hold its ground when weaker ])eople perished. The fame of Ncapayi extended to the Cape Colony, where he was spoken of as pre-eminently the freebooter of Kaffirland. In the wars and disturbances of this period the Pondo tribe was greatly reduced in number, and was entirely driven from the country north of the Umzimvubu. Faku himself went to reside in the valley of the Umgazi, and for ten or twelve years at least he was deprived of all authority in what is now called Eastern Pondoland. Early in 183G an embassy was sent by Governor Sir Benja- min D'Urban to the chiefs, Kreli, Vadana, and Faku, for the purpose of establishing a general peace between the tribes and arranging for the return of the missionaries to the stations 1 Ncapayi was killed in battle with the PonJos iu July, 1845. He was the father of Makaula, who is at prcsout the head of the Lacas iu the district of Mount Frere. The Pondos. 145 which had been abandoned in the ijruvious year, owing to thu war hutwucn tho Ainaxosa and thu Colony. A niiliiary olHcer, Captain Duhmoy of tho 7-")th Hc^iniont, was at its Iioad ; and it was intended to niako an impression upon tlie native mind for it consisted in all of one hundred and ten individuals, ot" whom eighty wero so'diers. It was accompanied by the llev. Mr. Palmer, who had previously laboured amonj,' the Pondos, and by Mr. Wdliam Fynn as interjjreter. On the 5th 01 February Ca[)tain Delancy reached Buntingville, where lie met Falcu with his councillors and about twelve hundred followers, by whou) ho was received "with every possible de- monstration of pleasure and satisfaction." The Pondo chief promised the embassy to keep the peace in future with his neighbouis.^ Before parting, presents were exchanged. Faku's gift consisted of five tusks of ivory : one fur the Governor, ono for Colonel Smith, and three for Captain Delaney. In the rej)ort of the embassy and the documents which ac- company it notinng is said of tlie extent of the Pondo terri- tory, but in a desj)atch from Sir Benjamin D'Urban to Lord Glenelg, of the IGth March, I80O, Faku is described as " Chief of the Amapondas on the Umtata. Umgazi, and Umcimvooboo." One of the earliest acts of the Emigiant Farmers after entering Natal was to communicate with Fakn, who had the reputation of being abler and better disj)osed than the otlier chiefs in the neighbourhood. Ho and Ncapayi were nearly always at war, but just at this time the Pondos and Bacas were tisfhtinu: on the same side ai^ainst the Pondomisis and Tembus. Faku replied to the connnunication of the Farmers in a friendlj- manner. Nothint' was said about the extent of tci-ritorv subject to him, as ho put forward no pretensions to any part of tho country north of the Um/.imvubu. Though desirin. i f m 146 T/ie Pondos. at this period that Mrs. Jenkins went to reside in Pondoland. This lady, an account of wlioso life for the next forty years would be an account of the growtii of the Pondo tribe, wrote of them then as being in a state of great poverty. Tiiey had no cattle of whose skins to make clotliing, so the men went entirely naked, and the wouicnwore nothing but a girdle made of maize leaves fastened together and tied round their waists. The diHcrent clans of the Pondos,. Bacas, Pondomisis, Xesibes, and others, were constantly fighting among theniselvcs. She and her husband were residing at Buntingville. Faku was opposeil to Mr. Jenkins ])roaching, for he said it would make his people cowards in fight and afraid of death if they were often spoken to about anotiier world. Jn March, LSSS, Faku removed from the Umga/Zi, where ho liad been so long rehiding, to the Umzimhlava, a streamlet cm|)tyi!ig into the sea a short distance north of the Umzimvubu. His professions to Captain Delancy iiad been entirely forgotten, and instead of keeping ])ea('o with his neighbours, he was cim- stantly attaekiiig one or other of them. He and Ncapayi had just made some successfi'J forays upon Pondoniisi an«l Tcmbu knuils, ..lid the mlssi(»naries, in remonstrating with him for these acts, reminded him of his ])romisea to an agent of the iJolonial G .vj.rnment and of tije fate of Matiwane in 182S, Fak'T bocame alarmed, and as the Farmers were now between liiin and the Zulus, he immediately moved over the llm/.imvubu, aiuiouiiciiig to the missionaries that he feari'd the (u'vernment ^ ould send a eomtnando to punish him for what he had been iy rate his i'ear of punishment did not prevent him from joining i..mpayi in November following and again laying waste a jHirtion of the Tembu c(»initry. The lirst intimation on record of an}' claim being made on behalf t»f the Pondos to groinid north of the Umtentu is in 1889, when the Rev. Mr. Jeidiin.s, withoiit any auth(»rity to i-cH(>nt jioHitiou cinitiary to tile autlioiity of II r .MijoHtyn r!jvariiinlicnHionit on tlu-ir ncoo^mt, aixl hhIiI that if they HlionM tliiratcii him hu wonM rutiru towanU tlio C7olony. YaVw hIiowh no ni^nH of that «'iuM'g> I was led to holiuvc ho poHHi'HHi'd. No Huhjfu t NiMMiio 1 to interest him for niort! thun tiveniinutet at a tim ', and it was witli miiuh diffl Milty I could en);a;(e hiN attention. ... I remained a f'jw days at Itiintin^ville, the Weiilayau Missionary Station, and wliiUt there I learnt hy chanuo th.it .Mr. Jenkins hid delivered a messa'^i to Fakn, as *!oniin({ from Your K^cellency through Mr. Shaw, the chief of the WesleyanM who residen in {rant Itoern, tliat Kakn nIiuII a|i|dy to your Kxcelh n-stion, which was wiitten hy myself in Cape Town previouH to n»y deiMirturo for Natal, hy your Kxoi llency m orders. I (|ues'ionud Mr. .lenkins very closely respecting the import of tin* niessa^ie, lloth .Mr. Napier and Mr. Shepstonu were present, ho there can he no mistake that the aliovu niessaKe was actually Kiven to Kaku. It will he extrem ly dilliuult to lemeily thin error (if it shall he ho cop|e are maile to comprehend with mmh ditli "ilty tli.|t nujii eiiiXMcaii ho committed in th« traimmiNsion of important communlcutioiiii." I4S The Pondos. \ ! i eacli, however, supportel his own potentate, ami the interest* of these were continually clashinif, the (ji(jvernment at the Cape had the meaiis of forniin"^ a tolerably correct judgment between them. \\\ this instance ^[r. Jenkins went far beyon«l any Pondv;, in clainiinji^ for the tribe not only the district occupied by its ancestors and lost in war, but a great extent of country beyond. That Faku hinisi'lf made no claim to such a lar;^(5 district i* provccl by a messai^e which he sent to Ca[)tain Jervis, the commander of the troops at Port Natiil, in October l.SIJ!). His^ niessenLjers were «lirected to ask Captain Jervis's consent t«> th«5 «)!;cupa*^ion by Pondos of the land between the Umtentu iin-l the Umtanu'una rivtirs, that is a portion of what is now- Easti rn Poniloli:id. Captain Jervis avoidelo'a fatltur, wumleroil finiii ]tlaoo tu (ilucu until Itc- rvacliud Attack on the Bacas by Emigrant Farmers. 149 While affairs were in this condition a number of catthi wero stolen from various fanners in Natal. The spoors of tlieso cattle were traced to the rugi^ed country along the Umzim- vubu which was occupied by Nca})ayi's pe(»ple, and it was ascertained that although the principal ])lunderers were Bush- men, the Bacas were undoubtedly implicated in many of the thefts, A disirussion took })!acc in the V^olksraad as to what ste|)s should be taken to punish the robbers and prevent ifurthcr stealing. Some were for making such an example of Nca|)ayi that no one in that direction would ed would terminate in the acknowledgment of their independence by the l^ritish (Jovernment, a com- nuaixlo of two hundred and sixty men assembled to punish Neapayi. This force was under the direction of Commandant Ceneral Vretorius, but Commandant H. S, Lombard took the most ..".ctive part in the operations. On the n»areh it was joined by it'odo and his men. 'J'lu! Bacas were attacked early onti morn- ing, and were driven from their knuils withoiit any loss on the part ttf the as.sailants. According to the inforuiation supplied Ity Ncapayi to the missionaries, twenty-si.x men, ten women, i\\\A four children were killed on his side, and the hornecl cattle lielonging to sixty-two familie.'«, together with about two thou- sand sheep ajid goats, were driven off. He also stateil that a llic) lionltr of tlio rnpo Colony, wlii |ii'u|ili! aii< .>.iw living in till) rinxinikuhi ilintiiutof Ciiiifiiilaiul Kiut, iiiulur Duiijja/.\vi>, tliu rciiruiiL'iitativo of tlio Intu uliicf Fuilu. ; ii 150 Application to Sir George Napier, great many women and cliildivn were tak(;n away by tht- commando. Commandant Lombard's account is that the sii^oil amounted to about three thousand head of horne (Joor^a N'liiii-r, ilited l'ict<'nnirU/'iur;{, 7tli <»f April, isll, uikI Kij,'!U'i.l l»y J. I'riiiHloo, tliuii l'r<"«iiL'iit, ami .1. f. IJiiixf:', .Socrotnry : "It IH (lillicult to iiinlt.'n.f4i'.'.ayi. . . . HVIieit on tlair march thu Commumhtnt, .Mr. rrutoriiu, mint to Faku tUrco i;f .»ur iuMtjIicrM, who thi-n found that junt lioforc thtiir arrival NcApayi hail a^'ai.i <;, n in hi til- «'(»niMioi> witli K, kn. Tiny tvon Maw somn of tlio killcil. l-'akn was ihon 'M;,nK I jf our expedition and of ilH olijcct, and at tlju Kamu time anHurud oi jiir trieiidsi<':» and rcipteHtud tu como to thu (Jomm.indant, wlio waM diHirouH of t.ikin;{ ♦!:-i( 0^111 tain Lonsdale of the 27th, was instructed to tnarch fn)m the Colonial frontier to reinforce Captain Smith at the IJmgazi with one humlred and eight men of his own regiment and seventeen Engineers, Cape Mounteart of this lanathy with the Emigrants iit their suli'erings was everywhen; warndy expressed. To several individuals tlio occasion seemed favourable forestaltli>hing new business connections. In particular, Mr. CJeorge ( ierhurd Ohrig, ofthetirm of Klvn k> Co. of Amsterdam, exerte' :\^ \ i\ - I* 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^4 // ^^ A° MP.. the bay to a spot where the troops would receive it. The attack was badly planned. It was a bright moonlight night, yet it was hoped to take the farmers by surprise. The boat could reach its destination at high water only, and the The Fanners and the Troops. i6i troops, by the route taken, theirs only when the tide was out. The distance was a march of about three miles, and the road was along a patch of dense thicket. There is but one way of accounting for such a movement, and that is on the supposition that the commandinor officer altogether underi-ated the via:! lance and courage of his opponents. The troops were marching fully exposed past the thicket, with two field jneces drawn by bullocks, when a sharp fire was opened upon them. They returned the volley, but without doing the slightest damage to the farmers, who were well pro- tected and thoroughly concealed. Another discharge from the thicket wounded some of the oxen, which broke loose from the yokes, and rushed furiously about, adding to the confusion. There was no remedy but retreat. Sixteen killed and tliirty- one wounded were found by the farmers on the ground next day ; but when the roll was called, fifty out of the hundred and thirty-eight men who formed the expedition were not there to answer to their names. The three missing are supposed in the confusion to have got into deep water in the bay, and to have been drowned. The two guns, the oxen, and indeed everything that could be left behind, fell into the hands of the farmers. Captain Smith v/as closely followed to his cam]), where he prepared for defence. There was, however, no attempt made to storm the position, but until sunrise a desultory fire was kept up, in which one farmer was killed. At sunrise the far- mers returned to Kongela. The wounded soldiers were care- fully tended, and as there was no medical man at Kongela, they were all sent back to the English camp in the course oi' the day. The dead bodies of the soldiers were also sent to the camp for burial by their late comrades. Richard King, one of the residents at Durban, now under- took to ride overland to Graham's Town with intelligence of the disaster. Mr. G. C. Cato, another of the residents,^ ferried him across the lagoon, so as to avoid passing the farmers' camp, and the express, though fired at, got safely away. 1 Mr. George Christopher Cato had been a resident of Durban since 183!), in which year he went to Natal as agent for the mercantile establisliment of John Owen Smith of Tort Elizabeth. When Durban became a municipality in 1854, he was elected its first Mayor. ^ '?!» % fit i it 31 '! : i62 Siege of the English C'Wip at Ditrban. The 25th of May passed witliout any event of importance. The troops were busily engaged strengtlicning their camp, in hourly expectation of an attack, but no enemy appeared. Just before daylight on the morning of the 2Gth, about one liundred farmers presented themselves at the Point, and called upon the sergeant in command of the guard there to surrender. This he refused to do, whereupon they o])ened fire, killing two soldiers and an old English resident named Charles Adams, and wounding two soldiers. The sergeant then surrendered, when an eighteen pounder, with all the stores and ammunition brought by the Vilot, fell into the hands of the farmers. This was immediatelv followed by the seizure of the FlIoI and the Mazeppa, but, with the exception of the captains, no one was I'emoved from these vessels. The property of Captain Smith, and of such other \ ms as were in arms against the Republic, was declared confiscated by the Volksraad, and a party of men under direction of Messrs. Michael and Servaas van Breda went on board the Mazeppa and removed it. Mr. Pretorius then sent to Captain Smith to propose that the troops should leave in the Pilot and Mazeppa ; and to gain time^ to strengthen his defences and increase his supply of provisions by salting down cattle which Mr. William Cowie and some other residents of Durban were conveying to the camp by night, he agreed to a truce until the 31st of the month. The negotiations for removal of course came to nothing, and at six o'clock on the morning of the 31st of May, the camp was invested, and fire opened upon it from tiie farmers' batteries, on which were mounted the eightecn-pounder taken at the Point, and the two six-pounders taken on the night of the ;23rd. The nineteen soldiers captured at the Point, together with eleven English residents of Durban who had assisted the troops, were sent as prisoners to Maritzburg. On the 1st of June, the Kev. ]\Ir. Archbell, then Wesleyan missionaiy at Durban, was requested by Mr. Pretorius to go to the camp with a flag of truce, and propose that the women and 1 As far as I am aware, portions only of Captain Smith's letters 1 av ; been pub- lished. The originals are in the Colonial llccords. In his report of tin i-e occurrences, he informed Sis George Nnpicr that he ngreed to the truce solely to giiin time. Ho never had any intention of abandoning Natal. !{'. Siege of ihe English Camp at Durban. 163 chiMren should be removed for .safety to the Mazcppa. Tlie offer was gladly acce[)ted, and twenty-eight individuals in all, including the wives and children of several of the prisoners at Maritzburg, took refuge on board that vessel. Captain Smith then determined to defend himself to the last extremity. He had caused deep trenches to be dug, in which the soldiers could remain in securit}'", and he increased his stock of ]n-ovisions by slaughtering his horses, and drying their flesh. The men were put upon short allowance, which, as the siege advanced, became less and less, until they had nothing more than a few ounces of biscuit dust and dried horse-flesh daily- Fortunately, there was no want of water, obtained from wells sunk within the camp. The arrival of Commandant Mocke with a large contingent raised the force under connnand of Pretorius to six hundred men. They fortified the entrance to the bay, and pressed the sieije with vio'our. Their cannon balls having become ex- hausted, they manufactured others by casting leaden ones over links cut from a chain cable. But so well were the soldiers ]>rotected that the fire of the farmers was almost harmless, only ■fight men being killed and eight wounded on the British side < luring the twenty-six da3'S that the siege lasted, though six hundred and fifty-one cannon shot were fired at the camp. Even this small loss was sustained principally during sorties. On the other side four men were killed, and eight or ten — the exact number cannot be given — were wounded. On the 10th of June the crew of the Mazeppa managed to slip the cable and get to sea, being in hope of meeting with a British war-ship, from which relief could be obtained. "J^here was very little food and no ballast on board the schooner at the time, and she had to run the gauntlet at the Point, sailing slowly along, with a light breeze, at a distance of only thirty yards from eighty farmers armed with muskets and a four- pounder. Her sails and rigging were pretty well cut up, but no one on board was hurt. She ran nort'iward as far as Delagoa Bay, and then, having met ^v•ith no assistance, put f their submission to the authority of the Queen, comprised all that they engaged to do. On the other hand Colonel Cloete agreed to a general am- nesty, excepting only the persons of Joachin Prinsloo, late President, Jacobus Johannes Burger, late Secretary to the Volksraad, and Michael and Servaas van Breda, who had re- moved tl 3 goods from the Mazeppa ; to respect all private property ; to permit the farmers to return to their homes with their guns and horses, and to protect them against the natives; not to interfere with the existing administration and civil in- stitutions until the pleasure of the Queen should be made ■i I i \^ ii ? ; 1 «• i ;': i \ rf p. 1:1 11 I I'i 1 68 Conditions of Capitulation of the Republic. known, exci'ptinj^ only in tlie district Ixmndcd Ity tlio Unigeni on tlio east, tlie Uiiilazi on tlic west, aial a line alon<,^ the ridges and crest of tlie Berea liills joining tliese two rivers on the nortli, whicli district was to be under tlie exclusive control of the connnander of the troops ; to leave all revenue at the r along the shores of the African Continent, may withdraw themsLdves from the local allegiance which they owe to their Sovereign. "It is necessary that ^o\\ should open a direct communicatioa with the Emigrants, and distinctly inform them that Her Majesty's < Jovernment regard as altogether inadmissable, and even as extrava- gant, the pretension which they make to be regarded as an Indepen- dent State or Community ; that the allegiance which they owe to the British Crown is, according to the laws of the British Empire, au obligation which it is not in their power to disclaim or to violate with impunity ; that so long as the Queen's subjects dwell within the limits of the settled districts of Her Majesty's dominion and perform the duties of allegiance, they are entitled to expect, and will un- doubtedly receive, from their Sovereign the efl'ectivc protection of tiieir persons and their property ; that by withdrawing themselves without authority from those districts, and still more by invading in hostile array the territories of a neighbouring people, they forfeit (luring their absence, and while engaged in such an enterprise, their claim to Her Majesty's protection, though they do not absolve them- selves from responsibility to the Queen ibr their conduct. They should further be informed that it is Her Majesty's gracious wish to contribute to the xitmost of her ])ower to relieve them from the dis- tress in which they are involved, and to save them from the perpetra- tion of those crimes into which that distress may urge them. They •should be told that Her Majesty is willing to extend an anmcsty and 1H i ■V I/O Views of the Imperial Government. pardon to such of tliem as shall return, witliin a time to be limited for the purpose, within the precincts of the Colony of the Cape ; that ■when arrived there they will he protected in their persons and pro- perty and permitted to pursue their lawful occupations unmolested and in peace ; and that tlie (government will lend every assistance in its power to facilitate their return to the Colony and their settlement there. But it should be added that so long as they shall persist in residing in the territories of which they have taken possession, Her Majesty's (Joverinnent will adopt every practicable and legal method of interdicting all commercial intercourse and all connnunication be- tween them and the colonists of the Cape of Good Hope ; and that if they should presume to niolest, invade, or injure the Kaffir tribes with Avhich Her Majesty is in alliance, Her Majesty's Forces will support those tribes in resisting such agressions ; and that anv of the Emigrants who might be found in arms against tlie Forces of their Sovereign, whether beyond or within the precincts of the Colony, would bo regarded by the Queen as rebels, and be liable to be dealt with accordinglv. '• The intimations thus to be made to the Emigrants should bo re- garded as the real course of policy to be observed respecting theni. You arc better able than 1 am to judge how far the existing law of tiic Capo of Good Hope would justify you in issuing a pro- clamation interdicting all intercourse with them. If you have ])ower to pronudgato and to enforce by adequate jjenaltics such a proclama- tion, you will immediately publish and enforce if. If the law is in- adequate to the purpose, you will propose to the Legislative Council the enactment of the necessary laws. In this, as in all other cases, Her Majesty is better please make nstitu- olutely iistinc- sre dis- liat the ould be natives ny plea •f meHj orders should of Her 23rd of • issued ler Ma- inounc- mits as >ed and ir On J. Euis- 3 found 3razilia Rotter- :lestina- lolland, ined to encou- ty, but subjects Barou r of Natal T/ie Society and Trading- Company of Amsterdam. 1 7 Kattendycke, then Minister for Foreign Affaii-s, had given the strongest assurance to that effect to the British Re|\iesentative^ at the Hague, and a copy of his assurance had been printed in South Africa and circulated by the Government witli a vieAV of informing the Emigrants how vain were tlieir expectations of aid from that quarter. They, however, professed to regard the document as not authentic. But if the Government of the Netherlands disclaimed sym- pathy with the Emigrants, many Dutch subjects were their enthusiastic advocates. A Sodety was formed at Amsterdam,, term d the "Commission for .supplying the religious wants of the inhabitants at Natalia.'' It was composed of persons of respectability and wealth, and was directed by a committee of clergymen of the Dutch Reformed Church, Mr. Swart, who has been already mentioned, being its guiding spirit, Tliis com- mission engaged the services of a young licentiate named Ham and a schoolmaster named Martineau as pioneers to the Emi- grant Republic. A small trading company was also formed at Amsterdam,. Mr. Swart and Mr. Ohrig being leading men in it. The Brazilia was engaged, and for the second time was sent out, with Mr. Smellekamp as Chief Director, Mr. and Mrs. Ham and! Mr. Martineau, who were to place themselves at the disposal of the Yolksraad, and an assistant trader, who was to set up a store at Port Natal. Upon the Brazilia casting anchor. Skipper Reus and Mr. Smellekamp went ashore, but were not permitted by Major Smith to communicate with any one but himself and liis officers. Lieutenant Nourse, of the Faicn, went on board the Brazilia and examined her cargo with the expressed in- tention of detaining her if he should find any munitions of war. Nothing of the kind was discovered, and the skip])er and director were allowed to return to their vessel after being informed by Major Smith that he would permit nothing what- ever to be landed unless they produced a clearance from a port of the Cape Colony. The Brazilia then sailed for Delagoa Bay, where Mrs. Ham died. The schoolmaster had died on th& passage out. Messrs. Smellekamp and Ham landed at Lorenzo Marques with their personal property and some cases of books- I 174 Mzcrder of Xcxo by Panda, I m. .sent out l>y the Arnstcnlain Commission, and the Iji-azlUa pro- .ceeded to Java to look for a market for her cargo. Major Smith's refusal to allow Mr. Smellekamp to communi- cate witli the Emigrants was certainly a mistake, for he could only have informed them of the true attitude of the Nether- lands Government.^ As it was, the farmers were now tho- roughly convinced that the document circulated by Sir George Na])ier was spurious, and that Mr. Smellekamp was expelled because he liad something important to tell them. Another matter causing great excitement was an influx of an enormous number of Zulus, which was then taking place. Panda, upon suspicion that some of his subjects were conspir- ing against him, had recently put his brother Xoxo to death with the usual circumstances of barbarity, had caused his brother's wives to be ripped up and the brains of his children to be dashed out, and was proceeding to exterminate all whom he suspected, when a great rush was made into Natal. In the course of eight or ten days it was calculated that no fewer than tifty thousand individuals of both sexes and all ages crossed the Tugela to be under the white man's protection. The principal ^ Oh tlie 1st of August he wrote from Dclagoa Bay to tlia Volksraad at Natal that they need not expect aid from Holland. In December Messrs. Joachim I'rinsloo, (ierrit Kudolph, Cornelis Coetsee, and a youth named Bezuidenhout left Weonen on horseback and lode to Delagoa I'ay purposeiy to have an interview with IVIcssrs. Smellekamp and Ham. Mr. Smellekamp informed them of the position taken by the Netherlands Government, and advised tiicm to abandon Natal and move north of the twenty-fifth parallel of latitude, where the company which he represented could oiien a trade with them either through Delagoa liay or some port further up the coast. Shortly after their arrival three of the party were taken ill with fever, from the effects of which ]Mr. Coetsee died when endeavouring to return and Mr. I'rinsloo fourteen days after reaching home. The information brought by the sur- vivors tended to make tiie people of Natal more submissive. Soon after this I^Ir. Ham abandoned all hope of being able to serve the Emigrants, and left in a vessel bound for Table Bay. The remainder of his life was spent as a clergyman in the Cape Colony. Mr. Smellekamp remained at Delagoa Bay, where he was visited by Commandant Potgieter and several otjiers, to whom he gave the same advice as to Mr. I'rinsloo's party. In a subsequent chapter it will be seen that this advice was followed. The Jincilia on her return passage from Java put into Delagoa Bay, and Mr. Smellekamp returned to Holland in her. In 1848 he was back in a vessel named the Aiiimo, but fever and the tsetse prevented him from carrying out his plans. Undaunted still, he returned to Holland, and two years later tried again, as the agent of a new company by whom a vessel named the Vasco da Govia was laden and sent out. But the clii.'ate and the tsetse were obstacles that he could not overcome. Mr. Smellekamp finally settled at liloemfoutein in the Orange Free State, where until his death he enjoyed the confidence and esteem of the Emigrnnls. Rush of Zulu Refugees into Natal. 175 la pro- ivnuni- } could ^ether- w tho- Georgc xpellcd iflux of n- place. 2onspir- 1 death ised his jhildren 1 whom In the rer than ssed the lincipal ■s^atal that 1 Prinsloo, \''eonen on li ^Messrs. taken by ove nortli 'presented intlier up vith fever, 1 and INIr. y the sur- r this Mr. n a vessel lan in the visited by vice as to dvico was Bay, and scl named his plans, lin, as the I. den and overcome, ite, where fugitive was a chieftainess of high rank, named Mawa, from whom this inroad is commonly called in the documents of that day " the flight of Mawa " Panda sent messengers to Major Smith to demand that the fugitives be compelled to return and that the cattle the}'- had taken with them should be given up, but the Major refused to do either. He was horrified at the cruelty perpetrated upon Xoxo's family, and announced that he would protect Mawa and her people. Fifty thousand strangers were wandering up and down Natal. Wherever the pasture suited them, or a localit}^ took their fancy, there the}'' settled for the time being. In terror many of the farmers abandoned their homes and sought safety in Maritzburg. They wanted a commando called out to clear the countr}', their view being that the fugitives should bo compelled to return to Zululand, but should be located there in a district by themselves, and that Panda should be given clearly to understand that if he molested them in their new location the farmers would punish him se\erely. But Major Smith threatened to assist the fugitives if force was used against them, so that the farmers were prevented from taking an}' action. When Mr. Cloete reached Maritzburg, the machinery of the Emigrant Government, vvith the exception of the Volksraad, was at a complete standstill. There was not a single sixpence in the Treasury. The salaries of the officials, petty as they were, were months in arrear, and there was no prospect of any of them ever being paid. Since the loss of the customs and port dues,^ the receipts had been next to nothing. In all the country there M'as only one individual, an infirm halfbreed, doing duty as a policeman. The landdrosts gave judgments when cases were brought before them, but they had no means of enforcing their decisions, consequently their sentences were in most instances disregarded. On the 0th of June, the Commissioner had a meeting with 1 The port dues had been raised by Sir f Jeorgo Najiior from threepence to three sliilliiigs a ton, at which late tliey rtniniiud until abolished altogether by a proclan.* ation of Sir reregrinc Maitlund, dated Oth of December, 1845. ^ml^ T- 176 Proceedings of Commissioner Cloete. lour or five Iiundred of the inhabitants of Maritzburg, and made them a long address explaining the object of his visit and en- larging upon the advantages to his hearers of a settled govern- ment under the English flag. When lie had concluded, a farmer named Anthonie Fick rose up and read a resolution adopted at a mass meeting the day before, that the Emigrants should not communicate with the British Commissioner until they had seen Mr. Smellekamp. Immediately there was an uproar, which did not c. ase until the meeting dispersed. A little later in the day Mr. Cloete received a letter from Mr Secretary'' Bodenstein, informing him that the Volksraad had adjourned until the first Monday in August, to allow of deputies and "the public" from beyond the Drakensberg being present. The Commissioner had, however, by this time discovered that some of the best men in the country were prepared to ac- cept the proposed government as offering the only alternative from anarchy and iniv). There was hardly one who had been in office but who carulidW admitted that the Republic of Natal was a failure. Mr. Job an Philip Zietsman, then landdrost of Maritzburg, waxed eloquent when descrilwng the utt. A short account will be found in "Travels and Adventures in Southern Africa," by (Jeorgo Thompson, London, 1827. 202 History of the Grtqitas. criminals, and that a hostile community might grow up there. In 1805, a commission, consisting of the Landclrost of Tulbagli and Dr. Honry Lichtenstcin, was sent to inspect and report upon it. The commissioners found six villages already estab- lished, with a population numbering in all about a thousand souls. Their report was to the effect that no danger was to be apprehended, and the Government acting upon this opinion permitted matters to take their course. The community now enjoyed several years of prosperity. The people profited by the labour of the missionaries, and adopted some of the customs of civilised life. They did not acquire habits of industry, as neither precept nor examplo could rouse them from indolence ; but the chase, of which they were excessively fond, was a mine of wealth. They be- came mighty hunters, and with the ivory, ostrich feathers, and peltries whic'\ they procured, they carried on trade with the colonists. They found means to i)urchu,se waggons, ammuni- tion, guns, English clothing, coffee, sugar, and many other articles, the v^aluo of which they vfere capable of appreciating. Their flocks and herds increased rapidly, as they obtained from the chase nearly all the animal food they needed. The missionaries led out water, and irrigated several acres of land, which they placed under cultivation. They also planted willows along the watercourse, and fruit trees in their garden, and when these grew up, the village of Klaarwater was considered the most attractive in appearance of the London Society's stations in the interior of South Africa, though it was the most remote of them all. In 1811 and 1812, the traveller Burchell visited the country, and resided for some months at Klaarwater. From his account it appears that the people were tlien in comfortable circumstances and, taking their former habits into consideration, miiiht be reofarded as fairly moral. In 1812, the Rev. John Campbell was sent out by the London Society to make a tour of inspection through South Africa. In 1813, lie proceeded into the interior as far as Lithako, passing through Khwirwater both in going and re- turning. He drew up a constitution and a code of laws for Is; I' History of the Griqtias. 203 the settlement, and directed tlie appointment of numerous officials. The two leading men, Adam Kok and Barend Barends, were to be military commanders with the title of Captain, and were also with the two missionaries to form a Supreme Court of Justice. Mr. Campbell even proposed to have money specially coined by the Society for the State which it had created. Upon his return to England, he published a volume which gave its readers the impression that he had left a missionary settlement with an organised government at the junction of the Vaal and the Orange. A simple, honest, credulous man, he was himself decei/ed. Not one of his regulations was ever enforced, nor did his courts ever exist except in his book. It was he that gave the name of Griquas to the people, and of Griquatown to the station at Klaarwater, names which were readily adopted, and which were the only permanent memo- rials of his visit to the country. He states the inhabitants of the settlement to have been one thousand two hundred and sixt3'--six Griquas, and one thousand three hundred and forty-one Koranas. There were also a few Bushmen and Batlapin in the country, but no estimate of their nimiber is given. In 1821 the Colonial authorities appointed a Government Agent to reside with the Griquas. Mr. Melvill, the gentleman selected for the office, on his arrival at Griquatown found that great dissensions existed among the people. The Koks and Barend Barends declined to submit to his control in even the slightest degree, and removed with their adherents to other parts of the country. Barend Barends went to a place called Daniel's Kuil, where he set up an independent government of his own. Fn^ni Daniel's Kuil this horde afterwards removed to Boetsap. The subsequent history of Barend Bi .ends' branch of tho Griquas to the date of Its settlement at Lishuano lias been given in preceding chapters. The adherents of the Koks removed to Campbell, where they settled down under the brothers Adam and Cornelis Kok. There Mr. George Thomson visited them in 1823, of which ■204 Treaty with Andrics Waterboer. m visit he has given an account in his " Travels and Adventures 'in Southern Africa." Those who remained in and about Griquatownat Mr, Melvill's instigation elected a man named Andries Waterboer to be their ■chief. Waterboer was one of the most promising pupils of the iiiissionaries,and under their guidance and that of Mr. Melvill he established a tolerably (efficient government. The defeat on the 20 til of June, 1 823, of the Mantati horde atLithako brought him to the notice of the Colonial Authorities. The Griquas had been induced bv Mr. Melvill and the Rev. Mr. MotFat to ffo to the assistance of the Batlapin, and through Mr. Melvill's influence, Waterboer was appointed Chief Commandant. The credit of having saved the Colony from invasion was ■thenceforth given to him by the missionaries, and as his character and abilities were constantly extolled, he was re- garded by the Government with great favour. A friendly in- tercourse by letter was kept up for several years, and at length the chief and his missionary, the Rev. Peter Wright, paid a visit to Cape Town. There, on the 11th of December, 1834, a formal treaty was •entered into, in which Waterboer engaged to be the friend and silly of the Colony, to preserve order in his territory, to sur- lender refugee criminals, to prevent enemies and marauders i'rom passing through his country to the Colony, and generally to aid in recovering stolen property', apprehending banditti, and preserving peace. On the part of the Colonial Govern- ment Sir Benjamin D'Urban acknowledged Waterboer's terri- tory to extend along the Orange River from Kheis to Ramah, iind undertook to pa}'- the chief a yearly subsidy of £100, to supply him ■«vith two hundred muskets and a quantity of ammunition, to pay to the mission £50 a year in aid of a school, and to appoint the Rev. Mr. Wright confidential agent at Griquatown. It 1824, Adam Kok left Campbell and commenced a wan- dering life in the country between the Vaal and Modder rivers. The worst characters in his horde left the main body and re- tired to the Long Mountains, from the fastnesses of which they were in the habit of making raids to distant parts of the The Emigrant Farmers a7id the G7Hqiias. 205 Iventurea Melvill's • be their ils of the ilelvill he sat on the Light him had been to the nfluence, sion was 1 as his was re- indly in- and at Wright, saty was lend and to sur- irauders enerally Danditti, Govern- 's terri- Ramah, eioo, to itity of id of a I agent country. Under the name of Bergenaars these bandits acquired the reputation of being the most ruthless ruffians in South Africa. They were at length nearly al) exteiininated. In 182*J, Landdrost (afterwards Sir Andries) Stockenstronj and the Rev. Abraham Faure, clergyman of the Dutch Re- formed church at Graaff-Reinet, caused a school to be estab- lished a couple of hours ride north of the Orange River, at a place which they named Philippolis, in honour of Dr. Philiix They were in hopes of collecting together there a number of Koranas and Bushmen who were wandering about on botli sides of the river, but they were disappointed, for these people could not be induced to settle permanently. In 182G Adam Kok and his clan of the Griquas on the invitation of the head of the London Missionary Society took up their residence in the district between the Riet and Orange rivers,, and made Philippolis their head quarters. Cornells Kok con- tinued to reside at Campbell with several families who ac- knowledged him as their chief. Many years later, when his brother was dead, Cornelis Kok resigned his chieftainship in favour of his nephew Adam, under whom the whole of this branch of the Griquas became then again united. When the Griquas settled at Philippolis there were no other people than Bushmen and Koranas within several days' jour- ney, except when a few farmers from the Colony went over the Great River with their herds, and remained while the grass was good. Dr. Philip's benevolence towards South African natives was unbounded, and the Bushmen especially,, occupied a high position in his affections. He held a theory regarding them that they were descendants of Hottentots, who had been despoiled of their possessions by rapacious Europeans, and that they were compelled by sheer want to lead the life of robbers. In giving^ the district of Philippolis a wan- r rivers. and re- which of the 1 This is his own expression. The Griquas always claimed that their right to the district was derived from him. Here, for instance, is a letter from Adam Kok to Dr. Philip, dated Slst May, 1842, and preserved in tlio Colonial Records : " My wish is that the lands of Philippolis should remain as the possession of the present people and their descendants, who stand in connection with the Institution of Philippo is under the protection of the London Missionary Society. When my father was ])er- mitted by you in 1826, to come and reside at Philippolis, the land of Philippolis was- 2o6 The Emigrant Farmers and the Griqiias. 1 1 ^. to Adam Kok ho stipulated therefore tliat the Gi'inuas should l)rotect the Bushmen against the Boers. As well might a hyena be put into a told to protect the sheep. Bushmen and Hottentots are of one stock just as Englishmen and Italians are, these last being both Aryans, but they are no nearer related to each other than Celts and Teutons. The late Dr. Bleek, the hi; hest authoritv on the subject, after long and careful research into their languages and myths, established this fact. The records of the first European settlers in South Africa prove the enmity between the Hottentots and Bushmen to have been as deep seated in the middle of the seventeenth century as it has been ever since.^ Bushmen are found over an extent of country at least live times as great as that occupied by Hottentots. But nothing of this was known to Dr. Philip. Ho had formed a theory, and he acted upon it. The result was the disappear- ance of Bushmen from the district of Philippolis. Whether the sickening tales that are found scattered about in South African literature, of the throats of some being cut after they were hunted down by the Griquas, of others being roasted alive, and so forth, are wholly or only partially true, can never be positively known. That the Bushmen were exterminated remains in any case, and the process is of secondary im- portance. After a time, Adam Kok the elder died. His sore;, Abraliam an7t]i, 2G2 ^'ith two •ival the [(led, and ed to the •V under ed Iliiie- a letter T that a leni. To t'r in the ial I ha';ssionary as witnesses, and Moshesh affixed his mark to his on the 13th of Decend)er, in presence of his brother Moperi ; liis chief warrior, Alakoniane ; and the Rev. Messrs. ■Casalis, Arbousset, and D\'ke. hi the treaty with ^loslicsh the territory acknowledged to be his was bounded by the Orange River from its source to its junction with the Caledon and by a line about twenty- live to thirty miles north-west of the Caledon from the ed the ItuHhmen in the lesuto as being Moshesii's 8iil)jects in the same way that the jackals were, that is, they lived in tiie country but were not under its laws. Contentions raised by the Treaties, 21^ espected le whole ,nd Gert ) wanted embraco^ the land ich wa*^ n to the laiboscli, ither the inflicted han any rarmers/ t of the ked that n it, and h them, ore thait Adam said, as B British acknow- lies and le same uld they le living le juris- ) subject ities. ial, and he- jrview with U the ku increase his power — the immediate eflects of treaties which Englishmen at home, so sadly misinformed, were led to believe had been entered into to prevent the .aborigines from being despoiled of their possessions by slave- hunting colonists, Sir George Napier left Soutli Africa and Sir Peregrine Maitland became Governor of tlie Cape Colony. The new Governor found awaiting his consideration a letter from Adam Kok soliciting military aid. His first act of interference with the Emigrants had got him into trouble, and ilie believed they were about to attack him. In January, 1844, tliere was a quarrel between two white men, named George Mills and Hermanus van Staden, not far from Pliilippolis, and 214 Violent Proceedings of Adam Kok. shortly afterwards Mills died, as wiis reported t'roin injuries- received from Van Staden. Tliereupon Adam Kok caused Van Staden to be arrested and sent to Colesboi'g for trial, and he took possession of tlie property of mills, Oitcusibly to secure it for the heirs. As soon as Van Staden's arrest became known, Diederikse, who was Mocke's secretary, wrote from Modder River to Adam Kok, demanding that he should be given np to the Emigrant Farmers to be tried by their courts. Kok's reply was a stinging taunt. He wrote to Diederikse that " his request had been complied with in one sense, for as all Emigrants from the Colony were looked upon as British subjects, they were amenable to the laws administered in the Colony." IMocke's party then threatened war, upon which Kok sent to Colesberg and obtained from the Government store two hundred pounds of powder and four hundred pounds of lead. For a week or two there was considerable excitement on both sides, but at length, on Van Staden's release, the affair was allowed to sink into oblivion, with a warning, however, to Adam Kok not to repeat the provocation. in th > first week of Juno there was a largje meeting of Farmers and Griquas at Philippolis, convened by Michael Oberholster with the object of discussing matters affecting them all and trying to come to a common understanding. Mr Gideon Joubert, who was present during the discussions, re- ported to the Civil Commissioner of Colesberg that the dis- sensions among the Emigrants jirevented anything like common action. Oberholster's party repudiated their subjection to Adam Kok by the treaty, but they and the Griquas resolved that no one who disavowed alliegianco to the British Govern- ment should be permitted to reside in the territory. Upon this a Commandant named Jan Kock declared that he would resist any such resolution being put in force, and he had a strong body of adherents. The meeting was therefore dis- solved. Commandant Jan Kock, here mentioned, had shortly before this moved from the present Colonial Division of Hanover to the bank of the Modder River. He had received rather more education from books than the generality of the Emigrants- Coiuinandant Jan Kock. 215 ^(f Mr and was as gonial and hospitable a man as could ue found anywhere in Soiitli Africa, His chief failing was, perhaps, too much confiden^'e in his own ability to do anything and every- thing. A great many of the Emigrants, however, thought as much of him as he thought of himself, and so he soon became a leader amono- them. His aim at this time was to brinor all the Europeans north of the Orange under the Government established at Potchefstroom, of which Mr. Hendrick Potirieter was Chief Commandant. The position taken up by the party of which he was a leading member is seen in the following document : Potchefstroom, lOtli April, 18-1:4. Gentlemen — We, the undersigned, representatives of the Burghor Council at Potchefstrooni, hereby declare that we do not consider ourselves under a certain treaty concluded with Colonel Cloete, by reason of its having been made without our knowledge. Neither are we willing to enter into any negotiations whatever with Her Majesty. We consider ourselves free anil indepeudent, and will proceed with our own Government, trusting tliat no one will interfere with us. And our burgher Society (Maatschappij) extends to the fall of the (Jreat River. By ordc" of the Honourable the Council of Potchefstroom and Winburg. J. D. VAN CoLi,EH, Prcsidcut. A. H. POTGIETEK. And twenty-two others. To the Volksraad of Natal. During the year 1844< great efforts were made by this party to compel those who disagreed with them either to return to the Colony or to fall in with their views. Oberholster's ad- herents in particular complained that they were subject to in- cessant persecution. Sir Peregrine Maitland was wearied with communications, 'all of the same nature, showing that without a stronsr force north of the Orannre the treaties could not bo maintained. Adam Kok wrote asking for troops to expel the Emigrants from his territory. Lukas van den Heever wrote (24t}i October) on behalf of t!ie parties under himsi-lf, Michael Oberholster, and Jacolnis Snyman (the last named Icing head of a body of farmers in the vaUey of the Lower Calether in any way, but should live in peace, each party under its own government. Adam Kok answered that he would abide by the terms of his treaty with the British Governmeni. and could only consider the white Emigrants British subjects. They came therefore to no terms. It was almost impossible under the circumstances that they should long continue at peace. The Civil Commission of Colesberg reported that Jan Kock's adherents constantly went about armed. On the 13th of January, 1845, Adam Kok wrote asking that a military post might bo established in his country. The Secretary to Government replied on the 19th of February that " if an}' general movement of the Emigrants should take place for the purpose of attacking him, there would be marched from the Colony with all possible despatch such a force as should seem calculated to ensure his protection against an un- provoked aggression." After a promise like this it migiit be certain that the Griqua captain would abate none of his pre- tensions, and that in the state of irritation in which both parties were, a pretext for a quarrel would not long be wanting. The following event brouglit matters to a climax : Two blacks from beyond the Vaal, who were in tlie service of an Emigrant named Jan Krynauw, quarrelled with a Euro- pean residing in the same farm, and menaced him with their assagais, but did not go so far as to wound him. Krvnauw Troops sent to Ko/cs Assistance. 217 secured the offenders and took them to Commandant Jan Kock, who sentenced them to a sound flogging. Adam Kok thereupon inquired of Mr. Rawstorne whether he would receive Krynauw if delivered at Colesberg for trial. Mr. Rawstorne advised him to be cautious, but neglecting counsel that did not coincide with liis own views, the Gri(]ua captain sent a band of a liundred armed men to arrest Krynauw. When the Griquas reached the farm, Krynauw was not at home, so they poured a storm of abuse upon his wife, broke into his house, and carried ^way with them three guns and a quantity of ammunition. Thereupon the burghers, fearing a general attack, assembled under arms, and the Griquas did the same. A party of farmers i'rom the district between the OranGfc and the Lower Caledon, under Commandant Jacobus Duplooy, came to the aid of their •countrymen. The burghers then formed a lager or camp at Touwfontein, a farm occupied by one Adrian van Wyk, about thirty miles from Pbilippolis. There they left their families, under protection of a guard, and the two parties then com- menced seizing each other's cattle. Whenever they met shots Avere exchanged, each invariably accusing the other of being the first to fire. Mr. Rawstorne, as a Special Magistrate under the Act 6 and 7 of William IV., Cap. 57, issued a circular •calling upon the farmers to keep the peace ; but it had no effect. He then supplied Adam Kok with a hundred muskets and a quantity of ammunition, and desired Major Campbell to move the military force under his command from Colesberg to Alleman's Drift to protect fugitives and prevent anyone from •crossing the river to the assistance of the farmers. As the seizure of cattle and skirmishing on both sides con- tinued, on the 22nd of April (1845), Major Campbell with his brigade of two hundred men crossed the Orange, and, marching .at night, reached Philippolis next morning without molesta- tion. Mr. Rawstorne accompanied the troops. A conference with the Emigrant leaders was then arranged, which took jl)lace at Alwyn's Kop on the 25th of April. Among the le purchase amount of the South African diamond fields and an im- mense area to the eastward was £142 IDs. ISIr. .Toubcrt describes the district as badly Hupplied with water, and soys Fourie entiinatcd tliat it would sufhco for fifty farms, most of which would be on branches of rivers, but without springs. rt,. us Foiirie, irchased a id Danser. " from the Inch runs der River 5ng Doom where the ihree liun- Lfterwards b, and also Makwana. elve Emi- jpruit, Mr lis report, informed ! was then I sold tht? e farmers, his tribe 1 him, lie in exist- ig nndt'P ated, was s father. farmers us of re- of them le found ock was ml with tliu kted by Mr. heoii worth and .111 ind- ict a8 liailly fifty fai'iMH, Report of CovDuaiidant Gideon yoiibert. 225 there. Immediately after the skirmish at Zwart Kopjes, Commandant Mocke had moved over the Vaal, and Com- mandant Kock s pai-ty followed as far as Winburg. Where they were nothing but denunciation of the British Govern- ment was heard. At Winburg, Mr. Joubert found a court of landdrost and heemraden. The landdrost, Mr. J. Meyer, was a feeble and timid old man, who was afraid to be seen con- vcrsinii" with a Commissioner of the British Government, and theref(jre visited him at dead of night. From \Vinl)urg, Mr. Joubert proceeded to visit the chii'fs alono* the Caledon. He found the missionaries of the French and tlie Wesleyan Societies holding opposite opinions as to the right of Moshesh to the sovereignty of the country occu- pied by Moroko, Gert Taaibosch, Peter Davids, and Carolus Baatje. The Commissioner heard the statement of both parties. Though he was indignant at some of the preposter- ous claims advanced on behalf of Taail)osch, he was inclined on the whole to favour the view of the W^esleyan missionaries because it was better supported by evidence. He thought it advisable to prevent Moshesh from becoming too powerful, and he correctly forecasted what the result must be if the Basuto tribe should be permitted to absorb its neighbours, Moroko and Taaibosch ofiered large tracts of unoccupied ground for the use of Europeans, but Moshesh declined to re- linquish more than the little slip which he ])roposed at I'ouw- fontein, namely, from the junction of the CakMlon and Orange up between these rivers to a line from Commissie Drift to Buflels Vlei (now Aliwal North). Mr. Joubert reported that he found no Basuto south of the KoesVerg, but between that nnountain and the line proposed by Moshesh there were seventy- two farms occuirled by two hundred and eighty -nine Emigrant families. Mr. Joubert estimated Moshesh's people at fifty or sixty thousauil, Moroko's at ten thousand, Molitsane's at one thousand, Gert Taaibosch's at three hundi-ed, Carolus Baatje's at two hundred, and Peter David's two hundred, of all ages. The Commissioner's report showed such difficulties in the 226 Expansion of the Baste to Tribe, Hv way of making any arrangement witli Moshesh, without violating the Napier treaty, that no immediate action was taken. During the summer of 1845-C, a great expansion of the Basuto tribe took place. Moshesh pushed liis out]iosts far forward, on the one side towards the Batlokua border, and on the other, deep into the district occupied by the farmers. His brother Poshuli, who had up to this time lived at Thaba Tsheu, was sent some thirty-five or forty miles further south- west to take up his residence on Vechtkop,^ a mountain of great natural strength as a fortress. Tliis Poshuli, though ^los- hesh's full brother, had none of the abilities of the great chief. He was a barbarian pure and simple, with no ambition to be anything higher than the head of a robber band, and no qualifi- cations for anything else. He was already notorious as an expert cattle lifter, and in that capacity he soon attracted a large following. Robbers from the Colony and from Xattirland, among whom were many Tembus and Fingo.s, found at Vtchtkop a secure retreat for themselves and their booty. The ol ject of sending Poshuli among the Europeans can only have been to compel them to abandon their farms. It is noteworthy that an experiment like this was never made by Moshesh until he was convinced that such a })roceeding towards one body of white men would be viewed with complacency by other M'hite men in South Africa. His advance in the other direction may have been a feint to o and his followers now removed from Morija, and took up their residence near Mr. Keck. In 1847, a station was formed at the Koesberg by Mr. Cochet, and was named by him Hebron. The country all about was occupied by Europeans, but the chief, Lebenya, with a few followers, lived on the mountain. One of the avowed objects of Mr. Cochet in founding this station was to attract a Basuto community to it, and thus extend the tribe in that direction. In 1847, also, the station of Hermon was founded by Mr. Dyke. A little later the station of Carmel, wl«*ch, how- ever, had but n brief existence, was established by Mr. Lemuc, who removed from Motito.^ Moshesh, without embracing Christianity himself, was a firm friend of the missionaries, giving them ample protection, mak- ing the necessary grants of land whenever and wherever they desired, and requiring his subjects to reside in the neighbour- hood of the churches and schools. He even took part in public services, and frequently acted as an exhorter. On all important occasions he sought counsel from the Christian teachers, and seldom neglected to do as they advised. But if the missionaries owed much to Moshesh, he certainly owed more to them. The English Government contributed to make Moshesh great by its countenance and its protection. The Emigrant Farmers, by acting as a wall of defence against external enemies, preserved the people from extermination. But to the French missionaries must be attributed, more than to all other foreign agencies combined, the existence of the Basuto as a powerful tribe. Disintegration would have fol- lowed the return of prosperity, the various elements which had not yet had time to blend must have fallen asunder, but for them. They saw tiio dangor of anarchy, and directed every eftbrt to support the influence and power of the great chief, who was not only the friend of missions, but the sole individual cap- able of preserving order in the land. * Motito WR8 retained by tlio French missionnries until lsr»7, when it was trans- ferred to the London Society, and beunnie an outstation of Kurunian. nmencerl a tsana, \vlu> i followeiH lence near :>es berg by ountry all enya, with le avowed attract a e in that s founded 4eh, how- r. Lemiic, vas a firm ion, mak- 3ver tliev eighbour- in j)ublic niportant ihers, and certainly ibuted to rotection. against nination. ore than e of the lave fol- hich had , but for d everv lief, who lual cap- was traiu- Movcmcnts of the Emigrants north of t)ie Vaal. 231 His communications with the Colonial Government were nov. conducted in the manner of a civilized ])Ower, letters being written to his dictation by one or other of the missionaries residing with him, and read by his sons, who had been edu- cated in Cape Town. His people liad advanced greatly in* knowledge under the teaching of the French clergymen. Hun- dreds of his subjects went every year to take service with far- mers in the Colony, and other hundreds returned, bringing with them the heifers or the guns which they had earned. Largo (quantities of millet, maize, and even wheat, were exchangetl after every harvest for articles of Englisli manufacture. After the skirmish at Zwart Kopjes most of those farmers who were opposed to the British Government moved from the Riet, Moddcr, and Lower Caledon, either to Winburg or over the Vaal. To this time the districts of Potchefstroom and Winburg had been united under one Council and one Chief Commandant, Hendrik Potgieter. Mr. Potgieter resided at Magalisberg, but occasionally ho visited the southern portion of the Rei)ublic. In January, 1843, he convened a meeting at Thaba Ntshu of the chiefs along the Caledon, and renewed with them the old agreements of i)eace and friendship. From the first appearance of the En^ ' \ troops in Natal, how- ever, his attention was directed to the far North, where alone he believed the Emigrants would be left to themselves. With the country in that direction as far as the Limpopo he was already well ac(pjainted. Besides the journeys which have been mentioned, in May, 1843, he ha throws no light upon this matter. " Bloemfontein, 13th September, 184G. " I beg to acquaint you that I have received a communication from a Mr. van Zyl -to the effect that loO Emigrants under their leader Potgieter had attacked Maquati's kraals and carried off about 8,000 head of cattle ond 0,000 sheep. This chief resides near the Zoutpansberg, being distant from this place 300 miles and to the westward of the liaraputsi. The cause of quarrel between the IJoers and Maquati is variously stated. One account says that a small party of Emigrants, among whom was Pot- gieters son, being out on a hunting expedition, received ill treatment from Maquati's people, and that the elephants siiot by the farmers were taken from them by Maquati's orders. It also ajipears that the Emigrant Potgieter has been endeavouring to «trengthen himself by forming treaties with some remnants of tribes living beyond ^lagahlis IJerg, tliat the chief Maquati declined entering into any compact with liim, and tliis is said to be the real cause of offence to the Emigrant leader. Tin.' liastard IJuys and Kaffirs under him, together with Matlabe, formerly a chief subject to I^Ioroko, took part with the Emigrants, and were rewarded with half the booty taken from I^Iaijuati. The great distance of AndriesOhrigstad jirevents our interference with i^Ir. Potgieter anroaching •when some restraint will be imposed on such l!ritisli subjects. I have, kc. — H. D. ■Warden." "IMoemfontcin, 30th October. 1840. " I have to acquaint you that on the 2r)th instant three men of tlie tribe called QJahpeli, and whose country is sitnuteil a little beyond tlie tropic, appeared at this I r,'»: 234 Proceedings at WUibiirg. '«ii m another expedition a«,^ainst Moselekatse. After a lonj; and weary inarch the Matahelo were found, and sixteen hundred liead of cattle were seized at an outpost. But during the same day Moselekatse's warriors appeared in sucli force that the commando was conijielled to retire. Their horses were nearly worn out, so that they were unable to bring away the captured cattle. In June 184G the court of landdrost and heemraden, which had existed at Winbury: ever since the foundation of that village, ceased to exist, owing to the attack by Major Warden which has been related. This court had acted not only in a judicial capacity for the trial of civil and criminal cases, but as an orphan chamber, and before it marriages had been con- tract el. Its want was therefore greatly felt. On the 5th of x\ugust, 1847, those Emigrants who were well affected towards the British Government met at Winburg, and elected j\Ir. Genit IIen«]rik Meyer landdrost. Mr. Meyer stated that he would not accept the ofKco without the sanction of Her Ma- jesty's High Commissioner; and a memorial asking Sir Henry Pottinger's approval of their proceedings was tliereforo drawn up and signed by seventy individuals. In order that this might become generally known, it was resolved not to forward the memoiial until the 17th of September. On the 27th of October a nmch larger meeting was held at residency to complain of the Boers under Potgieter having taken iwsseHsion of tlicir country, and that their chief Sequati with the greater \tssxt of hia people are now obliged to bend under the iron rule of these wliito strangers. The three messengers statu as follows : — That the Uoera with Potgieter as their leader first came amon;,' the liahpilis as ])eaceable men, and Sequati allowed them to occupy certain portions of his country ; i)ut as the white men became numerous, encroachments wore made upon his people's lands from all points, and that the chiefs' complaints to Potg'eter en tiio subject were treated with contempt. Some moutlis ngo Potgieter (]uarrelled with Moleclii, a chief under and brother of Seipiati. Moleclii was rich in cattle and sheep, and always against the white people's settling in the liahpili country. Pot- gieter threatens Sequati that unless lie joins.the ]s from Maritzburg, and thus these places, upon which there were improvements to the value of .£3000, were made worthless. Two farms to which two of his sons had established their claims, and which had been allotted to them, had been subsequently taken from them ]>ecause they were convenient for the extension of a location. The Government had, in these last cases, repeatedly promised compensation in the form of land somewhere else, but it had not yet been given. And what had happened to his family liad happened to othei's. Locations had been established on many farms claimed by Emigrants, but taken from them on the plea of their not having been occupied during the twelve months preceding June, 1843. An enormous tract of country had been practically abandoned by the Government to Bush men marauders, and in the whole district of Maritzburg there were only twenty-two or twenty-three occupied farms. On the 21st of October, Sir Henry Pottinger issued a Government Notice, giving as reasons for not granting Mr. Pretorius an interview, the great pressure of other work, the length of time that would be needed for an investigation of the complaints, and his anticipated early departure from South Afi-ica. A copy of the notice was sent to the delegates, which was the only recognition they received from the High Com- missioner. Results. black 23r Mr. Pretorius was thus obliged to return to his constituents- disappointed and despairing of any opening for relief other than a fiesh migration. As ho passed through the Colony, on. his way to the Orange River, he was e\'ery where received with the warmest symi)at!iy, P'3ople flocked from great distance* to see him and to invoke God's blessing upon him and his fellow sufferers. Their treatment was compared, in Bible language, to that of Israel under the heartless despotism of Egypt. In their enthusiasm, ninnbers of people, men anar^>arous section of its inluihitants. 1'he new (Jovernor had lieen associated with Sir Henjamin D'l^rban twelve yeais befoie, and had siiice woji high renown in India. His popularity during, and subse(jnent to, the Kaflir war of 18i)4-'> ,;ad b(^eii very great, so that it seemed to the Colonists as if an old and tried friend of South Afriea was now at tho head of afliiirs. Tho Governor hastened to the eastern frontier, and on the 17th of Deei'iubej" issued at Ciraimmstown a j)roelanuition ex- tending the (.'olony to the Orange Uiver on tlm north and to the Kriuii, ''laas Smit's, Zwart Kei, Klipj)liuits, Tytnnie, and Keiskama riv(?rs on the east. Within these limits, all treaties with native chiefs were declared abrogatt'tl by reason of the txistiiig war. On tlif 'J.Sid of thr same month, at King William's Town, he proclaimed the territory l»etween the (Jreat Kei river and the new hieal jiosition, they were utterly ignorant. They belioveil that the English Ministry and the Directors of the London Missionary Society, whom they confoun. He would take no land from natives that they needed for their maintenance, but there weie no longer to bo Native States, covering > ast areas of ground, either unoccupied or in pos.ses- sion of white men. Such groujid he wouhl form into a new Colony, and he would e.vercise a general control over the chiefs themselves in the interests of peace and civilization. A system antagonistic to that of the Napitjv treaties was to bo introduced. Those treaties attempted to subject civ'li/.ed men b- oi-.rbarians. Ho wouM place an enlightened and ben-jvolenb (! vernment over all. But to enable him to do so, the consent of Adam K(»k and Moshe.sh must be obtained to new agreemenu.', for he could not take the high-handed course of setting tlie treaties aside. Tiio Governor therefore proceeded first to Bloemfont, he persuailed the (iri(p»a captain to agree to an arrangement that in lieu of half the (luitrents duo to him under the treaty •. he 5th ot' February, 1S4G, he should be i>aid a Governor Sir Harry Smith. 241 re ready interior. ;) liostile iro|)eans jrting to en were from the aence ot* ilie Kiui- iny deed, r daring. 10 police. !es of tlie vo years Hired tlu'. id by en- of order, too late. matured [\'Z^. He [for tbeir e States, 11 |)os.se.s- o a new je cliiet'H |\. system roiluced. barians, lernment f Adam for ho treaties ^fonUnn, 24th of lie to an \\ under paid a fixed sniit >r.£2fK; a year; that his ]»eople should be paid £l(H) a year f(u- tiiO iands they had let; that the Griqua He crve should be cleared of all British subjects as their leases expired, upon payment to them of the cost of any imp*'ovemoiits they had made, at a valuation by the British Resideat, Adam Kok's Secretary, and one Emigrant ; and that the above sum of j£30(> a year should bo paid in perpetuity for the farms leased in the alienable territory, which lea.ses should also be in perp(;tuity for this consideration. On the day following, 2.5th of January, 1848, a treaty to this effect was signed, which was subseciuently construed to mean that Adam Kok, in consideration of £200 a year for him.self and £100 for a school, ceded his claim to jurisdiction over all the land outside of the Gri(iua Reserve. Individual Griquas retained their property wherever it was, and were entitled to make use of ground held by them anywhere. They could ,-ioll or lease farms in their possession anywhere e.Kcept in the Reserve, and they had a right to the rent in perpetuity of all farms leased before the 24th of January, 1848, which rent they might connnute if thov so cho.se. Under this treaty, the only right which individuals lost was that of reclaiming farms already leased outside of the Gritpia Reserve. The British Resident estimated that at that time the Reserve was largo enough for twentv times t!ie whole Gricpia ])eoplo. At Bloemfontein, the Governor received addresses of welcome from the farmers of Oberholster's party along the Riet ami Modder rivoi's and from Sn^'man's party along the Lowei' Caledon. As many heads of families as could do so repaired to the village to moot him. Among them were .some who had served under him in tho Kathr war of IS.'U-."). At a public meeting, speeches were made in which old times were recalled, and enthusiastic language was u.sed concerning the future of South Africa, now tiiat a true friend of tho country was at the head of attairs. At this meeting, the U )vernor <,'bsorved an aged, grey-heade'grine Maitlan>uld not bo carried out, but this loss wouM be made good by annual presents. Moshesh admitted the advantage of a ])aramount ]iower in the country, MJid approvetl of the establishment of governmental maeliinery among the Knr.ipean innnlgrants. As to the (|uit- rents, he would s;iy nv)thing, Jis he tli.l not wish n? oney (piestions to stand ill the way of an .1 •'•angem 3nt. Hut he ed the import of all he heard that mornin;j;. Sir ilariy Smith's eccentricities were displayed in such a way that the chief's attention must have been a ^.jood deal tlistiucted. At one mouiunt he was prt'tendin','- to snore to indicate the ftate of ])uace that would follow the adoption of his measures, at another he was illustratin;jj the conditions to which the Amaxosa were reduced by ]»rowbeating a Ivattir from the Kastcrn Colonial Frontier, ami again he was bathed in tears and speechless with emotion when laying tlie foun- . Queens Sovci'cignty Prociaiincd. 245 •were in his favour. Mr. Prctorius sain the Orrnge jind the Vaal eastward to the Kathlamba i\I()untains. In this proclamation the objects are stated to be the protec- I TliU account remained in tlio oriijiniil nmnuHcript in tlic Sovuriignty lltcordfl un- til lS.S(t, win 11 Ht my iiiHtaiice iit wuh itul>li>ilii'd in tin? Xuid AfrikiUiiiKche Tijilnvhrift. -In hi* "Wiirning to tlio Itebel lloiiru," date-l 17tii of Augunt 1S4S, Hir Harry Mmitli nay* <\|iHcitly : " IVetoiiuH reijuoKtcd mo not to i-xtend tlio Moviri'i||{nty lit-yonii the \ .iiil Uivcr ftud to Iiuvo tho Mooi Uivui for thoitc who diMapprovod of thii ordui of tltingH proiiosod. I did tio. " 246 Qucciis Sovereignty Proclaiutcd. I i i ; tion and preservation of tlu3 just and lieroditary rl;,'hts of the native cliiet's and the rule and wolfaro of the P^uropean settlers. Under it, di.spntes a-s to territory hetween tlie chiefs and all matters affecting the peace and harmony of South Africa were to be s(!ttled by tlie Paramount, Authority, but tlierc was to be no interference with the internal j^'ovornment of the tribes. The Kuropoans and such natives as chose to live with them were to be brout^ht under the jurisdiction of magistrates, and they alone were to provide tlio moans of carrying on the ijovernment. In issuing this proclamation, Sir Harry Sujith was full ot* confidence in his personal inlluonco with the Emigrants, Theji Major Warden, the Ihitish Resident, exj)ressed an opinion that if the Queen's authoiity were |)roclaimed north of the Orange River, acMitional trot^ps would be requisite. His K.xcellency replied, " My dear fellow, jtray bear in mind that the liotM-s are my children, and I will have none other here for my soldiers; your detachnient will n)arch for the Colony innnediately." And in this confidence a garrison of only fifty or sixty Cape Momited RiHemen was left to defend a territory more than fifty thousand sfpiare miles in extent. Mr, Pretorius proceeded to Winburg, and thence to Ohrig- stad, holding meetings, and ascertaining tliat the maju.lty of the people were o])posed to Rritish rule. Ho then returned and found that the ])roclamation had been issued some time. Rut as it extende 1 Her Majesty's sovereignty only to the Vaal, by crossing that river the farmers could still escape its operation. Large numbers were moving northward. Mr. Pretorius joined them, and fixed his residence at Magalisberg. The ^iovernor appointed him a member of the Land Conuuission of Natnl, but he declined to accept the appointment. Fronj this date Major Warden's reports contain fre((uent charges against him of endeavo\n*ing to ke(!p up the agitation of the Kmiijrants. Sir Harry Smith, in the meantime, by liberal offers of land and promises of protection, not oj\ly induced many of those who were moving out of Natal to return, but also drew a con- siderable stream of immigrants into that (.'olony from those ;hts of tlie in settlors. L^fs and Jill frica wore was to 1)1- tho trihcs. vitli them rates, ami v^ on the as full ot* ts. Th.-n inion tiiat lie ( )mn;r(' Cxct'iiency lioiM's are ^ soldiers ; led lately." ixty Capo Moro t)ian to Ohrig- ;*y of the irnod and uie. ]\\\t Vaal, l>y )poratlon. IIS joined Governor of Natal, foils this char^^es >n of the s of land of those |)\v a con- in those Qmnts Sovcrcioii/y Proclaimed, 2-\7 parties north of tho Orange who were well art'ectcJ towards ♦ho British (JoN'ernnient. On the 8tli of March, Sir Hany Smith proclaimed a form of governmeat for tho Orange Kivcr Sovereignty, as tho country between tho Vaal and Oiangj rivers and tho Drakensborg was henceforth termed. The British Resident, in tho absence of tho High Commissioner, was to bo tho highest authority and President of all Boards or Commissions. JJloomfontein was to bo the seat of government. A Civil Commissioner and llesi- y dent Magistrate was to be stationed at Winburg, ami ono in the neighbourhood of the Lower Caledon. Persons charged with the commission of crimes of magnitude, wore to bo sent to Colesberg for trial before a judge of tho Capo Colony, 'ritere was to bo a Land Commission for each district, consist- ing of tlie Civil Commissioner, two surveyors, anil one burgher «lecte«l by tho people. Tho first duty of tho Land Commis- sions was to bo the division of the Sovereignty into three dis- tricts, to bo called Bloemfonteiii, Caledon River, and Winburg. Commandants and fieldcornets wore to bo electod by tho people. Tho Land Commissions were to inspect and register each farm, tix (juitrents from X2 to XS per annum, and then to issue certificates, which were to bo valitl as titles. Tho Land Commissions were to have tho final decision of complaints by natives concerning land outside the Reserves. Tho farms wero to bo held under military tenure. Every able-bodied man wan to turn out in defence of Her Majesty and her allies whenever calle»l upon to tlo so. Tho natives in tho Reserves wero to bo dealt with only through the chiefs. The Governor estimated that tho revenue from (juitrents and licences would be from X-'jOOO to XIO.OOO per annum. Tho cost of government be put down at .Cl',4() k Tin; balance ho proposed to ai>ply to tho maintenance of churches and schools. Thcso proclamations were relu«;tantly approved of by tho rm])eiial Authorities. They gave their consent to the addition of tho country between the Orange and the Vaal to tho British dominions, not in any grasping or selfish spirit, but with the benevolent design of preventing disorder and bK)od- hhed. Thii step was tt|>proved of in the sincere iMjiief that the w \% '.i i ! I l! k PMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. 4. /. 7a 1.0 Jlfi^ IIIM I.I 1.25 -. !^ IIS Hf 1;° 12.0 U 111.6 6" Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4S03 V .s^ 4^s :\ \ 9> V qN- r O ^ :\ \ 248 Qiieeiis Sovereignty Proclauncd. I : mi \m\ W'A natives required protection from the Europeans, and would therefore welcome English rule, and that the better disposed i'armers, being in a condition of anarchy and extreme poverty, would gladly submit to a settled government, which was not intended to prevent them from regulating most of their affairs in any manner that suited them. On the 8th of March, Mr Thomas Jervis Biddulph was ap- pointed Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate of Win- burg, and on the 22nd of the same month, Mr. James O'Keilly I'eceived a similar appointment to the district of Caledon River. The British Resident, in addition to his other duties, was required to act as Civil Commissioner and Resident Magis- trate of the district of Bloemfontein. The annunciation of British authority over the district of Winburg, which for ten years had been part of an independent republic, was immediately followed by such excitement among the farmers, that Sir Harry Smith deemed it necessary to issue a manifesto ajrainst agitators. On the 29th of March, he published a long and strangely worded notice, partly his- torical, partly descriptive, remonstrating, advising, appealing, and threatening by turns, and ending by proposing a common prayer to God. The issue of this manifesto drew forth several addresses from the farmers in the Sovereignty. In one with S69 signatures, and another with 189, a desire to be indepen- * *^ ' 1 ^ "J'i.i !!*' tj^ 252 Resistance of the Emigrant Farmers. As "witnesses: — A. J. Fraseh, M. B., Assistant Stuff Surgeon. T. J. liiDUCLi'ii, Magistnitc. L. It. Botha, Conmiuudant. r. !M. Besteii, Conuiiandant. On tlie 2()tli the commando entered Bloemfontein. Next ■■■/ ; ^P :>' ' mt'^ > ' 1 ; ! i ■ ! ! ' fe4l; 'i "i m Ml; 1 If I 1? lit'!' ■■!}!■ ^!l! II'; I 'i^ illli^ 254 Resistance of IJlc Emigraiit Farmers. under Coiniuandants Pieter Erasmus and J. T. Snyman, and by about two liundred and fifty Griquas under Andries Water- boer and Adam Kok. The farmers were those whose lands liad been confiscated and who had been driven from their homes for refusing to join the counnando under Pretorius. Thy Griquas were mounted and provided with firearms, and \aried in ai)i)earance from tlie pure savage in a sheepskin kaross to the half-breed in plumed hat and European costume. Before the troops crossed the river, the Emigrant commando lell back towards Bloemfontein. A rumour had reached the farmers that another army was coming up from Natal to place them between two fires, and they were undecided how to act. There was much discord in the camp. Many professed that they had no intention to fight. They had joined the com- mando, they said, merely as a demonstration to convince the (Jovernor that the great majority of the people were opposed to English rule. Others were determined to hazard everything on the issue of an engagement, and had chosen a strong posi- tion on the road to Bloemfontein as a fitting place to make a stand. Sir Harry Smith, who believed that the rising was entirely due to Mr. Pretorius, addressed letters of remonstance and warning to the different Commandgnts, i.nd sent them to the Emigrant camp, hopeing thereby to bre:.i.'. it up. Mr. Halse, who was His Excellency's messenger, was received with respect and was treated in a friendly manner. But Mr. Pretorius had the tact to put the question to the whole of the burghers whether letters from the Governor, not addressed to himself, ought to be received by an}'^ one in the camp. The burghers decided that they should not, and Mr. Halse was obliged to take them back unopened. The Emigrant commando was then already some distance from the Orange. Mr. Halse com- l)uted its strength to be between six hundred and eight hun- dred men. On the 27th the troops marched from the Orange River to Philippolis, and on the 28th from Philippolis to Visser's Hoclc The country they passed through was completely abandoned ,by its inhabitants. That evening some of the farmers, with Wm ill Battle of Boomp/aats. 255 nan, and s Water- se lands )m their 'retorius. rms, and lieepskin costume, mmando died the to place w to act. ;sed that tlie com- ^4nce the ; opposed ery thing ong posi- ) make a 5 entirely since and sm to the Halse, 1 respect 3rius had burghers himself, burghers Dliged to ndo was alse com- gilt hun- River to r's Hock, mndoned ers, with .r Sir Harry Smith, were sent out as scouts. A little after mid- night they returned and reported that they had examined the country as far as Boomplaats, some fifteen miles ahead, with- out meeting!: anv one. At dawn, on the morning of the 29th, the column moved forward. At tliis seascm the sun at mid-day is still low in tho heavens, and the temperature on the highlands of South Africa is such as Europeans most enjo}^ That day there was not a cloud in the sky, but the dry rarefied air until iiearl}' noon was cool and bracing, and had its ordinary effect of giving vigour and buoyancy of spirits to those who breathed it. The troops halted at Touwfontein, the old camping place of Sir Peregrine Maitland, to rest and take their morning meal. This over, they resumed the march. In front rode the Cape Corps, European officers and Hottentot soldiers, in dark green uniforms, with carbines slung at their sides. Following these were the men of the Rifle Brigade, Next came the Sappers and Miners, and the Artillery men with their three guns, then the 45th, and last the 91st, Behind was a long train of wag- gons laden with baggage, stores, and ammunition, and guarded by the farmers and the Griquas, who rode in the rear and on the flanks. In this order the column moved at infantry pace over the open plain which stretches to within a few hundred yards of the Kromme EUeboog River. There the features of the countiy changed. Close to the right side of the road, and parallel with it, was a chain of hills scantily covered witlr vegetation, but thickly strewn with boulders. Some distance in front this chain turned off almost at a right angle, and ran away to the left. Beyond it was the Kronuiie EUeboog River, a succession of deep pools with icedy banks and here and there a ford. Then came another ehain of hills between the river just named and a feeder called Middle \\'ater, which joined it further down. In a valley in tlie fork thus formed, and just below the road, was the farm- house of Boomplaats. On the far side rose a third chain of hills, higher than the others, through a neck or pass in which the road opened upon a plain beyond. In the morning march a solitary native shepherd was met. ■ t ; \ •yy 11 '%l f r |:qi 256 Battle of Booniplaats. who informed Sir Harry that the burgher commando liad passed the night at Boomplaats. As the column drew near His Excellency directed Lieutenant Warren of the Cape Corps to take a cou})le of men with him and ride up the first hill to reconnoitre. In a few moments the officer came galloping back, and reported that he had seen the Boers in considerable force beyond the nearest range. Lieutenant Salis, with a troop of the Cape Corps, was then instructed to ride on some distance in front of the main column. A minute or two later the Governor put spurs to his horse, and, followed by his staff, joined the advance guard. His Excellency was the most conspicuous individual in the group. Up to this moment he was confident that no European in South Africa would point a weapon against his person. In this confidence he had dressed himself that morning in blue jacket, white cord trousers, and drab felt hat, the same clothing which he had worn when he met Mr. Pretorius in the Emigrant camp on the Tugela seven months before. He was exceedingly anxious to avoid a collision, for the Home Government had sanctioned his proclamation of sovereignty on the strength of his assurances that nearly the whole of the people were in favour of it, and a conflict would prove that he had been too hasty in forming a judgment. His wish was to have a parley with the Emigrant leaders. The soldiers, on the other hand, were full of ardour, and freely expressed a hope that they were not to undergo such a long and wearisome march without a chance of showing their fighting qualities. It wanted an hour to noon when Lieutenant Salis' troop of Cape Corps, with Sir Harry and his staff, came abreast of the second hill on their right, which was not further than sixty yards from the road. By the Governor's order the soldiers had taken the caps from the n'pples of their carbines, so that they could not be the first to fire. Some one exclaimed : " There they are I " and, as if by magic, the crest appeared covered with men. While the Cape Corps had been advancing along the road, the farmers on the extreme left of the Emigrant line had crept up the back of the hill, leaving their horses saddled at the foot. For an instant there was a flash of fire, and then a i1 :<■',' Battle of Boomphiats. 257 ido liatT ew near )o Corps t hill to ;aUoping jiderable ms then le main rs to his Q guard. 1 in tht) European son. In in blue clothing Immigrant :eedingly nent had strength were in been too a parley er hand, ey were ithout a troop of U of the m sixty liers had |iat they 1 « There rod with long the line had Idled at then a shower of bullets fell among and around the little party. The smoke had not cleared away when another volley followed, but by this time the soldiers were galloping back to their comrades^ and the Governor was hastening to the head of the column. A. rifle ball liad grazed the face of his horse, and one of his stirrup leathers was half cut through by another. Three Hottentot soldiers were lying motionless in the road. On the ground beside his dead horse sat Lieutenant Salis, with his left arm shattered and a wound in his body. Two farmers came near, and he heard one say in Dutch, '* Shoot him ! "" He called out quickly, '* You must not, for I have a wife and children." The voice came again, " Are you wounded ? " " Yes," was his reply. He was then allowed witliout molesta- tion to crawl back, and was carried to a hospital tent in the rear. The Governor, after relieving his feelings by a few hearty oaths, gave orders with as much coolness as if at a review. The guns were brought up and placed in position, and, under directic '» of Lieutenant Dynely of the Royal Artillery, a heavy fire was opened from them. The farmers dispersed behind the boulders, and then the Rifle Brigade and the 45th were ordered to charge. Captain Murray of the Rifles was leading on his men when he receiv \ three severe wounds. He was carried to the rear, and all tha: wis possible was done to save him, but he died that night nuer a storm of bullets the soldiers made their way to aio op of the hill, leaving many of their comrades dead and wounded on the slope. Before the summit was gained the farmers retired. They fell back towards the centre of their line, and prepared to make another stand at the next hill. Meantime the right wing of the Emigrant force, under Com- mandant Jan Keck, emerged from behind a ridge on the left of the English front, and dashed into the plain. The object was to get possession of the waggons and supplies. Against this division of the farmers, which was not very strong, the Cape Corps was sent, and after some sharp fighting, Kock was forced to retire. His men were compelled to cross the range of the artillery in order to rejoin the main body of the burgher com- R i" 'i t\ ... i '. t Il •H! !i 11 1 !l,"i mi' '.II..'.:' £ '1 i'& I'M': ■ H' Ill 258 Battle of Boomplaats. mando, and in doing so they siitt'ercd some loss. The exact number it is impossible to give. The 91st, previously kept as a reserve with the guns, were now sent to assist the RiHe Brigade and 45th in dislod-nnir the farmers from the remaining fastnesses along the road. The artillery was moved forward, and the Governor himself, as Commander-in-Chief, selected the positions from which its fire could be best directed. Colonel Buller, the second in command, had been wounded. The Emigi-ants had only one field-piece, a brass three-pounder, which was so placed as to throw its shot along the line of road. But it was badly served, and did little or no execution. In the same manner as the first hill had been carried, each successive position was stormcrl, the iarmers, when driven from one, retiring to the next. At the river the resistance was not very obstinate, but a stone cattle kraal belonging to the farmstead of Boomplaats was taken with difficulty. Driven from this, the farmers made a last stand on the slopes commanding the neck in the high ridge beyond. There they were attacked first by the Cape Corps and the Griquas, who, being mounted, could follow rapidly. These were beaten Lack with ease. The infantry was then brought up, and the whole force stormed the heights, when the farmers were dis- lodged, and immediately fled over the plain to the eastward. Sir Harry Smith, who had grown old fighting in the Penin- sula, in Kaffirland, and in India, in his next despatch to the Secretary of State described the battle of Boomplaats as " one of the most severe skirmishes that had ever, he believed, been witnessed." There were no cowards on either side in that engagement. It was two in the afternoon when the neck was gained by the troops. The men and horses required rest, for they had been marching and fighting with but one short interval since early dawn. Towards evening they followed up the line of the Emigrants' retreat some seven or eight miles, and halted at Kalver Fontein for the night. Mr. Pretorius and the Commandants who were engaged at Bloomplaats afterwards asserted that their plans were frus- lie exact ins, were d'jinfi the ad. The imself, as i\\ its fire command, ield-piece, throw its d, and did ) first hill rmcd, the . At the one cattle vas taken id on the d. There 5 Griquas, ere beaten , and the were dis- Lstward. he Penin- ;ch to the s as " one 3ved, been e in that ■n-ained by they had rval since le line of halted at nffaf^ed at vere frus- r ■' Battle of Booinplaats, 259 trated by the action of the party on their extreme left who fired upon the Governor's advance guard. Their intention was to wait until the whole column of troops was und: rifle range from the steep hills beside the road, and the first shots were fired against positive orders. After that they did the best they could at every defensible position. But there was no discipline observable anywhere, except in the right wing under Commandant Jan Kock, who attempted to seize the commis- sariat tniin. The luimbcr of Emigrants engaged is variously estimated. Commandant General Pretorius, in letters written a few weeks before the battle, claimed to have a thousand men under his orders. But from the time they left the Orange their num- bers were constantly dwindling away. Mr. Halse and those who were with him computed their strength a few days later at eight hundred at the very highest. When it was decided to make a stand at Boomplaats some of these withdrew, but exactly how many is an open question. At the time of the battle a portion of the connnando was in a camp several miles events of that period, I give this letter verbatim et literatim : 29 Augustus, 1848. " Den Commadant Generaal der vereenigde Emigrante Burgher IMagt, heeft alio moeite gedaan om den Gouverneur van de Kaap Sir Harry Smith, te Spreken oni> zoo mogelyk alle bloetvergieting voor te komen, en te horen welke Schikkingen Zyn. ExccUe met ons wi'.de maken, doch dat konde wy niet verkrygeu, alleswat wy verwagten was veriiieling, door een versamelde horde van troepen, van verscheidene soorten Basterds, en Griequas, en ook boeren, welk ook onverhoordop onsaaavallen. Wy vermenen dat die onschuldlge bloed weduwen en wiezen, welk er gemaakt is- door UExll en diegeenen welke UExcell hiertoe gedwongen heeft, tot UExcell verant woording is, want zy hebben op UExcell bevel op ons geschoten, Schoon wy hun- daartoe geen reden helben gegeven. "Ik acht het verder myn plicht UExelle te zeggen, dat wy liever ons in den wil- dernis van Zuid Africa zai begeeven en liever dood zuUen vechten als om ons hier onder Haare Majesteit gezag te begeven, en Zoo gy met ons geen billyke schikking wilue maken, dat dan alle verdere onheil tot uw Exoell verantwoording zal zyn, daarom zyn wy terug gegaan om te zien wat gy verder wilde doen, en van ons kan- geen menschen bloed verder te vcrgieten, want de gantsch land staan nu in beweging,, "A. \V. J. Pretorius, Cora. Gen. " Aan Zyn Excell Sir Harry Smith." lers wlio to fight crons. burghers en killed i by the and fivo not ex- disparity ," says seven (1 of being a ; assert that to mention the Assist- L four or five nt at I>oom<- is a mistake, le time to be jspondents to- orius and Sir s, Hogge and [)laats, which' the covering the original s a specimen iearches into- stus, 1848. gt, heeft alio Spreken onu kkingen Zyn. alleswat wy verscheidene nsaanvallen. gemaakt is- xcell verant )on wy hun- in den wil- om ons hier e schikking ing zal zyn, an ons kan- in beweging,, Jora. Gen, Confiscation of the Property of Insurgents. 261 The dav followinL' the ensxajxement, the Governor and the troops pushed on to the German mission station of Bethany.^ During the march, the Griqua scouts captured two stragglers who had taken part at Boomplaats on the Emigrant side. One of these was the deserter Michael Quigley, who has been laentioi i as having sent to Mr. Biddulph intelligence of Mr. Pretorius's movements. The other was a young man named Thomas Dreyer, a member of an Emigrant family. On the 2nd of September the column reached Bloemfontein. There Dreyer and Quigley were brought before a court martial, and were sentenced to death, which sentence was carried out on the morning of the 4th, The execution of young Dreyer was probably regretted by the Governor himself in calmer moments, though he stated that he believed it struck such terror into the republicans as to prevent them making another stand at Winburg. By the Emigrants it has always been regarded as more unjustifiable than the execution of Tambusa in January, 1840. In tlieir estimation, one was a Christian patriot, the other a blood- 4stained assassin. Mr. Pretorius was blamed by many for not having kept Major Warden and some of the inhabitants of Bloemfontein as hostages, so as to prevent an act of this kind ; but he afiirmed that he made no provision for such an event, because he had not believed it possible. Just after reaching Bloemfontein on the 2nd, Sir Harry Smith issued a proclamation confiscating the property of those who had been in arms. All who had aided them were to be fined by Commissions which he announced that it was his intention to appoint. A reward of £2,000 was offered for the apprehension of Commandant General Pretorius, and £500 each for the apprehension of Andries Spies, Jean Krynauw, and Louw Pretorius. The farms of Jan Krynauw, Louw Pre- torius, Frederick Otto, Jan Jacobs, Philip van Coller, Jan 1 Founded for the benefit of the Kiet River Koranas in December, 183.", by agents of the IJerlin Missionary Society, on a tract of land given to them by Adam Kok. It is situated on the Kiet Kiver, but some distance within the territory over which Adam Kok resigned Ids authority in the truaty with Sir Harry Smitli. The mission- aries claimed a tract of land nearly one hundred and fifty sijuare miles in extent, but tlieir boundaries were at tliis time (lisi)uted, and remained so until fixetl by Sir (George Clerk on the 11th of Ivhriiary, IS.M. m Ml' si/' Hi It':' 262 Pr'oclamation of Orange River Sovereignity. Viljoen, and Adrian Stander were declared forfeited. And the following fines were announced: Ocker Jacobus van Schalkwyk £200, Pieter Louw and Jan Botes each £150, Christoffel Sny- man £100, and Roelof Grobbelaar £50. From Bloemfontein the High Commissioner and the troops moved on to Winburg, and reached that village on tlie 7th of September. It was anticipated that the republican party would have made anotlier stand at this place, but no opposi- tion whatever was encountered. Here the first act was to re- proclaim Her Majesty's sovereignty over the whole country between the Orange and the Vaal, which wao accompanied by a salute of twenty-one guns. This was followed by another proclamation, dividing the sovereignty into the four districts of Bloemfontein, Caledon River, Winburg, and the Vaal River. The new district of Vaal River was to comprise the country between the Sand and Vaal rivers and the Drakensberg, pre- viously part of Winburg. A strong fort, His Excellency an- nounced, would be built at Bloemfontein, and a large garrison would be stationed there. At Winburg one of the Commandants, named Paul Bester, who had taken part with Pretorius, surrendered and expressed contrition for what he liad done. Upon this he was merely required to pay £22 10s. towards the war expenses, and was then received inio the High Commissioner's favour. It was announced that all who had taken up arms against the British Government were banished from the district of Winburg ex- cept Paul Bester and Gerrit Kruger. A reward of £1,000 each was offered for the apprehension of Willem Jacobs and Andries Spies, and £500 each for the apprehension of Adrian Stander and Frederick Bezuidenhout. The following appointments were then made : Thomas Whalloy Vowe to be Civil Commissioner and Resi- dent Magistrate of the district of Caledon River, in place of Mr. O'Reilly, who, at his own request, was restored to his former office of Clerk of the Peace at Somerset. Commandant Hendrik Potgieter, who had taken no part in the armed opposition to Her Majesty's authority and who was highly applauded by Sir Harry Smith, to be landdrost of the iiL (y. And the lialkwyk ffel Sny- lie troops lie 7th of m party opposi- '■as to re- country anied by r another districts ,al River. country )erg, pre- ency an- garrisoa ,1 Bester, ixpressed ,s merely and was It was e British burg ex- 000 eacli Andries Stander nd Resi- place of I to his part in vho was- t of the Constitution of Orange River Sovereignty. 26; then at Potchefs district of Vaal River. Mr. Potgieter was troom, and until he could arrive, Messrs. Pieter Venter and Paul Bester were appointed a Connnission to act as landdrost. Mr. Biddulph, Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate of Winburg, having been wounded, Mr. Frederick Rex was ap- pointed to act for him until his recovery. Mr. Richard Southey, Secretaiy to the High Commissioner, who was to remain in the Sovereignty for a time on confid- ential duty, to be President of the Commissions for fining those who had been in arms against the Government and those who had aitled them. War Tribute Commissions. For Bloemfontein : Major War- den, Mr. Joseph Allison, Commandant Pieter Erasmus, and Mr. A. J. Erwee. For Caledon River: Mr. T. W. Vowe, Mi-- Anthony O'Reilly, Commandant J T. Snyman, and Mr. Her- manns Wessels. For Winburg : Messrs. Frederick Rex, Isaac Dyson, M. Wessels, and G. H. Meyer. For Vaal River : Mr. Pieter Venter, Mr. Paul Bester, Commandant Botha, and the secretary to the landdrost. At the Governor's invitation, Moshesh and most of tlie petty chiefs in the Sovereignty went to Winburg to meet him. The Basuto chief was accompanied by some hundreds of his people, all mounted on horses, — animals which were unknown in the country onl}' twenty years before. Reviews of the English troops and native war dances followed, and occupied the atten- tion of all parties. The intercourse of the chiefs with His Excellency during several days was of the most friendly nature, but no further arrangements weie made regarding the position of the native tribes towards each other or towards the Eui'opeans. Sir Harry Smith left Winburg on the 10th of September, and arrived at SmithfiekU on the 18th, where he was welcomed 1 That is the farm Waterfall, the projierty of Mr. C. S. Halso, where it was first intended that the seat of magistracy of tiio Caledon River district should be. The farm was tiiu called Smitlifield, in honour of Sir Harry Smith. The seat of magis- tracy was subsciiuently removed to the farm Riot Poort, where on the first of Nov- ember, 184!), the first erven of tlie present village of Smithfield were sold. The dis- trict, tiiough officially known as Caledon River, soon came to be commonly called after the villajje tlie District of Sniithfiehl. ^~ ' t ■ i^'i i^: ui. •■ 'il 264 Commission of the DtUch Reformed Synod. by a large number of the inhabitants of the district. A loyal address was presented to him, and at a meeting which was held, satisfaction was expressed with the turn that affairs had taken. On the morning of the 19th, His Excellency left on his return to the Colony. He crossed the Orange at Buffel's Vlei, where he was met by a number of the inhabitants of the Divi- sion of Albert.^ At tlieir request he promised to have a town laid out at the place of meeting, and to give it the name of Aliwal. The War Tribute Commissions proceeded by inquiring into the conduct of nearly all the farmers in the Sovereignty. They levied fines, varying in amount according to the ability of the individual to pay, upon all who were found to have been im- plicated in resistance to Her Majesty's authority. The total sum realised by the sale of confiscated i)roperty and by the fines levied was rather over £10,000. A fort was built at Bloemf ontein, and four iron nine-pounders were mounted upon it. A garrison was stationed there, con- sisting of two companies of the 45th Regiment, one company of the Cape Mounted Rifles, and twenty-five Artillerymen with three six-pounders. Major Blenkinsopp of the 45th was placed in command. The structure was named the Queen's Fort. After the battle of Boomplaats the most violent opponents of British authority moved over the Vaal. The places which they vacated were filled by fresh Emigrants from the Cape Colony, many of whom, unfortunately for the country, were mere land speculators. In October 1847, the Svnod of the Dutch Reformed Church, then in session in Cape Town, resolved to send a Commission to visit the Emigrants north of the Orange. For this purpose the Rev. Mr. Murray, minister of Graaff-Reinet, and the Rev. Mr. Albertyn, minister of Prince Albert, with Messrs. Pienaar, 1 By a proclamation of Sir Harry Smith, dated 5th of July. 1848, the north-eastern boundary of the Colony had been extended from the line of the 17th December, 1847, to the Wilge Spruit from its junction with the Orange to the Wittcbergen, the Wit- tebergen to the Kraai lliver, the Kraai Kiver to its source in the Stormbergen, the Stori'.ibergen to the source of tlie White Kei, and the White Kei to its junction with the Zwart Kei. The present district of Herschel was not then included in the Colony, but was added by a proclamation of Sir Harry Smith dated 3lst of July 1850, which made tlie river Tees the boundary. -r'.(' i' ;;i I [enaar, [■eastern ler, 1847, Ihe AVit- L;en, the Ion with IColony, \ which Commission of the Dtiich Rcfoimcd Synod. 265 iind De AVit, elders of Richmond and Victoria West, were appointed. The Rev. Daniel Lindley of Maritzburg had formerly held occasional services at Potchefstroom and Win burg, otherwise the Emio-rants had been without clerical guidance for twelve years, though lay services had constantly been kept up. Mar- riages had been performed before the civil courts. Baptisms had been deferred since Mr. Lindley 's last tour, when over five hundred children were brought to him to be admitted by that sacrament into the Christian community. During these years it had not been possible to have schools, nnd the most that parents could do for their children was to teach them to spell out with difficulty the easier passages of the Bible. That was the one sole volume from which all tlie his- tory, the geography, and the science known to the generation that grew up in the wandering was derived. And the sim})le language of the Old Testament, much of it applying to a peojile leading a similar life to their own, wandering in a wilderness, fiepending upon flocks and herds, fighting with heathen tribes for existence, had a meaning for them whicli it cannot have for ; Hit ii i\ ! ^ '!.» I 11 however, to request that it should not be confirmed until the chief had time to write to His Excellency on the subject, if in his opinion it required any alteration. Tlie line was not confirmed. Mr. Casalis wrote to Sir Harry Smith that its adoj)tion would necessitate the removal of at least forty villages of Basuto, upon which the British Resident was instructed to ascertain whether another could not be fixed upon that would interfere less with actual occui)ants. In the winter of 1849, Major Warden, taking with him a land sur- veyor, visited Smithfield, where he invited Moshesh to meet him, but the chief did not receive the letter in time. Mr. Rex, the surveyor, was then directed to examine the country care- fully, and make a map of 'Jie boundary that v/ould best meet the intentions of the Governor. It is necessary now to revert to Sikonyela. Two days after the conference between the chiefs and the Land Commission, the Basuto captain, Letsela fell upon a Batlokua kraal, killed a Motlokua, and drove ofi' one hundred and forty head of cattle, assigning as a reason for doing so that the old award in his favour against Sikonyela had not been complied with. For more than a month after this there was no attempt at re- taliation, but on the 2nd of January, 1849, after the announce- ment of the High Commissioner's decision, a Batlokua army, in three divisions, under Sikonyela himself, his brother, Mota, and his son, David, attacked the kraals of two petty Basuto captains, killed twenty-three men, and carried off some women and children as well as a large booty in cattle. Mosliesh then appealed to the British Resident. Major Warden met Sikonyela, who tried to throw the blame upon his adversary, but could not clear himself. He seemed bent upon war, and said that nothing but the blood of a daughter of Moshesh could atone for the death of Mota's wife. After this Major Warden had an interview with the Basuto chief, who professed to be most anxious for peace, though he asserted that he wanted no help to light his battles, if the British Authorities would let him alone to deal with the Batlokua. The British Resident recommended that the High Com- missioner's award should be carried out by each party bring- Bewwwwggwww Feuds of tnc Basiito and Batlokiia. / O ntil the !cb, if in r Harry al of at Resident be fixed In the md 8ur- to meet Mr. Rex, ,ry care- 3st meet lys after imission, al, killed head of award in ed with, it at re- inouncc- arniy, in Mota, Basuto women Major ne upon led bent liter of ter this ef, who ed that horities Com- bring- \mt to Mekuatlin<' and thoro delivorinj; to the Bataun<' chief Molitsano, all cattle seized. Both chiefs professedly consented, but neither did anything else. Sikonyela continued his attacks, and Moshesh returned them. Major Warden thought it would be difficult to say who was most in fault, because, in his opinion, Moshesh should have withdrawn his people from the territory of Sikonyela as soon as possible after the boundary between them had been confirmed by the High Conunissioner, and that he had not done. Next the Batlokua fell upon the Bataung, and then the Koranas of Gert Taaibosch and a swarm of vagabonds of a similai* stamp from the Lower Vaal, under Jan Bloem, scenting plunder, joined Sikonyela. The cattle of the JMlokua were nearly all seized by the Basuto and the Bataung, and the con- fusion was dailv becoming greater. In June the British Resident had a conference with the contending chiefs, at which terms of peace were arranged, by all parties agreeing to restore their plunder. Moshesh kept his promise fairly well, by giving up about twelve hundred head of cattle, but Molitsane only surrendered three hundred out of four thousand head, and Sikonyela delivered nothing. The cattle were hardly out of Moshesh's hands when Sikon- yela, who in the meantime had received further reinforcements of Koranas and had been joined by a few Fingos, swooped down upon some Bataung and Basuto kraals, killed thirty-four individuals, and drove off the stock. Following up his success, he attacked and burned Molitsane's own village, seized the grain, and turned the women and children ofi* in a destitute condition. It was midwinter, and the weather was storm}' and so bitterly cold that numbers of the wretched creatures perished before shelter could be reached. The Basuto chief immediately called upon the British Resi- dent to restore order. Without a strong military force no man could have done this, and Major Warden's only expedient was to call another meeting of the chiefs. In his notice to this effect he guaranteed to them all safe conduct to and from the meeting, and promised that any one causing a breach of 8 •1 t (■it \ 274 Feuds of the Basuto and Batloktia, % <- 1 w u m the peace during their absence, should be visited with certain and most severe punishment. A few days later the British Resident received a letter from the High Commissioner, in which Sir Harry Smith stated that it was evident Moshesh was acting dishonestly, that he must be humbled, and that a coalition of all the other chiefs should be formed against him. Should hostile measures be necessary, a body of troops should also be employed, and a strong com- mando of farmers should be called out. With these instructions — which he had himself suggested — as his guide, the British Resident presided over a meeting of chiefs at Bloemfontein on the 27tli of August, 18-i9. Moshesh did not attend, but he sent two of his most trusted councillors to represent him, and professed to be willing to make conces- sions to obtain peace. Moroko, Molitsane, Adam Kok, and Carolus Baatje were present, but neither Sikonyela nor Gert Taaibosch took any notice of the invitation. The Boundary Question was almost the only one discussed. Moshesh was blamed for not having withdrawn his people from beyond the line fixed by the High Commissioner between him and Sikon- yela, and the coalition which was desired was formed. On the very day on which the meeting was held at Bloem- fontein, Sikonyela and Gert Taaibosch fell upon some Basuto and Bataung villages and plundered them; but though Moshesh and Molitsane appealed to the British Resident to keep the promise made in his notice, he did nothing more than write to the offenders, exhorting them not to break the peace again, to which letter they paid not the slightest attention. Such was the condition o£ affairs when Major Warden in- vited Moshesh to meet him at Beersheba and arrange a boundary between the Caledon River District and Basutoland. Tlie chief was given to understand that if he would comply, the Batlokua and Koranas would be restrained from further a^fjressions, and he would be renrarded as a faithful friend of the English Government ; but if he refused to do so, all the jietty chiefs in the land, Molitsane only excepted, were pre- pared to join the European forces against him. Moshesli did not meet the British Resident at Beersheba, itli certain letter from stated that it he must iefs should necessary, irong com- iggested — neetinix of Moshesh councillors ike conces- Kok, and I, nor Gert Boundary (shesli was teyond the ind Sikon- d. at Bloem- me Basuto h Moshesh keep the m write to e again, to r''arden in- Definition of Native Reserves. 275 arrange a lasutoland. d comply, )m further friend of so, all the were pre- Becrsheba, ^ut he sent his son Letsie and one of his councillors. Letsie was informed of the boundary decided upon, and was asked to give his consent to it. He replied that his consent would be like that of a dog dragged by a riem round its neck. On be- half of Moshesh he proposed a line from the junction of Kor- net Spruit with the Caledon to the western extremity of the Koesberg (the continuation, on account of its affecting the Beersheba lands, to be arranged at another time) ; but the British Resident declined to entertain it. Letsie conveyed to his father a letter enclosing a sketch of the boundary, and in- forming him that upon his accepting it the bands of Batlokua and Koranas would be brought to order. With the consequences of refusal thus brought clearly befoie him, Moshesh affixed his mark to a letter, dated on the 1st of •October 1849, agreeing to the proposed limits of the Lesuto. He begged that his people on the European side should not be <:lriven from their pastures or otherwise ill-treated, and pointed out that the villages cut off from his jurisdiction were more than a hundred in number. He further requested that boun- daries should be made for the two mission stations, Beersheba and Hebron, and that they should be connected with the Lesuto by a passage at least two miles in width. Of the hundred Basuto villages referred to by Moshesh a.s situated west of the line, most were residences of only one or two families. The boundary of Major Warden was consider- ably more to the advantage of the Basuto than the proposed one of Mr. Southey, which Mr. Casalis described as cutting oft' at least forty villages. The discrepancy is explained partly by the omission of clusters of only two or three huts by the mis- sionary, but principally by a recent migration of Basuto into the thinly inhabited district below the Long Mountain. The French missionaries, who had been called to witness Moshesh's signature, immediately addressed a letter on the subject to Sir Harry Smith. In a few words they drew atten- tion to the manner in which the chief's consent was obtained, pointed out an alteration in the line that would preserve to the Basuto sixty or seventy villages now cut off, and ex- ] tressed an opinion that if His Excellency should approve *.'H 2/6 Definition of Native Reserves. I ■.) \m of the "Warden Line, feelings of great discontent would remain in the tribe. The British Resident promised Moshesh that tlie Basuto in the Caledon River district should receive the same protection as Europeans, and that they should hold their lands in the same manner. He anticipated that within a twelvemonth most of them would have sold their ground to white men, and would have removed to the Reserve occupied by their tribe. Major Warden requested the High Commissioner to confirm the line, but though it was approved of before the 31st of October, as may be seen in the reply to the French mission- aries, it was not until the 18th of December that it was established by formal notice. It cut off a very large part of the Lesuto as defined by the Napier treaty, but much of this was never in the occupation of the Basuto people. Putting aside that treaty, their claim to the country below the Long Mountain, or any portion of it, rested on exactly the same ground as that of the European inhabitants — they had found it a waste, and had moved into it. Whether the line laid down by Major Warden gave them a fair share of that district, or whether it gave to the Europeans, or to the Basuto, more than they were strictly entitled to, will be decided by every individual according to his own ideas of justice. As soon as this boundary had been settled, the British Resi- dent directed his attention to the country occupied by the various clans further to the north. In October and November he laid down lines, defining the reserves allotted to Sikonyela, Gert Taaibosch, Molitsane, Carolus Baatje, and Moroko, and informed these chiefs that all the natives living within their bounds were thereafter to be subject to their jurisdiction. Their outer boundaries were the actual lines then separating occupied farms from native village commonages. All the par- ties interested agreed to them without demur. Wherever there were prominent positions, beacons were placed, for owing to the circumstances of occupation this boundary could not be- defined by streams or mountain ranges. On the 18th of De- Definition of Native Reserves. 277 I remain asuto in rotection s in the vemonth ite men, by their confirm I 31st of mission- it was part of 1 of this Putting lie Long he same ley had the line of that to the will be ideas of sh Resi- by the ovember konyela, »ko, and in their diction. Darating he par- er there iving to not be of De- cember 1849, a notice was published by order of the High Oommissioner, confirming the lines thus laid down between the Native Reserves and the portion of the Sovereignty set apart for European occupation. The system of government henceforth to be carried out was ■explained by Major Warden to be that any chief allowing his l)eople to pass the limits of his country to the prejudice of an- other tribe would be viewed as a common enemy, and treated as such. This would have been possible if the British Resident liad been provided with sufficient military force, or if there had been some approach to equality of strength among the chiefs, or if even the whole of the others combined had been as power- ful as Moshesh. Major Warden certainly thought they were much stronger than they subsequently proved to be. He asserted on one occasion that he believed eight hundred Koranas to be equal to two thousand Basuto, and on another that he believed the Koranas of Gert Taaiboseh and Jan Bloem to be more than a match for all the other tribes, those of Moshesh, Molitsane, Sikonyela, and Moroko, together. The fault of the system was want of power to enforce it. Sir Harry Smith made it a condition of holding a farm that every able-bodied man upon it should be liable to military ser- vice in aid of Her Majesty and her allies^ whenever called upon b}'- the British Resident or the magistrates. But almost to a man the European inhabitants of the Sovereignty were opposed to this principle. As far as the outer line between themselves and the Reserves were concerned, they were quite willing to protect it. But they maintained that it was neither their duty nor their interest to interfere in native quarrels which did not afifect them, and as Her Majesty's allies would be whichever tribe was for the time being in favour, under such a land tenure they would be continually embroiled in war. From them, there- fore, no hearty assistance could be expected. Henceforth the petty clans along the Caledon relied not only for protection, but for existence itself, upon the British Resi- alala in ts grew rs could and at sturn of ht to be been in pay the CHAPTER VIII. Treatment of Natives outside the Reserves — Churches and Schools — Revenue and Expenditure — Publication of a Newspaper — Assignment of Locations to Kausop or Scheel Kobus, Goliath Yzerbek, David Danser, and Jan Bloem — Claims of the Captains Cornelis Kok and Andries Waterbocr — Issue of Letters Patent creating a Constitution for the Orange River Sovereignty — Murders by Bushmen — Dealings with Poshuli — Feuds of the Batlokua and Basuto — Interference of the British Resident — Plunder of Moroko's Barolong — Conduct of Poshuli — Hostilities with the Baphuti — Objection of the Farmers to interfere in Native Feuds — Commando against Moshesh — Battle of Vier- voct — Disastrous Results of the Defeat at Viervoet — Arrival of Troops and Native Auxiliaries from Natal — Plunder of the Loyal Farmers by the Basuto — Views of the Imperial Covern- racnt — The Kaffir War — Action of the Republican Party in the Sovereignty — Alliance of Moshesh with the Party hostile to England — Attitude of Mr. Pretorius — Arrival in the Sovereignty of the Assistant Commissioners Hogge and Owen — Proceedings of the Assistant Commissioners — Conference between the Assis- tant Commissioners and Delegates from the Country north of the Vaal — The Sand River Convention, by which the Indepen- dence of the Transvaal Emigrants was acknowledged — Ratifica- tion of the Convention by the Volksraad and its Approval by the Imperial Authorities — The Barolong of Montsiwa. THE history of the Sovereignty from this date onward is little else than an account of a struggle with Moshesh. Outside the Reserves there were not many natives liv- ing, but wherever they were in actual possession of ground on the 3rd of February, 1848 their right to it was ac- knowdedged. The onl}^ difference in their position, that Sir Harry Smith's measures made, was that they were now sub- ject to the jurisdiction of European magistrates. It was anti- cipated, and the anticipation was correct, that most of them ■\i>ir Publication of a Newspaper. 281 •S would desire to dispose of their land and remove to the Re- serves. But in order that they miglit not be unfaii-ly dealt with, it was notified that no sales of ground by natives would be considered legal unless made before the Civil Commissioner of the district in which the land was situated. In January, 1850, the Rev. Dirk van Velden was appointed clergyman of Winburg. Ministers for the other congiogations were not obtainable, and if they had been, there were no funds with which to pay their salaries. Messrs. Murray and Van Velden were, therefore, obliged to act as consulents for the parishes of Harrismith, Smithfield, and Riet River. Each district was now provided with a school. The revenue had not been as large as the Governor had ■estimated, and the expenditure had been greater. Qn the 10th of September, 1850, an account was made out by the Sovereignty Treasurer, which showed tliat the expenditure to that date for civil purposes alone had been in excess of the revenue by £4,905. This amount had been drawn as a loan from the Treasury of the Cape Colony, but there was no possibility of paying it. The revenue of the year 1851 was £6,105, and the expenditure £6,095.^ On the 10th of June, 1850, the first number of a weekly newspaper termed the Friend of the Sovereignty was issued at Bloemfontein by a branch of tlie firm of Godlonton and White, of Grahamstown. This paper, printed partly in Dutch and partly in English, is still in existence under the name of the Friend of the Free State. The district between the Modder and the Vaal rivers had been purchased by Mr. D. S. Fourie for the party of which he was the head from the Korana captain David Danser, and the right of the purchasers had for eleven years never been disputed. In August, 1850, Major Warden visited tliat part of the Sovereignty. At Van Wyk's Vlei (now Boshof) he ^leard loud complaints from tlie farmers of robberies by a roving petty captain named Kausop, or Scheel Kobus as he 1 By an Ordinance of the Cape Legislative Council, in February, 18r)2, the aum of £i),G84, said to have been advanced to the Sovereignty, was remitted. But on examining the items which make up that sum, it will be seen that several were not fairly chargeable to the Sovereignty Government. 282 Assigfiment of Locations. ::fi was usually termed by the Europeans. The Major sent for Kausop, who made his appearance with twenty followers. He stated that he was of higher rank than Danser, that his ancestors exercised authority over Danser's, and, therefore, he laid claim to the whole district. He was informed that his claim would not be admitted, nor existing ownership be dis- turbed, but that as a resident in the country he would be provided for. It was ascertained that he had a following of about two hundred souls. Major Warden recommended that he should be provided with a location along the Vaal. Sir Harry Smith approved of this, and Kausop M-as put in pos- session of a tract of land seventy-two squrtre miles in extent. Adjoining his location on the upper side, a plot of ground stretching ten miles back from the river, ten miles above Platberg, and ten miles below that mountain, or two hundred square miles in extent, had in the preceding year been allotted jointly to David Danser and Goliath Yzerbek the latter a petty Korana captain who had formerly lived on the banks of the Riet, and for whose use the land of the mission station of Bethany had been reserved in the treaty between Sir Pere- grine Maitland and Adam Kok, Goliath had wandered away from Bethany, where he felt uncomfortable on account of being hemmed in by farms. Along the Lower Vaal he could enjoy a greater sense of freedom, for across the river a vast extent of almost waste country stretched away to the north- west. But a mistake was made in giving him and Danser joint proprietorship in a location, for the}'- began to quarrel almost at once. Major Warden estimated that between them they had a following of about three hundred and fifty families. Adjoining Kausop's location on the lower side was a Reserve allotted to a half-breed named Jan Bloem, who was the head of a Korana horde. This reserve was extended in February, 1852, to the bend of the river where it is joined by the Hart. The Berlin Mission Society had some few years previously founded the station of Pniel on the southern bank of the Vaal,. and these reserves were laid out with a view of bringing the Koranas within its influence. This is the ground on which eighteen years later diamonds were first found in large num- 3ent for )llowers. that his ifore, he that his I be dis- 'ould be wing of led that lal. Sir in pos- 3xtent. * ground !S abovfr hundred , allotted latter a le banks I station Sir Pere- ed away 30unt of he could r a vast e north- Danser quarrel en them families. Reserve the head ebruary, he Hart^ eviously ;he Vaal,. lorinof the- )n which ore num- Ui Claims of Cornells Kok and Andries Watcrbocr. 285 bars. In 1850 a few farmers who had previously been living there made no objection to Major Warden's proposal that they should resign their land to the Koranas, and receive allotments- further back from the river. As for Danser, he was hardly in possession of a location when he sold some farms in it, but the British Resident declared the sales illegal and refused to- allow transfer. The Griqua captain, Cornelis Kok, of Campbell, laid claim to some land in this part of the Sovereignty, though he had no- subjects living on the southern side of the Vaal. His right of chieftainship was acknowledged by Sir Harry Smith, and he was informed (1st of May, 1848) that directions had been given to Major Warden to have the boundaries of his territory properly defined by a Land Commission. But this definition was never made, because the ground which he and his people occupied was found to be beyond the Sovereignty. His claim on the left bank of the river was then so far admitted that as a proprietor he was allowed to sell farms to any one who chose to buy them, but the Sovereignty Government exercised exclusive jurisdiction overall the inhabitants between the Modder and the Vaal, except those in the Reserves.^ Between the Modder and Orange rivers, the country west of Adam Kok's Reserve was unoccupied, ^t was claimed by the Griqua captain Andries Waterboer, and Cornelis Kok also asserted a right to a portion of it. Waterboer's claim rested on his treaty with Sir Benjamin D'Urban, in which the little kmal of Ramah was mentioned as the extremity of his terri- tory, and this was the south-western point of Adam Kok's ^ Without reference to the authorities which have been at my disposnl, probably without even a knowledge of the existence of many of them, the Land Court of Griqualand West, which was specially constituted to investigate and decide disputes concerning the ownership of ground, arrived at precisely the same conclusion with regard to the native claims to this territory. After hearing evidence continuously foi- several months, on the IGth of March, 1876, Judge Stockenstrom delivered an ela- borate ju Linde and Andrew Hudson Bain on i\\v. 29th of Deccmhor, 1851. In January, 1850, Major Warden called out a coumiando for the purpose of clearing the Caledon River district of Bushmen. A party of these marauders had recently presented themselves at the homestead of a farmer named Van Hansen, and one of them had demanded some tobacco. Upon the farmer refusing to give it, the Bushmen murdered him, his wife, four children, and two servants ; and then set tire to the house. The boundary laid down between this district and the Basuto Reserve placed Vechtkop, the residence of Moshesh's brother Poshuli, on the European side. Poshuli was therefore considered to be under magisterial jurisdiction. He was be- lieved to have instigated the Bushmen to commit the murders, as he had taken many of these people under his protection. Some persons for whose apprehension warrants had been issued by the Resident Magistrate had been sheltered by him, and when summoned he had refused to appear. Major Warden, therefore fined him fifty oxen, and as he refused to pay, the commando was sent to seize his cattle. They were taken with- out resistance. Among them were thirty head which were at once sworn to as having been recently stolen from farmers in the district. A few others belonged to Mokatshane, fatiier of Moshesh and Poshuli, who was then living at Thaba Bosinro. It was quite impossible for Major Warden to know who was the owner of each ox seized ; all that he could tell with cer- tainty was that the cattle were found at the stronghold of a notorious robber, who refused to appear when summoned, and who was strongly suspected of being implicated in a cold- blooded massacre. An outcry was, however, raised by Moshesh, who termed the seizure of his father's cattle as an unjust and unfriendly act. With this exception the early months of 1850 passed by without any noteworthy disturbances. Gert Taaibosch re- moved for a time with his horde from the district just allotted to him, and resumed the wandering habits of his race, so that there was one element of strife the less on the Basuto border. But the calm did not last long. Sikonyela's people fell upo i 286 Interference of the British Resident. w- «omc clans ot* Bataung and Basuto and plundered them, antl when the British Resident called a meeting of chiefs to discuss the matter, the offender declined to attend. On the 1st of September, 1850, Major Warden received tlio High Commissioner's authority to employ the military forco then at Bloemfontein and to call out a commando of farmers xind natives to punish the Batlokua. The order came too late. On the iJOth of August the Bataung attacked the mission sta- tion of Umpukani, the people of which they believed to be in alliance with Sikonyela, killed twenty persons, wounded many more, and swept oft' the cattle. Seventeen days later a combined military, burgher, and native force moved against Sikonyela, but upon the intercession of Moroko and Gert Taaibosch, that chief was admitted to an interview with the British Resident, and as he expressed con- trition, he was merely adjudged to pay a fine of three hundred head of cattle at some future day. As soon as this was settled the Batlokua chief joined his forces to those of Major Warden, iind together they proceeded to fall upon Molitsane and punish him for violating the sanctity of a mission station. At this time so little conception had the British Resident of the strength of Moshesh that it was his intention to attack the Basuto if they should shelter Molitsane's cattle and decline to give them up when called upon to do so. At daybreak on the mca-ning of the 21st the Bataung villages sX Mekuatling were aLL.cked. The British Resident had with him about one hundred soldiers, but only thirty-five farmers had answered his ' H to arms. The native contingent was composed of Batlokua under Sikonyela, Barolong under Moroko, Koranas under Gert Taaibosch, half-breeds under Carolus Baatje, and a number of Fingos. The Bataung, who were taken by surprise, made but slight resistance, and within a few hours about twenty individuals were killed on their side, 3,500 head of cattle were captured, and a large amount of other spoil in sheep, goats, and grain was secured. Ten waggons belonging to a party of Gert Lynx's Koranas were also taken. The attacking party had only three natives killed and six wounded. A large portion of the spoil was distributed « iT Plunder of Morokos Bar along. 287 lein, anil discuss ived the xy forco farmers too late, sion sta- to be in 2d many d native ission of d to an Jed con- Imndred settled Warden, 1 punisli At this of the ack the cline to villages ad with farmers mt was under I under ig, who within n their ount of . Ten is were 3 killed ributed among the people of Umpukani and the allies, and the re- mainder was forwarded to Winburg and Blocnifontcin to be sold to meet the expense of the expedition. The commando had hardly left Mekuatling when word was brought to the British Resident that the Barolong had been attacked and plundered. Moiakabi, son of Molitsane, and Mosemo, a petty Basuto chief, together fell upon Moroko's out- ]>osts, killed several of his people, and swept off his herds, con- ^istinij of three thousand eii;ht hundred herd of horned cattle and eiijht hundred horses. The cattle were driven across the Caledon, where they were received by Moshesh's people. This loss having fallen upon Moroko as a direct consequence of the part he had taken in aiding tiie British Resident against Molitsane, Major Warden gave him the strongest assurance that the Government would support him at whatever cost, and called upon Moshesh to restore the cattle taken from him. A series of negotiations then followed, which show that Moshesh personally was desirous of maintaining peace with the English Government, while his people were ready for war and averse to any concessions. The chief of the Barolong de- clined to enter into arrangements with Moshesh, and looked to the British Resident for protection and restitution of all he liad lost. At length, in March 1851, Moshesh sent some 2,100 head of cattle, mostly of an inferior kind, which he had collected to- gether, as compensation to Moroko, and Major Warden received them on account. Molitsane also gave up about 400 head at the same time. These cattle were surrendered three months after the commencement of the war with the Xosas and Tem- bus, which is stronfj evidence of the Basuto chief's desire lor peace. In the meantime retaliations and counter retaliations were constantly taking place among the contending clans. Other events were likewise occurring which tended to make the aspect of affairs still darker. A small party of Tembus had been living for many years in the neighbourhood of the Koesbergen. These people were suspected of being in league with their kindred who were at l« 288 \Mi 1';;; Hostilities with the BapJiuti. war with the Colony, and as they resisted an attempt to disarm them and remove them further from the border, the British Resident resolved to expel them. Among others whom he summoned to assist him was Poshuli, and this chief, in expecta- tion of thereby gaining favour, committed some most revolting cruelties, among other barbarous acts murdering in cold blood three headmen whom he had invited to meet him. Some of the Tembus who escaped fted across the Orange to the country occupied by the Baphuti under Morosi, who acknowledged his dependence upon Moshesh, though he was not always a very obedient vassal. There was, however, strong sympathy between the Baphuti and the other branches of the Basuto whenever outside pressure was felt by any clan of the tribe. While Major Warden was attacking the Tembus north of the Orange, the Civil Commissioner of Albert was marching with a commando of farmers and Fingos against clans of the same tribe on the southern bank of the river. The British Resident crossed over, joined his forces to this commando, and then, as Morosi did not appear when summoned, a movement was made towards his village. The Baphuti did not wait to be attacked, but fell upon the advance guard of the approach- ing force, and a skirmish followed in which nine Europeans were killed before the remainder of the commando could come up. From this date the Baphuti openly joined the enemies of the Colony, and a general course of plundering by them and the Tembus from the farmers and Fingos commenced on both aides of the river. Moshesh professed to be doing his utmost to restore tranquillity, but many of his followers openly Joined Morosi. These events gave the first intimation to the High Commis- sioner that the Basuto chief claimed authority over people living south of the Orange. He immediately wrote to Moshesh that such authority would not be recognized, and that Morosi being beyond the country of the Basuto, must be obedient to the laws of the Colony, Gert Taaibosch next fell upon Molitsane and drove oft' his to disarm le British whom he I expecta- revoltinof old blood )range to rosi, who li he was er, strong les of the an of the north of nnarchinir IS of the e British ,ndo, and Lovement wait to pproach- uropeans could amies of em and on botli most to joined 'ommis- people loshesh Morosi lent to oft' his Farmers Object to Interfere in Native Feuds. 28 9 herds. The Bataung retaliated upon Moroko, and Moseme joined in despoiling the Barolong of the cattle so recently given up by Moshesh. Then the British Resident summoned all the chiefs in the Sovereignty to meet at Bloemfontein on the 4th of June to inquire into the cause of the commotions, but with- out waiting for them to assemble he called out a commando of three hundred and fifty farmers, and two thousand six hun- dred natives of various clans for the purpose, as he stated, of humblincr the Basuto and Bataunnr. Moshesh replied to Major Warden's circular calling the meeting that tlie confusion about him would ])revent his attendance, and attributing the deplorable condition of the country entirely to the laying down of boundary lines. On the 4th of June only Moroko and Gert Taaibosch appeared, and the conference was therefore fruitless. The High Commissioner sanctioned the project of the British Resident, and instructed him to attack Moshesh and Molitsane if they would not yield to the demands made upon them and to prosecute the war agains : them until they were humbled. He delared that he regarded Moroko as the para- mount native chief in the Sovereignty from his hereditary de- scent, his peaceable demeanour, and his attachment to the British Government. But a difficulty occurred that had not been foreseen. The farmers in general declined to take up arms in such a quarrel, and instead of three hundred and fifty men who were called out, only one hundred and twenty after much trouble could be induced to take the field. Moshesh sent them word that he wished to continue in peace with them, and warned them not to aid in war against his people. Commandant Snyman and Mr. Josias P. Hottman, subseciuently first President of the Orange Free State, waited upon the British Resident at Bloemfontein and endeavoured to dissuade him from further interference in those tribal quarrels, but to no purpose. As ultimately made up, the commando consisted of one hundred and sixty-two of Her Majesty's troops, one hundred and twenty farmers, and a rabble from one thousand to fifteen hundred strong, composed of Fingos, half-breeds of X I I 290 Commando af^ainst Moshcsh. h% :| !«: Carolus Baatje, Barolong of Moroko, Gritjuas of Adam Kok, and Koranasof Gert Taaibosch and other caj)tains. The whole was under command of Major Donovan of the Cai)e Mounted Rifles. The native contingents wore accompanied by a large number of women and children. On the 20th of June 1851, this commando formed a camp at Platberg. The British Resident invited Moshesh to meet him, but in- stead of appearing personally, he requested Messrs. Casalis and Dyke to represent him. These gentlemen found on arrival at the camp, that Major Warden would make no concessions. On the 25th of June, a demand was made upon the Basuto chief of six thousand head of good cattle, and three hundred horses, to be delivered at Platberg, before the 4th of July. No communication was held with Molitsane, as Major Warden was resolved to fall upon him and expel him from the district re- cently allotted to him. Sikonyela, with only a following of a dozen men, had accom- panied the British Resident from Bloemfontein, and as it was considered necessary for him to gather his warriors and l)iing them at once to join the commando, he was furnished with an escort of eighty Barolong and Koranas and sent to his own country. His road for several miles lay through the Basuto Reserve, and the French missionaries pointed out that his pro- ceeding along it could not fail to provoke an attack. On the way he was met by a large body of Basuto and Bataung under Moshesh's brother Moperi and Molitsane, who drove him to a hill where he defended himself bravely for a whole day until rescued by a patrol sent to his relief. On the 29th a meeting was held of the European leaders, the chiefs and captains, and a number of petty Korana head- men who were in the camp, when it was decided to attack Molitsane the next morning at daybreak. The principal stronghold of the Bataung was the hill Vier- voet, the crown of which is a table land bordered, like many others in the country, with almost j^erpendicular precipices. Upon this hill Moseme's clan as well as the Bataung had ])laced theii" cattle for safety when the approach of the com- mando caused them to abandon their Aillaijes. im Kok, le whole !tIouiited ' a large le I80I, 1, but in- salis and iTival at Lcessions. 5 Basuto hundred i\y. No rden was strict re- ,d accora- is it was nd Ining I with an his own e Basuto j his pro- On the nf the whole couiitry '1. That all officials should be appointed by the Volksraad and be subject to its instructions. 3. That Ohi'igstad should be the capital of the whole country. (This was shortly afterwards rescinded, and Lj'denburg was declared to be the capital.) 4. That Mr. A. H. Potgieter should retain the office of Chief Commandant during his life. The adherents of Mr. Pretorius were dissatisfied with the last a) rangement, and pressed their objections with such force that in January, 1851, the Volksraad, with a view of putting an end to the dissensioas, resolved to create four Commandants General, who should be equal in rank and independent of each other. The four appointed were : A. H. Potgieter for Zoutpansberg, Rustenburg and Potchef- stroom. A. W. J. Pretorius for Rustenburg and Potchefstroom, each individual in these districts being left at liberty to choose which of the Commandants he would serve under. W. F, Joubert for Lydenburg. J. A. Enslin for the Western Border. Instead of allaying strife, this arrangement tended to in- crease it, and the adherents of the two most prominent Com- mandants General were at this time so embittered against each other, that one party was almost certain to disapprove of any proposal made \iY the other. Mr. Pretorius, therefore, took no steps to convene the Volksraad and obtain its es. Assistant Commissioners and the Delegates. .-^oi it party , Magal- iter was 1 to ex- b to ask aad met refused etinrj of Tislative aad and country. Jenburg .f Chief ^ith the ch force putting andants of each 'otchef- m, each choose to in- b Com- aixainst rove of ere fore, a,in its authority for what Ijo was doinj^. Connnandant (Jeneral Joubert acted with him. Connnandant General Enslin was 8ufferinh Ludorf took up his residence at Lotlakana. For two years, Moni "wa got along fairly well with his neighbours, and there were no complaints on either side. All this time his strength was increasing, while the farmers were also becoming more numerous in his neighbourhood. On the 14th of December, 1851, the Rev. Mr. Ludorf, in the name of the chief, wrote a letter to Commandant General Pretorius, com- plaining that certain farmers had encroached on his territory, and had taken possession of some of the best fountains. Mr. Pretorius immediately caused a reply to be written by Com- mandant Adrian Stander, to the effect that the Commandant- General and his Council had appointed a Commission to put a stop to all dissatisfaction, and that he wished Monsiwa to be l^resent with Ms headmen at a certain pluce on the Molopo on the 30th instant to fix a line between the farmers and his people. A few days later, the Commandant-General himself addressed Montsiwa, whom he styled "Worthy Chief and Ally," regretting to hear that encroachments on his territory had been made, and notifying that the Commission had full power " to decide in the name of the Emigrant Farmers, and with his consent and approval, upon a boundary line, chat they might continue to dwell together in friendship ami love." On the 30th of December, 1851, the Emigrant Connnission and the heads of Montsiwa's clan met at a farm-house belong- ing to Mr. Theunis Steyn on the southern bank of the Molopo. The Commission consisted of Commandants Adrian Stander and Pieter Scholtz, who were attended bv two field-cornets and ten burghers. Montsiwa was accompani(id by two of his 11 * brought le of the ndeavour therefore Kev. Mr. SVesleyan e request a of that V. Joseph with his side. All mers were . On th€ ame of the rius, com- i territory, ■ains. Mr. 1 by Com- nniaiulant- m to put a siwa to be dolopo on rs and his f addressed regretting made, and decide in jnscnt and ontinue to onnnission use belong- he Molopo. ■in Stander Id-cornets two of his T/ie Barolong of Montsiwa. 507 larothers, the Rev. ]Mr. Ludorf, and ten councillors. After a friendly discussion, a boundary line between the Europeans and Montsiwa was agreed upon, which gave the Barolong au additional spring of water called Mooimeisjesfontein. On the 8th of January, 1852, Commandant General Pretorius Avrote to his " Wortliy Friend and Ally Montsiwa," that " he had submitted the report of the Commission to his Council, who had approved of the boundary line ; that he trusted no •encroachments would be made in future, and that Montsiwa on his side would use every endeavour to keep his people under good rule and order, so that their friendship might long continue." All this looks very nmch as if Commandant General Pre- torius regarded Montsiwa as an \idependent chief. But this was certainly not his view of the matter. The style of his letters is exactly the same as that in which he was in the habit of addressing all the petty chiefs in the country who were living under the farmers' protection. We woidd term them vassals, but he choose to call them allies. The boundary line he reijarded as we would the boundaries of a native loca- tion in the Colony. That Montsiwa also took this view of the position is made equally certain by the following circum- stance : A few months later Commandant Pieter Scholtz, who was then the highest local authority in that neighbourhood, con- vened a meeting of all the chiefs about the Molopo. The mis- sionaries resident with them were also requested to attend, the ■object being to settk all di^jj-utes between them, to apportion land to those who complained that they had none, and gene- rally to \ring about a good understandmg. ^Montsiwa attended the meeting, but Mr. Ludorf did not appear. The conference was a most f'iendly one. I^ took place at a niissior; station, and the Rev. Mr. Edwards acted as interpreter for tlic Connnandant. The natives present all admitted that the country they were in belonged to the Emigrant Farmers by right of conquest from Moselekatse. 8 in 1 1'";'? -• i- 310 Condition of the Rcpnblicmt Paj'ty. of the Country — State of Affairs in the Griqua Reserve — Meet- ing of the Delegates convened — Proceedings of the Delegates* — Invitation to the Reptiblicans to elect a rival Assembly — Mission of the Rev. ^Mr. Miu-ray and Dr. Fraser to England — Conquest of the Batlokua Co\intry by the Basuto — Death of Gert Taaibosch in Battle — Fate of Sikonyela — Memorials against; Abandonment — Investigation of Chai'ges made against the Boers — Meeting of the two Assemblies at Bloemfontein in February 1854 — Dissolution of the Obstructionist Assembly by Sir George Clerk — Agreement with the Well-disposed Assembly — Terms of the Convention — Negotiations with Adam Kok — Failure of the Alission of Messrs. Murray and Fraser. THE disaffected farmers in the Sovereignty were now in a comparatively helpless position. They accused Mr. Pre- torius of having betrayed them, by agreeing with Her Ma- jesty's Government to terms in which they were not included. He replied that he could do nothing for them unless they chose to move across the Vaal, but there they would be welcomed and would have ground assigned to them. Many therefore crossed the river. The Assistant Commissioners inflicted fines upon all who remained who could be proved to have ignored British authority, and by this means raised a sum of rather over £2,000. It was at this time by no means certain whether the Sove- reignty would be retained as a British dependency, or be given up. On the 21st of October 1851, Earl Grey had written to Sir Harry Smith that " its ultimate abandonment should be a settled point in the Imperial policy." The Assistant Com- missioners, however, were convinced that British authority could not be withdrawn without breaking faith with many people, both white and black, and they were doing their utmost to put things in such order that tlie Secretary of State might be induced to reverse his decision. Immediately after the Sand River Convention was signed, they made an attempt to open up negotiations with Moshesh. They invited him and Molitsane to meet them at Winburg on the 22nd of January, but both the chiefs made excuses for not ai)pearing. Moshesh expressed himself desirous of a meeting. fm Nco-otiations with Moshcsh. 311 vc — Meet- Delegate* ssembly — England — -Death of sils against ; the Boers L February Sir George -Terms of ire of the now in a Mr. Pre- Iler Ma- included, bey chose )ined and re crossed ines upon id British ;her over he Sove- be given ritten to )uld be a^ int Com- luthority th many r utmost ;e might signed, Moshesli. iburg on s for not meeting. but submitted several reasons why ho could not £jo to Winburg, and requested that the conference might take place at Meku- atling or Lishuane. The Commissioners would not agree to this, lest they should seem at the outset to be willing to make any concessions demanded of them ; but they postponed the meeting to the 3()th, in order to give Moshesh time to consult his sub-chiefs, as he stated he wisliod to do. He and Molitsane still declined to appear in yjerson, but they sent messengers with long and carefully drawn up statements of all the im- portant events that had occurred in connection with their tribes during the preceding twenty 3'ears. At length, liowever, Moshesh named as delegates his brother Mopeii and his sons Molapo and Masupha, and a formal meet- ing was held at Winburg on the 7th of February. Molitsane aj)peared in person, and with him were his son Moiketsi and his nephew David Raliye. The Rev. Mr. Daumas acted as interpreter. A lengthy discussion too' place, at the close of which the Commissioners stated the terms on which peace would be made. These were embodied in a formal document, which was signed by all the delegates on the 10th of February. In this agreement tlie Basuto and Bataung chiefs undertook to restore the balance of the plunder in their hands. The number of cattle to be given up was not, however, stated. Major Hogge immediately, after the meeting, went to Thaba Bosigo with the object of inducing Moshesh to fulfil the pro- mises made by his delegates on his behalf In an interview with the great chief on the 12tli, he stated that after a thorough investigation of all tliat had taken place, he was of opinion that the grievances complained of by the Basuto were well founded, and he was therefore prepared to redress them. Moshesh ex- pressed himself highly pleased with this admission, and on the 15th ho and his son Letsie affixed their marks to the Winburg agreement. On the 22nd of February, Major Hogge met Moshesh again, at Bolokwane, near the Orange River. There were many Basuto present at this conference, which was held purposely to let all the people know tlie arrangements proposed by the Commissioner and agreed to by the Chief. Briefly stated, the 312 Agrccvient of Peace. It ' ■ ■ 'Ti offer made by ]\Iajor Hogge was : To dismiss jVIajor Warden, the British Resident; to place Captain Bailie of the Fingo levies under arrest, to cause a thorough investiijation into his conduct to be made, and to restore to their relatives certain Tembu children disposed of by him and Poshuli ; to con.sider the boundary line between the Lesuto and the Caledon River District, as laid down by Major Warden and confirmed by Sir Harry Smith, to be no longer binding ; to consider and treat the petty chiefs Poshuli and Morosi in future as subjects of Moshesh ; to do away with all the boundary lines proclaimed between the petty clans and the Basuto, retaining only the outer line as a division between Europeans and natives ; and, finally, to interfere no more in purely native quarrels, but to leave them to themselves to settle their own disputes. In re- turn for all these concessions, Major Hogge merely asked that the Winburg agreement should be carried out, and that a new line between themselves and the Europeans in the Caledon River District should be rnadu nd respected by them. Moshesh declared tliat he was perfectly satisfied, but what- ever his own feelings were, the Basuto tribe was not disposed to make the slightest sacrifice in order to restore tranquillity to the country. All accepted the concessions of the Assistant Commissioner as a matter of course, but none were willing to surrender the captured cattle or to make compensation from their own herds. And Moshesh certainly had no means of compelling them to do so, for his authority rested entirely upon public opinion. Of all the chiefs known to us at that time he was the one who could least afford to disregard the inclinations of his subjects. Every other prominent native ruler, both along the coast and in the interior, governed by hereditary right, but Moshesh had little claim on that ground. His own father was still living ; representatives of elder branches of his family were numerous. Like all the paramount chiefs of Bantu tribes, he was merely the head of a number of clans, each with very large powers of self-government. Every one of his sub-chiots expected to be consulted on all matters of importance, and if his advice was neglected, gave no assistance to his su]>crior. Such a position, Neglect of the Basuto to carry out the Conditions. Z^Z Fingo always a weak one, was made doubly so in Moshesh's case by tbe fact of his filling it merely because the different sections of tiie tribe accepted him as their head. In agreement with them he was strong, in opposition to them he was powerless. To carry out the Winburg agreement to the satisfaction of the Assistant Commissioners, it would have been necessary fov Moshesh and Molitsane to give up several thousand head of cattle, together with at least a thousand horses, instead of which the two chiefs only sent in between them about two Jiundred cattle and a hundred and twenty horses, and these the most wretched animals in the country. Still Moshesh continued to profess the strongest desire for ]ieace and friendship with all men, and particularly with the British Government. Mr. Owen wrote to him that he would Jiot make any alteration in the boundary until the farmers' losses were compensated in full, and Moshesh then proposed that the farmers should go into his country'-, without giving any one but himself notice, and identify their cattle. The Commissioner would not agr^e to this proposal, as he feared it would lead to disturbances, and it was also evident that the stolen cattle were concealed in places difficult of access where they were closely guarded. After this no further effort was made on either side towards the restoration of the stolen stock. Mr. Owen, who owing to Major Hogge's sudden death, on the 9th of June, was left to act by himself, considered it useless as well as humiliating to corres- pond longer on tlie subject with the Basuto chief, in whose professions he put not the slightest confidence, and who he was convinced could not be induced to give up the booty with- out force. During this time thefts continued, though occasional spas- modic efforts were made b}'- Moshesh to suppress them. On one occasion he lestored sixt}'' stolen horses to their owner, and punished one of the thieves with death. But there was no constant vigilance displayed to prevent such acts, and robbers generally were left unscathed. Sikonyela, who had never ceased his plundering forays, now •drew upon himself the vengeance of his enemies. In May ri I m^i? iM^fl :1' ■'': fli"?! 'fr i 314 J//'. Henry Green succeeds Jlfajor Jl\irdcn. 18.52, tlio (lisliict occupied by the Batlokua was overrun by a Basiito couuiiando under Mosliesli in person, some fifty warriors- weio killed, immense herds of cattlo were seized, and lai-^o quantities of grain were carried away or destroyed, Sikonyeh% who had but one stroni,diold left, was compelled to sue for peace. Tiio great chief, who was not unwilling that his old enemy should remain in the Lesuto, provided he would become an obedient vassal, granted him terms which under tho circumstances were exceedingly liberal. Shortly after this the half-breeds of Carolus Baatjo, having obtained a supply of ammunition from Major Warden, made a sudden raid into Molitsane's district and swept off threo thousand head of horned cattlo and two hundred and eiglity horses, with which booty they got safely away. The issue of ammunition to these raidor.j was nearly the last act of Major Warden as British Resident. It was in direct antagonism ta theprinciplcs which actuated both the Imperial and the Colonial governments at that time in their dealings with the Sover- eignty, and would have made his retirement necessary even if instructions had not already been received from England con- cerning his removal. On the 23rd of July he was succeeded by Mr. Henry Green, previously an officer in the Commissiariat Department. An Executive Council was at the same time ap- pointed. It consisted of the British Res'dent and five mem- bers. The raid by the Pla^berg half-breeds was revenged by the- Basuto upon the Barolong. A commando under Masupha foil upon Moroko's cattle posts and carried off a large booty. At this stage Mr. Owen abandoned all hope of restoring- order. In a report to the High Commissioner he expressed an opinion that the Sovereignty could not be maintained with dignity without the presence of a considerable armed force, and imless this expense were incurred, it should bo abandoned. Shortly after Sir George Cathcart's assumption of the duties of High Commissioner, he requested Mr. Owen to convene a meeting of rej)resentatives to ascertain the opinion of the European inhabitants on the question whether Groat Britain n. run by a warrior* ,m\ lar^o ikonyela, • suo for t his old e would indor tlia e, havini^ 1, made a, off throo id eiglity e issue of of Majoi* ^onism to- ) Colonial le Sover- •y even if land c<3n- uccecded inissiariat time ap- ive meui- id by the Masupha. booty, i-estoring^ 3xpresscd [nod with led force, ould bo ihe duties jonvene a n of the- ,t Britaia JMceting of Representatives at lUoevifontcin. 3i> held the country with their concurrence or not. In eveiy ward ii\ tlie country representatives were elected on the prin- ciple of manhood sufFraj^e, and on the 21st of June tiiey met in Bloemfontein. There were seventy-nine members presi'nt. They chose Dr. A. J. Fraser as Chairman, and durin«r three days deliberated on the important matters submitted to them. The conclusion which they arrived at was in favour of the retentio'i of British authority. The three years having expired for which the members of the Executive Council had been ap[)ointed, they desiretl that a Legislative Assembly, chiefly elective and composed of one meml)er foreach field-corneteyand seat of magistracy, with an ad- ditional one for Bloemfontein, should be established in its stead. The only non-elective members they thought should be the Civil Commissioners, to whom they proposed to give deliberative power, but not votes. Tliey desired that a Recorder's Court should be substituted for the court of combined magistrates. An important (question laid before the Assembly by ^Ir Owen was ; '* whether the inhabitants of the Sovereignty would be willing to place themselves under a commando law to punish the aggressions of Her Majesty's enemies, provided the ]wlic)' of non-interference in the disputes of the native tribes were strictly adhered to, and with the proviso that the burghers should not be called out in any case except with the consent of the Council ? " Sixty-nine votes were given in the aflirmative, but with conditions attached. Thirty-five were in favour of it, " pro- vided the Government would assist them with a sufficient number of troops." Thirty-four were in favour of it, " provid- ing the existing disputes with Moshe.sh were first settled and that five hundred troops were permanently stationed in the Sovereignty." A few members, representing the party which termed itself the philanthropists, maintained that it was the duty of Great Britain and of the European colonists to prevent intertribal wars. The Sovereignty Government, they admitted, had broken down in trying to keep peace among the natives along the Caledon, but that was because the mother country had i6 March of General Cathcart, V'-f. jl 1 a Wi Hi' }' I . i not provided more soldiers and the farmei's had not turned out in force to aid Major Warden. The consequence of non- interference, they asserted, would be the frequent precipitation of bands of fugitives upon the Biuropeans. It would never be supposed tiiat a Christian community would attempt to force men, much less women and children, fleeing for their lives, to keep within a fixed boundary, without restraining their enemies. Tiie system advocated by some, of receiving such fugitives, giving them small locations, im[)osing upon them a labour tax, and taking possession of the ground from which they had been driven, would never be allowed by England. Non-interference was thus not possible in practice. This line of argument was tliat adopted of recent years by the missionaries with the weaker clans, but one searches in vain in the writings of those among the powerful tribes for similar views and expressions. It is observable also that some of those who, ten years earlier, were the advocates of the for- mation of great native states, were now the firmest upholders of the duty of Europeans to protect the weak clans against the strong. During the session of the Assembly, Commandant Heneral Pretorius visited Bloemfontein, where he was received by the Government with every mark of honour. At Assistant Com- missioner Owen's request, he delivered an address to the representatives of the people, in which he counselled modera- tion and straightforwardness in all they did, but made no attempt to influence their decisions in any way. It was now agreed by every one that nothing but physical force would bring the Basuto to terms. General Cathcart therefore resolved to visit the Sovereignty at the head of a strong body of troops, for the purpose of restoring British ])restige. Having established on tlie eastern colonial frontier a condition of attairs which he called peace, he prepared to carry out this project in the last months of 1852. In November of tliis year a splendidly cqui[)ped force, con- sisting of nearly two thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry, with two field guns, marched by the way of Burghers- dori) to the banks of tluj Caledun. The Governor hoped that M t turned } of non- ipitation never be to force lives, to ig their ing such I them a ni which Kngland. ^'cais by rehes in libes for lat some the for- pholders against Cicneral 1 by the nt Corn- to the niodera- iiade no physical /athcart ad of a British frontier ared to ce, con- uindred rghers- led that March of General Cathcart. zn tlie mere presence of sucli a body of troops would enable him to settle everything to his satisfaction, without the necessity of having recourse to hostilities. In a message to Moshesh, he informed that chief that upon himself would depend whether he should be treated as an enemy or not. And in a proclamation which he issued before he left the colony lie announced that he was not going to make war, but to settle all disputes and establish the blessings of peace. The army crossed the Orange without any difficulty, as the river was low, and then marched along the Caledon. On the 2nd of December, General Cathcart sent forward summonses to Moshesh, Molitsane, Sikonyela, Moroko, and Gert Taaibosch,. to meet him at Platberg on the 13th, and at the same time he appointed a commission to examine into and report upon the number of cattle stolen and the question of the retention or alteration of Major Warden's boundary line. Messrs. Owen, Assistant Commissioner, Ebden, Acting Assistant Commis- sioner, and Green, British Resident, after devoting six days to the consideration of these matters, delivered a rei)ort, in which they estimated the losses sustained through the dejiredations of the Basuto and Bataung at £25,000, and recommended that a demand should be made upon Moshesh for ten thousand head of full-grown cattle and fifteen hundred horses as comj)ensa- tion. They further advised that the chief should be re-toj)ped mass of rock with precipitous sides. The mountain was seen to be covered with thousands of cattle. The troops were formed in three divisions, the plan of action being that one of these should march over the mountain, and one on each side, HO as to secure the herds, and then to meet in front of tlie Great Cliiel's residence. 320 Retreat of General Cat he art. \k 1 ■ . ■ 1 1 1 Tho Cavalry Brigade was composed of men of tlio 12tl» Lancers and Cape Mounted RiHes, and was about 250 strong. It was under command of Lieutenant Colonel Napier. Tlii.'* division was ordered to march round the northern base of the Berea, but it liad not proceeded far when it was tempted by the sight of the cattle to ascend the hill. Officers and men alike held the Basuto military power in the lightest esteem, and re- garded the march as a pleasant excursion in which they were likely to get a good quantity of spoil without any hard blows. And the morning was well advanced before they were un- deceived, for they met no oj)position until they were in posses- sion of a large herd of cattle. Up to this time the only Basuto encountered were a multi- tude of terror-stricken women and children fleeing with such of their household goods as they could hastily lay hands upon. But hardly had the cattle been turned to be driven down the hill towards the drift, when a force of about seven hundred Basuto and Bataung horsemen under Molapo an — still less then for the enormous reserves that he knew the Governor could brinfj against him. The cool determined stand of the British infantry against the overwhelming forces that threatened them had made a deep impression upon the Basuto. They had not expected to see an unbroken line of fire and steel, but a rabble of dismayed fugitives entirely at their mercy. Already Moshesh heard his people talking of abandoning the open country, betaking themselves and their belongings to the most inaccessible mountains, and there acting on the defensive only. At midnight the chief sent two of his attendants for Mr, Oasalis, Under the eye of the missionary, — in his account of t■^t^.8 events he does not say to his dictation, but that may h& inferred, — Neliemiah wrote in his father's name the most politic document that has ever been penned in South Africa.* It is impossible to condense it or to paraphrase its terse ex- pressions without marring its effect. " Thaba Bosigo, Midnight, 29th December, 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 it be enough I pray you ; and let me be no longer con- sidered an enemy to the Queen. I will try all I can to keep my people in order in the future. " Your humble servant, Moshesh." It was some time before a messenger could be found who- would venture into the English bivouac, and when at length one left Thaba Bosigo with a flag of truce. General Cathcart. was already retiring to his camp on the Caledon. The mes- senjrer followed and delivered the letter. The English General, on his part, was not less anxious for ^ ^Vhethe^ this letter was written to Moshesh 's dictation or not, it is certain that {t was in accordance with his principles of appeasing a formidable opponent. In & precisely similar manner he had acted when attacked by tke Matabele iu 1831. far away, knew the ned stand jrces that le Basuto. and steel, ir mercy, loning the ngs to the defensive. ts for Mr, account of at may be the most bh Africa.^ 3 terse ex- jr, 1852. ht against for which I beg you reat peace chastised, mger con- in to keep )SHESH." bund whe- at length Cathcart. The mes- i,nxious for is certain that' iponent. In a> in 1831. Declaration of Peace by General Cathcart. 325 peace than was Moshesh. He too had been deceived in tlie strength of the enemy, and he dreaded a war with a tribe so highly organised, so well armed, and with such strong natural fortresses. In his opinion there was nothing to be gained b}* such a war that could be placi ' in the balance against its difficulties and its cost. And so h. eagerly availed himself of the opening for escape from a grav^ difficulty which Moshesh's letter afforded. It gave him the privilege of using the language of a conqueror, and in such language he declared that he was satisfied with the number of cattle captured, that he considered past obligations fulfilled, and that he would send the army away and go back to the colony in a few days' time. There was murmuring in the camp when this was known, for the fiery spirited av mg the officers and men were eager to avenge their fallen coLTa* ;s and retrieve the check they had sustained. Colonel F 're *Jbgged hard to be allowed to plant an ensign on Thaba Bosigo, or to perish in the attempt. Other officers spoke bitterly c " the disgrace of retreating and leaving the people of the 'Sovereignty to their fate, after making de- mands upon Mosh-sh which were not complied with. Mr, Owen delivered a written protest in strong words against the cessation of hostilities under such circumstances. General Cathcart, however, was determined not to involve the Empire in an expensive war and so ho proclaimed peace witli the Basuto. On the 24th Mr. Owen paid a visit to Moshesh at Thaba Bosigo. The chief received him with civility and respect, and expressed his joy that he was no longer regarded as an enemy of the Queen. He directed his sons Nehemiah and Masupha with a party of men to accompany Mr. Owen and the Rev. Messrs. Casalis and Dyke over the battle-field, where the bodies of our slain soldiers were sought for, and such as could be found were decently interred. Three days after the conclusion of peace the camp was broken up, and the army began its return march down the Caledon. A garrison of three hundred men in all, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, was left to protect the Queen's Fort in Bloemfontein. The Europeans in the Sovereignty were em- i :l ifl '1 1 ,.' HI' ^; 326 Den's/on of the Imperial Government. powered to organise for their own defence, in case the Basuto should attempt to overrun the country, and they were then left to take care of themselves as best as they could. Before the end of the month the army had reached the Orange on its way back to the colony. The consternation among the whites and those blacks who had aided the Government was extreme. There was a great outcry about the disgrace to the Empire of such a proceedinpr, but General Cathcart shut his ears to it all. Then followed petitions, signed even by men of such tried attachment to the English Government as Mr. J. I. J. Fick, begging for military protection, or that the inhabitants might be left without inter- ference of any kind to settle matters and to defend themselves in their own way. The latter of these alternatives was what the Imperial Authorities were about to comply with, for as soon as the news of Berea reached England, the Duke of New- castle wrote to the High Commissioner that " Her Majesty's Government had decided to withdraw from the Orange River Sovereignty." In Sir George Cathcart's despatches he described the encounter as a victory and his proclamation of peace as a satisfactory settlement, but the Secretary of State was not deceived. Yet it would be unjust to accuse the English minister of heartlessly leaving a few white people to the mercy of an opponent so strong as Moshesh, without looking at the question from his point of view also. In England it was generally believed that the war with the Basuto had been undertaken en behalf of the European settlers, and it was remembered that little more than four years had elapsed since a strong force had been moved to the sovereignty to establish the Queen's author- ity over the farmers. The opinion was freely expressed that they had got themselves into a mess, and ought to be left to get out of it as best as they could, without expense to the British taxpayer. That the war had been undertaken by the repre- sentatives of the Imperial Authorities in opposition to the desire of the entire white population of the territory, a lew missionaries and sympathisers with their views only excepted, was unknown in England. To conquer the Basuto would re- |il; m^ Politic Attitude of Moshesh. 127 he Basuto «rere then 1. Before age on its lacks who a,s a great roceedinpf, I followed ent to the r military out inter- hem selves was what ith, for as e of New- Majesty's ,nge River I described peace as a was not inister of [•cy of an 3 question generally ftaken en ered that force had 's author- issed that eft to get le British le repro- >n to the ry, a lew xcepted, yould re- quire many men and much treasure. Tlio nation would be unwilling to be at the charge. The few English in the Sovereignty could be bought out. The Boers could return to the Colony or go over the Vaal, if they could not take care of themselves. And the Ministry came to the conclusion that the best tiling to do was to withdraw from the Sovereignty. Immediately after the battle Moshesh sent messengers to the chiefs of the tribes far and near, to inform them that he had gained a great victory and had driven the English forces from liis country. This version of what had taken place was uni- versally credited, for it seemed to be verified by General Cath- cart's speedy return to the Colony. The reputation for power of the Basuto and their chief was from this date greatly en- hanced among the neighbouring tribes, though it was believed that their success was due less to prowess than to some magic sul)stance employed against the white men. Moshesh next requested the missionaries to appoint a day of thanksgiving to God for the restoration of peace, and re- quired his people to observe it in a devout manner. But, before the services were held, all who had been present at Berea observed the ancient ceremony of standing in battle array in a stream into which their diviners threw charms to prevent the ghosts of those they had killed working evil upon them. Thus, too, they believed that they pacified the shades of their ancestors, for these would be wroth if the ancient customs were not observed. Moshesh, notwithstanding his patronage of the missionaries, had reallv lost none of his faith \v. the religion of the Bantu, and was as fearful of offending the spirits as the most igno- rant of his followers could have been.^ He showed himself to ' Moshesh always maintained to his i>eoii1e that he was a favourite with the spirits of their dead ancestors, and under their special guidance. There was a long period of his life when the missionaries believed that the vigorous mind of the Basuto chief rejected the liantu faith in witchcraft, &c., and that he merely professed before hin subjects to be a conservative in these matters, from di4)lomatic views. He was at this time fond of quoting passages from the Bible, of the historical portions of wliicli he had acquired a very considerable knowledge. Like all other individuals of the Bantu race in South Africa, he had no difficulty in reconciling a belief in the exist- ence of one Supreme God with the existence of }>rotecting ancestral shades, but tiiis Ci'mI i >i-ity was tu him a material being, who acteil pretty much as inurtals do, only 328 Politic Attitude of Mos/tesh, 'iii.y| > < n „ '!;; :^. every one in the most advantageous light : to General Cath- cart as a vanquished man begging for peace and friendship, to his fellow chiefs as a conqueror who had delivered his country from an invader, to the missionaries as a hopeful pupil, and to his people as a strict observer of their national customs. Towards his neighbours in the Sovereignty he acted with greater moderation than might have been expected. The farmers on his border were subjected to many petty annoy- ances, but they were not driven from their homes, nor for many months were their herds molested. The Barolong under Mo- roko were permitted to retain possession of Thaba Ntshu, and were left undisturbed except by occasional thefts of cattle. The half-breeds were treated with equal consideration. Across the Orange, Morosi was restrained from plundering the people of Albert, who had suffered unceasingly from his depredations ever since the engagement at Viervoet. This politic conduct of Moshesh and his people enabled the Governor to affirm in his despatches that matters were in a satisfactory condition. Moroko rejected the small subsidy offered to him and claimed restitution of all he had lost ; Caro- lus Baatje acted in a similar manner ; the farmers who had obeyed Major Warden's call to arms spoke sullenly and bitterly of the consequences of their loyalty ; while General Cathcart was writing that all claims upon the British Government had been sufficiently compensated and all wrongs had been re- dressed, that unless the colonists were the aggressors, he antici- pated such a degree of security and peace as had not been experienced since the establishment of Her Majesty's rule in the Sovereignty. Henceforth no interference was attempted by the Govern- ment in matters solely affecting natives. Advice, indeed, was freely tendered to the different chiefs, but little or no notice was taken of it. They were left to arrange their relationshi,) to each other as they chose, or as best they were able. The farmers were recommended to submit patiently to annoyances ' that could not be checked. with illimitable power. In his old age Moshesh was completely under the influence of Bantu priests, and as he at no time discarded tUem, it is not likely that he wan ever troubled with feelings of scepticism. Ejeclion of lulu. 329 A fcv/ weeks after the battle of Berea the Korana captain Gert Taaibosch returned to the Lesuto border, bringing witl> him in addition to his own followers a party of vagrants whom he had collected beyond the Vaal. These vagabonds were all well mounted, and being expert cattle-lifters, their neighbourhood necessarily became a scene of disorder. Sikon- yela, who was still brooding with all the bitterness of wounded pride over his defeat and humiliation by Moshesh in the pre- ceding winter, at once joined his forces to those of Taaibosch, and together they connnenced a scries of raids upon the nearest Bataung and Basuto kraals. Moshesh contented himself with remonstrances and appeals to his enemies to keep the peace. He was endeavouring to form a coalition of all the natives in and around the Lesuto under his own leadership, and was therefore doing whatever he could to prevent them wasting their strength against each other. But the views of Taaibosch and Sikonyela were too limited, and their repugnance to control of any kind was too great to allow of their entering into such a plan. It will be remembered that when the Bataung chief Mak- wana sold the country between the Vet and Vaal rivers to the farmers, he reserved for his people a location at the head of Coal Spruit There he had died, and there his son and suc- cessor, Tulu, with his people, had ever since been living. Tulu was too weak to cause uneasiness to any one, and was living in fancied security when, in April, 1853, he was at- tacked without warning by Sikonyela and Taaibosch aided by a few renegade whites. The Bataung could make no resist- ance. They were despoiled of everything they possessed, and were obliged to abandon the location and take I'efuge with their kinsmen under Molitsane at Mekuatling. The marauders next made a raid upon a chief named Witsi, who occupied the tract of country still known as Witsi's Hoek, on the Natal border, north of the Lesuto. This chief and his people at an earlier date formed part of a coast tribe that had been dispersed in the convulsions caused by Tslwtka, and they had only been living a short time on the inland side of the mountains. The district in which they iided, indeed, had been jj o Effect of MoshcsJis .Itt'itudc on the Tribes. j^ivon out ill farms by tho Soveruignty Goveiimiciit, but tlio Kuroj)ean occupants had been obliged to witlidraw honi it. The people of Witsi bore an evil reputati(jn among their neigbours, European and native. The chief was not a vassal of Moshesli, though living in friendship with liini and to some extent under his intiuence. The Korana and J>atlt»kua raidrrs seized a large lierd of cattle, but were pursued by the peo})lo tliey liad plundered, who retook their stock and drove off the robbers. The victory of tlic Hasuto at Viervoet and tho subseqnent attitudes of Moshesh towanls the Sovereignty Government had a disturbing eli'ect upon the tribes as far as the Limpopo. Especially was this tho case with the Bapedi, between whom and Moshesh's people there was the warmest sympathy. Sekwati, the Bapedi chief, began to think that as the southern l^asuto had successfully resisted the white man, he might do the same. Ho liad a country similarly fortified by nature to fight in, and he had recently obtained a good many guns. With these weapons, which they had not yet learneil to use properly, the Hai)edi were really not more formidable t'lau with assagais ani be- tween tho Transvaal Government and the High (>onniiissioner. Commandant General Pretorius (Muiiplained that English liunters and traders were iu the habit of entering the country north of the Vaal by tlio lower road, and that by kee|>ing along the line of tho nnssioji stations whicrh had recently been esUiblislied in the west of the republie, they made their way to the interior, ami suj)plied the tribes tluae with firearms and annnunition in detiance of the sixth clause of the Convention. lie recjuested that sucli persons shouhl be recpiired to pass through I'otchefstroom, l»oth in going and returning, that the number of thuir gunu might bu checked ; and he uuliticd tiiut. Campaign against the Bapedi. yo^ the lower road was closed. The High Commissioner regarded these precautious as leasonable and necessary for the security of the new State, but the hunters and traders paid no regard to them. There was no time to be lost. Prudence demanded that the danger should be suppressed before it attained larger dimen- sions. The Bapedi, feeling confidence in their strength, had already commenced to rob the neighbouring farmers of cattlo, so the Volksraad instructed Commandant General Potgieter to proceed against them, exact compensation for the robberies, and disarm them. For this purpose the burghers of Zlants Schooman and Van Wyk, six other officers, and throe hundrod and fifteen burghers. Ho invested the stronghold by stationing a guard at each opening to tho .summit, and then .sent a message to Sekwati recpiiring him to surrender his gun.s. Tho answer of tho chief was short and to tho point : " Come and take thorn." A close inspection showed that tho mountain coidd not be carried by storm. Every approach was fortified with strong stone walls, behind which were warriors armed with guns, who could also roll k\vati had been so chastised that it was iontj before his peojile troubled the farmers again. i\ lis guns, causing to grant blockade children r guards lot to re- heir way goby. ) expedi- nable to took the nard the children, the only ivere not 'ere thus pickets, ae point, ^he most but the ^ad now front of Twenty perished but the ivith the inmuni- horsea e weayry subject, Bapedi \ there- 10 main apedi— ' uiMtisod a^rain. Events Lcadino to Hostilities with the Bakwena. 33 Another military expedition of the same time was that against tlie Bakwena, whieli, owin<^ to the destruetion of Dr. Livinj^stone's property, has been lieard of in every land wliere the Englisli languarje is spoken. The Bakwena tribe was one of those whieli had been nearly annihilated by Moselekatse. A remnant only eseaped by takin*:!^ refu^^e in the desert, where the Matabele could not follow, owing to their ij^noranco of the waterinj^ places.' When Moselekatse was driven away, this renmant ro turned. to its former home, and receive I from Mr. Potjudetcr permis- sion to remain there. Beinij: at a considerable distance from the settlement alon^ the Mooi River, no labour tax was im- posed up(»n the Bakwena, who were left in virtual indepen- dence. The only restriction placed upon them was that they should not possess j^uns, horses or wa<^*;(ms, the object beiiiLj to prevent them from accpiiring military power. Their chief, Setyeli by name, w»is a man who in mental ability ranked amonj,' the Southern Bantu second only to Moshesh, though he was considerably lu'hind the j^^reat Mcsuto. In 1845 the Rev. Dr. Livin<;stone had establisht'd a mission with Setyeli, and had acrpiired a uxast astonishin*^ intluenee over him. Far and wide it wjis told in the country that the chief of the Bakwena had been bewitched bv a white man, who had him under complete control. By the missionary's advice Setyeli had moved from the location a.ssi;;ned to him by Mr. Pot;.neter, and had estalilished himself on the Kolol)en;^ river some forty miles to the Nve.>>t- ward, wliero water could be led out for irri^^-atin;^ ptu-poses and whero the tiibe was at a greater distance from the farmeis. Here Setyeli, or his missionary in his name, claimed to be jterfectly independent. In all South Africa there w»is no man more disliked by the farmers than the Rev. Dr. Livint3 statements in his well- known volume. Most likely, tiio truth is that he, being in a situation where money was of no r..se in jiroviding f(x>d or personal services, purchased w«mt was necos.sary for tho exis- tence of himself and his family with guns and an;munition, articles which were in eonsta.it d(.Mnand, That \w went further in this direction is Hcarecly credible. The attempt of (Jommandart \v * ac ount agrees witii that of the Europeans. The chief ••^us that ho had supplie*'. liis allies with ]>owder and lead. Coiimaia ant S 'holtz adds that Setyoli boasted of being amply 'urj icMcd with <.,'uns and ammunition. " The ''oers were in the pot," he said, " the next day was Sunday, but on Mod*': , lie w<<'/id put on the lid." ' Tlii* nccoiint «li)<'M not ftRrop with t •' t. Livini^Htoiu', «n«l I UA under tlio ti(>ct'HNity tluTof in* of fjuotii.i; my iivUlioriticH. Tlii-m- uio (.«) tho I'rocui'iliii^H of \\i» Volkfiiaail of tliu Smitit Afiiuan Itt'inidlic n« comnuMiic oil at tlio tiino tu tint ItritUii (itlluiaU in tlif Hovi>ioi^' ty ; (/<) tho Uc|iiirtH of (.'oinrnainliint (SttitTiil I'lctoriuH anil of Cinninnniliint 1'. K. Hchoitr. ; (c) Ht-tyrli'M own «ti\tt'isifiit puhliNluHl in tin- IrnpiTtiil llliuthook alr<>nily ri'ftrnil t4> ; (»/) at leant twenty iliffcient »f4iteint' of the |>ert>.*il, jiuhliithctl ami uniMthliiihu I. ^1 '^1 f !■ .1 33'^ Hostilities with the Bakwcna. On Sunday lie sent to the camp to ask for some sugar. Tlio Oonunandant told the messenger that such a boaster needed pepper more than sugar. At the same time the chief pointed out where the oxen were to be sent to graze, because, he said, the grass elsewhere was poisonous, and ho regarded the cattle already as his own. On Monday morning, Commandant Scholtz sent tv/o men to Setyeli to ask him t(3 come to terms. So nmch forbearance had the effect of strengthening the chief's confidence in hi** own power. He therefore challenged the Commandant to fight, and tauntingly added that if the Boers had not sufficient amnmnition he would lend them some. In the Commandant's report, he adds that he sent two messages subseciuently before the fighting commenced. Only the last of the two is referred to by Setyeli in his account. The message was that the women and children had better be sent to some place out of danger. Setyeli's reply was that the women and children were his, and that tlie Connnandant need not trouble himself about them. The burghers then advanced to the attack. The Bakwena and their allies wore posted in strong positions, which it wan neiessary to storm. Setyeli afterwards asserted that his allief* fied on the list shot being fired, but his own people certainly acted with greater courage than is conunonly shown by Betslmana. It was only alter six hours' liard figliting that the burghers obtained })ossession of the intrenchments and two of the rocky ridges. Night was falling, and the liakwena still held a roeky hill. During those si.x hours the burgher loss hud been four men killed — Jan de Klerk, G. Wolmarans, — Smit, and a half-breed — and five wounded. Setyeli gave his loss as eighty-nine killed. At «lusk the commando re- turned to the camp. Ne.Kt morning a patrol of one hundred and fifty nien, tinder Fieldcornet Paul Kruger, was sent out to see if the Bakwena were still on the hill. It was found that the warriors had fied dur-ng the night; so they were followed up, when they retired into the Kalahari Dissert. The women, children, and a few cattle were left behiud. Dcstrjution of Dr. Liviugstoncs Property. 337 On Wednesday, the Ist of Septenibei-, Connnandant P Scholtz was sent witli a i)atrol to the old town of Koluljeng, some eiglit or nine miles distant, wliere the Rev. Dr. Living- stone resided. Tlio Bakwena liad moved from this plaee some time before to the locality where the burghers found them. Ui)(»n liis return, the Commandant reported that he had found the missii)nary*s residence broken open, and his books and other i)roj)erty destroyed. Dr. Livingstone was not there at tlie time. He had gone to Capo Town with his family, and, after sending his wife anJ children to England, was returning to Kolobeng when these occurrences took place. At Motito on his way back he met Setyeli, who was then proceeding to Cape Town in hojie of obtaining a,ssistance from the English Government, and from whom Dr. Livingstone received the account which has so often since been quoted as a true relation of what oc(Mirred. This is placed beyond (piestion by a letter from Dr. Livingstone to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, written just after the meeting with Setyeli, in which the itlentical account is given which a|>|iears in the missionary's published volume. But Setyeli himself, on arriving in Cape Town, gave an account which is more in accord with that 0/ the liuiglKjr leaders, nmch more so, indeed, in the principal points than with his other version published by Dr. Living- stone. At the time, in a report to his connnamling ollicer, which no one could then suppose wouhl ever bo j)ul)lishud, Commandant Scholtz stated that Dr. Livingstone's iiouse had been broken open and pillaged before his arrival at Kolobeng. Repeated testimony from .scores of persons wiio were present was given to the .same eflect from that date until the Bloendiof arbitra- tion. Tliat is the evidence on one side. On the other — that the house was broken open bv the Boers — is the statement of Setyeli, made after his defeat, when ho desire can form was found nrnandant 3d it to be scribed as shed jjuns property nf horned jrty-ei^ht A gmat as having hose were id loss in r'lion they cliihh'en, taken as ilest plan has been nt times, 1 follows, ig in war a matter i (children «,re not jmt to death. But where the arm of tlie law is weak, the i)ractice must be condemned, as it opens a door to many abuses. In this case, the primary object was to obtain some- thing towards the cost of the expedition. It was expected that the relatives of the captives would offer cattle for their redemption, or that Setyeli would propose favourable terms on condition of their release. Only a very few, however, were redeemed by their friends. Nearly all, after a short captivity, •escaped or were permitted to return to their tribe, and the re- mainder, being children, were apprenticed to various persons. Moselele, for whose arrest the commando had been called •out, was not captured. He fled further to Gasitsiwe, chief of the Bangwaketsi, who gave him shelter and protection. When in the neighbourhood of Lotlakana on his return, Commandant Soholtz sent to Montsiwa, requiring him to come to the camp and account for his refusal to furnish a contingent to the expedition. A burgher acting similarly would have been treated in exactly the same way. The penalty was a fine. The chief, who professed to be afraid, sent the missionary Ludorf and two of his councillors to speak for him. The Com- mandant declined to receive the missionary, and directed tho •councillors to return and inform Montsiwa that he must appear in person. That night the Barolong clan held long and anxious council. The missionary states in his account that he put before them three courses that they could follow. His words are : •* I said, there are three deaths, choose the which you will die. First, take some cattle and go to the Boers, and pray to have peace ; give up all your guns, pay taxes, and become their slaves. Or, second, look without delay for a hiding place, but look to tho conse<|uence — no winter, and a burning sun. Or, third, stand and tight like men for your lives, property, and freedom. As for me, I cannot say which will be best for you." And he Adds : " This was a very .solemn moment for us all. May the Lord bless my trembling word for the gO()d of their souls. Amen." Of the one course that was life — honest adherence to their engagements, which did not mean slavery or anything reHcmbling slavery — this adviser had nothing to say. Honesty 340 Fli^Jit of Montshihxs Barolong. %\ indeed seems to have been soinotliin^ with which ho had very little sympathy, for tliis is ti>o same man tluit supplied tiie spurioiis document purportin*^ to be a treaty between tl»e Emijijrants and Montsiwa, which was broiii^ht to liiiht at the Bloendiot* arbitration. At daylij^ht, on tiio morning of tlie loth of September I.S.jl^ the lUrolong of Montsiwa, said by the missionary to be tlien sixteen or ei<;hteen thousand souls in number, began to abandon LotlaUana and tleo to the south-west. That there was not the slightest necessity for iloing so is proved, not only by the subsequent statements of the Connnaiulants, but by the fact tliat tlie burgher force proceeded onward without any de- monstration against the place, and that it was not until the 28th of the month, when the conunaiulo was far away, that the huts were sot on tiro by MonUsiwa's order. That the chief would bo fined for neglect to do his duty was indeed liighly probable. But the ilestruction of his krmil was entirely bin own act, and tho flight of tho clan was simply one of those sudden migrations to which tho Barolong had been accustomed since the days of Tao. The Rev. Mr. Ludorf accompanied the fugitives a short distance, but after a few days he abandonetl them and retired to Thaba Ntshu. There were iwo missionaries of the London Society residing with clans of tho Bahurutsi on locations near tho Marikwa, Their names wore W. Inglis and 11. Edwards. These indivi- duals addressed a lettt;r to Comnuindant Scholtz with reference to tho recent proceedings, in which they usvid tho following words: "Many of the said captive children will probably bo taken away and sold to other i)arties in distant places, where their parents may never see thom more." This letter might have passed unnoticed, but about tho same time a copy of the Commercial Advertiser of tho lUth of May, l8oi, came into poR.session of the Uopublican Government. This paper con- tained a report written by the Rev. Mr. Edwards to tho Directors of the London Society, which had been taken over from the Missionary Journal. So far as a m the Re- tion to pay any one in , Mr. Inglis icious. He 3 rabid that take notice hesh's mes- isberg, and emembered t there was- lie that did round by nducted on the farmers- add to the 3xtensively to proceed traced to- it up, and In a skir- olong were 3rnet Paul m to come- B reach inor Ir. Kruger Death of Commandants Potgieter and Pretorius. 345 sent the message by the prisoners, who were all released, and he returned with his escort to the cf.mp. Next morning it was discovered that Montsiwa had fled during the night. The commando therefore returned home. During the next eight months the Barolong of Montsiwa were regarded as rebels, but as they kept out of the way, no active steps were taken against them. On the 14th of October, 1853, peace was concluded with them by Fieldcornet Jan Viljoen, acting for the Government, and the location a.ssigned to them by Messrs. Stander and Scholtz in December, 1851, became theirs again. Montsiwa, however, did not return to Lotlakana, but went to reside in the country of the Bangwa- ketsi north of the Molopo, Before this date the two most prominent leaders of the Emigrants, Hendrik Potgieter and Andries Pretorius, had finished their career. The former died in March, and the latter on the 23rd of July, 1853. The death of Mr. Pretorius was an affecting scene. An attack of dropsy, for which no medical treatment could be obtained, brought his life to a close. For a month he lay upon a bed of sickness, where he con- tinued to display those admiiable qualities which had made him worthy of being the hero of the Emigrants. He entreated those who assembled round his bedside to preserve cordial union among themselves after his death, and not to let party strife or ambition find a place among them. He recommended them to give heed to the exhortations of the minister, the Rev. Dirk van der Hoff, who had reached the republic from Holland only two months before, and to promote morality and civilization by every means in their power. Afterwards, several native chiefs were admitted to see him. They had heard of his illness, and had come to pay their respects. The relatives of the dying man v/ere much affected on seeing these heathen exhibit intense grief, as they knelt successively and kissed his hand. Everything connected with this world hav- ing been settled, Pretorius devoted his remaining hours to jtraise and prayer. He expressed perfect resignation to the will of the Ahniglity, and satisfaction at the prospect of being speedily transferred to a region where trouble and sorrow are 344 Last Letter of Andries Pretorius. ?*v unknown. Then, havins: committed liis soul to his Saviour he calmly breathed his last. He died at the age of fii'ty-f'our years and eight months. Mr. Pretorius had been twice married. By his first wife, Christina de Wit, he had three sons and five daughters. A year after her death he married again, and by his second wife, Petronella de Lange, he had three children, two of whom died before him. Upon the death of Commandant General Potgieter, the Volksraad appointed his eldest son his successor. Practically his command was limited to the district of Zoutpansberg, for the people of Rustenburg and Potchefstroom were nearly all adherents of Mr. Pretorius. It had not been considered necessary to name a successor to Mi-. Enslin when he died. The Volksraad mot at Rustcnburg on the 8th of August, and appointed Mr. Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, eldest son of the late leader, Commandant General of Rustenburg and Potchef- stroom. The Rev. Dirk van der HofF held service at Rusten- burg on this occasion, and before the sermon read a letter written by the late Commandant General ten days before his death and addressed to the officers who composed the Council of War. The clergymen did well if his own exhortation to the coDfifreccation was half as touchini;. Translated, the letter reads : " Magalisberg, 13th July, 1853. " The Honourable the Council of War. " Honourable Sirs, — How have I ever looked forward to the any of the approaching meeting, in order, with you, to provide for the building up of our Church and State; but it does not please the Lord that my person should be with you ; therefore I take up the pen f(ir the last time to write a few words to you, which I would so gladly have com- municated verbally. ** How dear were we to each other when, surrounded with difficulties, we declared the thoughts of our hearts and our aims to each other candidly, the one advising the other with an upright heart ; witli what a blessing everything went with us ; how faithful were we to each other, as if luiited by one bond, even so that thereby powerful enemies became afraid of us. And now in my weakness I must still advise you : protect your Cluu'ch ; if the Christian religion declines among you, your State will perish and the blessing will be taken Saviour fifty-four irst wife, hters. A end wife, horn died eter, the raetically iberg, for learly all 3nsidered he died. gust, and m of the Potchef- ) Rusten- a letter efore his Council nation to he letter 1853. he day of building that my • the last ave com- ficulties, ch other ft ; witli li'c we to powerful list still declines )e taken Lo t Letter of Andries Pretorius. 145 away from your land and ])eoplc, so that you will not bo able to jjrosper in any matter. Watcli and pray that no seed of discord take root among 3'ou, eradicate it in time. Be faithful to each other in everything ; whatever you undertake to do, do it with the Lord ; •call on Him for aid ; ask Him for power and strength, and the Lord will manifest His might in your weakness. "I have ended my course. The Lord give me rest from my laboiu', and bless you in yours. My worthy brothers, I once more admcniish you, yes, earnestly I exhort you, be careful that no disunion takes place umong you. Much is still left undone here that ought to be done. Help manfully the progress of the cause of righteousness, and do not i,'0 away from it ; if you continue ste:idfast in good the Lord will hless your work, but if you fall into discord tlie enemy will bring you under his foot, therefore, I exhort you, watch and pray. " Heartily I thank you for the stedfastness and fidelity which you have to the present shown towards me, yes, faithful brothers, leaders of those under you. God, the Almighty God, reward you for your faithfulness, and never let you be put to shame. The Loid bless you in everything ; the loving Father give you understanding^ in •everything, that you may wisely lead the people of the Lord. Praised be the God of Salvation, who has spared me until now, and has given me to see His goodness, not only in the independence of •my offspring, but in that He has sent us a minister of the Church, who is now with you. The Lord bless him also, that he may see rich fruit of his work, therefore has the All-good given us peace with all nations. If you remain in the ways of the Lord and abide by your religion, He will do still more for you. Therefore, never allow the clnu'ch to be empty ; let not the minister speak to chairs and benches, but to attentive listeners. Preserve and protect your re- ligion if you love peace. " My brothers, in conclusion, I exhort you, when it shall please the Lord to take me away from among you, allow no dissension to pre- vail. Choose uprightly with unanimity whom you will, or be sub- jnissive to him whom I recommend to you. Be not haught}', but fear. The eternal God bless you from heaven. May the earth bring forth its fruits and withhold them not from you till the end of the ages. "And you, my brother, who are to succeed me, lead the people of ^iod in humility and in manliness, with all righteousness and discre- tion. Know that the Lord will also look down from heaven upon you. Ask Him for His grace and His support, and He will sustain you. Never do anything for your own exaltation, but in everything let your aim be the glory of God and the well-being of tlie land and people. It is the wish, it is the praj'cr of " Your servant and brother, " A. "\V. J. Pretorius." ■:** ■' 11 in >'V ;Tiil 346 Government of the South African Republic. Tlie Republic was at this time divided into four districts Potchefstroom, Lydenburg, Zoutpansberg, and Rustenburg. Tile Volksraad had decided to form a fiftli district out of por- tions of Lydenburg and Rustenburg, and to establish in the* centre of the territory a new village to be called Pretoria after the late Commandant General. For this purpose Mr. M. W. Pretorius had purchased two farms from Messrs. Prinsloo and Van der Walt for the sum of £G00, and it was understood that the Volksraad would take them over. They were situated on a little stream called the Aapjes River at the base of a range of mountains which, owing to a petty chief named Magali having been found near its western extremity by the tirst explorers, has since been known as Magalisberg. It was not,, however, until a later date tliat this resolution was carried into effect, and the district of Pretoria was formed. The supreme authority of the Republic was the Volksraad. The Executive consisted of three Commandants General — M. W. Pretorius for Potchefstroom and Rustenburg, P. G. Potgieter for Zoutpansberg, and W. F. Joubert for Lydenburg ; several Commandants ; a landdrost in each village, and a fieldcornet in each ward. There was no President. The nearest approach to a Cabinet was the Krygsraad, or Council of War, which each Commandant General could summon for consultation. It consisted of the Commandants and Fieldcornets of the district. Every burgher was liable to be called out for military service. Taxation was very light, for with a Government so simple a. large revenue was not needed. The Government was admittedly tentative, and already it was beginning to be recognised that it could not long exist in that form. But in what direction change was advisable was not so apparent. It was believed that time would show it* defects, and that whenever necessary it could be adapted tO' meet the requirements of the people. On the Gth of April, 1853, a Commission under the Great Seal was issued to Sir George Russell Clerk, appointing him *' Special Comraissioner for the settling and adjustment of the- 1 blic. V districts istenburg. lut of pol- ish in the* toria after Mr. M. W. nsloo and stood that tuated on )f a range 3d Magali ' the iirst 1 was not,, as carried Volksraad. jneral — M. L Potgieter ■g ; several dcornet in I approach /"ar, which tation. It le district, ry service, simple a already it 2 exist in isable wasi show its adapted to- the Great nting him lent of the- Appointment of Sir George Clerk. 347 affairs of the Orange River Sovereignty," in other words, he was- sent out to withdraw Britisli authority with the best grace- possible. He arrived at Bloemfontein on the 8th of August. Notwithstanding the efforts made by Adam Kok to keep the Griqua Reserve intact, the village of Fauresmith — then generally called Sannah's Poort — had been founded early in 18.30 on ground leased from a Griqua, and the district around it was practically as much in the European part of the Sove- reignty as that round Bloemfontein. On the 29th of January^ 1850, Sir Harry Smith had issued a proclamation that the farmers must withdraw from the inalienable Griqua territor}'' on the expiration of their leases, but these had some thirty years yet to run. Many of the Griquas were desirous of sell- ing their ground, and there was a strong party among them headed by Hendrik Hendriks, once secretary to the Griqua Council, in opposition to Adam Kok on this very point. They maintained that it was unjust to prevent them from selling' their farms when large prices were being offered, and thus in defiance of the prohibition land was constantly changing- hands. This was one of the difficulties awaiting solution. There had been a considerable increase in the European population of the Sovereignty during late years, its numbers being now about fifteen thousand : and there had been a chano-c in its constituents. In the five villages, particularly in Bloem- fontein and Smithfield, many English traders and mechanics' had settled. There were one hundred and thirty-nine English- men owning farms in the Sovereignty, but some of them were absentees. The British Resident himself was the largest land- owner in the country, and several other officials were in pos- session of enormous tracts of ground. According to a return, compfled for the Special Commissioner, these hundred and thirty-nine Englishmen were the proprietors of two hundred and sixty-four farms, comprising 2,407,704 acres of land, so that as a body they were not free from the reproach which Sir George Clerk cast upon them of being mere speculators. A considerable number of individuals belongine: to old colonial families had come in, while of the former residents many cf the extreme anti-English party had moved over the Vaal. 34« Meeting of Delegates Convened. !ilf! Tiie total number of farms for which certificates or titlcti liad been issued was one thousand two hundred and sixty-five, and the extent of ground thus alienated v/as estimated at eleven millions of acres. The different native reserves covered xibout thirteen millions of acres, and it was supposed — for no survey had been made — that about eight millions of acres re- "iiaincd unappropriated. Tiie country at the time was really in a state of anarchy, though in Sir George Cathcart's despatches it was constantly represented that tranquillity and order had been restored. Under sucli circumstances, the position of the Special Com- missioner was most humiliating. Representing the Imperial Government, professing friendship for all with whom lie came in contact, he saw his advice unheeded and his authority set at nought. Armed bands of natives traversed the country as they pleased ; a son of Molitsane made a raid upon some Fingos wlio had taken refuge at Winburg, and there was no means of punishing them ; the Koranas, Batlokua, Bataung, and others plundered and destroyed whenever and wherever their inclina- tions led them. Tha,t matters were not even worse was solely owing to the circumstance that a long and severe drought had destroyed the pasturage, so that it was difficult for mounted men to move about. On the 9th of August, 1853 a notice was issued by the British Resident, under instructioi s from the Special Commis- sioner, calling upon the inhabitants of the Sovereignty to elect delegates for the purpose of determining upon a form of self- government. On the 5th of September the delegates met at Bloemfontein. They were ninety-five in number, seventy-six of them being Dutch South Africans, and nineteen Englishmen. In an address which he made at the opening of the session. Sir George Clerk informed them that " he had the instructions of Her Majesty's Government to direct them to prepare them- selves for undertaking the government of the territory when- ever Biitish jurisdiction should be withdrawn." Dr. Fiaser was elected Chairman by sixty votes against thirty-five divided among four others, and the deliberations commenced. It was at once evident that the dele- pointed a committee of twenty-five to confer with the Special. Commissioner, so that the others might return to their homes^. end only meet again to settle matters finally. By a vote passed without opposition they gave the Committee instruc- tions not to entertain any proposals for the foi-mation of an independent government until the following matters should have been adjusted by Her Majesty's Special Com)nissioner to- their entire satisfaction : — 1. The settlement of the Griqualand question. 2. The adjustment of the boundary line between the Basuto Territory and the Sovereignty. (That is, tlie line between the Orange and the Caledon.) 3. The question of the interference of the British Government between natives and the European inhabitants of the country. 4. A guarantee that the allies of the British Government or persons from beyond the Vaai River should not molest the inhabitants of the Sovereignty, more particularly in regard to confiscated farms. 6. Compensation for those who might find it necessary to leave tlie country and those who had sustained losses by war or otherwise. 6. The share justly belonging to the Sovereignty of the customs dues received at the ports of the Cape Colony and Natal, or the cession of a port in either of those colonies. 7. The complete or conditional absolution of the inhabitants from allegiance to the British Crown. 8. The settlement of all disputes regarding boundaries of farms as yet undecided by the several Land Commissions. 9. The cancellation of all existing treaties with natives. 10. Permission to the future government to purchase munitions of war of all kinds in England or the British Colonies, and a guarantee that no obstacle should be thrown in the way by the Colonial Government to prevent such munitions of war from reaching the Orange River Territory. 11. The refunding of all fines unlawfully imposed upon inhabitants of the Sovereignty, and tlic restoration of, or payment for, all fa'-ms unlawfully confiscated. Some correspondence with Sir George Clerk followed, and the Committee then separated. It met again on the 10th of November, when it decided upon the adoption of a constitution the same as tlipt approved of by the delegates in June in the- preceding year, hut under Her Majesty's Government. l! 350 Mission of Mr. Murray and Dr. Fraser. Sir George Clerk then announced that as they were unwill- ing to take steps for the formation of an independent govern- ment, he would enter into negotiations with other persons. And then was seen the strange spectacle of an English Com- missioner of high rank and courteous demeanour addressing men who wished to be free of British control as the friendly and well disposed inhabitants, while for those who desired to remain British subjects and who claimed that protection to which they believed themselves entitled, he had no sympathiz- ing word In the change of phraseology which took place with the change of policj'', they had now become the obstructionists. As this stage Commandant Adrian Stander, who had recently been living at the Marikwa, visited the Sovereignty, and rallied the republican party around him. Several of the elected delegates seceded, professing tliat they had only voted for the retention of the British Government out of fear that the Special Commissioner's invitation was a device to entrap and then fine them. In a very short time addresses with nine hundred and fifty-nine names attached to them were presented to Sir George Clerk, offering to meet the wishes of the Imperial Government on the following conditions : — 1. The release of the inhabitants from Her Majesty's authority. 2. The arrangement of matters concerning Griqualand. 3. The invalidation of all existing treaties with the surrounding tribes, and the non-interference of the British Government be- tween the burghers and the natives. 4. Compensation for confiscated farms and for fines unlawfully levied. .5. Permission to purchase munitions of war in England and all British Colonies, and assurance that the same should be allowed to pass unhindered through the Cape Colony or Natal, as well as that a free passage should be allowed for all goods through those Colonics to the Territory. The elected committee thereupon requested Dr. Fraser and the Rev. Mr. Murray to proceed without del y to England, to lay their case before the Imperial Parliament, and to protest Against the people of the Sovereignty being abandoned under the circumstances of the country. As if to accentuate their despairing cry, just at this junc- ture, Moshesh in opposition to the advice and wishes of Sir unwill- govern- persons. ii Com- iressing friendly sired to ction to ipathiz- Lce with tionists. ho had reignty, [ of the y voted iar that I entrap ith nine •esented of the ty. oundiug aent be- lawfully and all allowed as well through er and and, to protest under s junc- of Sir Conqiicsi of the Batlokua Country by the Basutc. 351 George Clerk, crossed the Caledon at the head of a great army, uiid fell suddenly upon Sikonyela's stronghold. That chief was at the moment unprepared for defence, as he was not ex- pecting to be attacked, and had only a few warriors with hini. His mountain fastness, though hitherto considered im- pregnable, was far from being such a formidable stronghold as Thaba Bosigo. There was but one narrow and steep patli leading to its summit, but it was found possible to scale sonic of the precipices in the rear. The Basuto army attacked it in three divisions. While one division, under Masupha, stormed up the footpath, the others, under Hoshesh and Letsie, scaled the precipices at different points, the warriors climbing over each other's shoulders. On the tableland above, in a heavy storm of rain, a battle was fought which ended in complete victory for the Basuto. Sikonyela lost his eldest son Makitikiti, and the bravest of his f'uard. Gert Taaibosch and the leadin^c members of his band also fell in the enoacrement. The Batlokua chief, when all was lost, managed to conceal himself, and he lay in hiding for several days, while Moshesh remained on the mountain. Dur- ing this time the Basuto scoured the district and seized the cattle, ^vaggons, and everything else of value belonging to the Batlok a and Taaibosch's Koranas. When at length the}' left, Sikonyr^ jrept from his hiding place, and with ordy sixty warric his back fled to Winburg. As a niau of note, the name of the once formidable Batlokua chief will henceforth disappear. The son of the terrible Ma Ntatisi was now struck down never more to rise to power. Sir George Clerk sent him to Bloemfontein, where he was pro- vided with rations for himself and a few followers until the abandonment of the Sovereignty. Moshesh frequently invited him to return to his old residence, but his haughty spirit woidd not allow him to become a retainer of his ancient enemy. When he left Bloemfontein after a stay there of some months, it was to retire to the present district of Herschel, where he remained in obscurity until his death in 1856.^ ^ Tiie principal branch of the remnant of the Batlokua afterwards removed to Griqualand East, below the Kathlamba l\Iountains. I.chana, second fcon of 352 Manor ials against Abandonment. % W. Ifi^i^ I ' m Mota, brotlier of Sikonyola, with those Batlokua who did not clioose to follow their fallen chiif, now submitted to Aloshesh. The district occupied by the conquered tribe was divided among several clans, subjects or vassals of the Basuto, Molapo and Molitsane obtaining the best portions of it. This event, which to the European inhabitants was another proof of Moshesh's power and their danger, to Sir George Clerk was only an incentive to get away quickly. In December he had a meetini; at Jannneiberjx Drift with tlie Basuto chief and his oldest son Letsie. The farmers alontj the Warden Line between the Caledon and the Orange had been invited to be ])resent, and a good many of them attended. The Special Commissioner requested them and the chiefs to arrange another boundar}', but said that he desired to be merely a witness of their proceedings. Moshesli replied that he thought the Orange River would be a good boundary. After this there could be very little discussion, and nothing more was ever attempted by the Special Commissioner in this matter. In the Cape Colony the announcement that the Sovereignty was about to be abandoned was received with great dissatis- faction. From all the important centres of population, petitions, numerously signed, were addressed to the Queen, earnestly beseeching Her Majesty to retain the country. One of these petitions was from the Presbytery of Swellendam, re- presenting the Dutch Reformed congregations of Swellendam, Caledon, George, Riversdale, Bredasdorp, Mossel Bay, Napier, Knysna, and Ladismith. Very imprudently, some of these petitions were drawn up with a view to secure the co-operation of those well meaning jjersons at home whose sympathies are easily roused on behalf of coloured races. In these, grotesque and frightful pictures were drawn of the injuries inflicted by the Boers of the South African Republic upon the missionaries and natives there, and it was predicted that if the people of the Sovereignty were Sikonyela in rank, was then acting as regent during the minority of Ledingwana, son of Makitikiti. For the recent history of this branch of the once famous tribe, see my paper on Griqualaud East in the Cape Colonial Bluebook on Native Affairs for 1885. ua who did ibmitted to d tribe was the Basuto, of it. .vas another Sir George Drift with rmei's along Orange had sm attended. 10 chiefs to bo be merely id that he [ary. After othing more ler in this Sovereignty jat dissatis- population, the Queen, ntry. One lendam, re- wellendam, ay, Napier, drawn up 1 meaning on behalf 111 pictures the South there, and gnty were Ledingwana, famous tribe, ativo Affairs Investigation of the Charges against the liocrs. '» fted, the t nature ; ideavours ►nformity and the ; but no 23rd of 'ollows : 11 Clerk, le Brtth, adjusting )art, and lahitants Did Com- Pctrus Arnoldus Human, Jaciibus Thcodorus Snyman, Ficldcoruct, Pctrus van dor Walt, senior (absent on leave). For SannalCs Pocrt. dert Petrns Visser, Justice of the Peace, Jacobus Groenendaal, Johannes Jacobus Rabie, Ficldcornet, Esias Rvnier Snyman, Charl Petrns du Toit, Hendrik Lodewikus du Toit. For the District of Winhurg. Frederik Peter Scbnehage, ^Mathys Johamies Wessels, •Cornells Johannes Frederik du Plooy, Frederik Petrns Senekal, Fieldcornet, Petrus Lafras Moolman, Fieldcornet, Johannes Izaak Jacobus Fick, Justice of the Peace. For the District of llarrismith. Paul Michiel Bester, Justice of the Peace, Willeni Adrian van Aardt, Fieldcornet, Willem Jurgen Pretorius, Johaimes Jurgen Bornnian, Hendrik Venter (absent on leave), Adrian Hendrik Standor, On the other part. 1, H'jr Majesty's Special Commissioner, in entering into a Convention for finally transferring the Government of the Orange River Territory to the representatives delegated by the inhabitants to receive it, guarantees, on the part of Her Majesty's Government, the future independence of tiiat country and its government ; and that, after the necessary preliminary arrangements for making over the same between Her Majesty's Sjjccial Com- missioner and the said representatives shall have been com- pleted, the inhabitants of the country shall then be free. And tliat this independence shall, without unnecessary delay, be confirmed and ratified by an instrument, pronuilgated in such form and substance as Her Majesty may approve, finally freeing them from their allegiance to the British Crown, and declaring them to all intents and purposes a irec and independent people, and their Government to be ti'eated and considered thenceforth a free and independent Government. 2. The British Government has no alliance whatever with any native [62 Terms of the Convention. \ I t chiefs or tribes to the iiortlnvurd of tlic OniDgc Ilivcr, with the exception of the (ilriqna cliief, (,'fiptiiin Adam Kok ; and Her Majesty's (jovernnient has no wish or intention to enter lici'e- after into any treaties whicli may bo injui'ious or prejudicial to- the interests of the Oi'ungc lliver Government. 3. Willi regard to the treaty existing between the British Govern- ment and the chief Captain Adam Kok, some modification of it is indispensable. Contrary to the provisions of that treaty, tho sale of lands in the Inalienable Territory has been of fi-eiiuent. occurrence, and the principal object of the treaty thus dis- regarded. Her Majesty's Government, therefore, intends to- remove all restrictions jn-cventing Griquas from selling their lands ; and measures are in progress lor the purpose of attbrding every facility for such transactions, — tlie chief Adam Kok having, for himself, concurred in and sanctioned the same And with regard to thos: fiu'ther alterations arising out of the proposed revision of relations with Captain Adam Kok, in consequence of the aforesaid Sides of land having, fr(»m time to- timo, been effected in the Inalicnal)lo Territory, contrary to the stipulations of the Maitland Treaty, it is tho intention of Her Majesty's SjDecial Commissioner, personally, without any un- necessary loss of time, to establish affairs in Griqualand on a footing sidtable to the just expectations of all parties. 4. After tiie Avithdrawai of Her Majesty's Government from tho- Orange River Ton-itory, the new Orange River Government shall not permit any vexatious proceedings towards tiioso- of Her Majesty's present subjects remaining within the Orange River Teriitory, who may heretofore have been acting under the authority of Her Majesty's Government, for or on account of any acts laAvfully done by them, that is, nnder the law as it existed diu-ing the occupation of tho Orange River Territory by the Biitish Govennnent. Such persons shall be considered to be guaranteed in the possession of their estates by tho New Orange River Government. Also, Avith regard to those of Her Majesty's present subjects, who may pre- fer to return under the dominion and avithority of her Majesty, to remaining where they now are as subjects of the Orange River Government, such persons shall enjoy full right and facility for the transfer of their properties, should they desire to leave the country under tho Orange River Government, at any subsequent period within three years from the date of this convention. 5. Her Majesty's Government and the Grange River Government shall, within their respective territories, mutually use every exertion for the suppression of crinio, and keeping tho peace, by apprehending and delivering up all criminals who may have escaped or fled from justice either way across the Orange River ; and the courts, as well the 'Jams oj the Coirjcntion. 365 (r, with tlio ; and Her enter liei'o- cjudicial to ish Govcrn- icatiou of it treaty, tlio of froiiucnt ^ thus dis- intend.s tO' L'llinjj; their of afibrdin;j; Adam Kok the same I out of tlio n Kok, ill ;(>m time to traiy to the tiou of Her ut any un- aland on a k from the government ards tliose- within the have been overnment, them, that jupation of eiit. Such ossession of Also, with 10 may pre- er Majesty, ;ho Orange right and 3y desire to ent, at any ite of this lovernment ry exertion prehcnding ir fled from as well the- British as those of the Orange River Oovernment, shall be mutually open and available to the inhaliitants of both territories for :11 lawful processes. And .all summonses for witnesses, directed either way across the Orange River, sliall be countersigned by the magistrates of both Governments respectively ; to compel the attendance of such witnesses, Avhen and where they may be required ; thus aftbrding to the community north of the Orange River every assistance from the British courts, and giving on the other hand assurance to sucli colonial merchants and traders as have naturally entered into credit transactions in the Orange River Territory, during its occupation by the British Goveniment, and to whom, in many cases, debts may be owing, every facility for the recovery of just claims in the court of the Orange River Government. And Her Majesty's Special Com- missioner will recommend the adoption of the like reciprocal pri- vileges by the Government of Natal, in its relations with the Orange River Government. 6. Certificates issued by the proper authorities, as well in the colonies nnd possessions of Her ^lajesty as in the Orange River 'I'erri- tory, shall be held valid and sutficient to entitle heirs of lawful marri- ages, and legatees, to receive portions and legacies accruing to tliem respectively, either within the jurisdiction of the British or Orange River Government. 7. The Orange River Government shall, as hitherto, permit no slavery, or trade in slaves, in their territory north of the Orange Eiver. 8. The Orange River Government shall have freedom to purchase their supplies of ammunition in any British colony or possession in South Africa, subject to the laAvs provided for the regulation of the sale and transit of ammunition in such colonies and possessions ; and Her Majesty's Special Comnussioner will recommend to the Colonial Government, that privileges of a liberal character, in connection of ir ^port duties generally, be gi-anted to the Orange River Government, as measures in regard to which it is entitled to be treated Avith every indulgence, in consideration of its peculiar position and distance from sea-ports. 9. In order to promote mutual facilities and liberty to traders and travellers, as well as in the British possessions as in those of the Orange River Government, and it being the earnest wish of Her Majesty's Government that a friendly intercourse between these territories should at all times subsist, and be promoted by every possible arrangement, a consul or agent of the British Government, whose especial attention shall be directed to the promotion of these desirable objects, will be stationed Avithin the colony, near to the frontier, to whom access at all times may readily be had by the in- habitants on both sides of the Orange River, for advice and informa- tion, as circumstances may require. l64 Terms of the Convention. \YV- D. H. This (lone and signed at IJloenifontcin, on tlie Twenty-third day of February, Ouo Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty-four. GEO. IIUSSELL CLKKK, K.C.B., Her Majesty's Special Conunissioner. Josias Philij) Hoffman, President. '' " i\\x Toit, Fieldcornet. . Venter. J. Kraford. J. Weber, Justice of the Peace and Field Commandant. A. Human. J. T. Snyman, late Field Commandant. Cr. P. Visser, Justice of the Peace. J. Crocnendaal. J. J. liabbie, Fieldcornet. E. R. Snyman. C. P. du Toit. H. L. du Toit. F. P. Schnehage. , M. J. Wessels. C. J. F. du Plooy. F. P. Senekal, Fieldcornet. P. L. Moolman, Fieldcornet. J. I. J. Fick, Justice of the Peace. P. M. Bester, Justice of the Peace. "\V. A. van Aardt, Fieldcornet. AV. J. Pretorius. J. J. Bornmau. A. H. Stander. A few days later some other matters were arranged, and a memorandum relating to them was signed by the Special Commissioner. The only portions of this document of per- manent interest are the following : — Particular instances of past hardship may be taken into consideration, with a view to placing the new Orange River Government in a position, as far as practicable, to soothe and remedy all bitter recollections of sufferings of former times in the cases in which such liave appeared. It has therefore seemed good to Her Majesty's Special Commissioner to bestow a sum of Three Thou- sand Pounds sterling as a free gift on Her Majestj^'s part, for the benefit of such persons as may be considered entitled to partici- pate in such gift, under the circumstances above referred to, to 1)6 distributed according to the discretion and judgment of Orange Jiivcr Govei'nraent. ird day of B., ssioner. Negotiations with Adavi Kok. 36j ant and a Special of per- ieration, ^\\t in a 11 bitter n which to Her e Thou- , for the partici- d to, to nent of In doubtful cases arising from claims as to the extent of any farm on the Basuto lino, two persons may bo aj)pointed to arbitrate, the one on the side of the Orange River Government and the other on that of Moshesh. The Special Commissioner will re- commend such a measure to Moshesh, and any person who after such inquiry shall be found not to be entitled to the extent of ground which he claims, must bo regarded as appropriating what he has no right to, and siiould it clearly appear that tliis appro- priation has been ratified by British authority, the claimant shall in that case be entitled to indemnification by the British Govern- ment, which is hereby guaranteed by Her Majesty's Special Commissioner on the part of Her Msijesty's Government. The Government Buildings and Fort are made a present to the Orange River Government. The School Buildings of Bloemfontein and Harrismith are likewise made a jn-esent to the Orange River Government, on condition that they shall be used in future for school purposes, as hereto- fore. While the negotiations Averc proceodin^^, Adam Kok visited Bloemfontein and had an interview with the Special Commis- sioner. The Griqua chief was understood as having consented to allow the sale of land in the Reserve, but he afterwards denied that he had done so. It was arranged that the British Resident should proceed in a few days to Philippolis to confer with the captain and his council upon all the questions requir- ing settlement. Accordingly on the 1st of March Mr, Green arrived at the Griqua village, and laid before Kok's govern- ment the yjroposals of the Burgher Assembly in the form of a treaty, which he requested the captain and his council to sign. Its clauses were : 1. The (jlriqua people, subjects of Captain Adam Kok, to have hence- forth the right (hitherto denied tiiem) of selling their farms when they feel so dis])osed. 2. With a view to the preservation of the amicable feeling which has now long existed between the white inhabitants of the Sove- reignty and the Griquas, the sales of landed property between them shall be conducted subject to the following regulations, viz. : (a) An Agent of the British Government to be appointed temporarily to supervise the sales, before whom the buyer and seller shall appear and make formal declaration of their agree- ment. (Ij) AH payments to be made to the Griqua proprietor through the Agent, (e) The tenants of the leased farms to have the right of preemption uj) to a certain date to be fixed by the Government Agent. ^H 366 Negotiations ivith Adam Kok. 3. JOvcry person of P^uropcaii extraction purcliasing a farm in the Inalienable Territory slmll l)ec()nie subject to the laws of the Independent Cioveninieiit now established in the Sovereignty. 4. (yuptain Kok to retain his present authority over his own subjects, savinjj; and excepting: that, for the pur|)ose of preserving order in the village of Sannali's I'oort and watching over the interests of such persons as join the new (Jovernnient nnder the preceding Article, a lianddro.st shall be appointed by the new Government to reside there, whose jurisdiction as a magistrate shall however be contined to the farm on which the village is built. 5. The pension of £300 per annum at present paid to the Griqu chief and people in lieu of the quitrents of certain lands in th alienable territory, surrendered by them to Sir Harry Smith by virtue of the arrangement of the 27th January 1848, to be con- tinued to Captain Kok i)ersonally during his lifetime by the imperial Government. ■6. All the Griquas who lost farms in the alienable territory by the arrangement referred to in the preceding Article to be paid for them at once by the Inqjcrial Government at rates varying from .£37 10s. to c£187 10s. each, according to the relative value of the farms at the time the arrangement was made. ■7. Should circumstances at any future time render it more conducive to the welfare and comfort i>f Captain Adam Kok to remove to tiie south of the Orange River, evei'y facility shall be afforded him, not only by the British Consul on the Frontier, but by the Ih'itish Government, to enable him to dispose of his property on the north of that river, and to establish his station at some chosen spot within the Colony. The Griqua Council refused its assent to the first Article, upon which Mr. Green informed them in writing that the Special Connnissioner had declared the sales legal ; but in con- sequence of their refusal " to work with His Excellency for the public good, the offer of payment which he had made for lands beyond the Riet River was withdrawn, as the object in offering it — the preservation of peace — would probably be frustrated through the unsettled state in which the land tenures must be left in consequence of their resolution." On the 7th of March the missionary at Philippolis wrote in Adam Kok's name to Sir George Clerk that " the most impor- tant point of these proposals was that the restriction prevent- ing sales of faims in the inalienable territory should be re- moved. He had brought this point before his people, and his Council had frequently had it under their consideration, but • \ Departure of the British. ;67 m in the iw8 of the cignty. 1 Bubjccts, ig order in itercsts of preceding )vernrnent il however he Griqw ids in th Smitli by to be con- Lie by the )ry by the e paid for •ying from B value of conducive remove to e afforded Hit by the •operty on n at some fc Article, that the t in con- ency for nade for )bject in )ably be 1 tenures wrote in t impor- prevent- d be re- and his ion, but the resulve was tliat thoy could not give their consent to such a ])i()p()sal. It was not a uiodification but a "cvei'sal of the Maitland treaty, the hsading principle of whi(th was that the inalienable territory should remain for the use of the Griqua l)eople." At the same time the writer desired Sir Ceorge Clerk to compensate individual Gri([uas for all claims they might advance to farms between the Riet and Modder rivers, that is the alienable territory of Sir Peregrine iVIaitland. before the departure of tlie Special Commissioi.;.' • from Blocmfontein, ^Moshcsh visited that town, and was received in the most friendly manner by the members of the 1 Provisional Government. At a public dinner he made a speech that would have been creditable to an educated and Christian ruler. He was on the most friendly terms with Moroko, who accompanied him, and he made liberal otters, though without etfect to Sikonyela. Sir George Clerk spoke to him of a British officer being stationed on the border as a channel of communication between the Colonial Government and the heads of the com- munities north of the Orange. Moshesli desired that he miffht be placed in the Lesuto, but did not press the nuitter. Ho inquired if tlie Warden Line was still considered Lis boundary, and was requested by the Commissioner not to speak of it — *' it was a dead hoise that had long been buried, to raise it would be offensive." Tims the Basuto chief was led to believe that the line was not considered binding by the Imperial Government, while the Boers had every reason to believe that it was. On the 11th of March the flarr of England was hoisted for the last time over the Queen's fort, but only to be saluted. When it was lowered that of the new Republic took its place, and the Special Commissioner, the troops, and the British officials were leaving Bloemfont ^in. Moshesh and the other chiefs accompanied them the first stage of the journey towards the Colony. Then in apparent friendship the Commissioner, the chiefs, and the members of the new Government bade each other adieu, and the Boers and Basuto were left to settle as they could the relation in which they were to stand to each other. :*•) ,.1 368 The Mission of Messrs. Eraser and Murray. At Pliilippolis Sir George Clerk remained some time, vainly endcavoiiriiiof to induce Adam Kok to come to terms. Indivi- dual Gri(|uas were anxious to sell ground for which they had little or no use, and individual farmers were ready to buy it. Thei'c was no enforcement of law or order in the district. Under these circumstances, the Commissioner said, it was use- less trying to retain the Reserve intact. It would be better to legalize the sales than to have the district filled with people, Europeans and Griquas, setting liim and his council at defiance. But the captain would not yield. Sir George Clerk tlien told liim that the Maitland treat}^ would be set aside. The captain asked him to state that in writing, but the Commissioner de- clined to do so. On another occasion Kok pressed for com- pensation for farms claimed by his people outside the Reserve, which had been allotted by the Sovereignty Government to burghers. The Commissioner stated that he would make liberal compensation, if the Griqua Government would ratify the sales which were being made in defiance of it. But argu- ments, threats, and prc^mises were alike useless, and the Com- missioner was obliged to leave the complicated Griqua question for solution by the new Government. Meantime the delegates, JVIessrs. Fraser and Murray, had arrived in England. On the 16th of March they were admitted to an interview with the Duke of Newcastle, who informed them that it was too late to discuss the question of the aban- donment of the Sovereignty. In his opinion, the Queen's authority had been extended too far in this country. It was impossible for England to supply troops to defend constantly advancing outposts ; especially as Cape Town, the post of Table Bay, were all she really required in South Africa. The delegates then tried to get the question discussed in the House of Commons. At their instance Mr. C. B. Adderley, on the 9th of May, moved an address to Her Majesty, praj-ing that she would be pleased to reconsider the Order in Council renouncing sovereignty over the Orange River Territory. In his speech he confined himself chiefly to the question, whether it was legal for the Crown to alienate British territory and absolve British subjects from their allegiance without the con- ray. me, vainly 5. Indivi- they had to buy it. ,e district, t was use- B better to ith people, it defiance. tlien told he captain ;sionei* de- . for com- e Reserve, rnment to »uld make luld ratify But argu- the Corn- La question irray, had 3 admitted informed the aban- Queen's It was onstantly post of ca. ed in the lerley, on praying 1 Council [tory. In whether tory and the con- A dditional L itcratnre. 3^9 sent of Parliament. On the advantage of retaining the coun- try he said but little. A few members spoke on the Government sido, among them being the Attorney General. All of them regarded the aban- donment as expedient and perfectly legal. Sir John Paking- ton and Sir Frederick Thesiger thought it would have been better if the Legislature had been consulted, but concurred in the expediency of the abandonment. Being without a single supporter, Mr, Adderley then with- drew his motion. While preparing this work, I have had before me the follow- ing books, in addition to those already mentioned : — "A Voyage to Cochin China in the Years 1792 and 1793." By John Barrow. One volume quarto, Loudon, 1806. This book con- tains an "Account of a Journey made in the years 1801 and 1802 to the Residence of the Chief of the Booshuana Nation, being the remotest point in the Interior of Southern Africa to which Europeans liave hitherto penetrated," taken from a journal of the travellera. It fills 74 pages, and is illustrated with a chart of the route and with plates. " Travels into the Interior of Soutliem Africa." By John Barrow. Two volumes quarto. London (Second Edition), 1806. "Reize in de Binnenlanden van Zuid Afrika, gedaan in dcii Jure," 1803. Door B. F. von Bouchenroeder. 231 octavo pages, Amster- dam, 1806. " Beknopt Berigt nopens de Volkplanting de Kaap de Gocdo Hoop." Door B. F. von Bouclienroeder, 163 octavo pages, Amster- dam, 1806. "Aantekeningen eener Reisdnor do Binnenlanden van Zuid Afrika, gedaan" in 1823. Door J. B. N. Theunissen. 116 octavo pages and chart, Oostende, 1824. " De Vruchten myner Werkzaamheden gcdnrende myne Reize over de Kaap de Coede Hoop naar Java en terut^." Door M. D. Teenstra. Three octavo vohimes, Groningen, 1 Matiwane and Umpangazita, 32 ; drives Moshesh from But^ibute, 36. Mantatis, The— Cross the Vaal River, 32 ; create awful havoc among the southern Betshuana tribes, 33 ; are defeated by Makaba, 33 ; and broken up by a Griqua commando, 33. Manufactures of the Bantu, 10. Marikwa — Fight at, 84. Maritz, Gerrit Marthinus — Is leader of the third party of Emigrants, 77 ; with Potgieter conducts an expedition against the Matabele, 78 ; destroys the military kraals at Mosega, 79 ; is api)ointed landdrost, 82 ; upon Retief's death becomes the head of the Emigrants in Natal, 110 ; death of, 116. Maritzbup^^ -Foundation of the town, 123 ; number of erven in 1843, 177 ; is occupied by a military force, 180. Marri."se Customs of the Bantu — Great dift'erences in, 16. Massacre — Of Emigrants by the Matabele, 74 ; at Umkungunhlovu, lOo; at Weenen, 108. Matabele — Massacre parties of Enngrants, 74; are repulsed at Vechtkoji, 76. See Moselekatse. Matiwane, Amangwane chief — Attacks the Amahlubi, 31 ; follows them over the Drakensberg, and defeats them with great slaughter, 37 ; is defeated by a Zulu army and forced to retire from the Lesuto, 37 ; subsequent career of, 37 and 92. Matlabe, Baralong chief — Becomes a Matabele subject, 50; escapes from the Matabele and joins his kinsman at Thaba Ntshu, 53 ; guides ction of ]ii8 06. f«mtein, 297. vith Montai- cana, o39. north of tho ouwfimtein, ts as regent it fled from I But^butu, among tlio ba, 33 ; and igrants, 77 ; -tabele, 78 ; I landdrost, nigrants in en in 184;5. hlovu, lOo; Veclitkoj), lows them ghter, 37 ; Losuto, 37; japes from )3 ; guides Judex, 381 tlio tirst Enn'grunt commando against the Matahele, 7 him by a Commission from the Transvaal Government, 300 ; makes an arrangement with Commandant P. Scholtz as representing the Transvaal Government, by which he is released from the labour tax, and placed on the footing of a burgher, 308 ; declines to jjorform burgher duty, 335 ; is called to account by Commandant Scholtz, 339 ; declines to appear, 339 ; flees from Lotlakana, 340 ; plunders the farmers along the Marikwa, 342 ; proceedhigs of the Emigrant Farmers against him, 342 ; conclusion of peace, 343. 382 Index, MooDiE, Mr. Donald — First Secretary to Government in Colony of Natal, 190. MoRiJA, French mission station — Foundation of, 44. M<^)ROKO, Barolong chief — Settles at Thaba Ntshu, 49 ; treats some dis- tressed Emigrants with great kindness, 77 ; complains of the Napier treaty with Moshesh, 212 ; is attacked and plundered by the Bataung and Basuto, 287. MoROSi, Baphuti chief — First intercourse with the Colonial Government, 195 ; joins the enemies of the Colony, 288. MosEGA — Destruction of the Matabele kraals at, 80. MosELEKATSE, Matabele chief — Description of, 40 ; escapes from Tshaka, and nearly exterminates the tribes whose remnants now form the Bapedi, 41 ; sends an army against Moshesh, 42 ; nearly extermi- nates the Southern Betshuana, 50. MosELELE, Bakatla chief — commits cattle thefts, and is protected by Setyeli, 335 ; after the defeat of Setyeli is sheltered by the Bang- waketsi, 339. MosEME, Basuto chief — Is a resident at Thaba Ntshu, 52. Moshesh, Basuto chief — Genealogy of, 35 ; upon the invasion of the country, makes a stand at Butabute, 36 ; is driven from that posi- tion, and retires to Thaba Bosigo, 36 ; makes successful expeditions against the invaders, 36 ; professes to be a vassal of Matiwane, 37 ; by his prudent government rapidly increases in power, 38 ; con- quers the Baphuti, 38 ; professes to be a Zulu vassal, 40 ; meets white men for the first time, 42 ; endeavours to obtain a mission- ary, 44 ; sells ground to the Wesleyan Society, 52 and 53 ; makes a raid across the Drakensberg, 68 ; deep insight of, 192 ; forms a resolution always to attach himself to the strongest party, 194 ; approves of his missionary's application to the Colonial Govern- ment to be taken into treaty relationship, 199 ; makes extensive claims to land, 212 ; complains of the treaty of 1843, not giving him the whole districts occupied by neighbouring chiefs, 212 ; offei-s Sir Peregrine Maitland a small part of the territory occupied by Europeans but given to him by the Napier treaty, 223 ; agrees to submit disputes with other chiefs to a Commission appointed by the Governor, 227 ; conduct during the Kaffir war of 1846-7, 228 ; dealings with the French misHionarics, 2.30 ; conference with Governor Sir Harry Smith, 242 ; meets Sir Henry Smith at Win- berg, 263 ; agrees to proposed liuiits of the Lesuto, 276 ; defeats ly of Natal, I some dis- ins of the indered by overnment, )m Tshaka, V form the ly extermi- otected by the Bang- ion of the that posi- sxpeditions iwane, 37; , 38 ; con- 40 ; meets ft mission- >3 ; makes ; forms a arty, 194 ; 1 Govern- extensivo lot giving 112 ; offei-a jupied by agrees to )inted by 6-7, 228 ; nee with at Win- ; defeats Index. 83 Major Donovan at Viervoet, 291 ; overruns a large portiijn of the Sovereignty, 292 ; invites M. A. W. Pretorius to interfere in the Sovereignty, 293 ; enters into a formal treaty with Emigrant Farmers acting independently of the Sovereignty GoveruTuent, 293 ; sends a councillor to report proceedings at Sand River, 301 ; negotiations with the Assistant Commissioners Hogge and Owen, 310 ; reduces Sikonyela to submission, 314 ; negotiations with Sir George Cathcart, 318 ; politic overtures to Sir George Cathcart, 324 ; conduct after his success at Berea, 327 ; conquers Sikonyela, and annexes the Batlokua Reserve to the Lesuto, 351; visits Bloem- fontein, 367. MosHESH and Sikonyela — Feud between, 226, 269, and 272. MosHETE, Barolong Chief — Succeeds to government of a clan, 197. MoTiTO, French mission station — Foundation of, 44 ; is transferred t > the London Society, and becomes an out-station of Kuruman, 230. Mountain tribes of South Africa — Enumeration of, 4 ; destruction of, 34. Murray, Rev. A. Senior —Visits the Emigrants north of the Orange, 264. Murray, Rev. Andrew — Is first minister of Bloemfontein, 267 ; obtains the views of the Emigrants north of the Vaal, 294 ; is appointed by the Committee of Delegates to proceed to England and protest against the abandonment of the Sovereignty, 350 : proceedings in England, 368 ; failure of the mission, 369. Murray, Captain Arthur Stormont — Is killed at Boomplaats, 257 and 259. NATIVE Protected States —Project for the creation of, 198 ; which is carried into effect, 211. NcAPAYi, Baca chief — Attjick of the Emigrant Farmers ui)on, 149. Negotiations — Between Dingan and the Emigrants, Vl^etseq. ; between the Volksraad of Natal and Sir George Napier concerning the acknowledgment of the Emigrants as independent, 139 ct seq. Netherlands, Government of the — Action with regard to the Emigrants at Natal, 172. Newcastle, Duke of. Secretary of State for the Colonies — Decides to abandon the Orange River Sovereignty, 326. OBERHOLSTBR, Michael— Is head of the Emigrants along the Riet River, 208 ; is well disposed towards the British Government, 208. 384 Index. OccuPATiox of the country along the Modder and Riet rivers by Europ- eans — manner of, 200. Ogle, Henry — Is a settler at Natal, 89 ; becomes chief of a party of natives, 95 ; conveys messages between Captain Smith and some residents of Natal, 155. Ohrig, George Gerhard, merchant of Amsterdam — Connection with Natal of, 157. Ohrigstad — Foundation of the village, 232. Orange River Sovereignty — Proclamation creating, 245 ; form of g<)\erii- ment of, 247 and 208. Outrages by lawless characters along the Lower Caledon, 197. Owen, Mr. C. Mostyn — Is appointed Assistant Commissioner, 290 ; arrives at Bloemfontein, 290 ; makes a close examination into the condition of the Sovereignty, 297 ; assigns reasons for acknowledging the independence of the Trans'/aal Emigrants, 298 ; meets Mr. A. W. Pretorius and the Transvaal deputation at the Sand River, 299 ; concludes a Convention by which the independence of the Trans- vaal Emigrants is recognized, 302 ; conducts negotiations with Moshesh, 310 ; protests against peace with Moshesh after the defeat at Berea, 325. Owen, Rev. Mr., missitjnary of the Church of England— Accompanies Captain Gardiner to South Africa, and goes to reside aL Dingan's krafil, 100 ; is at Umkungunhlova when the massacre of Retief's party takes place, 107 ; retires to Natal, 107 ; publishes ;in account of the massacre, 107 ; leaves Natal not to return, 113. PANDA, Zulu chief — conspires against his brother Dingan and seeks protectioi from the Emigrant Farmers, 127 ; enters into alliance with the Emigrants, 128 ; is installed as King of tlie Zulus by Commandant General Pretorius, 131 ; sides with the winning part}' at Nativl, 100 ; jmts one of his brothers to death, and tries to ex- terminate his adherents, 174 ; agrees to the Unizinyati and Tugela as the boundary of Natal, and cedes St. Lucia Bay to Great Britain, 183. Parish, Captain — Is sent by Lieutenant Governor Pine with troops and natives from Natal to Major Wanlen's aid, 292. Pellishier, Rev, Jean Pierre, French Missionary — Endeavours with his colleagues to found a station at Mose^^'a, 44 ; assists in by Europ- a party of L and some L with Natal I of g(>\eni- 90 ; arrives e condition edging the Mr. A. W. liver, 299 ; the Trans- ,tions with . after the ^companies iL Dingan's of Retief's ivn account and seeks ;o alliance Zulus by iiing party ies to ex- nd Tugela to Great roops and )urs with issists ill Index. 385 founding the station of Motito, 44 ; founds the station at Bethulie, 45. Petition of the English settlers at Port Natal to Sir Benjamin D'Urban, 98. Petitions against the abandonment of the Sovereignty, 352 ; their effect, 353 and 358. P*HILIP, Rev. Dr., Superintendent of the London Society's missions — Pub- lishes Researches in South Africa^ 68 ; forms a project of the creation of Native Protected States, 198 ; possesses enormous power in South Africa during the Government of Sir George Napier, 199 ; gains Moshesh's approbation of his scheme, and urges it upon the Governor, 199. Philippolis, Lcmdon mission station — Foundation of, 205. PiBTEBMARiTZBURG, See Maritzbuvg. "Pilot " — Seizure by the Emigrants at Natal of the brig, 102. Platberg, Wesleyan mission station — Foundation of, 55. Pniel, German mission station — Foundation of, 282. PoNDO tribe — Account of, 142 et seq. See also Faku. PoSHULi, Basuto chief — Particulars concerning, 220 ; is sent by Moshesh to reside at Vechtkf)ii and worry the Europeans in that neighbour- hood, 220 ; dealing with, 285 ; conduct of, 288. PoTCHEFSTROOM — Foundation of the village, 114. PoTGiETER, Andries Hendrik — Is leader of the second party of Emigrants, 73 ; purchases a tract of land from the Bataung chief Makwana, 73 ; inspects the country towards Delagoa Bay, 74 ; defeats the Mabv- bele at Vechtkop, 70 ; with Maritz leads a commando against the Matabele, 78 ; destroys the military kraals at Mosega, 79 ; with Pieter Uys attacks the Matabele on the Marikwa, and drives them from the country, 84 ; proclaims all the conquests of Moselekatse forfeited to the Emigrants, 85 ; goes to the aid of his countrymen in Natal, 110 ; is one of the Commandants in the tirst great battle with the Zulus, in which the Emigrants were defeated, 111 ; re- moves from Natal to the country north of the Vaal, 114 ; declines to assist against the English troops in Natal, 159 ; conducts in 1843 an unsuccessful expedition against Moselekatse, 231 ; moves from Magalisberg, and founds the village of Ohrigstad, 232 ; from Ohrig- Btad moves to Zoutpansberg, 232 ; subdues the Bapedi tribe, 233 ; leads in 1847 another unsuccessful expedition against Moselokacso 233 ; is offered by Sir Harry Smith the appointment of landdrost 2b «.'■ n. ■;• tF> I' i- M 386 Index. of Vaal Rivor, 203 ; declines to accept the appointment, 268 ; after a long quarrel makes friends with Mr. A. W. Pretorius, 304; conducts militaiy operations against Sekwati, 331; death of, 343. PoxGiETER, P. G. — Is api)uinted Commandant General in succession to his father, 344. Pretorius, Andries, W. J. — Description of, IK) ; proceeds to Natal, and is at once elected Commandant General, IKi ; commands the ex- pedition against Dingan, in December, 1838, 117 ; marches for the second time against Dingan, 128 ; commands the Emigrants in the operations against the English troops at Natal, 159 et seq. ; is appointed by the Emigrant Farmers in Natal their delegate to lay their grievances before Sir Henry Pottinger, 235 ; proceeds to Grahamstown, 235 ; is refused an interview by the Governor, 230 ; receives expressions of sympathy from people in the Colony, 237 ; condition of his family at the time of his return to Natal, 244 ; arrangements with Sir Harry Smith, 244 ; moves from Natal to Magalisborg, 240 ; is appointed Commandant General of the re- publican party, and takes the field against the British Government, 249 ; expels the English oflicials and troops from the Sovereignty, 251 ; £1,000 is offered by Sir Harry Smith for his apj^rchension, 262 ; is defeated by Sir Harry Smith at Boomphiats, 258 : £2,000 is ofi'ered for his apprehension, 261 ; is invited by tlie republican party in the Sovereignty to assume the position of Administrator (Jeneral, 293 ; enters into correspondence with Major Warden, 294 ; correspondence with th*^ Assistant Commissioners. Hogge and Owen, 298 ; after a long quarrel makes friends with Mr. A. H. Potgieter, 304 ; correspondence with the Barolong chief M(jntsiwa, 300 ; visits the Sovereignty, 310 ; complains to the High Commis- sioner of the violaticm of the Sand River Convention by European hunters and traders who were arming the native tribes, 330 ; deatli of, 343. Pretorius, M. W. — Is appointed Commandant General in succession to his father, 344. Proclamation of M. A. W. Pretorius taking possession of country to the Black Umvolosi, 131. Proclamation by Sir George Napier, on 7th September, 1842, 199. Protest of tlio Volksraad against tlio occupation of Natal by English troops, 155. tment, 268 ; '. Pretorius, 331; death succession to ;o Natal, and ands the ex- marches for Emigrants in 59 et seq. ; is ilegate to lay proceeds to )vernor, 230 ; Colony, 237 ; Natal, 244 ; om Natal to al of the re- Government, Sovereignty, pprehension, 258 : £2,000 le republican -dministrator jor Warden, Hogge and Mr. A. H. ef Montsiwa, igh Commis- by European , 330 ; death succession t(» luntry to the 2, 199. by English Index. 387. QETO, Amakwabi chief — Flees from Dingan, and ravages the country south of the Umzimvubu, 93. QuEEx's Fort at Bloemfontein — Erection of, 264. <3uiGLEY, Michael, deserter from the 45th — Sends notice to Major Warden of Commandant General Pretorius' movements, 249 ; fights on the Emigrant's side at Boomplaats, is captured after the battle, tried by court martial, and shot, 201 . RAWSTORNB, Mr. Fleetwood — Is first civil commissioner and resident magistrate of Colesberg, 208 ; acta as special magistrate at Philippolis, 222. Religion of the Bantu, 8. Republic of Natal — Boundaries, 134 ; magisterial and ecclesiastical divisions, 135 ; sources of revenue, 135 ; constitution, 130 ; form of union with districts west of the Drakensberg, 137. Repeesentative Assembly of the Sovereignty : Resolutions of, 349 Retief, Pietek, leader of the fourth party of Emigrants — Declaration of, GO ; biography of, 81 ; is elected Commandant General of all the Emigrants, 81 ; makes friendly agreements with various chiefs, 82 ; makes unsuccessful overture for peace to Moselekatse, 82 ; visits Natal and Zululand, 102 ; arranges with Dingan for a cession of land, 103 ; carries out his i)art of the agreement, 103 ; visits Dingan again with a large party of farmers, 104; and is murdered with the whole of his party at Umkungunhlovu, 106. Revenue of the Orange River Sovereignty, 281. Richardson, Lieutenant Colonel — Is sent with a strong military force to Adam Kok's assistance, 218. Robertson, Dr. Wm. — Visits the Emigrants north of the Orange, 200. RoLLAND, Rev. Samuel, French missionary — Endeavours with his colleagues to found a station at Mosega, 44 ; founds the station of Motito, 44 ; removes from Motito, and founds the station of Beer- sheba with a horde of refugees from the north, 67. RusTENBURf* : Foundation of the village. 304. ■SCHOLTZ, Commandant P. E. — Conducts a militiry expediti(m against Setyeli, 335 ; summons Montsiwa to his camp, 339 ; replies to the missionary memorial sent to Sir George Clerk, 365. 388 Index. Sekwati, Bapedi chief— Submits to Commandant Potgieter, 233 ; is at war with the South African Republic, 331. Setyeli, Bakwena chief —Account of, 333 ; defies the republican govern- ment, 334 ; shelters the robber chief Moselole, 335 ; refuses to give up Moselele, 335 ; resists the Emigrant commando, and is beaten, 336. Shaw, Rev. Wm., Superintendent of Wesleyan missions — Objects to the Napier treaty with Moshesh, 212. Siege of the English camp at Natal, 162 ; its relief by Colonel Cloete, 165. SiFUNELO, Barolong chief — Wanderings of, 49. SiKONYELA, Batlokua chief — Descent of, 5 ; murders the chief Motsholi, and by so doing draws upon his tribe the vengeance of the Hlubis under Umpangazita, 32 ; sells ground to the Wesleyan Society, 53 ; is reduced to submission by Moshesh, 314 ; resumes raids upon Basuto kraals, 329 ; is conquered by Moshesh, 351 ; subsequent career of, and death, 351, SiKONYELA and Moshesh— Feud between, 226, 229, 269, 272, and 317. Slavery — Opinions of the Emigrants concerning, 64. Smellekamp, Johan Arnold — Reception at Natal, 158 ; is employed by the Volksraad to proceed to the Netherlands as their agent, 158 ; is arrested in the Cape Colony, but after a short confinement is per- mitted to proceed to Europe, 159 ; returns to Natal, 173 ; sub- sequent career of, 174. Smith, Governor Sir Harry — Arrives in South Africa, enlarges the Cape Colony, and creates the Crown Colony of British Kafiraria, 238 ; visits the country north of the Orange, 239 ; reverses the policy of Sir Geo ^e Napier, 240 ; makes a new treaty with Adam Kok, 241 ; and with Moshesh, 243 ; meets the Emigrants of Natal on the Tugela, 244 ; proclaims Her Majesty's sovereignty over the territory between the Orange and Vaal rivers and the Drakensberg, 245 ; publishes a manifesto, 248 ; commands in person the expedition aguinst the republicans under Pretorius, 252 ; crosses the Orange with his army, 253 ; defeats the Emigrants under Pretorius a*^- Boomplaats, 258 ; reproclaims Her Majesty's sovereignty, 262. Smith, Captain Thomas C. — Is sent with a military force to form a camp in Pondoland, 151 ; i« instructed to move on to Natal, 154 ; arrives and encamps at the foot of the Berea, 157 ; proceedings in Natal before the encounter with the Emigrants, 159 ; disastrous move- ment of, 160. ii : Index. 89 233 ; is at can govem- uses to give 1 is beaten, jjects to the Cloote, 165. f Motsholi, : the Hlubis Society, 53 ; raids upon subsequent and 317. mployed by agent, 158 ; ment is per- , 173 ; sub- js the Cape Fraria, 238 ; he policy of I Kok, 241 ; ital on the he territory sberg, 245 \ expedition the Orange 'retorius a*^- y, 262. 3rm a camp 54 ; arrives ?s in Natal :ous movo- Smithfield — Foundation of the village, 263. Smit, Erasmus — Is appointed conductor of religious services for the Emi- grant Farmers, 82. Snake — Reverence paid by Bantu to species of, 10. Snijman, Commandant J. T. — Particulars concerning, 219. South African Missionary Society — Formation of, 65. South African Republic — Form of government of, 346. SouTHEY, Mr. Richard — Is appointed to perform special duties in the Sovereignty, 263. Standee, Adrian — Has his farm forfeited by Sir Harry Smith for taking part at Boomplaats, 262 ; £500 is offered for his apprehension, 262 ; visits the Sovereignty, 350 ; proceedings of, 364. Stanley, Lord, Secretary of State for the Colonies — Issues instructions concerning Natal, 169. St. Lucia Bay — Is ceded by Panda to the Queen, 183. Stuart, Charles Urquhart — Is appointed civil commissioner and resident magistrate of Bloemfontein, 268. TAAIBOSCH, Gert, Koran?, captain— Goes to reside at Merumetsu, 54 ; complains of the Napier treaty with Moshesh, 212 ; attacks Molitsane, 288 ; wandering habits of, 285 ; ravages on the Lesuto border, 329 ; is killed in battle, 351. Tambusa, Zulu induna — Unwarrantable execution of, 130, Tawane, Barolong chief — Removes to Thaba Ntshu, 51 ; moves fro. a Thaba Ntshu to the Mooi River, 195 ; moves from Mooi River t<> Lotlakana, 278 ; death of, 279. Thaba Bosigo — Foundation of French mission station at, 229. Transmigration of Souls — Germ of belief by Bantu in, 10. Treaty between Captain Gardiner and Dingan, 99 ; between Sir Peregrine Maitland and Faku, 186 ; between Sir Benjamin D'Urban and Andries Waterboer, 204 ; between Sir George Napier and Moshesh 211 ; between Sir George Napier and Adam Kok, 211 ; between Sir Peregrine Maitland and Adam Kok, 222 ; between Sir Harry Smith and Adam Kok, 241 ; between Sir Harry Smith and Moshesh, 243. Treaties of 1843 with Moshesh and Adam Kok — Immediate effects of, 212und213. Triucuard, Louis — Is leader of the first party of Emigrants, 71 ; fate of the party, 72. 390 Index. Tri TH — Bantu disregard of, 14. TsuAKA, Zulu chief — Birth and early years of, 25 ; becomes a soldier in one of Dingiswayo's regiments, 27 ; raises himself to a position of command, 27 ; becomes chief of the vassal Zulu clan, 27 ; succeeds Dingiswayo, 27 ; organises a great army, 27 ; substitutes a short spear for the light assagai previously in use, 28 ; exterminates numerous tribes, 29 ; cruel government of, 29 ; sends an army into the Lesuto which defeats Matiwane, 37 ; grants favours to the first party of European settlers at Port Natal, 89 ; sends an embassy to the Cape Government, 91 ; invades Fondoland and Tembuland, 91 ; is assassinated by his brothers, 92. TuLU, Bataung chief— Particulars concerning, 224 ; is driven from his location by Sikonyela and Gert Taaibosch, 329. UMPANGAZITA, Hlubi chief— Attacks the Batlokua, 32; is killed in battle with the Amangwane, 37. Umpukani, Wesleyan mission station : is attacked and pillaged by the Bataung, 286. Uys, Dirk Cornells— Heroic death of, 112. Uys, Jacobus, leader of a party of Emigrants : is presented with a Bible by British settlers, 82. Uys, Pieter Lavras — Wins esteem by his conduct during the Kaflir war, 82 ; with Hendrik Potgieter attacks the Matabele on the Marikwa and drives them to the far north, 84 ; visits Natal, 90 ; goes to the aid of his countrymen in Natal, 110 ; is a Commandant in the first great battle with the Zulus, in which he is killed, 111. % « ir -} VANDBRKBMP, Dr. J. T., Missionary of the London Society— Ar- rives in South Africa, 65 ; brings false charges against numerous colonists before the High Court of Justice, 07 ; makes monstrous assertions regarding colonists, 68. Vechtkop — Repulse of the Matabele by the Emigrants in lager at, 76. Van der Hoff, Rev. Dirk — First resident clergyman in the South African Republic, 343. Van Yelden, Rev. Dirk — Is appointed clergyman of Winburg, 281. Venable, Rev. Mr. — One of the first missionaries of the American Board in South Africa — endeavours to found a station at Mosega, 79 ; retires with the Emigrant commando, 80 ; removes to Natal, 100 ; )mes a soldier in f to a i)osition of an, 27 ; succeeds bstitutes a short; 8 ; exterminates ids an army into vours to the first 8 an embassy to Tembuland, 91 ; iriven from his 32 ; is killed in pillaged by the id with a Bible the Kaffir war, n the Marikwa >0 ; goes to the mt in the first 1. I Society — Ar- inst numerous kes monstrous -ger at, 76. South African irg, 281. lerican Board Mosega, 79 ; ) Natal, 100 ; Index. 391 visits Umkungunhlov u oa the day of the massacre of Retief's party, 107 ; leaves Nat.il not to return, 113. Veneratiox of animals by inland tribes, 7. ViEuvoET— Battle of, 291. Views of England entertained by the Emigrants who grew up in the wandering, 239, Virtues (jf the Bantu, 20. VoLKSRAAD — Members of the first Emigrant, 78. VowE, Thomas Whalley — Is appointed civil commissioner and resident magistra,te of Smithfield, 2GL. WAR — Native method of conducting before the time of Dingiswayo, 26. Warden, Captain H. D. — Accompanies Captain Smith's er^pedition to Pondoland, 151 ; accompanies Colonel Richardson's expedition to assist Adam Kok, 218 ; is istationed with his company of Cape Mounted Riflemen at Philippolis, 222 ; is appointed British Resi- dent in the territory north of the Orange, and takes military rank as Major, 222 ; surrenders Bloemfontein to Connnandant-General Pretorius, 251 ; correspondence with Mr. Pretorius, 295 ; is re- placed as British Resident in the Sovereignty by Mr. Henry Green, 314. WATiiRBOER, Andries — Takes cattle from the Barolong, 49 ; is induced by the Colonial Government to restore them, 49 ; is elected captain of the Griquas at Griquatown, 204 ; enters into a treaty with Sir Benjamin D'Urban, 204 ; lays claim to land in the Sovereignty, 283 ; death of, 284. Waterboer, Nicholas — Succeeds his father as chief of Griquatown, 284. Webnen — Foundation of viiiuje, 135. West, Mr. Martin — Is first Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, 190. Wilson, Dr., one of the first missionaries of the American Board in South Africa — Endeavours to found a station at Mosega, 79 ; retires with the Emigrant commando, 80 ; removes to Natal, 100 ; leaves Natal not to return, 113. WiNBURG — Foundation of the village, 80. Witchcraft — Bantu belief in, 9. Wood, William — Is interpreter to Dingan, 107 ; is at Umkungunhlovu at the time of the massacre of Retief's par*-y^ and publishes an account of it, 107. Wood — Manufacture of implements by Bantu, 11. m 392 Index. ^}ryf I k XOLO tribo— Account of the, 91. ITZEBBEK, Goliath, Korana, captain — Has a location in the Sovereignty assigned to him, 282. ZEVENB'ONTEIN— Settlement of Boer Emigrauts at, 56 ; during absence of Boer owners is taken possession of by the French Mission, 57. ZouTPANSBEUG — First permanent settlement at, 232, Zulu tribe — Condition before the rise of Tshaka, 25. See also Tshaka, Dingan, and Panda. ZwABT Kopjes— Skirmish at, 219. fet ,''»• THE END. S. Cowan tfc Co., Strathmore Printing Works, Perth. in the Sovereignty * at, 56 ; during e French Mission, See also Tshaka, rth.