o >--'l \ S ^ ZJI I 5- „ ,XV\ .'^' ^ IHWNSinaNN'^ =3 I mmmi, "^ . CO so > ^tfOJiiVDJO'*^ ^TiinNvsov^ ^jiiAiNn-ivW^ ^.OF-CAL > '<- ^: 2 •*- -< ■^/cxMiwawO V- 1- a_i >^' iw/d)|^i -UJilVJ JV^ •^. ^" ^^ r= C-^>i b^ OC ^Mm\ "^/yaaAiNO j\\v ■^/^^liMNfl iv\\^ '^>'/5Aava8n'\^^ '^^f^Aavaain^^ '^s^msno^^^ ^\ IE %^\ i S --<-/i t illBRARYc, \Qi\m\'^'^ .WfUNIVfRy/A ^lOSANCflfX^ o 'i:?i3owso)^ -5>,SHIBRARY '^d/OJllVJ-JO-^ '^ oFCAIIFO/?^ ^^WE•UNIVER% ^v^-lOS-AMGFlfT;^ ^-OF-CAIIF' I L^ % yoxyNmi's^ ^rjijnuvsni^^ "^>^?a3AiNn-3Wv' Ik^ £2 =3 "^AiHAINft-JWV^ ^•lOSANCFlfj> o \HMiNn-^u'^ -j^UlBRARYOc. < ^ ;^, "C/UJIIVJj ^..0F-CAIIF0% ^ '4 .^• .^ 1 2 ^ BO C3 <^:n33Nvsov"^ ^/^aaAiNnauv'^ ■-g _■< JiUJNVi^U ■J > — Jilj:)NVS!.. iiARYQr^ ^* ^FCAllFOftf^^ >- vvlOS-ANGFlFj OF-CAIIFO, ^yITH THE BOERS IN THE TRANSVAAL. 1 WITH THE BOERS m THE TRAA^SVAAL AND OEAISTGE FEEE STATE IN 1880-1. BY CHAELES L. NORRIS-NEWMAN, SPECIAL ■VTAK COBKESPONDENT AXD AUTHOR OF "IN ZULULAXD WITH THE BRITISH. Second Edition, WITH NEW MAP OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC AND TEXT OF THE CONVENTION OF 1884. LONDON: ABBOTT, JONES & CO., LIMITED, 4, Adam Street, Strand. [_All rights reserved.^ VA-V-' " tONDON : FRINTED BY HARRISON AND CONS, ST. MARTIN's LANK, PnrUcn in Ontinart/ to Ihr Majesty. PI dH- liTScriljcb TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATK MAJOR-GENERAL SIR GEORGE POMEROY COLLEY, K.C.S.I., C.B., C'.M.G., WHOSE EMINENT SERVICES, BOTH CIVIL AND MILITARY, WERE BEGtJK AND ENDED IN SOUTH AFRICA ; AND BY WHOSE EARLY DEATH, — WHJ]i!i LEADING THE BRITISH FORCES AGAINST THE TRANSVAAL BOEKS, HIS QUEEN LOST A FAITHFUL SERVANT ; HIS COUNTRY, AN ABLE SOLDIER AND DIPLOMAT ; NATAL, THE BEST GOVERNOR SHE EVER HAD ; AND THE AUTHOR, A VALUED FRIEND. 11114G5 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE Cape History 1 CHAPTER 11. Cape History — (^continued) 11 CHAPTER III. Natal Founded IJ^ CHAPTER IV. Great Exodus Northwards 32 CHAPTER V. Oraxge Free State Settled ext . . ... 43 CHAPTER VI. Transvaal Founded ,56 CHAPTER VII. Transvaal Progress GO viii Contents. CHAPTER YIII. PAGE Tkaxsvaal Axxexatiox ,.....,. 7-i CHAPTER IX. Teaxsvaal and Secocoeni 83 CHAPTER X. Laxyon's Transvaal . • 94 CHAPTER XI. The Octbeeak 107 CHAPTER XTI. The First Action 117 CHAPTER XI I] . Capi'Ain Elliott's Mcrdeu— Xatal's Xkutkality . . 125 CHAPTER XIV. The Rimtisu Advance 136 CIIAPTI<]R XY. Lang's Nek MG CJlAl'Ti:i{, X\I. Ingogo Fight \ru ('ii.\i'Ti;i{ x\ii. My Joornet 1G8 Contents. ix CHAPTER XYIII. PAGE EXPERIEXCES IX THE BOER Ca-AIP 182 CHAPTER XIX. The Amajuba . 198 CHAPTER XX. The Armipttce , . .217 CHAPTER XXI. The Besieged Towns .231 CHAPTER XXII. The Besieged Towns — {coidlniiea) ..... 244 CHAPTER XXIII. The Royal Commission 253 CHAPTER XXIY. Transfer of Government 267 CHAPTER XXV. The Last Threads ; or, The Transvaal of Yesterday . 279 CHAPTER XXVI. General Review ... 293 ■X Contents, APPENDIX. PAGE South African Chronological Table 309 Glossary of Local Terms used ix South Africa . .314 A. Anxuxation of the Transvaal . . . . .317 B. Copt of Protest and Eesolution of the Transvaal Executive Council 322 C. Proclamation 323 D. Letter to Colonial Secretary from Transvaal Dele- gates 326 E. Proclamation by the Bokr Triumvirate . . . 332 r. Despatch on the Action at Bi;(;inkhorst Spruit . . 336 G. Tm; First Battle of Lang's Nek 338 H. The Fight at the Inuogo 344 I. The Amajuba Fight 350 K. Letters, etc., relating to Peace Nkgotiations . . 351 L. The Potchefstrom Surrender 360 M. The Royal Commission 363 N. The Convention 370 0. The Transvaal Yolksraad '^17 P. The Nkw Transvaal Yoia'sraad 379 Q. Boeb Losses 381 R. Convkntion iiKiwKKN IIku Majesty the Queen of the IJnitei> Kin(;pom of Gijkat I^iutain and Ikelani) AM) nil. Sol III AiKUAN U'l.i'i p.i.ic . . 385 ai»im;m)a. Notices of the I'oer Leaders ..... 303 INTRODUCTION. It would be altogether impossible to commence a detailed account of the recent disturbances in the Transvaal without going back to the earliest days of the foundation of its settle- ment, in order to get at the original causes and effects which have, in the course of about forty years, led again to a collision between the two leading white races in South Africa, and a series of disastrous native wars — not yet finished, I fear — and, therefore, in order to enable my readers to have a clear and thorough conception of the state of aftairs in the Transvaal just j^revious to the outbreak of 1880, it Avill be necessary for me to begin with the days of the Cape settlement Ity the English ; and to show, gradually and consecutively, how the recent sad state of aftairs has been brought about. The result is due partially, I admit, to the peculiarities and untractable- ness of the Boers themselves ; but, principally, to the un- doubted mismanagement and wilful blindness of the Imperial authorities both at home and out here, as evidenced by the various and contradictory policies pursued by successive Governors, For_maD y years South Africa was a terra incof/nita to all in Great Britain except to the oflBcials whose department had t he governm ent thereof. To others tlie idea simply was that tji e Cape was the half-way port between Ji^nglanci and India, a naval and military station of more or less importance, which gave employment to a certain numFeFof colonial otiicials and contributed little, if anythTu"g7^6"t be general wealth or welfare of the great British Empire. Thes e ideas received little or no modification until diamonds and subsequently gold, copper, and~otEer jniire'rars ^vel^e~lx)und -rn aaah quantities^a s to cause xii Introduction. a rush of people of all classes from Great Britain and various other parts of the globe. Then, indeed, the Home Govern- ment and people woke up to the importance of the British South African Colonies, and set to work to reorganize the systems of government then in vogue — by strengthening the hands of the colonial authorities, laying down a detinite policy and striving to weld the dift'crent Colonies and Free States into something like unity. A tide of emigration set in, rail- ways and other works were projected, and a grand future was prophesied for South Africa — how justly time will prove. As showing how South Africa was despised and undervalued as a field for emigration up to that time, the following extract from a semi-ofl&cial work on Australian Emigration (published in London about twenty years ago) will go far to justify my opinions and corroborate my remarks. After referring to the advantages of Australia this work continues : — " With all our boasts of an ' Empire on which the sun never sets' — a travestie, by the bye, of an old Spanish saying, which subsequent events have made a rhodomontade as empty as may one day be our own — England has two colonic^ onUj, besides those in the Pacific, to which a man can emigrate. The first, Canada, is one of the most unsuitable possible in point of climate or locality ; the first forbidding labour of an agricultural kind during the greater portion of the year, and the second dc^manding a longer time before actual location than is consumed by a voyage to Australia ov New Zealand, where domiciliation and employment await the emigrant at once on his arrival. The second emigration colony, //" it cun he HO nillrd, is South Africa ; the chief gains of the colonists, for the most part Dutchmen, arising from tbe disputes they can foment between the natives and the autlioritics, in the hope of profiting l)y the expenditure of the Commissariat, of wliich J'>ngbind has had but too lamentable proof in the expenditure of many millions, for no cailhly ])nrp()se than that, of ciialiliiiL,^ Ibc Cajic ('ob)nists to lake advantage of the English determination to preserve the integrity of the empire at any cost. ]>eyond these two colonics. w(> have, nolwith- Btunding the vustness of our colonial cnipire, no other location Introduction. xiii but the Australian and New Zealand Colonies worthy of a moment's consider;! tion to the intending emigrant. Canada, on the first decadence of the English power — and that may n.ot be far distant — will naturally fall into the United States of America, if the union last so long ; and South Africa is scarcely worth consideration, as a colonial dependency, upon any terms, either in point of produce or political advantages. As for the new settlements in South Africa, they can be characterized as little less than deliberate frauds committed on English ignorance, though with Government sanction ; not one of their pretensions being realized, or ever likely to become so. ' This is strong and plain language, but is undoubtedly a faithful reproduction of the opinion of the bulk of the people of Great Britain at that time upon South African settlements ; and with little alteration would fairly represent the written opinions of the more recent celebrated semi-historians who have visited South Africa for literary purposes since she sprang so suddenly up into prominent notice. Ideas almost similar have been extensively circulated, even up to the present time, by nearly the whole of the London Press ; while even those most inter- ested, and most hopeful of the future of South Africa, either as a Confederated State or Crown Colony, can but honestly admit the truth of the greater portion of these remarks, and long for the powers of self-government granted to Australia and Canada. Bearing these views in mind at the commencement, it will not be difficult to trace and comprehend the consecutive events which have led up to the present still unsatisfactory state of afi'airs, by, on the one hand, rekindling the slumbering feelings of race hatred already bitter enough between the tAvo dominant white races in South Africa ; while, on the other, creating bitter feelings between the colonists themselves and the Imperial Government. Both races combined have been and still are barely sufficient to manage the conduct of their own interior affairs, and control the large native population, con- sisting both of those belonging to the soil and the refugees from other surrounding tribes, the former of whom migrate xiv Introduction. further north as civihzation advances, while the latter seem only too glad to come under the more settled s^'stem of govern- ment of the white race, and quickly learn all the evils, but only slowly appreciate and conform to the benefits, consequent thereon. In the whole history of the world there have been known only two systems of colonizing a new country, the inhabitants of which were totally' uncivilized, viz. : — quick and ruthless extermination, and a constant war of the one against the other, as always practised by the Dutch South Africans and in America ; or the slower and more difficult method of amal- gamation and protection. Which of the two systems — for both have been tried — has succeeded best out here, every one understanding the occurrences of the last half-century will be able to judge. So far as the Boers and those natives more immediately in and around the Transvaal are concerned, I hope, in the course of this work, to clearly show the course of events up to now, and the probable outcome in the not far-distant future. Having thus explained my object, and the means by which I hope to attain it, I need no apology for occupying the first few chapters of this work with a chronological history, com- plete though epitomized, of the Cape Colony. To follow out and gain a fair view of both sides of a question, even in momentous European aff"airs, is undoubtedly a matter of very great dilficulty, for the reason that Britons are not generally ncquainted with the subject, have little or no knowledge of the country in which such all'airs occur, and are not actually present on or near the scene of action at the time. How much more bo, when the scene of action lies in South Africa, a country, until within the last half-contury, little thought of or appreciated liy tliu population of (ireat Britain, cither as an availabh; field lor ciiiigiation, or a valuable addition to the colonial cnijiire. And, notwithstanding the unpleasant I'act of .lolm l>iill luiviiig had to i)ay dcaily in men, money, and r(']»utatioii lor the; inanngcnK'nt (or niisinanagcnient ?) of South AlVican all'airs duriuj^ flic greater jtorf ion of that time ; and in Bpite of the published — thongli in some things misleading — IntrodiLction. xv works of such eminent men as Froude, Trollope, Bissett, Xoble, and others, and the teachings of the recent wars, I venture to doubt whether even now the average British taxpayer, unless in some way personally connected with the South African Colonies or States, knows more of the exact position of aft'airs, and what has led to them out here, than can be gathered from the hasty telegrams, and one-sided views espoused through party and prejudice, and expressed by both the Home and part of the Colonial Press. The late rising in the Transvaal, following so quickly on the Zulu War, and costing the country such a large amount of blood, treasure, and even obloquy, having attracted more attention throughout the whole civilized world than almost any other South African event of this century, it has been sug- gested to me that a concise, but unprejudiced review of the origin, progress, present position, and probable ending of the Transvaal question, might serve to elucidate much that has hitherto been misunderstood, and throw the light of truth upon much previously concealed. I have therefore entered upon the work con amove, in the belief that, from my intimate knowledge of the country, its history, people, and customs, gained during a six years' residence in South Africa, as a con- stant contributor to the Home and Colonial Press, and a special war correspondent throughout the recent campaigns, my state- ments of facts will merit the attention of the reading public ; my not hastily formed opinions, the candid though fair criticism of those who may difler from them ; and the whole work, the approbation of those more directly interested in the subject therein treated. And if the publication of this volume conduces to the development of a more liberal feeling towards our future colonists, the Boers — the early pioneers of civiliza- tion, colonization, and European dominion in South Africa — and to a clearer insight into the many difficult questions now troubling, and likely for many years to trouble, that impor- tant portion of Her Majesty's realms, my labours in connec- tion therewith will not have been in vain. I cannot conclude this somewhat discursive but necessary introduction without acknowledging my indebtedness to many works previously XVI Introduction. written on Idndred topics ; but esj^ccially to Noble's " South Africa, Past and Present," than which a clearer, more succinct, reliable, or ably written work on the whole question has never 3'et been published ; and I am therefore doubly glad at being able to make use of such an authority for much of the early history of the Boers, as well as in again bringing before the public its value as a work of reference on all South African affairs. Natal, October, 18S1. WITH THE BOERS IN THE TRANSVAAL CHAPTER I. C A P E n I S T O R Y. Early Cape History — Forefathers of the Boers— Settlement of the Dutch East India Company — Extension of Colony — Dissatisfaction of the Settlers — Mode of Life — English Eule — Eestoration of Dutch Rule — Improved Govrrnmeut System — Recapture by and Final Cession to Great Britain — Native Troubles, 1811-12^ Eastern Frontier fixed at Great Fish River — " Slaghters Nek " Rebellion — Cotnmencement of British Immigration — Political Condition — Struggles for Liberty — High-handed Proceedings of Lord C. Somerset— FLrst Royal Coni« mission — Its Recommendations. The descendants of the early mixed Dutch population of the Cape now inhabit and are spread over a large proportion of the •whole of South Africa ; throughout the Cape Colony, especially in the more retired portions, the population is mostly of that origin. In Natal there is still a small portion, now, however, rapidly amalgamating with the English ; hut for the real sample of the early " Voor-trekkers " we have to go to the Orange Free State and the " Transvaal Republic," where we find them the principal inheritors of the land — living thereon in the same rough, simple, uneducated and solitary manner that was so great a characteristic of their forefathers, and one of the principal causes of their voluntary exodus into the wilderness, beginning in 1833 and lasting until 1852. From time to time there have been various names applied to these men, such as Dutch Boers, Afrikanders, and Dutchmen ; but B 2 With the Boers in the Transvaal. these titles are all more or less misleading or incorrect. It must not be forgotten that although originally the Cape of Good Hope was a Dutch settlement, established purely for the advancement of the exclusive rights of trade of the Dutch East India Company, which owned and governed it, yet even previous to its first capture and final cession to Great Britain, its population, then very mixed, was largely reinforced by events in Europe arising out of the persecution of tlio Protestants. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in IGSo, by Louis XIV., and the religious persecution of the "Waldenscs in Piedmont and the Italian Alpine districts, drove hundreds of families of all classes in life to seek homes in other and more tolerant lands. The Dutch Government then generously stepped forward, seized the opportunity, and offered them an asylum. Many of these exiles afterwards emigrated to the Cape, introducing a new element of success and addition to the industrial resources of the country, viz. vine culture, the first vineyard in Constantia being planted in 1G88, and they materially helped to found the basis upon which the present successful Cape Colony has arisen. So tha t it will easily be understood that the introduction of the French Huguenots, Flemings, Germans, Moravi ans, Picdmontesc, Sav oyards and otliers, gave frosJi vigour to the enfeebled me rcantile settle- im'Ut, and entirely iiltefecl the character a nd natTonality of its inhalutants. The new-comers brmight witli them their love of Irecdorn, simple habits, and religious i leas, which soon began to clash with the sellish monopoly, and autocratic system of Government then pursued by the dillorent Dutch Governors. Uiion llicir s[)r('a(l inland thoy si ill kcjtt together as far as possible in natioiuil connnnnitics ; so tbat in time districts l)ccamc eitlier entirely French, Dutch, or German, as the case niigbt be, wliilc llic nationality of the early ]iure Dutch inhiibitiuits, being mixed, both witli tin; natives, and later on with tli(! I'higlisb, idler tlieir arrival in the colony, soon became lost or amalgamated. Delbre, however, the close of the last century tb(^ dilVerent languages or dialects had become less used and spoken, and a kind of Dutch patois, now termed Afrikander Dutch, was and is now, in the 0. F. State and Extension of the Colony. 3 Transvaal, almost uiiivGrsally spoken by the inliaLitants, and used in connection with all but official business. Moreover, although some traces of a national feeling in favour of the Fatherland may have lingered, the late Judge Watermeyer, himself of Dutch extraction, says that " substantially every man in the colony, of every hue, was benefited when the incubus of the Dutch East India Company was removed and the colony came under British government." For a long time after its final capture by the English and the close of the Dutch Government, the Cape remained purely a military and naval station ; but its limits were being gradually extended by its inhabitants, until at last they came into contact with several powerful native tribes on the east and north, creating a series of disputes about the pro- prietorship of the soil, which have broken out periodically during this century as the white race advanced, and have lasted with gradually increasing severity and force until the present time. And this was not all ; for slave ry in all its \v prst forms was legally recognized by the Dutch Government (the first cargo of slaves from Guinea being brought to the Cape in 1G58, and the last in 1807), and eventually pro duced ruptures between the two races . Later on, its~abolition by the English in 1834 confirmed the previous bitter feelings against the more civilized system of government then intro- duced, and led to an enormous increase in the numbers of those dissatisfied ones who " trekked " further into the interior, out of range of any official restraint, where they were able to enjoy that nomadic life which was so suited to them, obtaining sustenance by killing the game, everywhere plentiful at that time, and living upon the produce of their horses, cattle and sheep. This kind of life had also its drawbacks ; for, owing to the steady increase in their flocks, the scarcity of water and constant droughts, it became neces- sary for these pastoral patriarchs to •' trek " still further away. Thus they became totally unaccustomed to any other restraining influence than their own wishes and requirements necessitated. Most of them, however, had been brought up in all the strictness of the Protestant, Lutheran, Calviuist, £ 2 4 11 'i ill the Boers in the Traiisi'aal. or "Dutcii Pieformed Churches ; and, being deeply read in the simple teaching of the Bible, were able to maintain a fair amount of civilization, which, ho\Yever, decreased as the 5'ounger generations sprang up, uneducated and devoid of any- visible examples. The following extract from a comprehensive work on South African History and Geography, written by Mr. G. M. Tlieal, and published by the Lovedale Press, a South African Missionary Institution, brings out very clearly the mode of life then existing among the inhabitants, and will still apply to the more remote l)ortion of the Transvaal Boers: — "In Cape Town and its neighbourhood, the ordinary comforts and conveniences of life were obtainable, and were enjoyed by most of the whites ; but on the lone farms in the interior, comfort, as it is understood now-a-days, was an unknown word. The hovels in which the graziers lived seldom contained more than two rooms, and frequently only one,"- — in which, I may add, the whole family of perhaps two or three generations lived; — "they were destitute of the most ordinary furniture. The great waggon-chest, which served for a table as well as a receptacle for clothing, a couple of camp stools, and a cartel or two — wooden frames with a network of strips of raw hides stretched across them — were the only household goods possessed by many. Crockeryware, so liable to be broken in long land journeys, they could not reason- ably be expected to have had ; but it is diflicult to account for their being without such common and useful articles as knives and forks. A great portion of their clothing was made of the skins of animals ; their blnnkcts, like those of the natives, were karosscs of skins. They lived in this manner, not from necessity, but through choice and custom. Many of them were very wealthy in flocks and herds, but, having become accustomed to a nomad life, hey considered as a superfluity everything that conld not easily bo removed in a waggon from place to place without damage. A gun, ammunition, and a waggon were the only products of mechanical skill that were absolutely indispensable to a gra/^ier; with these he could provide himself with every other necessary. Some cotton goods for shirts and clothing for females, hats, colTee and sugar, were almost the English Rule. 5 only otlicr articles lie ever tliou£,'lit of purcliasing. Poverty, in llicit sense of the word which implies a hick of the mefins of sustaining life, was unknown throughout the colony. Every white person had food in ahundance, and might have had mora of the comforts of life if their use had been known or their want felt. The people of the interior were rude, ignorant, and sometimes cruel. The last of these qualities was the efiect l^artly of their holding human beings in slavery, and partly from their having had for a long period the native races of the country at their mercy, without any check from the Govern- ment." Notwithstanding all the efforts of successive Governments to provide for their civil and religious wants, by takiug in the districts inhabited by them — thus enlarging the colony — by appointing magistrates and clergymen to minister to their requirements, they improved very little until the transfer of government to the English in 1795. The Dutch inhabitants, for the most part, then made the best of circumstances, and accepted the change in government, accompanied as it was by most liberal 2')romises for the future — with the exception of a portion in the more remote districts. In Graaf-Reinet, which district was established as a magistracy in 1796, many of the Burghers refused to take the oath of allegiance, joined those of Swellundam, ejected their Landdrosts, and rose in open rebellion. This necessitated the first advance of British troops into that part of the country to awe the refractoi-y and install the new magistrate in his office. Sir John Barrow accompanied this force, and afterwards published his well-known work on South Africa, which was the lirst book written on the subject, and obtained much attention and popularity at the time, while giving much publicity to South African affairs. Border quarrels with the natives, brought on principally by cattle thefts and retaliation, but ending in victory to neither side, were constant throughout the first seven j'ears during which the English Government held the Cape ; and finally a sort of patched-up peace was made with the Kaffir tribes and Hottentots, just previous to the execution of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, by which the colony reverted to its original owners. During the British occupancy, however. 6 Vilth the Boers in the Transvaal. over £1,000,000 sterling bad been siDcnt on defensive audotber purely military works, wbicb materially assisted tbe onward l^rogress of tbe colony. Tbe first tbiug done by tbe new Dutcli Governor Janssens, was to journe}- tbrougbout tbe colony, visiting tbe frontiers, settlers, and native cbiefs, listening to tbcir grievances, and striving earnestly to provide for tbeir remedy in tbe future ; and tins was tbe earliest and first step taken in tbe rigbt direction towards a juster, truer, and more liberal treatment of bolb tbe wbite and black iubabitants of tbo Cape Colony. Tbe improved administration tbus begun bad little time given it to develop, as upon war breaking out again in Europe between En gland and France, tbe importance of sucb a station for naval and military purposes was so great tbat a fleet and compiement_ofjo kliers wa s sent out to reca pture it. TITiswas done byGeneral Sir D. Baird, after a gallant tliougb useless defence made ^y~ General Janssens at tbe bead of Ins iTirtcli io j'ces a nd native~~allies . Tbe capitulation was confir med sb ortly afterwards, j iid in 180G, tbe Cap e again came under Rnfjpli ^nvf^y nment. nnd bas remained so ever since. Tbe total population at tbat time was about G2,000, exclusive of Kaffirs, divided as follows : — 21,000 wbitcs, 2G,000 slaves, and 15,000 Hottentots; witb a revenue of under £100,000, Capo Town alone bad about 1,200 bouses, inbabited by 5,500 wbitcs, and 10,000 slaves. Mr. Noble, in bis work, sa3's, witb reference to tins period : — ** Tbe Cape of Good Hope for some j^ears after tliis continued to be regarded l)y tbo Dritisb Government as merely a temporary possession by concjuest; but tbe acbicvc- ments of tbe allied forces in Europe baving secured a permanent ])cace, in 1814, a convention was tlien agreed to, between tbe Prince, Sovereign of tbe restored and United Nctberlands, and His Majesty tbe King of Great IBritain, by wbicb, in considera- tion of certain cbarges provided by tbe latter for tbe defence of tbo Low Countries, and tbcir settlement in union witb Holland, tbe colony of tbe Capo of Good Hope, togctbor witb Demorara, Essequibo, and Ijcrbice, was ceded in perpetuity to tbo ]3ritisli Crown. Tbe colony tlius definitively became a sbarer in tbo importauco of tbe mother country, and in tbo benefits of her Eastern Froniier. 7 commercial power." Things, after this, went on quietly and slowly, hut progressively, the presence of a large military force necessitating a heavy expenditure, and producing a corresponding amount of agricultural industry and commercial activity. The condition of the towns improved rapidly, hut the larger and more scattered rural jiopulation was still far hehind in educa- tional and social advantages. Being in isolated positions, and far away from one another, the young people of both sexes had little or no communication with others than those in their own immediate family circle, so they necessarily grew up without a knowledge of even the rudiments of education, with selfish views, and bigoted and narrow-minded opinions. As these also narried and had families it became necessary for them to leave the paternal home and "trek" away still further, with the share of cattle, &c., given them for a start by their relations, as is customary among them. As the eastern border of the colony had been lixed at the Fish Eiver in 1778, and the country beyond swarmed with Kaffirs (many of whom were settled even to the west of the border or within Cape territory), there was little inducement for these men to go eastward. Consequently, as a vast expanse of country more suited to pastoral pursuits, and less thickly populated with natives, lay away to the north, they chose tha' direction and soon began to establish themselves over the then almost imaginary northern border line. To do away with or lessen cattle-thieving and border quarrels, steps were taken by the Government, on the recommendation of Colonel Collins, in 1809, to drive out all the Kaffirs, then living in the colony, over the Fish River, and to compel them to remain there. A force to effect this oly'ect was collected, consisting of some military and some Burghers, the former under Colonel Graham, and the latter under Mr. Stockenstrom, the first English Lauddrost of Graaf Reinet. The end in view was attained, though with the loss, through treachery, of Mr. Stockenstrom and several Burghers ; and for some time after- wards a chain of forts, about a mile apart, defended the Fish River border and kept the Kaffirs in check, Grahamstown becoming the advanced head quarters of the military. Again, for some years, peace reigned, and was only broken 8 With the Boers in the TraiisraaL by an attempt at rebellion in 1815, brought about by a party of Dutch Burghers in a quarrel of one of them, Bezuideuhout, with his Hottentot servant. The interference of a field cornet, their own appointed local officer, was resisted, and the escort accompanying him was fired upon by Bezuideuhout, v>'ho was thereupon quickly shot. His relatives assembled to urge and carry out reprisals, and tried to obtain the aid of the natives against their so-called tyrants. The officer in command of the nearest military station promptly arrested the ringleader, H. Prinsloo, and martial law was proclaimed. The insurgents, however, assembled in arms, but finding the native chiefs would not assist them, and seeing the strong preparations made by the military for their punishment, the leaders fled, while their followers laid down then* arms and appealed for mercy. Some of the latter were pardoned, but over thirty were tried for high treason, in Uitenhage, and five of them Avere found guilty and executed. Their names were Hendrick Prinsloo, Cornelius Faber, Abraham Bothma, Stephanus Bothnia, and Theunis de Klerk. The others were transported or banished, and thus ended the " Slaghters Nek" rebellion. But the bitter feelings then created have borne fruit ever since. In 1820, a scheme was proposed by Lord Charles Somerset, the then Governor, to induce English emigrants to fill up the border districts or neutral ground (then recently evacuated by the Kaffirs), by free land gi*ants ; and the British Government having voted £50,000, just after the close of the great war with Napoleon Bonaparte, large numbers being unemployed at the time, there were nearly 100,000 applications, of which only about 5,000 were accepted and the persons sent out. These settlers, consisting of Enghsh, Scotch, and Irish, after many trials and vicissitudes, succeeded in finally establishing themselves, and to tlieir energy and perseverance that part of the country now called the Eastern Province owes its present proud position of being first and foremost in agriculture, commerce, and entcr])risc. Between 1820 (in which year the lioyal observatory was founded) and 1834, when the first great Kaffir war broke out, Bomc civil and jiidifial reforms were carried out; the liberty Hicrh-handed Pj'occcdijics. <>• of the Press was secured after a hard struggle — with which the name of John Fairbairn is iudehbly connected — and native affairs were phiced on a different basis. But all this was as nothing, as against the system of absolute despotism of Government carried out by Lord Charles Somerset, which quickly provoked the love of liberty and spirit of grumbling inherent in the English nation. In these struggles for more liberty and a less oppressive system of government, the more recent English colonists were joined by their Dutch brethren. Mr. Fairbairn, in describing the condition of the colony in 1827, paid the following high tribute to the character of the Cape Dutch population : — " For industry, loyalty, filial attachment, and all the features and virtues of a rising community, they would stand high in comparison with any nation on record. Their love of freedom also is strong and unquenchable, and their notion of it is simple and just ; they despise declamation, and seldom, if ever, use the word ' liberty.' But, speak to tliem of security to person and property, — of the power of checking a bad and foolish Government by a popular assembly, — of aiding the judge in the discovery of truth, and standing between the accused and the rancour and blindness of a political bench, — of regulating the taxes by the local knowledge of those who have to pay them, — and you will at once perceive that, without having read, they have the law of liberty written in their hearts." Similar language has been more recently used by the Transvaal Boers in their declarations, during the struggle for independence, and shows that the same feelings exist among them now as formerly. Public feeling at that time ran so high that steps were taken to call together public meetings for the consideration and expression of their grievances, in order to make them more fully known to the Government. But a high-handed proclamation was issued by the Governor in 182"J, notifying that public meetings for the discussion of official and political subjects were contrary to the ancient laws, and any contravention thereof would be severely punished. He also resuscitated a number of old laws of the Dutch East India Company; including one prohibiting all trade with Kaffirs. JO With the Boers in the Transvaal. But the most important, and that which prodacecl the worst ellect, uutloubteilly, was one which prevented any of the colonists or their servants from going about the country with- out an official j)ass, under penalty of being arrested and thrown into prison. This was an invasion of the rights of the sub- ject, such as has been rarely heard of or exercised in a so- called free country; and its outcome was not long in showing itself. Not being able to meet together to discuss matters publicly, the colonists got up a memorial addressed to Earl Bathurst, which came before the House of Commons and re- sulted in a Pioyal Commission being formed, consisting of three independent members, Messrs. Bigge, Colebrook, and Blair, who visited the country and concluded their report in 18"2G. Some of the recommendations contained therein and subsequently carried out were: — The separation of the colony into two provinces, the ^yestern and Eastern ; the appointment of a chief magistrate on the frontier, uniting in his hands the civil and military power in connection with the treatment of the border natives ; the appointment of a supreme and circuit courts; the abolition of all monopolies ; the apiJointment of civil commissioners instead of landdrosts, several districts being sub-divided and new magistrates established ; and, finally, the English language was ordered to be exclusively used in all official proceedings and documents. As far back as 1823, all documents issued from the Colonial Office had been drawn up in English, as also were all official notices in the colony, after 1825 ; but the order for the employment of the ]']nglish language exclusively in judicial acts and tluoughouttho colony did not take ellect until the yer.r 1827. II CHAPTER II. CAPE HISTORY — COllUnUcd, First Liylithouto aivl Newspapers — First Commissioner-General, Mr. Stockenstrom — Treaty with Ngaika — Second Kaffir War, 1818 — Eastern Border extended to tbe Keiskamma River — Kat River Hottentot Settlement — Border Raids and Reprisal* — New Native System introduced — Di>content of the Farmers — Third Kaffir War, 1834-35 — Energy of Colonel (Sir H.) Smi h— Fingoes located between Fi&h and Keiskamma Rivers — Country annexed up to Kat River — Abolition of Slavery — Beginning of Race Hatred— Ay 1 ward's Plea for early Boer Independence — Native Wars, 181(3-8, 1850-3, 1S7C-7. The first lighthouse at Green Point was erected on the coast of South Africa in 1824, and the same year saw the publication of the first Cape newspaper, TJie South African Commercial Advertiser, in Dutch and English, by Mr. Greig, of Cape Town, under the joint supervision and editorship of Messrs. Fairbairu and Pringle. The former of these gentlemen was an able writer, brilliant speaker, and humane philanthropist ; while the latter was also an able writer, a poet of no mean merit, and a personal friend of Sir Walter Scott. He was also the first librarian to the South African Public Library, the beginning of which was formed in 1761, though it was not made much use of, as a public institution, until the year 1800, on the publication of the first Government Gazette, which occurred towards the close of the first British occupation. From this time commences a new era in South African history. Mr. (afterwards Sir) Andries Stockenstrom, who had been officially connected with the government of the border colonists and natives all his life, and who had an intimate knowledge of the peculiarities of both the Boers and Kaffirs, was the first Commissioner-General appointed to take charge of the Border under the recommendations of the Pioyal Commission. But the anomaly of the position was soon made manifest ; as, owing to his disapproval of the system hitherto in vogue of military 12 Wilk the Boers in the Transvaal. patrols and Burgher reprisals, and his being totally at variaucG with the ideas of his immediate superior, the Governor, it seemed impossible for the civil and military powers to work together. The state of affairs on the border with the natives was nov/- becoming critical ; and from the time of Lord Charles Somerset's acknowledgment of Ngaika as the supreme chief of the Amascosa, tribes in Kaffirland, in 1817, troubles commenced, first between Ngaika and other Amascosa chiefs, who refused to acknowledge his supremacy, and in which we supported Ngaika ; and then between the Border colonists and the Avhole of the natives combined. A cattle dispute led to a combined attack of natives upon Ngaika, who was defeated with great loss, and compelled to fly to the mountains. The Colonial Government then camo to his assistance, sent 4,000 troops under Colonel Brcreton iu. 1818, routed the enemy under Ndlambe, reinstated Ngaika, and captured 20,000 head of cattle, half of which were given to Ngaika, and the rest divided as compensation among those Boers and colonists along the Border who had suftered from the Kaffir raids. Shortly afterwards the beaten tribes re-united invaded the colony under their celebrated prophet chief, ^lakauna (the Lynx). They cleared the district of its iuhab« itants and their stock, penetrated as far as Uitenhage, and even attacked the garrison town, Grahamstowu, with such bravery as to render the issue doubtful but for the reinforce- ments of Hottentots and guns which camo up, and succeeded in driving off the invaders. This severe lesson frightened tho colonists so much that they determined to follow up their slight advantage while they were able. An enormous combined forco of mihtury, ]>urghers, and native allies was poured into Kaffir- land, breaking up the power of the various tribes, and capturing 30,000 head of cattle. This closed tho second Kaflir war, after which tho boundaries of tho colony were again extended eastward of tho Chumie and Keiskamma llivers, tho country between iliem and tho Fish llivcr being neutral, and to remain unoccupied ; advanced posts were established in Forts l^caufort and Wiltshire, now tho centre of British KalVraria. Lord C. Somerset again visited the IVoiilicr aiid, wlier(n'er we go, that wo will nplidld the first principles of liberty ; but while we shali Conflicts wiih Zulus. 23 tate care that uo one shall he held in a state of slavery, it is our determination to maintain such rcc,ailations as may suppress crime, and preserve proper relations between master and servant." This was followed by a declaration of the reasons which induced their course of action (which I have given at the beginning of this chapter) ; but there is little doubt that many were induced to join the exodus from false rumours, w^iich were circulated by interested parties, and certainly inlluenced the more uneducated among them. Others looked forward to finding a better country to the north, from the descriptions given by those who had been there ; while, lastly, there were many religious bigots of the advanced " Dopper " type, who likened their exodus to that of the Israelites, and who hoped in time to reach the "promised land" spoken about in the Bible. It will be best, at this portion of the history of the emigrant Boers, to follow the steps of those Avho penetrated into Natal ; to show what difficulties they had to contend with, both from the nature of the country and from the Zulus ; and to follow them throughout their short stay there, their quarrel with the English, and the subsequent settlement of some of them, and the return of the others to the Transvaal and Orange Free State. The first small party which penetrated into Xatal was followed in 1836 by a second and larger one, under the leader- ship of Gert Maritz and Pieter Ketief, a combination of whose names was given to the present capital and seat of government in Xatal, Pietermaritzburg. They soon came in contact with Dingaan, at that time King of the Zulus, a tribe who had depopulated Natal, and finding an English settlement on the coast and fearing disputes about land, they determined to "proceed into Zululand for the purpose of obtaining a cession of land direct from the King himself. Upon their arrival, Dingaan promised them what is now Natal, upon condition of their making a neighbouring native chief, Sikonyella, restore a large number of cattle stolen from the Zulus. This they succeeded in doing, and they brought back, from beyond the Drakensberg, sixty horses and seven hundred oxen. A treaty was then prepared by Mr. Owen, an English missionary, who 24 With the Boers in the Transvaal. had resided for some time near the King's royal kraal at Umgungunhlova, when Eetief and his party were feasted for two days, and this treaty was formally proclaimed. The Dutchmen were then invited to make a farewell visit to the King within the enclosure occupied solely by his own huts, and to leave their arms outside, as was customary. To this Ketief incautiously acceded, and after they had partaken of some native beer, and had a short " indaba," they were set upon by several thousands of Dingaan's armed soldiers, placed in ambush, and nearly all slain. Diugaan followed up this massacre by sending parties of his warriors over the Tugela into Natal, and they attacked, without warning, all the small parties of Dutchmen carelessly encamped in various directions. They completely sm-prised and slew to a man one large party on the Blaukranz river, and then spread southward. But the other Boers were warned in time, converted their waggons into strong laagers and beat the Zulus off, while the small English settlement in the Bay sent a small party of whites and native allies across the Tugela to cause a diversion : but they were repulsed with loss, and upon the Zulus advancing to the attack of Durban those left took refuge in a ship in the Bay. Shortly afterwards 400 more Boers came over the Drakeus- berg, and another advance was made into Zululand, ending in defeat and the loss of their most gallant leader, P. Uys, and his no less gallant son. ]^ut in December following, having been further strongly reinforced, a party of 550 well- armed and mounted men, under Andries Prctorius and Carl Landmann, crossed the Tugela and gave battle to the Zulu forces of Dingaan, estimated at 1*2,000 men, near the Umsla- toosi river, and after a severe light defeated them entirely, killing over 2,000, and driving back with them into Natal over 5,000 head of cattle. They burned the King's kraal down to the ground, and established themselves in conlidenco in Pictcrmaritzburg, Durban, and other places, feeling con- scious that they had effectually broken, at any rate for many years, the lighting power and will of the Zulu nation. A brother of Dingaan, named Umpanda, living at that time as a refageo in Natal, then made advances of friendship towards Dingaan and Uvipanda. 25 the Dutch ; and at last an alliance, offensive and defensive, was entered into between them. A combined force was sent ai^'ainst Dingaan, who was again defeated and had to fl}' for his life, being shortly afterwards killed by a tribe to the north with wiiom he had taken refuge. Umpanda was immediately proclaimed supreme chief of the Zulus in 1840, by Andrics Pretorius, before a large assemblage of Boers and natives on the banks of the Eiver Umvoloosi. The Boers then reserved to themselves the greater portion of the whole territory from the Black Umvoloosi to St. John's river, and assumed para- mount authority even over Umpanda himself. As an indemnity for their previous losses they received from him 3G,000 head of cattle, of which 14,000 were delivered to those of their friends who had come over the Drakensberg only to help them, while the remaining 22,000 were taken into Natal and divided between themselves and those Avho had claims for losses caused by the Zulu nation. The whole of the territory thus claimed they intended making into an independent Picpublic, under the name of the " Zuid Afrikansche Maatschappij," and arrangements to forward this object were quickly projected and carried out. This scheme did not, however, find favour with the Cape authorities, who still considered the Boers as emigrant British subjects, and who had already begun to attach some importance to the settlement at Durban established by Lieut. Farewell and Mr. H. Fynn in 1823. The Imperial Government also refused to permit the erection of any independent governments by its subjects in any part of South Africa ; so that in 1838, when the news arrived at the Cape of the bloodshed and devas- tation, and the consequent reprisals which had followed on the *' Relief Massacre," Sir George Napier despatched a military force to Natal to look after British interests. He also issued a rather hastil}'- worded proclamation as to the ''unwarrantable acts " of the emigrant Boers, and directed all arms and am- munition to be seized, and all trade stopped, except such as had the Government license. This caused more angry feelings and discontent, both of which were fanned into flames by the sym- pathy shown by many of the Cape colonists for their unfor- fortunate self-expatriated countrymen. 26 With the Boers in the Transvaal. Only 100 men of the 72ud, under Captain Jervis, were sent round to Durban, with ten artillerymen and one oflficer, the ci"vdl and military power being deputed to Major Charteris, B.A., whose instructions were to use no force unless attacked. On his arrival most of the Boers were away fighting Dingaan, and the few English settlers had surrounded themselves by refugee Kaffirs, who worked for them, and gladly lived under their protection. Major Charteris quickly returned to the Colony overland, leaving Captain Jervis in command ; and in his report to the Government he said: — "The Boers in these camps had built huts for themselves, a few of them were tolerably comfortable, but, generally speaking, there existed every indication of squalid poverty and wretchedness ; and it was deplorable to see many families who, a short time pre- viously, had been living in ease and comfort in the Colony, now reduced to poverty and misery. They bore up against these calamities with wonderful firmness, however, and, with very few exceptions, showed no inclination to return. They considered themselves as unjustly and harshly treated by the Colonial Government while under its jurisdiction, and all they now desired from it was to leave them to their own resources, and not molest them again. This spirit of dislike to the English sway was remarkably dominant amongst the women. Most of these, who formerl}^ had lived in aflluence, but were now in comparative want and subject to all the incon- veniences accompanying the insecure state in which they wero existing, having lost moreover their husbands and brothers by the savages, still rejected with scorn the idea of returning to the Colony. If any of the men began to droop, or lose courage, they urged them on to fresh exertions and kept alivo the spirit of resistance within them." Friendly feelings were, however, maintained, principally through tlu! tact and niodcriition of Captain Jervis, until the close of 18;3'.), when the Government withdrew the troops, being ordered to send the 72nd home. In a letter addressed to the Landdiost Ifoos of Durban, on his departure, inler (ilia, Captain Jervis concluded iis follows : — " It now only remains for mo to wish you, one and nil, as a community every ReptLblican Government Established. 27 happiness, sincerely hoping that, a\yarG of your strength, peace may he the ohjcct of your councils ; justice, prudence, and moderation he the law of your actions ; that your proceedings may be actuated by motives worthy of you as men and Christians ; that hereafter your arrival may be hailed as a benefit, having enlightened ignorance, dispelled superstition, and caused crime, bloodshed, and oppression to cease ; and that you may cultivate those beautiful regions in quiet and prosperity, ever regardful of the rights of the inhabitants v>-hose country you have adopted, and whose home you have made your own." The withdrawal of the troops and this vale- dictory address, combined with the knowledge that the Home Government did not wish to extend its South African colonies, made the Boers believe fully that the country was abandoned to their governance. Thej^ at once installed themselves in the deserted Government buildings at the Bay, fired a salute, hoisted their colours, and again proclaimed the " Republic of Natal," with great rejoicing — which was, alas! soon turned into sorrow at the action of the Cape Governor. A form of government, after the example of Holland, was inaugurated, such as was then in force at the Cape, excepting in matters of a local nature, and a Council, or " Yolksraad," v/as established. The members of the Council, being anxious to have their independence officially admitted and recognized, sent a memorial, praying for the same, to the Cape Governor, who answered it in the negative. The leaders of th e people then reiterated their demands, stating that thejj were Dutch South Africans by birth ; that at once, after leaving theCape^ they had proclaimed their ind ependence, and, consequently, were ho longer Bi-itish subjects, and w ould remain in the country they had conquered, under their present system of government. The'arrivaT at Natal about this time of a vessel fr^mTIoTran cTw ith~su"ppli es,^!ncl the unauthorized statements of the captain and supercargo, that th e King of Holland would protect and assist them in~Ehe^formation of their Bepublic , led the Boers to consider the advisability of resisting any attempts at annexation. "After some n egotiation another military force , consisti^g~of 250 m^n '"ancT two guns, was sent up from th e 28 With the Boers in the Transvaal. Cape overland to regain pos session of Natal, and at th e same time to awe some unrulylvaffir tribes oi route. The command of , iL . this force was entrusted to Captain (afterwards General) Smith, of the 27111 Regiment. On the arrival of the troops at Durban, i n May 1842 , Captain Smith received an order from the Boers to withdraw from their territory, " as they were no longer British subjects, but under the protection of Holland." The Boers, having been reinforced from the inland districts, formed an intrenched camp at the Congella, three miles from the British position, and showed signs of a vigorous resistance. Captain Smith then summoned them to disperse, and while he was arranging to attack their camp by night, eleven days after the arrival of the soldiers, the Boers commenced hostilities themselves by capturing sixty oxen belonging to the troops. This was immediately followed up, on Captain Smith's part, by the projected night attack, resulting in complete failure, owing to the Boers being previously informed of the plan — how is not known — and forming an ambuscade. After this, the British troops were completely hemmed in at the fort, the Boers capturing the guns and some prisoners in the town, who •were sent up to Pietermaritzburg. A messenger was, however, found — Mr. Richard King — who swam his horse across the Bay at night, and, after unheard-of adventures, reached the frontiers of the Cape, a distance of (500 miles, in ten days, with despatches announcing the desperate position of Captain Smith's small but brave garrison. Arrangements were immediately made to forward help. A small schooner, the Condi, then lying in Algoa liay, was despatched to their relief, with all the available troops under Colonel Hare, and succeeded in reaching the beleaguered camp within a month from the departure of the messenger sent to request assistance. II, M.S. SoKtluniijitoii. was also sent up with more troops under Colonel Cloeto, and arrived only twenty-four hours after tlio Conch. About a fortnight after the beginning of the siege the Mazeppd, a local vessel, had managed to slip her cable and get away to sea — under fire from the Dutch fort at the point — and transferred the women and children from the British camp to Delagoa Bay, in reach Dispersal mid Submission of Boc7's. 29 of any of H.M. ships of war. In the meantime tlic besieged weie falling short of provisions, but gallantly made several sorties against the Boer camp, fighting with great pluck. By the 18th June the garrison — already diminished by deaths and sickness, though not desponding — were reduced to hiltoiu/ (dried horse-flesh), rice, biscuit dust, and forage corn, with execrable water. Six days afterwards they were cheered at perceiving rockets from the sea, and again on the night follo^^ing. The reinforcements, to the number of 700, were soon landed, and the Boers, although they fired on the open boats entering the narrow harbour-channel — afire soon silenced by a few shells from the SoiitJiampton — made no other stand, but retired at once to ■Slaritzburg, whence, upon Colonel Cloete's advance, they sent a deputation to meet him, and offered terms of submission. On the 5th of July Colonel (after- wards Sir Josias) Cloete, having offered a free pardon to all but their leaders, accepted their submission in Pietermaritzburg, and granted a general amnesty to all, with the exception of A. W. Pretorius, J. Prinsloo, J. J. Burgher, and M. N. S. Yan Breda., only the former of whom was afterwards included in the amnesty. The principal portion of the troops was then re- embarked in the SoutJiaiiq^ton, and Captain Smith was again left in command. By the terms of peace the Boers were allowed to return to their homes, with their horses and arms, and no confiscation of property should take place, while their existing civil govern- ment system was also left j^ro tern. ; but the command over the port was kept in the hands of the military. Colonel Cloete's leniency was approved by the Home Government, who hoped thereby to turn the steadfast hatred, hitherto manifested against the British Government by the Boers, into a certain amount of gratitude and loyalty. At the end of 1842, the then Secretary of State, Lord Stanley, informed the Boers that Her Majesty could not be insensible to their good qualities, nor to the past hardships which they had undergone ; and, in con- sideration thereof, had been pleased to bury in oblivion all past transactions, and invited an expression of their wishes for the future government of the country, subject only to the follow- JVifh the Boers iii the Transvaal. ing conditions : — 1, That tliere slioulJ not be, in tlie eye of the law, any distinction of colour, or disqualification whatever, founded on mere distinction of colour, origin, language, or creed ; but that the protection of the law, in letter and in sub- stance, should be extended impartially to all alike. 2, That no aggression should be made upon the natives. And, 3, That slavery, in any shape or under any modification, was absolutely imlawfal. The Hon. Henry Cloete, brother of Colonel Cloete, was sent round as Commissioner, to consider and satisfy the claims of the Boers. He was supported by a small escort of the 45th llegiment, as there was still some irritation among the people, and much excitement consequent on the arrival of a deputation of armed Boers from beyond the Drakens- berg, who were awaiting his arrival under the impression that the Government was going to claim all the territory up to the Orange Piiver. H owever, upon his explaining that the Drakcns- b erg range of mountains was to be the northern boundary, that was accepted as a basis of settlement, and they then withdrew, acCPmpamed^'T)y"many who still diil not desire to live uncLer British rule ; ^while the re st, including Andries Pretorius, Stephanus Maritz, D. Poortman, P. ]\I. Zeitsman, and J. N. Boshoff, acting on beliaIf~of the \ olksnuul, acc epted tlie tern is oli'ered, and on tbc bth Aug ust, 184(5, Natal beca mr; a.nncxpd to the Britisli_Crown»__ Ee?ugec natives from Zulula nd and elsewhere began to flock in from all ])arts under the protection of the wliites. Their numbers increased yearly from o,000, when the ilnglisli first settled in the ]jay, to 80,(K)0 or 100,000 in a few years ; and at present amount to nearly half-a-million. The natives have continued to live peacefully up to the present time — with a few minor exceptions — under a system of government organized and superintended by the Shepstoues — a family which came out, with many otbers of colonial note, in 1820, and which has since given many useful members to the colonial service. XJie ^liistory of Natal may thus fi tly be summed up as having been for majryi-Jv^iirs tlui lioi ne of a peaceful aiid^ rulhlessly Natal a British Colony. 3 1 C Qiituryy the Dutch established a small trading settle ment, at w hat is now Durban, which w as, however, soon abandon ed. They were followed b^' an English band of traders, in 1823, who, with the scattered remnants of the surrounding native tribes and Zulu refugees, remained there quietly for nearly thirteen years, only to be succeeded by another seven years of varying fortune, attendant upon the immigration of the Boers and their numerous conflicts with the Zulu nation, and then with the more civilized power of Great Britain. Finally, the country became a British colony, by proclamation, " for the peace,"~protection, and salutary control of all classes of nicn settTeTlF^and s urrounding this important portio n of South Africa." 32 With the Boo'S in the Transvaal. CHAPTER 17. GREAT EXODUS NORTHWARD ::5. The Migration Northwards — Conflict with Moselckatze — Potchefstrom Founded — Further "Trekking" — Boer Collision with Griquas — Swaart Koppie's Engage- ment — Peace Patched up — The Natal Exodus— Reasons therefor and Stei>s taken — Pretorius' Journey to the Cape — His Letter and Actions — Sir H. Smith's Arrival — Meeting with Boers— Conciliatory Promises — His Manifesto — Armed Opposition — Boers drive out British from Orange River Territory — The Battle of Booraplat— Subsequent Steps — Pacification of Country — Dutch Reformed Church Mission to Boers. While the stream of emigration had been directed to the north-cast, resulting in the settlement of Natal, as shown in the previous chapter, others and larger ones flowed straight northward, settling down as fancy dictated or the look of the country justified, in the enormous tracts of pasture lands between the Orange and Taal Rivers ; others even going beyond the Vaal, in the then unknown country to the north and north- east. These parties were composed principally of those Boers from the Capo who were determined not to remain any longer uiulcr the oppressive British rule ; but partly also of others, who had been more or less concerned in previous antagonism to the Government, and included many whoso positions as leaders had marked them out for special punish- ment by the authorities, and whose lives and properties were therefore considered as being unsafe while within the reach of the law. The total number of emigrants who thus voluntarily left the Cape Colony, during the years 1835-3G, was variously estimated at from 5,()()() to 10,(){)(). But from what I have since learned from many of the men themselves or their descendants, I think the higher estimate is the moro correct, if wo include those who colonized Natal. If we con- sider the number of the white population of the Cape, in 180G, Conflict with Moselekatze. 33 which was about 21,000, and that ascertained by the census of 18G5, viz., nearly 200,000, we may fairly estimate the number in 1835 to have been, at the outside, about 100,000. Of these a tenth part willingly expatriated themselves, giving up com- parative riches and comfort for poverty and hardships of every description. The history — first attempted by Aylward — of these brave, hardy, and simple people, who have done every- thing for the opening up and colonization of South Africa, when more fully written and brought before the other nations of the world, will rank as equal, for perseverance, endurance, pluck, and adventures, with any other similar movement, either in America or elsewhere ; and will gain the respect, if not the admiration, of all. "While, with the exception of a few dark deeds, — nothing in comparison with what has occurred and still happens in America, Asia, and the Australasian groups — their simple method of life, religious character, primi- tive Government, and constant struggles against both white and black neighbours and the forces of nature, will compare favourably with the history of any other pioneering or coloniz- ing attempts, either of ancient or modern days. But to return to the exodus northwards : — The first parties had but little difficulty with the natives between the Orange and Vaal Piivers, consisting of only scattered remnants of various tribes, Bushmen, Griquas, Basutos, Baralongs, Bechuanas, Mantatus, and Korumas, who had been destroyed, scattered, or subjected by Moselekatze, the powerful Zulu chief who had seceded from Charka some teu j'ears previously, and had established the Amatabele nation for himself. The sway of this chief then extended from the Vaal River to the Limpopo ; but since the establishment of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, his son and successor, Lo Benjiila, has only held command over the district between the Limpopo and the Zambesi. Moselekatze soon heard of the advance of the white men, and attacked them on several occasions with varied fortune. In 1838, a large force of Boers, collected together from all parts, crossed the Vaal and attacked one of Mosele- katze's principal towns. Having beaten the natives and recaptured the cattle, &c,, previously taken from them, they D 34 JJ'ifh the Boers in the Transvaal. retired to the Sand Paver. There, having seen the necessity of comhiued action and a settled form of g-overnment, Eetief and other leaders estahlished a state on the old Dutch system, concluded treaties with the surrounding tribes, and finally settled down in scattered communities all over the Modder, Yet, and Sand Eiver districts, establishing the seat of govern- ment at Bloemfontein, where they were joined from time to time by others. Another large party, which, under Potgieter and Uys, had gone into Xatal to help the other Boers then fighting the Zulus, returned after the death of Uys, and crossed the Vaal River in 1838. Finding the country abandoned by Moselekatze, they settled themselves over the border, founding the town of Potchefstrom or Mooi River Darp. But when a proclamation reached them from Governor Napier, stating that they were not yet released from their allegiance to the Crown, and that all oflences committed by British subjects, up to 25° of south latitude, were punishable in the Cape Colony Courts, they abandoned the Potchefstrom district, "trekked" further on again, and founded new settlements at Zoutpansbcrg and Leydenberg, whence they opened up communications with the Portuguese settlements on the east coast, and for a time were left in peace. The Boers Avho had settled down in the Orange River territory rented or bought lands from the Griqua and IBasuto chiefs — who, being the strongest, claimed paramount authority over their respective districts — but they were soon brought face to face with numerous difficulties and troubles, caused by many disputes about land with the natives, and resulting in an actual collision between the Griqua chief, Adam Koli, 'and a few of the more headstrong and foolish ]3oers under men named Mocke and Dicdericksc. They were advised and encouraged in this resistance to the native pretensions by many of those who had returned from Natal to tho north, .•;fter brealdng tho power of two such powerful chiefs as JDiiigaan and Moselekatze. Tho IBoers expressed their dcstcrmination to drive out tho natives, and one thing led to another until Adam Kok at last iipplicd to the British authorities for help and protection. Mr. Boer Collision zvith Griqtcas. 35 Mcnzics, one of the judges of the Supreme Court, then sitting at Colesberg, accompanied the magistrate to remonstrate with the Boers, and a little way over the boundary they were met by the party under Mocke. After a stormy interview. Judge Mcnzics dechared that, in Her Majesty's name, he took posses- sion of all the country lying south of 25° south latitude and east of 22° east longitude. This act served temporarily as a check to the Boers, but it was disallowed by the Government, and no further steps were taken, except that some troops were moved up and stationed at Colesberg to watch the course of events. Later on. Colonel Hare, then in command of the troops and also Lieutenant-Governor, issued a proclamation, stating his intention of enforcing the submission of every British subject beyond the boundary, and offering a free j)ardon to all who at once submitted, except the actual leaders. A conference being held, many submitted, and others stated the reasons of their discontent, complaining that the Griquas and other natives were allowed greater liberty of self-government than was granted to themselves. No more active steps were taken by the Boers till 1843, after treaties of peace were entered into by the British authorities with Adam Kok, chief of the Griquas, and Moshesh, chief of the Basutos, similar to the treaty concluded in 1834 with another Griqua chief, Waterboer. Subsequently, war broke out between the Boers and Griquas about the rights of the former to punish their Griqua servants — a right denied by Adam Kok — the Griqua town of Philipolis was attacked by a Boer commando, and several men shot and cattle captured. The Government of Cape Colony then again interfered, and sent up a force of cavalry to co-operate with the infantry at Colesberg. Colonel Eichardson, who was in command — finding that the negotia- tions between the Boers and the magistrate at Colesberg, both for the delivering up of the men who had shot the natives and for the return of the captured cattle, were unsuccessful — marched up his troop of the 7th Dragoon Guards, with Cape Mounted Rifles, and some of the 91st Foot, attacked the Boer camp suddenly at Zwart Koppies, thirty miles to the north of Philipolis, and completely dislodged them from their rocky D 2 36 With the Boers in the Transvaal. position, pursuing them across a plain, where, but for the unusual mercy shown them, they would have been all cut down. That night most of the fugitives sent in their sub- mission, stating that they had no intention of taking up arms against the British, and that their quarrel was entirely with the Griquas, who had recently assumed an insolent attitude towards them, after their treaty of peace had been made with the Colonial Government. There was doubtless a great deal of truth in this, as after events have proved, and as our recent more intimate knowledge of the natives has shown. Every allowance ought therefore to be made for the action taken by the Boers. The leaders, however, declined to submit, and retired still further to the northward, with a stronger determination than ever not to come again under British rule. The principal of these were Mocke, Steyn, Du Plooy, and Kok. The Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir P. Maitland, set out at once for the border, accompanied by Mr. Porter, the Attorney-General. Having held several conferences with Boers, Griquas, and Basutos, he finally arranged to divide the lands to be held by the natives — entitled Inalienable, from those of the Boers, called Alienable — giving the latter leases for payment of a quit rent, out of the proceeds of which tho expenses of a British Resident were to be defrayed, the balance going to the chiefs of the tribes in whose districts tho lands lay. This worked well enough as a general rule; but there were many Boers settled on lands which were declared to be part of the " Inalienable " districts ; and as it would not have been just to order their immediate removal, a forty years' lease was gi-anted them. But they were bound to leave their farms entirely, without compensation of any kind, at the expiration of their leases. As, however, tho Boers had built on, improved, ploughed, enclosed, and irrigated their property, tliis settlement was unjust to them, and was tho cause of much future trouble. An important event now occurred which led to the second collision between the Boers and the liritish, and finally to the freedom of the Orange Free blute. In Natal, previous to its being constituted a separate Govern- The Natal Exodus. 37 racnt in 1845, those Boers that remained hecame very unsettled in consequence of the large influx of Zulu refugees, and the uncertainty then existing as to the future intentions of the British Government. Their Yolksraad passed a resolution requiring the Zulus to move out of the Colony within fourteen days, and applied to the military commandant. Major Smith, for assistance in carrying out this difficult and certainly hasty measure. In answer to their request, the British commandant stated his inability to comply with their demands, and ad- vised them to wait until the new Government was established. This they were disinclined to do ; and by the time a Consti- tution was granted to Natal, the farmers had again begun to ** trek." Many steps were taken to prevent further discontent and the continuance of the exodus. Land grants were made easy and of enlarged proportions, and other laws were relaxed ; but to little permanent good, as the effect thus produced was more than counterbalanced by the report of a Commission appointed to regulate the control of the largo number of natives then settled in Natal. Sir T. Shepstoue, the chief Political Kesident at Fort Peddie, among the Fingoes, Dr. Stanger, the Surgeon-General, Lieut. Gibb, R.E., and two American missionaries, Lindley and Adams, formed the Commission ; and they drew up a plan, based on the scheme proposed by Mr. Cloete, whereby the natives should be placed on and confined exclusively to reserves of locations in different districts, and be solely under the control of responsible European magistrates. This scheme required money; but none was forthcoming from England, where Earl Grey's policy was the reduction of Colonial expenditure. This left matters in the same unsatisfactory state, and effectually crippled the hands of Mr. T. Shepstone, the Secretary of Native Affairs, who, in one of his reports after a slight out- break, very candidly and justly wrote : — " By neglecting to invest money in the profitable occupation of improving " — the natives — " we have been forced to lavish it in the unproductive, miserable, melancholy work of repression ; and the necessity for this last kind of expenditure will increase in the exact proportion in which v»"c continue to neglect the first." 38 IViik the Boers in the Ti'ansvaaL Finally, the Dutch farmers dotcrmhied to "trek," as they considered the native element too treacherous and powerful to he relied upon for the future peace and safety of the Colony in the hands of the Government, unless hacked up with a large military force. But hefore leaving to join their relatives in the Orange Free State and Transvaal, they deputed Mr. Audries Pretorius, their former head and representative in the Natal Volksraad, personally to see the new Governor and High Com- missioner at the Cape, to explain these grievances and appeal for their redress. Pretorius accordingly proceeded overland through the Orange Free State ; and, on his way, he met a body of emigrants at Wiuhurg, under Commandant Kok, Avho decided also to send a deputy, Mr. C. Du Plooy, to the Governor with him. Upon their arrival at Grahamstown, Sir Henry Pottinger, the new Governor, absolutely refused to see them, even after their long tedious journey, and in spite of the critical state of affairs throughout South Africa, asserting that what the Deputies had to state should be submitted in writing. This was done in a memorial recapitulating all their previous grievances, to which was added a more recent one, which occurred at Bloemfontein, where the British Eesidcut had dis- armed many of the emigrants, and thus deprived them of their chief means of support and defence. Finding that even then no redress could be obtained from the Governor, Mr. Pretorius issued a series of letters to the public through the medium of the press, written most abl}^ eloquently, and moderately. Ho said, in conclusion : — " I resume my journey to Natal to- morrow with a heavy heart. The object for which I braved every difficulty, and left my wife and family almost unprotected for a considerable period, I have not obtained, and have thus performed a long journey to no purpose ; and I go back to my constituents to inform them that I have neither seen nor spoken to the Lion of tlio Colony, Sir Henry Pottinger ; that I havo not received a proper answer to my written representations — the document purporting to bo such appearing to me unsuitable, and the remarks contained in it so irrelevant, that it is im- possible for rac to conjecture what bad results may be tho consequence when it becomes known amongst us. I return, I Sir H. SmitJis Arrival. 39 say, to fiLide the time when I shall surely see realized all I have said about murder, robbery, and the firebrand ; perhaps to sacrifice my life. But I have the satisfaction of knowing that 1 raised my voice against misrule, the fruits Avhereof will be clearly seen when it shall be too late to go back." How moderate and true these utterances Avere, recent events and the course of the last twenty years have shown. On the return of Pretorius to Natal desperate proceedings were proposed by some ; but all determined to "trek." Another new Governor then turned up, Sir Harry Smith, well known and previously liked by many colonists. He soon put things a little straight in the Colony, and came up quietly to the Border, vdiere he had a series of interviews with the native chiefs and the Boers, arranging affairs satisfactorily for all parties, at any rate iJvo tern. He then travelled over the Berg to Natal, and at the Tugela he met Pretorius and his fellow-countrymen, who had already started for the Yaal Paver. The miserable condition in which he found them — it being the height of the wet season — their frieudly feelings towards himself, and calm statement of their various complaints, aroused in him a strong feeling of admiration and pity ; and he determined to do what he could to alleviate their condition and induce them to return to the homes they had founded with many vicissitudes in Natal. He promised them legal titles to their lands, appointing a Com- mission, on which was their own leader, Pretorius, to carry this out and receive applications ; granted an amnesty for all political offences; ordered the removal of the natives beyond certain boundaries ; organized a police force ; legalized marriages duly contracted between them, though without the presence of any authorized minister, and not in conformity with the Cape laws (which are very strict on the subject of inheritance), and promised to promote education and the erection of schools and churches. These measures, thankfully accepted at the time, were not however suflBcient to restrain many of the more embittered among them. Within a month of Sir H. Smith's return to Cape Town, he learnt, much to his regret, that Pretorius had left Natal, thrown in his lot with the more discontented of the Boers in the Orange Free State and Trans- 40 IVith the Boers in the Transvaal. vaal, and determined to oppose by force the further encroach- ments of the British. This step received such an amount of support, that the news thereof produced regret for the present and fear for the future in the minds of the more sensible among the Cape Colonists. A Commission of the Dutch Church Synod was sent up to visit and advise the Boers ; and Sir H. Smith published a manifesto which attracted much attention at the time, being of a semi-pathetic and religious nature, ending with threats of the utmost severity. Its circu- lation, however, combined with the appointment of magistrates to the new districts of Bloemfontein, Winburg, and Caledon, smoothed matters over in that part of the Orange Free State. It was different, however, further north, where the most dis- satisfied of the Boers dwelt. They held meetings, claimed the country between the Vet and Vaal Rivers as having been pur- chased by Potgieter in 1838 from the chief Makwana for some cows ; and finally, at a large meeting held at Potchefstrom, adopted certain resolutions which were sent to the High Com- missioner. The leaders at that time were Prctorius, Kvuger, Potgieter, Bothes, Prinsloo, Kok, and Steyn. They also issued a counter manifesto, and tried to unite some native allies against the probable military operations then threatened. In this docu- ment they stated that no faith could be placed in Sir H. Smith's promises ; that the Government was only extending its rule to make soldiers of them ; that it was useless to fly further north, where fevers had killed so many of them, and sickness thinned their cattle ; and they appealed to the women to send their husbands and sons to light for their country and faith ; and concluded with a threat of forfeiture of lands to those who did not join them. For some time Sir H. Smith would not credit the importance of the reports of Major Warden, the liritish Resident at Bloemfontc^iii ; nor yet of a communication made by Sir A. Stockenstrom of the warlike plans of Pretorius and others. But in the meantime, Pretorius had commenced the contest, making his hcad-ijuarters at Win])nrg, and began to expel all the British oflicers and in- habitants from the territory north of the Orange Ptiver. Two Battle of Boomplaats. 4 1 limidrcd men joined liim from beyond the Vaal, but Potgietor liimself did not accompany them. On the 17th July they appeared before Bloemfontein, their numbers having been increased on the road to nearly 500. They encamped about two miles off, and sent a letter to the Resident demanding his retirement from the country with the British forces, which only amounted to less than 100 men, including civilians and deserters from the Boers. The Magistrate, being also encum- bered with over 200 women and children, badly provisioned, and with a number of refugee natives, accepted the terms offered — to evacuate with all their property — and proceeded to Colesberg. Similar terms were accepted by the Magistrates at Winburg and Caledon. When this news reached Sir H. Smith, at Cape Town, he sent up troops to the Orange River, and issued a proclamation offering £2, 000 reward for the apprehension of A. W. Pretorius, who was declared a rebel ; and he himself quickly reached Colesberg, where he awaited the concentration of troops. Here he received a message from Pretorius, as "Chief of the whole United Emigrant Force," desiring to speak with him ; but the Governor declined to see or treat with "rebels in arms." The river was crossed and an advance made at once by the troops, consisting of two companies each of the 45th, 91st, and Rifle Brigade ; two troops of Cape Mounted Rifles, and two field guns, or altogether about 700 men. A number of Griquas, under Waterboer and Adam Kok, and some loyal Boers joined them on the march. No opposition was encountered until the 28th August, 18-i8. The Boers were then found strongly posted at Boomplaats. They were under the command of Pretorius, Gat Kruger, Andries Stander, and engaged the British force in a severe conflict, lasting nearly three hours, and resulting in their ultimate defeat and flight, but only after having inflicted severe losses on the military ; who lost one ofiicer and eight men killed, and six officers and thirty-nine men wounded. The Boers left forty-nine dead on the field, the number of wounded not being known. Pretorius, with a few relatives, fled out of the Orange Free State and across the Yaal River. Two only of the Boer force were taken prisoners, a Cape farmer, Dreycr, 42 Wit/i the Boers in the Transvaal. and Quigle}', a deserter from the 45tli Eegimcut. Thev were tried, couvicted, and shot, at Bloemfontein, and were buried in the exact spot where Major "Warden signed the capitulation of the town to Pretorius. Sir H. Smith rode on to Winhurg, all oppo- sition having ceased, and the people coming forward readily to take the oath of allegiance. Two of the Boer commanders, Paul Bester and Gut Ivi-ugcr, were pardoned, and heavy fines. were inflicted on all those who were known to have taken a part in the rebellion, the money, which amounted to over £10,000, being applied to defray the expenses of the troops through having had to cross the Orange River. Subsequently, on the 8th September, Sir Harry Smith proclaimed the Orange Free State as a British Sovereignt}', with a salute of twenty-one guns, and reinstated Major Warden and the other British officials. He granted the inhabitants a liberal government; and, knowing their peculiar character and religious ideas, he gave them the fullest possible liberty, and encouraged and assisted a mission to them from the Dutch Eeformed Church at Cape Town. This mi<;sIon was undertaken by the Pieverends Dr. Piobertson and Fame, who even penetrated as far as the Magaliesbcrg, to the north of the Vaal, where Pretorius and others had founded the beginning of the Transvaal llcpublic. The effect of this mission has thus been stated by Noble : — *' Their communication with the exiles in the Transvaal had a most beneficial influence : they held religious services with them, baptized and married many, both young and old, and administered the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the cele- bration of which had never been witnessed by the emigrants since they had commenced their wild and wandering life. Some of the pco])lo showed a keen jealousy of any interference with them in political matters, and even formed a very strong prejudice with respect to the signatures required from such as desired to have their marriages registered, imagining that they were thereby, in some degree, made ]>ritisli sid)jects. ]Jut, generally, they gave a hearty reception to the mission, and expressed their appreciation of the friendship and interest manifested in their condition and prospects by their colonial fcllow-couutrymeu." CHAPTER Y. ORANGE FREE STATE SETTLEMENT. TJio Events in ISjO — -The Easutos — Embroilment of the British Residents— Earl Grey's Policy— Removal of Sir H. Smith — Arrival of Commissioners Hog^e and O^'en— Meeting with Transvaal Boers — Sand River Convention — Row with Basutos — Sir George Cathcart and his Policy — The Berea Fight — lloshesh and Sir George — Abandonment of Territory — Sir George Clerk's Work— Free State Convention — Removal of Griquas — Basuto and Free State Wars — Annexation of Basutoland — Boundary Disputes — Waterboer's Griqua Territory — Diamonds Found — Griqualaad was annexed — BoshotF, first President, succeeded by Brand, Of the pi-ogrcss of the Orange Free State, during six years, while it remained under British rule, until the final relinquish- ment of the territory to the Boer inhabitants, in 1854, I can only give a short resume- in this chapter; but in a later one I shall have more to say of its rapid advance under President Brand's term of office, its present position and prospects, and its inhabitants, as I found them in 1881. 'While the white population in the Orange River Sovereignty, after the events just recorded, had settled down into a peaceful life, hostilities un- fortunately broke out in 1850 between the native tribes, which led to important results, and indirectly to the abandonment of the territory. Moshesh, the consolidator of the Basuto nation, and its most powerful and able chief — the only chief who ever made a successful stand against the all-powerful Charka and his Zulus — claimed authority over the lands occupied by the Manlatees, Korannas, Baralongs, and Bastards, small tribes living in his vicinity. He welcomed the advent of missionaries and traders among his people, and through his just and care- ful government gained a large following, increased b}' refugees from other tribes, and the respect of all. The President, un- fortunately, became mixed up in these matters, and assisted 44 TVit/i the Boers in the Transvaal. tlie smaller tribes in their attempts at independence, callinf:f out the Boers and Griquas to his aid against Moshesh, who, of course, retaliated on the surrounding natives. The Basutos, being victorious in most of their foravs, at last became involved in war with the British ; but the Burghers, called upon by the President, refused to muster and arm against Moshesh or interfere at all in the native quarrels. They could not under- stand why, if it were necessary to interfere at all, the military could not do it without thoit- help. During this i^eriod of dis- turbance, Sir H. Smith had the KafQr war of 1850-1 on his hands and could do little to help. The Governor of Xatal, however, Sir B. Pine, sent up two companies of the 45th Regi- ment and 700 Zulus across the Drakensberg, which gave a little increased confidence. But that did not last long, as Major Warden found himself in no position to attack Moshesh, who had 10,000 good men to back him, in a diliicult country; and, combined with this, the Zulus became impatient and re- turned to their homes ; while, out of 1,000 Burghers called out, only seventy-five answered to the call. Earl Grey, after hearing of these things, sent a despatch to Sir H. Smith, saying, that as the consent of the British Government had only with reluctance been given to the an- nexation of the Orange Free State, and the inhabitants did not seem to wish for, or continue to support, the British authority, be recommended that, at the close of 1851, the Sovereignty should ultimately be abandoned ; and then continued : — " If 3'ou are enabled to cflect this object, you will distinctly under- stand that any wars, however sanguinary, which may afterwards occur between the diil'erent tribes and communitios, which will be left in a slate of independence beyond the colonial boundary, are to be considered as affording no ground for your interference. Any inroads upon the colony must be promptly and severely punished, but, after the experience which has been gained as to the effect of liritish interference in the vain hope of preserving peace among the l>arbarous or semi-civilized inluiltitants of these distant regions, I cannot sanction a renewal of similar measures." " Therefore," says Noble, " the old and warmly- cherished policy of England, based on the great and noblo Earl Grey's Policy. 45 principle that she was responsible for the conduct of her sub- jects towards the aboriginal races among ^Yhom they settled — ■ * the protector of the weak, the civilizer of the barbarian, and tlic preacher of righteousness to the heathen ' — was thus suddenly reversed. It had been maintained for years, at no small cost of blood and treasure ; but it threatened, if pursued further, to indefinitely enlarge the demands on the revenue and military force of the Kingdom. To prevent any future complications, the officers representing the Crown were interdicted, in terms as explicit as could be employed, from making or sanctioning any extension, however small, of Her Majesty's dominions in South Africa." If such views had only prevailed at the time of the annexation of the Transvaal, and even upon other occasions, both previously and subsequently, much British blood, treasure, and reputation would, I venture to think, have been saved. This first act of abandonment was considered by every one in South Africa, both white and black, to have been, not only a mistake injurious to the colonial interests of the Empire, but certainly a confession of great weakness, unworthy of Great Britain. What she then shrank from undorLaking has since been successfully accomplished by the Burghers of the Free State alone, without an organized military force : so that Moshesh was forced to sue for peace, and claim for his tribe of Basutos British protection, from utter extermination at the hands of these few thousand Boers. Tempora mutantur ! In fulfilment of this new policy. Sir Han-y Smith was re- called, Major Warden was dismissed from the post of Adminis- trator of the Orange River Territory, and two Commissioners, Major Hogge and Mr. C. M. Owen, were instructed to proceed to the District to inquire into matters, with full authority to act as they thought best. In the course of the inquiry they found that Moroko, chief of the Baralongs, by the agreement made by the former British Piesident, had clearly been entitled to protection, as well as the Boers, who had been plundered promiscuously by all. The difficulty was, how to get compen- sation out of Moshesh, who had retired to his mountain fastnesses, and sent messages that he did not want to fight the British, but only desired his rights from the natives, and to 46 With the Boers in the Transvaal. be protected from encroachments. The Commissioners, after mucli deliberation, considered that it would be necessary to vindicate the authority of the British ; and the new Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Sir George Cathcart, agreed to march up a large force against Moshcsh, so soon as he had brought to a satisfactory conclusion the KaflQr war then progressing. In the meantime, while the Commissioners remained in Bloem- fonteiu striving to settle matters there satisfactorily, messengers came to them from Pretorius and the Boers over the Yaal, to negotiate for peace and the friendship of the British, as against the natives and the rebellious efforts of those in the Sovereignty who were trying to excite others to rise again. This was thought to be a favourable opportunity to re-establish good feeling between the Boers and the British — in which case they could despise the Blacks ; wherefore the sentences of outlawry were cancelled, and a meeting was arranged ; which took place near the Sand Eivcr, and resulted in a Convention being entered into on behalf of Her Majesty, allowing the Boers to the north of the Yaal to establish an independent government of their own, upon certain conditions. The Convention was approved of by the Governor and the Homo Authorities, who hoped that the freedom at last granted the emigrant Boers would conduce to peace and good order among themselves, and friendship with the Imperial Government. The following is the record of the proceedings : — " INIinute of a meeting held on the farm of llv. P. A. Tenter, Sand Pdver, on Friday, the IGtli day of January, 1852, between Her Majesty's Commissioners, Major W. S. Hoggo and C. M. Owen, appointed to settle the affairs of the East and Nortli- East boundaries of the Capo Colony, on the one part ; and the following deputies of the emigrant Jioers, living north of Vaal Piivcr, on the other hand — A. "W. J. Pretorius, Coradt.- Gcneral ; H. S. Lombard, Landdrost ; 11. F. Joubert, Comdt.- Ocncral ; G. F. Ivricger, Commandant, and twelve others. *' 1. Tho Assistant Commissioner sguarantoe in tho fullest manner, on the part of tho British Government, to the emigrant farmers bcjyond the Vaal River, tho right to manage their own affairs, and to govern themselves according to their Sand River Convention. 47 own laws, -u-ithont any interference on the part of the British Government ; and that no encroachment shall he made hy the said Government on the territory heyoud, to the north of the Vaal Paver, with the further assurance that the warmest wish of the British Government is to promote peace, free trade, and friendly intercourse with the emigrant farmers now inhahiting, or who may inhabit, that country ; it being understood that this system of non-interference is binding upon both parties. " 2. Should any misunderstanding hereafter arise as to the true meaning of the words, ' The Vaal Paver,' this question, in so far as it regards the line from the source of that river, over the Drakensberg, shall be settled and adjusted by Commis- sioners chosen by both parties. "3. Her Majesty's Assistant Commissioners hereby disclaim all alliances whatever and with whomsoever of the coloured nations to the north of the Vaal Piiver. " 4. It is agreed that no slavery is or shall be permitted or practised in the country to the north of the Yaal Piiver by the emigrant farmers. " 5. Mutual facilities and liberty shall be afforded to traders ■and travellers on both sides of the Vaal Paver ; it being under- •stood that every waggon containing firearms, coming from the south side of the Vaal Paver, shall produce a certificate signed by a British magistrate, or other functionary, duly authorized to grant such, and which shall state the quantities of such articles contained in said waggon to the nearest magistrate north of the Vaal Eiver, who shall act in the case as the regulations of the emigrant farmers direct. It is agreed that no objections shall be made by any British authority against the emigrant Boers purchasing their supplies of ammunition in any of the British colonies and possessions of South Africa ; it being mutually understood that all trade in ammunition ■v\'ith the native tribes is prohibited, both by the British Government and the emigrant farmers on both sides of the Vaal Piiver. " 6. It is agi-ecd that, so far as possible, all criminals and other guilty parties who may fly from justice either way across the Vaal Pdver shall be mutually delivered up, if such should 48 With the Boers in the Transvaal. be required ; and that the British courts, as well as those of the emigrant farmers, shall be mutually open to each other for all legitimate processes, and that summonses for witnesses sent either way across the A^aal Eiver shall be backed by the magistrates on each side of the same respectively, to compel the attendance of such witnesses when required. "7. It is agreed that certificates of marriage issued by the proper authorities of the emigrant farmers shall be held valid and sufficient to entitle children of such marriages to receive portions accruing to them in any British colony or possession in South Africa. ** 8. It is agreed that any and every person now in possession of land, and residing in British territory, shall have free right and power to sell his said property, and remove unmolested across the Yaal Eiver and vice versa ; it being distinctly understood that this arrangement does not comprehend criminals or debtors without providing for the payment of their just and lawful debts." At the end of that year, 1852, the Governor found himself in a position to move towards the Orange River Territory, in which a new Resident, Mr. Green, had been managing matters fairly well ; but he had never been able to check the constant warfare going on between the Basutos on the one hand, and the Baralongs and the Burghers on the other. Moshesh had repeatedly promised amends and restitution of cattle, but never fulfilled any of his promises. The arrival of 2,000 troops (450 cavalry, a battery of artillery, and the rest infantry) at Plaatbcrg, with the General, brought matters to a crisis. An immediate demand for 10,000 head of cattlo and 1,000 horses, to be delivered to the British Resident in three days, met with no response, although Moshcsh had come in on the day after the demand was made, and promised compliance. As only 3,500 were sent in on the day appointed, an advance was made in three columns on Thaba ]3ossigo. They found the ]3asutos prepared for war, and, after several hlunders made Ity the commanders of two of the columns, tliey were suddenly assailed by a largo force of the enemy in a difficult place, and at a critical time, and were compelled Abandonment of Territory. 49 to retire with heavy loss. The other column did little better; "but they at length repulsed the enemy and bivouacked on the field, marching back next day with some captured guns and cattle to the camp at Caledon Paver, with the intention of resuming the war next day. That morning, however, l.Ioshesh sent a letter under a flag of truce, asking for peace, and saying that as they had captured some cattle, he hoped they would be satisfied and give them as compensation to the Boers. The letter was written in English by a son, Nehemiah Moshesh, who had been educated at the Cape, and spoke and wrote English well. Under the then circum- stances, and knowing the critical state of the whole of the country, Governor Cathcart decided to grant the terms, and make the best of a bad bargain. A proclamation was there- fore issued, declaring peace with the Basutos, declining any interference in the future on the part of the Government with native affairs, and giving the Burghers full power to protect, secure and recover their property after the fashion of the colonial *' commando" system. The Governor had seen enough to convince him that the Government must either abandon the Orange Eiver Territory at once, or keep a force of 2,000 men there permanently, and organize a proper system of government. In consequence of his reports, the Home Govern- ment decided to relinquish the sovereignty at once, and sent out Sir G. K. Clerk, an eminent Indian statesman, for that purpose. On his arrival at Bloemfontein, in August 1853, he invited the inhabitants to elect delegates to meet together and arrange the basis of a Convention for their separation. This was bitterly opposed by all the English residents and a number of farmers, as well as by the Cape Colony people. Two delegates were even sent home to appeal against this decision of abandonment. This was of no avail, as even Sir G. R. Clerk' s opinion was in favour of it ; and at last several of the leading Burghers came forward to assist the Special Commis- sioner — " Not," they said, "because they regarded the British Crown with any antipathy ; their discontent arose solely with the mismanagement of Her Majesty's servants." And at an assembly of the delegates at Bloemfontein on the 23rd of Feb- 50 With the Boers in the Transvaal. ruary, 1854, Sir George Clerk made over to tliem the Govern- ment of the countr}-, in a Convention which was legally carried out by a Eoyal Order in Council on the 8th of April, 1854. The terms of the Convention were as follows : — "1. Her Majesty's Special Commissioner, in entering into a Convention for finally transferring the government of the Orange Eiver Territory to the representatives delegated by the inhabitants to receive it, guarantees, on the part of Her Majesty's Government, the future independence of that country and its government ; and that after the necessary preliminary arrangements for making over the same between Her Majesty's Special Commissioner and the said representatives shall have been completed, the inhabitants of the country shall then be free ; and that this independence shall, without unnecessary dela}', be confirmed and ratified by an instrument, promulgated 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 free and independent people, and their Government to be treated and considered thenceforth as a free and independent Government. " 2. The British Government has no alliance whatever with any native chiefs or tribes to the northward of the Orange ■River, with the exception of the Griqua chief. Captain Adam Kok ; and Her Majesty's Government hns no wish or intention to enter hereafter into any treaties which may be injurious or prejudicial to the interests of the Orange River Government. " 3. With regard to the treaty existing between the ]iritisli Government and the chief, Captain Adam Kok, some modifica- tion of it is indispensable. Contrary to the provisions of that treaty, the sale of lands in the inalienable territory has been of frequent occurrence, and the principal object of the treaty thus disregarded. Her Majesty's Government, therefore, intends to remove all restrictions preventing Griquas from selling their lands ; and measures are in progress for the purpose of afiord- ing every facility for such transactions — the chief, Adam Ivok, having, f(M- himself, concurred in and sanctioned the same. And with regard to those further alterations arising out of the proposed revision of relations with Captain Adam Kok, in con- Orange Free State Convention. 51 sequence of the aforesaid sales of land having from time to time been elFeeted in the inalienable territory, contrary to the stipulations of the Maitland Treaty,, it is the intention of Her Majesty's Special Commissioner, personally, without any un- necessary loss of time, to establish the affairs in Griqualand ou a footing suitable to the just expectations of all parties. '' 4. After the withdrawal of Her Majesty's Government from the Orange River Territory, the new Orange River Government shall not permit any vexatious proceedings towards those of Her Majesty's present subjects remaining within the Orange River Territory who may heretofore have been acting under the authority of Her Majesty's Government, for or on account of any acts lawfully done by them — that is, under the law as it existed during the occupation of the Orange River Territory by the British Government. Such persons shall be considered to be guaranteed in the possession of their estates by the new Orange River Government. " Also, with regard to those of Her Majesty's present subjects who may prefer to return under the dominion and authority 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 the Orange River Govern- ment, at any subsequent period within three years from the date of this Convention. *' 5. Her Majesty's Government and the Orange River Government shall, within their respective territories, mutually use every exertion for the suppression of crime, and keeping the 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 British as those of the Orange River Government, shall be mutually open and available to the inhabitants of both territories for all lawful processes. And all summonses for witnesses, directed either way across the Orange River, shall be countersigned by the magistrates of both Governments respectively, to compel the attendance of such witnesses when and where they may be required, thus affording to the community north of the Orange E 2 52 IViik the Boers in the Transvaal. Piivcr every assistance from tlie British courts, and giving, on the other hand, assurance to such colonial merchants and traders as have naturally entered into credit transactions in the Orange Iliver Territory during its occupation hy the British Government, and to whom, in many cases, debts may he owing, cvcr}^ facility for the recovery of just claims in the courts of the Orange River Government. And Her Majesty's Special Commissioner will recommend the adoption of the like reciprocal privileges hy the Government of Natal in its relations with the Orange River Government. " G. Certificates issued hy the proper authorities, as well in the Colonies and Possessions of Her Majesty as in the Orange River Territory, shall he held valid and sufficient to entitle heirs of lawful marriages, and legatees, to receive portions and legacies accruing to them respectively, either within the juris- diction 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 River. " 8. The Orange River Government shall have freedom to l)urchase their supplies of ammunition in any British colony or possession in South Africa, subject to the laws provided for the regulation of the sale and transit of ammunition in such colonies and possessions ; and Her Majesty's Special Commis- sioner will recommend to the Colonial Government that privi- leges of a liberal character, in connection with import duties generally, be granted to the Orange River Government, as measures in regard to which it is entitled to be treated with overy indulgence, in consideration of its peculiar position and distance from the seaports. " 9. In order to promote mutual facilities and liberty to traders and travellers, as well in the ]3ritish possessions as in those of the Orange River Government, and it being the earnest wish of Her INIajesty'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 ]>e directed to the promotion of these desirable objects, will bo Removal of Griquas. 53 stationed within the colony, near to the frontier, to -whom access at all times may readily be had by the inhabitants on both sides of the Orange Paver, for advice and information, as circumstances may require." Immediately after the promulgation of this Convention, a provisional Government was organized, consisting of the following Boers : — J. P. Hofman, President ; A. Standers, Groencndal, Du Plooy, Sinde, J. Yentey, and Du Fort, members ; who issued a circular announcing the good news to their fellow Burghers, and then drew up a Kepublicau consti- tution, vesting the power in a Yolksraad and State President. The first troubles of the new Government were in connection with the Griquas and Basutos. The former denied the right of the Orange Free State to their District ; but it was found, on inquiry, that all lands sold by Griquas to white people would,. in virtue of an arrangement made with the Special Commis- sioner, come under the Free State Government. Thus, as- most of the Griquas continued to sell their lands unknown to the chiefs, at last they were completely supplanted, and their country was divided into Districts and governed and taxed by Free State officials. Against these proceedings, the Griquas appealed to the Governor, who, on referring the question home, was instructed to find some other suitable place for their location, and move those who desired it. This was done by obtaining a suitable tract of country between the Umzunkulu and Umzimvubu Rivers, between Natal and the Cape Colon}', into which they afterwards moved in 18G0 ; and their settlement, *' Nomansland," now Griqualand East, was subsequently annexed to the Cape in 1875. The difficulty with Moshesh was much gi'eater, and arose about the boundary line, which had previously been arranged by Major Warden, so as to leave the white men where they were, and the natives where they were. This agreement was declared by Moshesh to be no longer binding when the English left the country ; and he therefore claimed paramount rights over all the neighbouring Districts. Sir G. Grey succeeded in averting war until 1858, when hostilities broke out. Peace, however, was quickly made up again by Sir George's arbitration. 54 With the Boers in the Transvaal. But the aggressions of the Basuto State increased and led to another war in 1864 ; and to yet another in 18GG, when, after eleyeu months' severe fighting, Moshesh was heaten, sued for peace, and ceded a large portion of the disputed country to the Burghers. The murder of a trader by the Basutos in 1867 again led to renewed hostilities, which lasted until the 12th of March, 1868. Sir P. Wodehouse had tendered his services to arrange a peace ; a proposal which the Burghers were not at all anxious to accept, as they then had Moshesh at their feet, and resolved entirely to crush him and his people, so as to prevent their arising again in the future. Sir P. Wodehouse then acceded to Moshesh' s repeated requests for the Basutos to he allowed to come under the British flag ; and he proclaimed them British subjects, just as the Burgher commander had penetrated close to Moshesh's chief stronghold, Thaba Bossigo having everywhere been victorious in their advance. This somewhat annoyed the Free State, as they regarded Sir P. YVodehousc's action as a breach of the Convention of 1854, and the Volksraad sent a deputation to the English to protest against this step. Kindly, but firmly, they were distinctly told that the step was not taken out of any hostility to their State, but purely fcr the future benefit of South Africa. A definite boundary line was then agreed to between all parties and con- firmed by the Convention of Aliwal North, entered into on the 12th of March, 1869 ; and it has remained as then settled ever since. There was only one other source of trouble after this time, which arose through grants of farms, in thc ^riqua territory o f the chief, Waterl)oer, having been conceded b}' the British Ilcsident, in 1848-52, at Hloemfonicinj to an y 3^-]uropean applying for them — he not having Jthen any knowledge of Waterljoer's claim thereto. After the rclnupiisliment of the country by the l^ritisli^ Watci-boer^ complai ned to "the Preo Stat e Go vernment ; and the matter would doubtless have bee n easily settled^ had not Tiramonds been discovered al l over^ his District. Tliousands of adventurers and di ggers from alljmrts of^tho" world at once rushed in. The Free State then sent a magistrate over the District whicli it claimed, and the Transvaal Griqualand West Annexed. 55 Republic did tlie same with regard to those parts north of the Yaal Pdver. Waterboer himself then reasserted his rights, claimed the protection cif the Euglish_ G-overn ment, an d ced ed his District to _the GoYernmen t, who proclaimed it British terri - tory on October 27j ISll^s the province of Griqu aland "W est. and appointed officials to carry on the government, reserving the question of the settlement hi boundaries to be determined by arbitration. To this the Free Sta te objecte d ; but in 1876 the then Secretary of State for the Colonies, Earl Carnarvon, invited President Brand to visit England to settle the dis- l^ute personally ; and the result thereof was the payment of ii90,000 by Her Majesty's Government as settlement in full of all claims. As an additional proof of good friendship towards the Free State a further sum "of i,'lo,000 was offered towards the construction of railways in that territory. The good understanding then come to between the two Governments was productive of much good at the time, and has lasted until the present ; having only been partially interrupted for the few months during the recent struggle in the Transvaal — in the settlement of which, however, the Orange Free State President took a prominent and peaceful part. President Brand was elected third President of the Orange Free State in 1864, after the resignation and return to the Transvaal of M. W. Pretorius, who had succeeded the first President, Mr. Boshoff. The Orange JEree— State consists of about 70,000 square miles, and had in j^854jibmit^ 25, 000 inh a- bitauts, of whom more than half were of European descent. 56 IVith the Boers in the TransvaciL CHAPTER TI. TRANSVAAL FOUNDED. Character of Transvaal Boers — Their Attempts at Government — Native Laws — Potgieter and Makapau's Tragedy — Internecine Strife — Death of A. Pretorius — Election of his Son as President — His Transfer to Bloemfontein — Party Divisions against W. M. Pretorius' Return — Boundary Proclamations — Consequent Disputes- and Arbitrations — Their Results — Pretorius Resigns — Discovery of Gold Fields — Influx of Miners, &c. — Want of firm Government — Election of Rev. T. F» Burgers — "Grondwet" of 1858 — Burger's Officials. Having thus brouglit that part of the early history of the Boers, which was connected ^Yitll the Cape Colony, and with the foundation successively of Natal, the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal, down to the point where the British Government granted to both the latter their independence, I now come, in the natural sequence of things, to the more immediate descrip- tion of the foundation, progress, fall, and final resurrection of the Transvaal and its people — the real subject-matter of this work ; and if at times I am too prolix with details, too dry with statistics, or too strong with my language and condemnation^ the importance of the subject, not only to the Transvaal l^oers, but to the liritish South African Colonies and the Empire generally, must plead as my excuse for endeavouring — while placing before my readers l)uth sides of the question — to make clear " the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Those who have followed mo so iar in the Boer peregrina- tions will easily understand that the class of men who peopled the Transvaal and first erected a government of their own, were more unsettled, less educated, and more narrow-minded than their compatriots, who had been satisfied to remain in the Cape, Orange Free State, or Natal. In addition to those who- "trekked" northward at the time of the great exodus, thcro were many of a lawless, daring and sometimes criminal Boer Attempts at Government. 57 character, either roving ahout or ah-ead}' settled down in tho more retired portions of the State. Furthermore, adventurers- from every part of South Africa, and other countries, tlocked into it as the rumours spread about of gold and diamonds- being found there, I trust, therefore, that I shall not be thought to malign the Boers, or their early governmental in- stitutions, in thus drav/ing attention to what were doubtless important drawbacks to their first attempts at law and order.. ' Added to this, it must not be forgotten that the white popula- tion was small, and much scattered over an extent of country larger than France — nearly 120,000 square miles — separated from each other by impassable country, no roads, and numerous tribes of natives, all jealous of the white man's encroachments. So that it need surprise no one to find that it took years even to establish a Government at all, much less get it to work properly under difficulties before which many other nations would have shrunk. The Boers- also dreaded the further interference of the British ration, and were chary of intercourse with the surrounding countries, even going so far as to prevent missionaries going up north among the savage tribes. One of their fundamental laws in the con- stitution of the Republic was to the eflect "that the people will admit of no equality of persons of colour with white inhabitants, neither in State nor Church " ; and when it is remembered that the conduct of the natives, and their mis- management by the British authorities at the Cape, were among the principal causes of the Boer exodus northwards, it will noti be surprising that they should make common cause against all Kaffirs, and in pursuance of their old and — when properly carried out — successful policy of extermination, should regard the natives as an entirely inferior race, only fit for slavery. Even Mr. Noble, who certainly is no champion of the Boers, though thoroughly impartial in all his historical statements about them, says : — " They made little scruple about obtaining- native children, sometimes as captives of war, sometimes by purchase from the natives, and sometimes by mere violence. The children so procured were indentured (or as it is called * Inbocked ') up to the age of twenty-two or twenty-five 5S IVifh the Doers in tJic Transvaal. jears " — and as the Kaffirs rarely knew their age, this inden- turcship Lasted as long as the master pleased. — " It was a common practice on the Border in the early days of the Caise Colony, hut it was liahle to abuse, especially in a state of society untrammelled by authority, and not very solicitous as to the rights, nor very careful as to the lives, of the aborigines. Acts of cruelty and wrong were thus committed which provoked retaliation, and hostilities with the savage tribes around them frequently occurred, requiring the whole community to unite' for mutual defence. The tconder is that so few outrages have been recorded in connection with the collisions inevitable be- tween these two races, situated on the margin of civilization in the wilderness." Some two years after the Sand River Convention, one of these collisions occurred, in 1854, which for cruelty and ferocity on both sides is, I am glad to say, the only one of the kind tl:at I have ever heard of, or History repeats ; and, therefore, I give it at length, as illustrative of my foregoing remarks. On one of the numerous hunting and trading expeditions, so much in vogue among the early Boers, who also found them very profitable, a man named Herman Potgieter, a brother of the celebrated commandant — well known previously among the Kaffir tribes to the north, and not above an occasional raid, and indiscriminate slaughter and capture of the children for sale to the traders on the East coast — was passing the kraals of a native chief named Makapan, who had previously suffered from such raids, when the party was set upon, tortured, and murdered with most savage cruelty. Potgieter himself was pinned to the ground with assegais and skinned alive. On the receipt of this news at Potchcistrom a large commando was g(jt together, under M. W. Pretorius, son of the old " Yoor trekkcr," and was joined by another force under Mr. P. G. Potgieter, a nephew of the murdered man, from the districts of Loydenburg and Zoutpansberg, making a total of over 500 mounted men, with IIG waggons and two field pieces. The two ]iartieH comliinod, and soon followecl up Makapan and his tribe, wlio bad retired to some large caves immediately on the advance of the Boer commando. Hero a collision took place, Potgieter and Makapan s Tragedy. 59 resulting in the defeat of tlie Kafllrs, who retired still further into the caves, which were dark, and over 500 yards in length by 100 in breadth. Thither the Boers dared not follow them, so other plans were devised and carried out. First, an attempt was made to blast the rocks above, and fill up the entrances or crush the Kaffirs ; but it failed through the slate formation of the rocks not proving suitable for such operations. Next, orders were given to besiege the caves, and guard all the entrances, shooting down all that appeared, in order to starve out the besieged. Notwithstanding every precaution, and constant watch day and night, in which both sides lost men, including Potgieter's nephew, no effect was produced ; so after eight days it was finally determined to block up all the entrances with wood and stone. This work lasted three weeks, and employed nearly all the men and fifty teams of oxen. Many of the poor wretches thus blocked up soon began to sufter from thirst; but they were ruthlessly killed whenever they showed themselves. At last, so many died within that the stench, even in the open air outside, was unbearable ; and nearly 1,000 were killed outside as well. This state of things lasted nearl}' a month, during which the Kaffirs just managed td exist on the stores of food and water which they had taken in with them on their retreat. At last opposition gradually diminished, and the stench from within increased ; and upon the final advance of the Boers, unopposed, it was found that nearly the whole tribe was destroyed. Their object fully accomplished, the Boers returned home ; and for many years afterwards the white men were unmolested in that region. Sad as it is, yet I think the above description teaches a lesson, and shows us that savages must be fought, to a great extent, with their own weapons. It was only by so doing that the few Boers in the Transvaal were then enabled to maintain their position amid hordes of savages : whereas, in later years it has required a large army to effect, with much greater loss of time and material, that which a few mounted Boers, fighting on a different system, used to do in a comparatively short • but Bummary way. The Transvaal Boers, though able to keep down the natives Co IJ^ith the Boers in the Transvaal. in their country, were yet unable to prevent diflerences among themselves ; and for many years the country had no central government at all worthy of the name, but was split up among them in four sections. Old Andries Pretorius had a large section united under his sway around the Magaliesburg. Leydenburg and Zoutpansberg had also each a kind of semi- governmcut of their own ; Avhile another party, to the south, remained independent of all the others. The old Pretorius. died in 1853, advising with his last breath the '*' fathers of the land " to give up party strife, become united, and encourage religion and education. His son, W. M. Pretorius (one of the now well-known Triumvirate) became President, and in a manner succeeded in uniting the diflerent parties. But for many years the power of the central authority at Potchcfstrom was weak in establishing peace and preserving order, in proportion as the distance from its scat increased. Considering the vast extent of country included in its area, and the difficulties caused by a small and widely-separated population, the progress of the country, even in those days, was remarkable ; and though not so great or so steadily progressive as that of its sister State south of the Yaal, yet it was sufficient to show what could be done with the country under a settled and respected form of Government. XUc First President of the Fr ee State, M. Boshoif, having died in T85IF, the peopl e, by a larg e majority, elected Mr. W. M. PretoiTus out of four can didates, to succeed him ; and with the^ consent o7 all parties Mr. Pretorius left Potchcfstrom and procebdcd ~lb JilocmTontein, where he remain ed until 1863, endeavouring meanwhile to carrY_ont his pot scheme of uniting tbo^'oTtopu ljlTcs under one strong Government. This, how- CVC1-, found favour neither with the Home authorities, who^t atcd that they considered such a proceeding would annul the Con- ycntioD_3_of 1852Ijan(r3^^>~PO' ^ ^i th the Free State rs^thcm- selves, who bad l)cgun thoroughly t o ai^preciate the blessings of a good Gover nment, and who knew that many of the Transvaalers were not so enlightened, and were opposed to the action of any authority whatever. So tlio scheme dropped then, but has been renewed more lulily, and it is, in my Boundary Proclamation. 6i opinion, one of the certainties and necessities of the future. The dissensions in the Transvaalj which had increased during JMr. Pretorius' absence m the Free State, wer e so g reat thatjie was compelled to return to Potchefstrom in 1863. Meanwhile, •each party had tried successively to obtain paramount authority, and various leaders were put forward from time to time, and ■displaced through the temporarily united ffforfs nf the otbp.rs . Actual strife occasionally broke out between the various factions, aiid^on one occasion in 18G3j at Pretoria, two rival parties, took. the field armed, the one jiadm:__EaiiL^Iuger^^ind_t]^^ under Commandant Scho eman. The former was the recognized head of the " Doppers," who were a narrow-minded religiou^ sect; while those under the latt er w ere more advanced and liberal in their opinions. Kruger's force occupied Pretoria, then a small village ; while Schoemau, was in laager outside. They had constant skirmishes at long distances, several night alarms, and sentry drills ; but no actual collision took place, ^nd the whole affair ended in smoke, or rather a kind of patched- np reconciliation. This state of things of course obstructed the progress of the -country, and Mr. Pretorius was again made President ; when, imfortunately, in 1868, he issued a Proclamation describing the boundaries of the Transvaal, and caused such a disturbance with " British, Boers, and Blacks," that he had to resign. The boundaries, as then claimed, were : on the North, the Limpopo or Crocodile Paver ; on the East — by friendly treaty with the Portuguese — the Lebomba Mountains ; on the South, the Vaal River ; and on the West, the Hatt Paver. To all these, however, objections were made, and the British Government €ven refused to recognize in any way whatever the validity •of such a proclamation. Many native chiefs between the Oliphants Paver and the Limpopo, forming the District of Zoutpansberg, protested ; and this brought things to such a crisis that the Dutch town of Schoemansdal, in Lat. 23° S. Long. 30° E., was abandoned, while in the south-east a strip of land on the Zulu Border, between the Blood and Pongola Rivers, was claimed by each nation, until at last the Zulu King ■Cetywayo requested the Natal Government to take it over as a 62 JJ^ilh the Boers in the Transvaal, barrier against encroachment by the Transvaal. This was not carried out, but a commission was apjiointed to take the evidence of Dutch and Zulus, and upon the basis of the evidence therein given Sir Bartle Frere awarded nearly all the portion in dispute to the Zulu nation, who, however, lost it again the same year during the war with the British. Again, in the south, the actual course of the Vaal Eiver, from its source, was in dispute between the sister Republics ; but this v.'as referred to and settled amicably by the Governor of Natal, Mr. Keate. The same gentleman was made the referee in the proceedings, then under arbitration by the British Govern- ment, of the claims of Waterboer, the Griqua chief, to what is now known as the Bloemhof District. The abritrators not being able to agree, the final award was left to Governor Keate, who decided against the Republic. Sir H. Barkly, then Governor of the Cape and High Commissioner, accepted the Griquas as British subjects by a Proclamation in 1871 — an act which was much disliked by the Transvaal and Free State Burghers, and protested against by them as another breach of the Sand River Convention of 1852. Let that be as it may, the direct consequence to the President Pretorius was fatal, as the Volksraad repudiated his acquiescence in both the arbitration and award, and questioned his right to act alone for his Govern- ment. After such a step there was nothing left but for him to resign, which he did. The British authorities, however, refused to listen to the repudiation and protest of the Volksraad, and have abided by the Keate award ever since, liut the subject is still a constant source of discontent and grumbling, and condnucd with the " Frero Zulu award," and other matters in connection with the Northern tribes, has been made use of in the recent disturbances for recalling wrongs and tho uttainnient of redress. ^Mcaiiwiiile, owing to the discoveries — by Karl Mauch, tho traveller; J[. Hartley, tho hunter; Thomas ]iaines, tho geO" grapher, and others, from 18(15 to 1872 — of large quantities of gold in tlie north-west of tho Transvaal, on the Tati River, at iMarabastad, and later on at Leydenburg — while even still further to the north and east, in Umalibiland and Sofala, tho ''Gronchuer of 1858. 65 presence of large gold-fiekls was discovered and heard of — largo numbers of miners, settlers, and adventurers, followed by traders and storekeepers, poured in from all sides ; and, whether they liked it or not, the Boers had to make the best of matters. The Government at first tried to stop the immigration, then, finding that useless, to restrain it ; but all to no avail. New towns sprang up, properties hitherto valueless were sold for large prices, speculators bought up vast tracts of land, while trade increased, and a newer, more liberal and powerful system of government was wanted. The people themselves were either unable or unwilling to choose another President from among their own .ranks, when Pretorius resigned ; so they took the advice of many of their Cape friends and selected the Rev, Thomas Francois Burgers — a clergyman born at the Cape but educated in Holland, belonging to the Dutch Reformed Church, and pastor of Hanover, Cape Colony. This gentleman ac- cepted the office, and was sworn in as State President for five years in 1872. Like the Orange Free State under John Brand, the Transvaal then entered upon a new existence, one which, however, from various causes, which I shall indicate hereafter, did not possess in itself the elements of the success which has attended the new career of its sister Republic. The earliest constitution of the Republican Government of the Transvaal under Pretorius' Presidentship, or " Groudwet,'* as it is called among them, was proclaimed on the 18th of Feb- ruary, 1858, but had received from time to time many alterations by the resolutions of the Volksraad, in whom the powers of Government were vested. This Yolksraad was composed of forty-two members ; three members for each of the twelve Districts : — Potchefstrom, Pretoria, Rustenberg, Heidelberg, Marico, "Wakkerstrom, Middelberg, Leydenberg, Utrecht, "Walesberg, Zoutpansberg and Bloemhof; and six separate members for the following chief towns — Potchefstrom, Pretoria, Rustenberg, Leydenberg and Gold Fields (two). The qualifi- cation for a seat in the Yolksraad was Burghership for three years, possession of landed property, and being a member of a Protestant church. To be a Burgher necessitated a residence of one 3Tar in' the country, and the possession of taxed pro- 64 With the Boers in the Transvaal. pert}' ; or, in the case of an alien, a payment of £7 10.9., and taking the oath of allegiance to the Republican Govern- ment. The administration of Government was performed by an Executive Council, including the State President, elected for five years. State Secretary, also elected for five years, and three unoflicial members, chosen by the Volksraad. A Landdrost, or magistrate, was appointed to each District, who Lad a clerk and other officials under him. The Court of Appeal, or Supreme Court, at that time consisted of three Landdrosts and a jury of twelve Burghers ; but this was changed by Presi- •deut Burgers. All the male Burghers between sixteen and sixty were liable to compulsory military service, and non-resi- dent owners of land, in the event of war, had to pay a war-tax. While on commando the Burghers armed themselves and pro- vided means of transport ; but they were entitled to share all captured cattle, &c., between them, after deducting certain shares for the State. A paper currency had been issued in 1865, at a great discount, and the credit of the State was un- doubtedly very low when President Burgers took office. It may be as well, at the end of this chapter, to give the list of the Sta'e appointments and their occupants at this time, as it will be of value in tracing future events. They were us follows : — Executive Council. Stale President.— T. F. Burgers, LL.D. State Secretary. — N. J. R. Swart. Members. — S. J. P. Krugcr, C. Joubcrt, and J. C. IIolls- hauscn (later on Joseph Fourie). Legislative CounciIi (Volksraad). ]'rrsj(h')it. — C. J. ]5odensti('n. Srcrctarjj. — T. G. C. Van Lecnhof. J^'irst Oover^imcnt Secrctanj. — II. Sliemens. Smnid ,, ,, C. Van Boschotcn, Third ,, ,, II. Slicmens, juu. Burgers Officials. 65 ■ Heads of Departments. Treasurer General. — H. Van Breda. Attorney General. — Dr. E. F. P. Jorrissen. Postmaster General. — J. De Vogel (later on F. Jeppe). Auditor General and Orphan Master. — H. C. Bergsma. Inspector of Education. — J. W. Van Gorkom. liegistrar General. — J. J. Meintjes. Surveyor General. — S. Melville (later on M. Forsmann). Chief of Artillery. — Captain 0. Eiedel. Commandant. — A. Aylward. Landdrosts. — Potchefstrom ; Pretoria ; Rustenberg ; Hei- delberg ; Leydenberg (Mr. Coopeu, and then Mr. Roth) ; Middelberg; Wakkerstrom ; Nazareth (newly formed) ; Marico ; Utrecht ; Walesberg ; Zoutpansberg ; Bloemhof, or Christiana. Native Commissioner, Neiv Scotland. — Mr. Bell. Consul General, England. — J. J. Pratt. ,, ,, Holland. — A. Roland Hoist. ,, ,, France. — J. De Mosenthal. Portuguese Consid General at Potchefstrom. — Chevalier 0. W. A. Forssman. Belgian Consul General at Pretoria. — Baron de Selys- Fanson. The Revenue in 1872 was £40,988, and the expenditure £35,714. The ordinary Revenue was derived from quit rents on farms, sale of State lands, licenses, stamps, and fees, a waggon duty on traders passing through the State, an import duty on goods imported, and several other minor sources. 66 /■ With the Boers in the Transvaal. CHAPTER ^^I. TRANSVAAL PROGEESS. New Progressive Policy — Cape Loan — Railway Scheme to Delagba Bay — Journey to Europe — Portuguese Assistance — Loan floated in Holland — Prospectus and President's Letter — Native Troubles again — Secocoeni — His District, Tribe and Allies — Gold Discoveries and Influx of People — Collision with "Johannt-s" — War declared against the Eapedi — Failure of Attack — Dispersal of Commando — Volksraad Convened — Leydenberg Volunteer Corps startel — Secocoeni held in Check — Sues for Peace — Gold-Fields Dispute — Arrival of Captain Clarke, R.A, President Burgers inaugurated liis term of office by intro- ducing several sweeping reforms and many new ideas after the system of more civilized governments — not before they were needed, it is true ; but, as after events proved, in too wholesale a manner to be understood or appreciated by the greater portion of the old Boer element. For a time, however, this new order of things went well, and the astonishment or doubt of the older men was more than counterbalanced by the success at- tendant on the first initiation of the new policy, and the support ^iveu thereto by the Government officials and the more en- lightened Burghers. AVith the approval and consent of the Volksraad, a loan of £'00,000 was obtained from the Cape Commercial Bank at Cape Town, at six per cent., for the pur- pose of redeeming at par the paper money issued by the Pretorius Government in 1805, and then at a low discount ; although when some of these &\ notes were called up and Ijuriit, Konie time previously (their value then being about live shillings each), many of the Boers and " Doppcrs " crowded round and wrathfully exclaimed against " such a wilful waste of tlie money of the country." Postage stamps were also issued; a .\\\i\'^<'i was appointed for the Supremo Court, and the laws were revised by a ]jari istcr from the Cape ; all public Railway Scheme to Delagoa Bay. 67 lands were surveyed ; schemes were proposed for the promo- tion of education and religion ; and gold produced in the country was coined for the Republic. The new President's most important and far-sighted step was, however, the authority to effect a loan of half a million sterling for the construction of a railway from Pretoria to the Portuguese Port at Delagoa Bay, on the 3ft. Gin. gauge. This scheme had been materially forwarded by the advice and assistance of Mr. G. P. Moodie, C.E., a member of Government. This gentleman, after three journeys, all made on foot, was successful in finding out a healthy route, along the line of hills sloping gradually to the seaward. The line from Pretoria to New Scotland and the Drakensberg was easy and fairly level, while easy gradients could be secured thence by the Lebomba to Delagoa Bay. The distances are, from Pretoria to New Scotland, 130 miles, and thence 110 miles to the sea, or about 240 miles in all. The object of this proposed railway was twofold : firstly, it was to open up the great mineral resources of the Transvaal, already well known and established ; and, secondly, to enable the country to import its own goods without the payment of such heavy duties and expenses as were levied at the Cape and Natal Ports, and of which duties none ever came into the hands of the Transvaal Government. The scheme, if properly carried out jWas_ at oiice^seen_J;.CLlie the death-I)Tow to tlie overberg and inland trade oLhoth-Natal and the Cape ; and, accordingly, great opposition was shown to the execution of the work by both these Colonies. Nothing daunted, but backed up by the reports of good engineers,__tlifi wishes of his Government, and th e friendly reciprocal feel - ings shown by the Portuguese Gove rnment, the Prf-sidf-ntj dniy authorized^. left fQr^.EurQ pe in 1875 . Ile_was duj j received at tl^e British Court as the recognized jlead of the Tran svaal or South African Republic. He concluded a treaty with Portugal, byjvvhich that Government was to_subsidize the raij w^ay to the whole amount of its cost from D elagoa Bay to th e_limit of ■ their tenitory ; and also arran^ed_iu_HQikiid-fat^ie-4ssai£LJiL a_xailwaj loan of '£500,0007 at six per cent, of which £90,000 was at once subscribed for on the terms offered. F 2 6S With the Boers in the Transvaal. In consequence of the success of the loan, much of the material required for the railway was ordered in Europe hy the President, who then set out on his return journey, with the good wishes of the European Powers with whom he had come in contact. But he returned to the Transvaal only to find aflairs there generally in a dreadful state. Previously to his accession to the Presidentship, there had not been very many internal troubles with the natives since the difficulty about the Border, which occurred under Pretorius. It is true there had been ono or two outbreaks on the part of a chief named Mapoch, who lived within the Border, but he had been easily reduced to sub- mission on both occasions, and was then completely quiet on his own mountain. Thefts of cattle also were of common occurrence, and it was principally through them that the first campaign was undertaken by a Transvaal commando against Secocoeni. This chief, originally a Basuto, was the son of Sequati, chief of the Bapedi, who occupied the mountainous fever-stricken district about Lcydenbcrg, and whose territory was within the Border, but had been considered as an independent native reserve. Sequati, who had always been friendly with the liocrs, occupied this land by treaty, and its boundaries were then the Steclport and Oliphants Piivers. After Sequati's death, Secocoeni became anxious to enlarge his tribe and influence, and encournged refugees to come into his district, under their own chiefs and laws. In this way, and through sickness having caused most of the Boers to evacuate the lands surrounding — the town of Orijstadt being entirely deserted from that cause alone — Secocoeni was for a long time enabled to encroach over the Transvaal boundaries without coming into actual collision with the Boers. Among many refugees who joined him, from time tofiiue, the principal chief was Umsoet, who had quarrelled with his own tribe, the Amaswa/.i, and brought in nearly 8f)() fighting men with him. Other parties came from the ^Mambcyers, Mopolancr and Knobkose Kaffir tribes ; and by this means Secocoeni was gradually able to surround himself, at; any rate, ahtng the southern Jjorder of his territory from tho Speckboom Iliver to IMajJOch's reserve, ])y a formidable living barrier, which, however, soon came into contact with the Jjoers, Gold Discoveries and Iitjliix of People. 69 causing the war which followed, and ending in the final capture of himself and break-up of the Bapedi. The cattle thefts, which were of common occurrence, and a frequent cause of conflicts, were sometimes encouraged with a purpose, as will be seen from the following extract from Baines* *' Gold Eegions of S.E. Africa " : — " I was speaking to a friend respecting the new discoveries, and we both agreed that it would be very wrong to make war upon the natives and take the gold-fields away from them. ' But,' said my friend, ' I would work with foresight (voorzegtigheid). I would send cattle farmers to graze their herds near the borders, and the Kaffirs would be sure to steal them ; but if not, the owner could come away, and he could even withdraw his herdsmen, and let them run day and night, then the Kaffirs could not resist the tempta- tion. "We could then go in and claim the stolen cattle, and if the Kaffirs resisted and made war, of course they would lose their country.' " Baines, however, adds : — " This idea of justice to the r-ative is held by, I hope, only a few among them ; and I have never heard of my friend's diplomacy being carried into execution, and am happy to say the occupation of the gold- fields is being carried on without the necessity for any policy that is not fair to both sides." The discovery of gold in 1871 brought into the district large numbers of all classes of men, and frightened both Boers and Blacks. Of course explorations went on, and parties pros- pected in Secocoeni's country, as well as beyond the Transvaal bounds in other directions. About this time also some German missionaries, having been unable to convert Secocoeni, left his reserve and settled themselves on a fine station between Leyden- berg and the Speckboom River ; while, close by, a petty chief, named Johannes, a so-called convert, also established himself in a strong position, from which he could visit the mission station, or steal cattle, whichever suited his disposition. Early in 187G, things had come to such a pass that Johannes pre- vented some Boers from cutting wood on a farm to which the Kaffirs had no legal claim, and further resisted the authorities. It was then reported to the Government that this rebellion on Johannes' part was prompted by Secocoeni ; and v.heu news JO With the Boers in the Transvaal. reached them that the mission station had heen hurnt down, and some of the mission Kaffirs killed, war was declared against the aggressors, much against Mr. Burgers' own will, and although the country was not prepared for any such war. Added to this, however, it must not be forgotten that Umsoet, and other petty chiefs under Secocoeni, had constantly stolen cattle ; and when remonstrances were sent to him he undertook to return the cattle on condition that his right to the whole district of Leydenberg was admitted. A large commando of Burghers and native allies at once marched against the Kaffirs, under several commandants, and accompanied by the President him- self. The whole force was hastily gathered together, and in no fit state to keep the field long, especially as the wet or fever season was just commencing. Its strength amounted to over 2,000 Boers, the same number of native allies, and about 500 waggons. The commando took some Border kraals, killed Johannes, and then marched in two divisions to attack Secocoeni's town at Thaba Mosegu. A night attack was made, but for various reasons failed, and the combined forces then withdrew to the camp. A large meeting was held and a resolu- tion passed to discontinue the war at that time ; and, with the exception of a very few, the main body refused to attack again, and retired to their homes. The President was then in a fix. As to the charges of cowardice made against the Boers, and other reports much circulated at the time, it would be useless to inquire into them. Let the whole of the facts, at the time, bo considered, and the subsequent events taken into account, and I think people will be able to form a fair opinion for themselves. There is one point, however, which I wish to point out, viz. : — Tbat the return home of the commando was not regarded as a retreat by the Kallh-s themselves, who otherwise would have attacked them on their march back to camp. On the contrary, far from being able or willing to attack the Boers, and invade the Transvaal, it was fully two months after the retreat of the commando, and when the conduct of the war was entrusted only to volunteers, that the Ka(lh-s mustered up courage to make an unsuccosHliil attack on one of the outlying forts situated in their own country. Volksraad Convened. yi After the resolution come to by the farmers not to continue the war at that time, owing to a variety of causes, among which the principal were scarcity of provisions and ammunition, and the known dangerous approach of the sickly season, the President had no other course open than to summon the Volksraad and point out to them the danger of the situation. During the previous year, 1875, while President Burgers was away in Europe, financial matters had not progressed well. Although the revenue, £69,928, balanced the expenditure, £69,593, yet the increased taxation had produced great dissatis- faction among the older Boers, who had always been opposed to taxes of any kind, looking upon them as oppressive acts. When, therefore, besides this increased and heavy taxation, special demands were made for a war-tax of £10 on every farm, many simply refused to pay at all, and all obedience to the law and the constituted authorities ceased. The Govern- ment soon found itself in difficulties, without funds or adequate means of compelling the payment of the just taxes levied by order of the Volksraad, the salaries of the public officials remaining unpaid — even that of the President — and the interest of the public debt also in arrears. Altogether it was felt that the exigencies of the case demanded quick and strong remedies, unless the State was to be allowed to drift into national bankruptcy and an overwhelming internal war. Meanwhile, after the withdrawal of the Boer commando, the President received an offer from Captain Von Scblieckmann, an ofiicer in the Prussian service, of great bravery and acknow- ledged ability, to raise a corps of volunteers to occupy the frontier by means of a chain of detached forts, to harass the enemy so as to prevent their making any incursions from their stronghold on the surrounding country, and by means of incessant patrols and night attacks, and combined movements, to prevent Secocoeni getting together, during the spring and summer, any stock of food sufficient to enable him to engage in a second campaign. This offer was closed with thankfully by the President and the farmers, who could not possibly be expected to invest Secocoeni' s stronghold during the sickly season, or until the winter enabled them to attack him again. 72 With the Boers in the Transvaal. Power to raise and equip such a force was given to Von Scblieckmann, who set about the congenial task at once. Over a hundred men were raised at the Diamond Fields and elsewhere, Government to find them salted horses, rifles, ammunition, food, and equipments, with .£5 per month per man, and at the end of the war a free gift of a farm each of 4,000 acres was promised on condition of occupation by them- selves or substitutes for five years. The corps consisted of a commandant, four lieutenants, an artillery officer, a doctor, lOS men, and about 70 horses. Von Scblieckmann got a few men together at the time, and proceeded at once to the Steelport River, where he built the first fort, called Fort Burgers, a six-angled redoubt, near the confluence of the Steelport and Speckboom Rivers. In the meanwhile Lieutenant A. Aylward — afterwards Commandant — brought up the recruits from the Diamond Fields. They were armed at Pretoria with Westley-Piicbards rifles, and sent off by the President at once to the front, with nine waggons loaded with ammunition, food, and necessaries. The Government had, however, been unable to secure the salted horses, but promised to send them up afterwards ; while the Treasury was so empty that the Govern- ment could only contribute to the military chest the sum of £25 in small silver. The work done by this corps of Ley- denbcrg Volunteers — assisted by a Swazie contingent under Eckersle}' — the death of Von Scblieckmann, and all the other interesting details of their fun and fights, arc they not well described in Aylward's " Transvaal of To-day " ? Sufiice it for mo to say that by their actions they undoubtedly kept Sccocooni in check, and brought about an ofl'er of submission from that chief which was accepted on the 12th of February, 1877. Peace was tben proclaimed along the ]3ordcr, and arrangomcnts were made for the delivery of the 2,000 bead of cattle promised by Secocoeni,and for his recognition of the suzer- ainty of the llcpublic. The fever then broke out among the corps, many of wlioni bad been sent to garrison other forts further advanced in the country, and they were ordered back to Krugcrs Post and Lcydcnbcrg. Part of another force of volunteers, under Captain Van Deventer, was recalled from Fort Weei)er to Gold-Fields Dispute. 73 garrison Pretoria, then in an uproar through the arrival of Sir Theophilus Shepstone as Her Majesty's High Commissioner. At the Gold Fields a conflict nearly broke out hetvreen the British and Republican parties, the former wishing to bo governed by an authority that could protect them, and the latter resenting the interference of outsiders while they were doing their best with the force at their command to arrange matters suitably for all. By the exercise of a little tact and judicious management on the part of the authorities, an out- break was avoided, and Leydenberg remained quiet until the annexation of the Transvaal by Sir T. Shepstone on the 12th of April, when the Leydenberg Volunteer Corps was dis- banded by Captain Clarke, R.il., the new Gold-Fields Com- missioner. 74 With the Boers in the Transvaal, CHAPTER VIII. TRANSVAAL ANNEXATION. Oonfederatioa Schemes — Lord Carnarron and Jlr. Froude — Cape Hostility — South African Conference in London — Burgers' Helplessness — Extraordinary Session of Volksraad — Sir Theophilus Sbepstone's Arrival — His Policy and Acts — Transvaal Annexation — Protest of Volksraad and President — Deputation to England — N'iW Government Officials — Raising Native Police Force — Great Discontent and Danger — Second Proclamation — Return of Deputation — Memorial got up — Second Deputation despatched — Distinguished Visitors — ^Anthony Trollope — Sir A. Cunjnghame — Re-commeucement of Native Hostilities. At the time the Transvaal was thus getting into difficulties, iu 187G-7, the British Government were again directing their attention to a scheme of confederation of all the Colonies and States in South Africa. This was no new idea, as, so far back as the year 1858, the Volksraad of the Orange Free Stato passed a resolution : — " That the Raad feels itself in unison with a large number of the Burghers who have already approached it by memorial, convinced that a union or alliance with the Cape Colony either on the plan of federation or otherwise is desirable ; and resolves that his Honour the State President (Mr. Boshotf) be rcqacsted to correspond with his Excellency the Governor on that sul)joct, in order thus to ascertain whether the Cape Parliament will declare itself inclined for such a union, and whether the Colonial Government would receive a commission from this State, if possible, at one of tlio towns on the Eastern Province, who, together with that Gov(>ni- meut, or with a commission to be appointed by it, shall draft the preliminary terms of such a union, to be thereafter sub- mitted for the approval of both Governments." The then Governor of the Cape, Sir George Grey, and the Secretary of State in England were both most favourably inclined to tho idea, and a scheme was ably drawn out by Sir George for tho Confederation Schemes. 75 realization of a federal union ; but political events happened to prevent its acceptance, and Sir George was removed to another sphere. Earl Carnarvon took office as Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1874, and directed all his efforts to arouse a feeling in favour of confederation among the South African Colonies and States. But matters were again nipped in the bud by the action of the Cape Responsible Ministry and their House of Assembly, who almost unanimously rejected the idea, and refused even to consider the matter by sending Delegates to England, as was done by Natal and the Orange Free State to a conference which took place in 1876. The history of the South African Conference is as follows : — In 1875 Earl Carnarvon wrote a despatch to Sir H. Barkly, the Cape Govern."^-, in which he proposed a conference of Delegates from the Cape Colony, Natal, Griqualand, Orange Free State and Transvaal Republics, to discuss — Firstly, the advisability of a common native policy ; and secondly, the con- federation of all the Colonies and States under the British Imperial authority. The despatch, after referring to the various causes which had given rise to such a proposal, and urging its acceptance upon those interested, nominated Mr. Fronde, the historian, as a representative of the British Govern- ment, and commended him to the Cape Government as being eminently fitted to assist their conferences both by his strong interest in all Colonial questions and the particular attention he had already paid to those of South Africa especially. This step of Lord Carnarvon's excited great dissatisfaction on the part of the Cape Government ; and when Mr. Froude arrived in Cape Town the proposal for a conference was already de- clined. But, as many of the Colonial papers and Colonists seemed to favour the scheme, Mr. Froude lectured on its merits at a series of public meetings. This course was thought by many to have been unconstitutional, and against the spirit of the Responsible Government granted to the Cape. Mr. Froude then returned to England. In 1876, when President Brand had come over, to settle the claims of the Orange Free State with regard to the Diamond Fields, and Mr. Molteuo, the Cape Colonial Prime Minister, was also there, to arrange for 76 With the Boers in the Transvaal. the future government of Griqualand West, Lord Carnarvon suggested a conference on South African aftairs. This Con- ference was held at the Colonial Office in August, 1876, pre- sided over by Earl Carnarvon, and attended by President Brand — who, however, was precluded by his instructions from the Yolksraad from taking any active part in the discussion. Sir T. Shepstone, Messrs. Akerman and Robinson, two Delegates from Natal, and Mr. Froude, nominated by the Colonial Minister as the representative for Griqualand West (the Diamond Fields), were also present. Mr. Molteno did not attend, having no authority to do so. There were several sittings, and the results are now published and known through the medium of the Blue Books. In the result, Sir H. Barkly, being unable to persuade the Cape Government to look upon the Confederation Scheme with any degree of favour, was replaced by Sir PL B. E. Frere, from whom great things were expected. His instruc- tions were most definite and peremptor}'", and large discretionary powers were given him, as High Commissioner over all British South Africa. The annexation of the Transvaal, the Gaika and Galcka wars at the Cape, the Zulu, Moroisi, and Secocooni cam- paigns followed, and for the time completely set aside the great Confederation Scheme, which is now, I venture to say, farther off realization than ever, owing to the vacillating policies of the suc- cessive Home Governments and their Colonial Secretaries of StatCo Matters were in this state in Great Britain and South Africa when, in the Transvaal, seeing that desperate measures were required. President l^urgers again summoned the Yolksraad in extraordinary session, in February, 1877, and put the alternatives clearly before the members — Either there must be a prompt reform of the legislative, judicial, and executive brandies, and the inhabitants must unite cordially and vigorously in acting up to the necessities of the case, and support by every mcana in their i)o\ver their own elected Government; or they would have to accept Lord Carnarvon's proposals for confederation, or see the State drift into bankrnj)t('y, anarcliy, and internal disruption. While these inqxjrtant questions wert' actually under deliberation. Sir T. Shepstone — a curious coincidence — arrived ut Pretoria as a Special Commissioner (vague and dreaded Transvaal Aimexalion. ^j name to South Africans) with a staff and a small escort of Katal mounted police. His Excellency stated that he was deputed hy the Imperial Government to confer with the Trans- vaal authorities on the subject of Confederation, and especially with regard to the conduct of native affairs, which threatened, unless vigorously treated, to involve the whole of South Africa in a general native war. Here was a chance for agitators, speculators, and others. Meetings were organized ; pressure was brought to bear ; the most absurd and untruthful rumours were spread about ; and memorials and addresses were pre- sented to the Government to prevent civil war, and other horrors too numerous to mention, by accepting confederation with or annexation to the British Empire. Petitions also were got up and signed by the British part of the population, praying Sir T. Shepstoue to take over the country without any more to-do, and to proclaim it British territory at once, on the ground that some of the conditions of the Convention of 1852 had been broken, viz. : that slavery had been permitted, and that neither law nor order existed to protect foreign interests, then repre- sented as being very great. The large majority of the Yolks- raad were of the old " Yoortrekker " stamp, and did not in any way wish again to come under British rule ; but, on the other hand, they professed themselves as unable to solve the difficult problem of self-government on a new, thorough, and strong basis. Therefore, while still in doubt, and surrounding events on the Borders and elsewhere proving the danger of a reign of terror. Sir T. Shepstoue stepped in, issued a Procla- mation in virtue of his authority, as shown by his commission of appointment (see Appendix A) ; hoisted the British flag, and annexed the country; sending up Captain Clarke, R.A., as Special Commissioner to the Gold Fields and Native Piaces iu the Xorth-East. These high-handed, but, no doubt, from his own point of view, perfectly necessary acts, met with no resistance from the Boers. The Government contented itself with issuing a pro- test, and passing a resolution to send Delegates to England and other countries to protest against the annexation. This was followed by a similar protest from the President (see Appendix 78 With the Boers in the Transvaal. B). Granted the necessity for annexation , no time could nave been better cBosen, no opportunity more ably seized, no action more car efully cousiclered or carried o ut, tlran'tlie steps lakenljy Sir T. Sbepstone a nd bi s subordinates in proclaiming the Trans- raal Britisb T errit ory^tJii the mmmer and at the time tliey dj d. And, bad the ^pro mises tben made been carried out and ke]^t in tbe^^a me spirit and ma nupr^ T^ for one, am positive— a nd many tbink witb me — t bat no active s teps would bave ever been taken by tbe Trans vaa l Boers for tbe forcible recovery of tbeir couii- try. Tbeir subsequent actions and moderation during tbe next tbree years show tbis, and prove, if proof were necessary, tbat bad a Royal Commission sat in Pretoria in 1877, or a diiferent policy been carried out by Sir Garnet Wolseley and Sir Owen Lanyon, tbe recent terrible events would never bave occurred to deepen tbe feelings of race batred between Dutcb Soutb Africans and Britisb, already bitter enougb. For some time, immediately following tbe annexation, affairs progressed quietly enougb, and tbe officers appointed by tbe Administration managed matters expeditiously and carefully. Colonel Brooke, R.E., was Cbief of tbe Staff; Melmotb Osborn, Government Secretary, and Mr. Henderson, a well-known Natal man. Treasurer General ; wbile Captain Clarke assumed tbe reins of Government in tbe Nortb-East or Lej'dcnberg District. Reviews — for tbe l-13tb P.A.L.I. were sent up to garrison tbe town of Pretoria, and were quickly joined by a body of Mounted Infantry, under Cajitain Carrington — balls, and otber gaieties followed cacb otber in quick rotation ; large numbers of new people came into tbe country ; mercbants, speculators, capital- ists arrived, together witb tbe usual assortment of loafers and place-bunters — always at band wben changes take place — and general prosperity seemed to have set in. V>vX after tbe ap- pointment of ]\Iessrs. Krugcr and Jorrissen, as Delegates of the " Protest Commission," witb whom was associated Mr. W. Eduard Bok, a clever Hollander, as Secretary, the principal part of the ]Joers retired to their farms and awaited, with what patience they could, the result of their Deputation to England. The Landdrosts and otber officials of the late Government were retained in llicir offices, upon taking the oath of allegiance to Raising Native Police Force, 79 Her Majesty's Government. So far so good ; and had matters been allowed so to continue, all would have been well. But, unfortunately, though doubtless owing to the exigencies of the peculiar circumstances of the position in which the Adminis- trator was placed, Sir T. She pstone appointed Tnnny of bi s staff and friends to offices unkno wn to the constitution o f the old government, giving pow ers of a large extent, and almost irrespo nsible~ natu re, to m^ who, to say the least o f it, knew litt le or nothing of the Boers and the Natives in those parts. The men thus appointed, though no doubt able and anxious to do their duty, were crippled by want of local knowledge and that lack of sympathy with those under them, which could only be expected as natural under the cir- cumstances. Other mistakes of a similar nature occurred here and there, and are certainly to be regarded as the cause of much discontent and subsequent expression of hostile feelings by the Boers. While to prevent such public expressions of their wrongs, and the right of petitioning for their removal, Sir T. Shepstone issued a second Proclamation (see Appendix C), in which he stated his opinion that any attempts to re-open the Annexation question would be considered as seditious, and as attempts at rebellion, and be treated as such. But, in addition to these matters, a Native police force of 200 Natal KafS ri^ was raided bj^ir JT^^Shepstone, and sent up, under the command of Mr. L. Lloyd, to Captain Clarke, at Le5'denberg, to be used as a check to Secocoeni and other neighbouring predatory chie fs. This was looked upon by many with anger and by all with sus- picion, as being illegal and unnecessary. It alarmed the Boers, who objected to the raising and arming of any Native force out of the State f or service in that State , unless authorized by law. Moreover, it looked like an attempt to bring in Shepstone's old allies, th e Zul us, to overawe the Boe rs — ^ idpn. nof. witbnnt s ome trut h in it , as was evidenced b y the subsequent dis - closures of Magema and Bishop Colenso ; but to what extent it was true i liave no means of judging. Anyhow, the Native police force was a mistake, and soon led to other misfortunes. Meanwhile, the deputation, Messrs. Kruger, Jorrissen, and Bok, returned from England, at the end of the year, and imme- So With the Boers m the Transvaal. diately reported to their fellow-countrymen their entire failure. They therefore drew up the following Memorial, and sent it to England with another Deputation, consisting of Messrs Kruger, Joubert and Bok : — *' To Lord Carnarvon, Minister for the Colonies in England. Pretoria, January 7, 1878. — We, the undersigned "White In- habitants of the Transvaal, having this day received report from our Deputation sent to England, consisting of the Honour- able S. J. P. Kruger, Vice-President of the South African Piepublic, and Dr. E. F. P. Jorrissen, State Attorney, with the view to get back our independence, of which we have been deprived on the 12th of April, 1877, have learned with deep regret that they have not been able to obtain that object. It pains them so much the more, because it appears most clearly from the documents produced by the Deputation, that the loss of their independence is entirely and solely due to the false and incorrect representations of the position said to have existed here, as given by people who acted from selfish motives — in a word, by calumny. The fact, however, that the Govern- ment in England had been so totally misinformed about the real sentiments of the vast majority of the population, inspires the undersigned with courage to venture another attempt, and to show by their signatures that by fiir the great majority is opposed to the British Sovereignty. We cannot yet dismiss this matter before we have tried the last means to obtain our end by peaceable measures, according to protest dated April 11, 1877. The undersigned cannot yet believe that it could be England's will and desire to reign over a people that will not be subject to any power whatsoever. They much rather believe the words addressed to them to-day by Mr. S. J. P. Kruger, member of the Deputation, when he said: 'Brethren, pcoplo in England really do not know the actual position here ; and I uni fully convinced that England's First Minister, Lord Carnarvon, acted in good faith when he spoke in his dosjiatch to the Deputation of that insignilicant minority.' It, is there- fore with great modesty, but at tho same timo witli i'crveiit earnestness, that wo entreat your Tjordship to restore to us our country — that country which wc love as our lives, and for Distinotnshcd Visitors. 8i <^> •uliich we always were and still are prepared every day to sacri- fice our lives. May it therefore please your Lordship to be moved by our numerous signatures, and to restore to us our country. Signed by 6,591 qualified electors of the South African Repub- lic, the original, with signatures attached, being in the posses- sion of the Deputation, and open for the inspection of Her Majesty's Government. In addition to the above, memorials with 301 signatures were obtained, which were informally sent in, and thus have not been counted. Signed, S. J. P. Kruger, P. J. Joubert, Delegates ; W. Ed. Bok, Secretary ; T. Shep- stone. Administrator." The annexation brought the Transvaal into much prominence in Europe and elsewhere for the time. Among the many dis- tinguished visitors who travelled through it may be mentioned Mr. Anthony Trollope, since called the " Historian of the Annexation ; " Colonel Warren, R.E., C.B., the Administrator of Griqualand West, after Sir Owen Lan^'on's removal to Pretoria ; Major Piavenscroft, well known in the Diamond Fields ; Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Cunynghame, K.CB., Commanding the Troops at the Cape, with his aide-de-camp, poor Coghill, killed afterwards at Isandwhlana ; and, of course. Sir T. Shepstone himself, and Judge Coetzee, made the tour of the whole of the Districts in fulfilment of their purely official duties. In speaking of the Administrator's visit to Leydenberg, after that of the General, Aylward, in his book, says: — " The same sort of reception, but colder, was accorded to Sir T. Shepstone, on his arrival, six weeks afterwards. He had not the sportsman's jollity, the winning ways, the hearty manner, or the golden tongue of Her Majesty's Military Representative. He was a crafty-looking and silent man, who never used an unnecessary word or gesture. He was undemonstrative ; and, rightly or wrongly, the people believed him to be utterly insincere. Had he not been accompanied by that jovial officer, Captain Car- rington, with his troop of Mounted Infantry ; Dr. Ash, 13th Regiment ; and Lieutenant Brown, l-24th Regiment, his Excellency's visit would have been an utter failure." Shortly after the Administrator had left Leydenberg, Mr. Bell, the Native Commissioner at New Scotland, was brutally murdered, a 82 With the Boers in the Ti'ansvaal. and the Natives began to get restless, to such an extent that Captain Clarke had to take some steps, and remonstrate with Secocoeni, which, not being successful, led to the second Secocoeni war. S3 CHAPTER IX. THANSVAAL AND SECOCOEICI. Second War with Secocoeni — Captain Clarke's Policy and Failure — Reinforcements of Volunteers— JIasselleroom Massacre — Fever Season sets in — Regulars garrisou Towns — Temporary Cessation of Hostilities— ?teps to confine Secocoeni — Aylward's Summary of Affairs — Sir Bartle Frere and lord Chelmsford — Zulu and Dutch disputed Boundary Commission — Final Award and Details — Ad interim Steps in Transvaal — Return of the Second Boer Deputation from England — Their Interview with Sir Bartle Frere — Colonel Sir 0. Lanyon's Appointment as Administrator — Departure of Sir T. Shepstone for England — Zulu War — Boer Meetiogs and Measures— Sir Bartle Frere's Journey to Pretoria — Interview with Boer Farmers — Subsequent Steps and Recommend ation. Secocoeni's submission to President Burgers was, curiously enough, coincident with the despatch of a message to Sir T. Shepstone, to the effect that the Boers were kilHug his people, and that he wished " Somjstsen " (Shepstone's Kaffir name) to save him. Some Commissioners, Dutch and English, includ- ing Captain Clarke and Mr. Haggard, were then sent up to him to arrange terms of peace ; and to them he admitted " that he had no crops, and had lost fourteen of his own family and nearly 2,000 of his people." After the annexation, Captain Clarke was so convinced of Secocoeni's desire for peace that he disbanded the Leydeuberg Volunteer Corps, before obtaiuiug any guarantees for the maintenance of peace or the payment of the war indemnity of 2,000 head of cattle. Fort Burgers was left in charge of only an Assistant Native Commissioner, Mr. George Eckersley, and his orderly; while Fort Weeber, on the West side of the Zulu Mountains, was also left to another Assistant Native Commissioner, Captain Diedricht. Not long afterwards, it was found that Secocoeni was evading the payment of the war indemnity ; while reports were sent in to Captain Clarke that messengers had been noticed passing to 84 Wiik the Boers in the Transvaal. and from Zululaud ; and that Masselleroom, or Legolani, Secocoeni's sister, was harassing Native tribes who were British subjects. Later on, Sir T. Shepstone himself was told by all the officials in the District that Secocoeni would make war again as soon as he had sufficient provisions and supplies. Smuggling and gun-running were very prevalent at the time at LeydenFerg ; and, owing to the absence of any armed force, no steps could be taken effectively to stop it, or to give the pro- tection to the District and Border farmers so much needed in the then state of affairs. In addition to this, the sale of fire- arms to the Natives, hitherto always strictly ij F ohihited by the Boers, was allowed at the Diamond Fields, where Natives from all parts ca me to work with the sole object of gaining sufficient to purchas e guns, and then retur nin g home. The consequence of this was that in five years_nearly Imlf n mi 11 inn stmul nf arms were sold to the Natives in and around the Transvaal — the Zulus obtaining theirsthr ough other methods, better known than appreciated, in N atal and the Portuguese settlements. Sir T. Shepstone, after thus settling everything to his satis- faction with Secocoeni, left for Utrecht and Natal, accompanied by Captain Clarke, who was desirous of immediately proceeding farther into Natal for the purpose of raising the Native police force, of which I have spoken previously. Not many days after their departure the chief, Mapoch, who, since his defeat by the Boers, had been fairly loyal and quiet, murdered three British subjects. Thereupon the Landdrost sent a sheriff, thougli with orders not to provoke hostilities, to demand the murderers. They were given up to him, but on account of the dciiaut action and words of the other Kaflirs, and the want of a small mounted force, he was unable to bring the men away. Tliis was quickly followed by the murder of ]\Ir. Bell, in New Scotland, by some natives in his own District, and although afterwards Mabekana, his murderer, was caught, tried and hangfMl, yet the moral ('llect produced at the time by such an outrage was, to say the least, disastrous to British prestige. After re])cat(d applications to Captain Clarke, then in Natal, by all the officials, some of whoso lives were openly threateued, that officer authorized the raising of twenty-five provisional Captain Clarke's Policy and Failure . 85 policemen, who were sent up to Fort AYeeber to overawe Lcgo- lani, and aid the Assistant Commissioner in maintaining a sem- blance of his authority. Captain Clarke himself then arrived with his Natal-Zulu police, dressed, drilled and armed. This not only frightened all the neighbouring tribes, whether friendly or otherwise, but effectually prevented any help coming from the Swazies, hitherto the Boers' allies, who objected very justly to this arming of their hereditary enemies. Captain Clarke went on to Fort Weeber, and tried to check Secocoeni and his sister. But one day, while riding with an orderly near the Fort, he met some of Legolani's men armed with guns, whom he dis- armed, and compelled to surrender their guns to some followers of Pogwani, a British Native ally, always at war with Legolani. This was the spark to the touch-hole. Mr. Eckersley, who had with him four white men and twelve Natives, was at once sur- rounded at Fort Burgers by an imin of 500 men under Seco- coeni's brother ; another xm'pi occupied the pass between the Fort and Ougstadt ; a third threatened Kruger's Fort ; while the fourth and largest invaded the Waterfall Valley, between Fort AVeeber and Leydenberg. Though thus surrounded and cut off, Eckersley gallantly effected his retreat by the aid of some of the Native police, sent for that purpose by the Landdrost Pioth of Leydenberg. The outlying farmers were attacked and had to fly to places of safety ; while Captain Clarke, with Acting Native Commissioner Schultz, evacuated Fort Weeber ^jro tern., and brought back the small garrison, leaving however some powder and other property, which the enemy captured. The Provisional police, increased to fifty-six men, only half of whom were mounted, were stationed in the best positions ; while Eckersley was sent to guard the Waterfall District with sixteen whites and sixteen of Windvogel's men. Captain Clarke himself, with the Zulu police under Lieutenant Lloyd, returned to Fort Weeber, where he was to have been met by a Volimteer force of 150 men with guns, promised from Pretoria. But he only obtained about fifty of these three weeks after- wards, and they were neither armed nor provisioned, which accordingly had to be done from Leydenberg. Captain Clarke was also promised the assistance of Mapoch in his operations ; 86 With the Boers in the Transvaal. but the Swazies, jealous of the employment of the Zulu police, refused any help at this crisis. In the town of Leydenberg itself there were only twelve policemen, five Volunteer Artillerymen and forty special con- stables. The fever season was again commencing, and Seco- coeni was becoming daily more and more defiant. Captain Clarke soon had to abandon Fort Weeber, having so many men sick. Even the Native allies suffered, and a large hospital established at Leydenberg was soon filled. Notwithstanding all these difficulties Captain Clarke occasionally made raids on the enemy ; nnd on one occasion he attacked and almost captured Legolani's chief town. But after four hours' fighting, in which he lost some policemen, two white officers, and several men wounded, he was obliged to retire, with a capture of over 200 head of cattle and goats. The Zulu police here first showed their worthlessness and freedom from control when excited in the heat of battle. They bayoneted and thrust into the flames of the burning huts all the Natives they met, without distinction of age or sex, with a barbarity seldom shown or allowed by the Natives Avheu allied with the whites. Their officers were badly wounded and powerless to prevent the massacre. On the following day, the stronghold was again attacked by Captain Clarke with his Bechuana allies, who had fled on the previous occasion, and necessitated his retreat. The attack was success- ful, and Legolani's tribe was at length broken up, all her cattle, with 150 men, women and children being captured, while Lego- laui and a few of her warriors joined Secocoeni. After this, Captain Clarke built another advanced post, called Fort Ma- malul)e, and was further reinforced by volunteers from Pretoria and the Diamond Fields ; Avhile Leydenberg and Middloberg were garrisoned by some companies of the l-13th P. A.L.I. , sent up at once for the purpose. Evci-y effort was now made to Ihiisli tlie war and bring Secocoeni to submission befori' the winter season ended and the rains Ix'gan, which is generally about. August, lasting to Jnnuary or February'. About the end of July, 187H, Captain Clarke's position and force were, as given l)y Aylwai'd, ;is follows: — "There were about 250 I'^uropcans, with tiix guns, lUO Zulu police, 408 Sir Bartle Frere and Lord Chelmsford. 87 Kiffirs under Mr. Taunton, and a mixed body of 110 men, under Mr. Eckersley. The stations were Forts Weeber, Ma- malube, and Faugb-a-ballagh, and a camp of the Diamond Fields Horse at Droars River, with the Infantry base at Middle- berg and Leydenberg." Several lamentable contretemjjs now liaijpened in quick succession, Secocoeui's men cutting off cattle-guards, horses and cattle, at the advanced Fort ; while the Native allies broke out into open mutiny, and were followed by the Zulu police. These occurrences might have had serious results but for the opportune arrival of some of Carrington's Mounted Infantry. Later on, the Frontier Light Horse joined the force in September, having come up from the old Colony ; and the 80th reinforced the garrison at Pretoria. But no combined movement was effected, and the wet season set in lea\'ing Secocoeni on the offensive. The position of affairs at that time is so aptly and truthfully described by Aylward in his book (page 260) that I cannot do better than reproduce it here. He says, writing at the end of 1878 : — " The state of our Kaffir relations at the time of my writing is thus roughly stated : We are all but at war with the Zulus of Zululand ; have offended the Amaswazies ; are fighting with Secocoeni (at a cost of i6 12,000 a month) ; have had to disband our paid Kaffir forces for mutiny ; and have in fact no assistance to hope for, save from Mr. Eckersley, who was insulted by raw Natal- ians being preferred to and placed over him and Windvogel's little band. In addition to this, the Border for 1,200 miles is hostile and watchful ; the white population of the Transvaal is decreasing ; the volunteers are dissatisfied, and desertions are terribly frequent from the regulars. The Boers, whose territory we have annexed, will not help us, and the country is not worth the price that must b'e paid for it. There are now troops also in Pondolaud, whose marching expenses alone amount to ;£25,000 a month. Our South African policy promises to satisfy nobody, but to cost us millions." Meanwhile, Sir Bartle Frere, the Governor, and Lord Chelms- ford, the Commander-in-Chief, having successfully finished the Gaika and Galeka War at the Cape, in which they were materially assisted by the Fingoes, came round to Natal late in 88 Wiih the Boers in the Transvaal. 1878 and prepared for the Zulu Campaign, then clearly looming' in the distance. Sending up the 80th and some irregulars to the Transvaal to keep matters quiet there while settling the Zulu question, and being followed by the other forces thus released from the Cape and by the regiments then in Natal. Pre- vious to this, however, I ought here to mention that shortly after the annexation, a Commission was sent up in February, 1878, from Natal to Rorke's Drift, consisting of the Attorney- general, Mr. Gallwey, the Secretary for Native Affairs, Mr. John Shepstone, and Colonel Durnford, R.E. , with a secretary and short-hand reporter. The object was to inquire into the relative claims of the Boers and the Zulus to the disputed territory between the Blood and Pongola Rivers. Their report was sent to Sir Bartle Frere to decide upon while he was in Natal. His award, then made known, gave the greater portion of the land in dispute to the Zulus, with the exception of the Districts immediately surrounding Utrecht and Lune- berg. The boundary then laid down — being the Blood River, from its junction with the Buffalo to its source, thence in a straight line N.W. to Kruger's Beacon, and from there again for a short distance north to the source of the Pongola — was constituted the nortliern boundiiry of the Zulu nation. This boundary was however altered again, after the close of the Zulu war, of which every one knows the history now by heart, and which therefore needs no description of my own in this work. This very boundary question had been an important one for many years previously, giving rise to a series of quarrels, cattle thefts and reprisals, on the part of the IBoer inhabitants and the Zulus, both of whom claimed the gi-ound ; and no- definite settlement could ever be come to about it during tlio reign of the Transvaal Republican Government, although tho iriatter was finally referred to the Niilal Government for inquiry jiod report. Up to the end of 1877 Sir T. Shep stone, pre- viously Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, and the installer and personal friend of Cetywayo, the Zulu king, had always Bided with them in the quarrel, believing that tlie Boers had gradually encroached upon the land. But alter hi s journey to- Utrecht^ and oubsequent interviews with Boers and Zulus^_and_ Return of Second Boer Deputation. 89 the higli-handed proceedings and threats of the Zulu Pr ime JU-imstet and other ; Zulu chiefs at a meeting held on the Bloo d Eiver on the 18th of October, 18 77, he came to the conc lusion that the Boers had right and jus tice on the ir side. He there- fore so represented the case to the Xatal Government and Earl Carnarvon, and stated that every beacon then standing had been erected by the Boers in the presence of the Zulu chiefs and on the spots pointed out by them. This_ of course gave rise to much discontent ; and the_s ubsequent acts and threats Of^ Cetywayo caused the abnndnnment nf the dispntpd t.f^p -i'tnry b^' the B oers, who were heavy losers thereby . They considered themselves again unfairly treated by the British Government, in not having their rights granted to them and protection ensured from the threats of the Zulu king ; while they them- selves were prevented from taking any steps of self-protection or retaliation, but were told that if they waited patiently all would come right in the end. Thus was another pretext aflbrded to the Boers for widening the breach already existent and quite large enough. Towards the end of 1878, the second Boer Deputation, con- sisting of Messrs. Kruger, Joubert, and Bok, returned from England, ha\'ing been again unsuccessful in getting any satis- factory promises from the then Secretary of State for the Colonies ; but having met with much kindness and sympathy from many of the English, and inhabitants of other European countries. The able, though somewhat prolix letter, written by them, in refutation of Sir T. Shepstone's annexation Proclama- tion and subsequent acts, will be found in Appendix D, and puts their side of the question fairly and straightforwardly before all the world. Their return to South Africa was almost coincident with Sir Bartle Frere's visit to Natal, and they had the satis- faction of a long interview and explanation with his Excellency at the Government House, Pietermaritzburg. This took place on February 4, 1879, and there were present the three deputies, his Excellency and Staff, including the Piev. Mr. Stegmaun, a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church at Cape Town, an able, practical and liberal-minded man, whose presence was deemed of <:rreat value to Sir Bartle Frere in his meetin<];s with go With the Boers in the Transvaal. the Transvaal Boers. A verbatim report of this important meeting was taken at the time and published in the Colonial Press immediately afterwards ; and as I shall have to refer to the proceedings thereat in another chapter, it will be unnecessary to give the account in extcnso here. Suffice it to say that its tenor did not allay in the slightest degree the bitter feelings of discontent still slumbering in the breasts of the Transvaal Boers, and shown occasionally at meetings held in various parts of the country. Those meetings, though orderly enough in themselves, were yet productive of much evil in the existing state of affairs, and ought — if the Government had been strong enough and wise enough — in its own interests to have been put down with a strong hand from the commencement. Several large meetings were held early in 1879, and at one a mutual oath of allegiance was taken by those then present, binding them to co-operate in every way, and by any means, to obtain their freedom and recover their country. It was at this critical time in the internal affairs of the Transvaal that Colonel Lanyon — Administrator of the Diamond rields, or Griqualand West as it is called — was appointed to the same office and title in the Transvaal, in succession to Sir T. Shepstone, who was desirous (or had been desired) to relinquish his temporarily assumed office. Colonel Lanyon arrived at Pretoria, March 4th ; and to many, even at that time, it seemed a questionable and even dangerous policy to appoint a military man, an entire stranger both to the country and people, to such an irresponsil>le, nay even autocratic, position as was that of an Administrator, after the repeated official promises of Sir T. Shepstone, that the Boers should be governed by their own laws find legislature under a separate form of government. Hitherto it had needed all the tact and intimate personal knowledge and friendship of Sir T. Slicpstone — himself a colonist — with the assistance of the leading Boers, to i)revent any actual outlireak or resort to arms on the part of the disaffected, lint the return and failure of the Deputation, combined with the appointment of Colonel Lanyon to be their (Jovenior, caused alarm, even in the minds of the most li(i|)i i'lil ol' llie Boers, iit llu' manifest and numerous signs of a coujiiig storm, evident throughout the ZzUti War. 91 Transvaal. The advent in Natal of Sir Bartle Frere, as High Commissioner, and of General Lord Chelmsford, Commanding the troops in South Africa, in order to bring Cetywayo to reason, accompanied, as they were, by a large body of troops from the Cape — ^just released from the Gaika and Galeka campaigns — also gave rise to a feeling of uncertainty, as to whether the military demonstration was made only for the purpose of overawing the Zulu nation. And it speaks well for the Boers, that, when war was decided upon against CetywayoV'^many'df "tlieni put aside their grievance s for the time, and formed a gallant corps of guides and irregulars, and^ placed themselves under Colonel (now General Sir) Evelyn Wood, V.C., C.B., then commanding a column operating in the North-west of Zululand, with his head-quarters at Utrecht, in the Transvaal. Of what service they were, and how the life of their brave leader, Piet Uys, was lost at Zlobane, every one is aware. The preliminary negotiations "^ith Cetywayo having had no definite and satis- factory result, war was proclaimed, and our troops marched into ^ululand, early in January, 1879, in four columns. SiFBartle Frere, then leaving the future conduct of the war entirely in Lord Chelmsford's hands, left Natal at the end of March for Pretoria, with his Staff and an escort of twenty troopers of the Maritzburg Horse, which he, however, left behind at Newcastle, journeying on to Pretoria with only his Stalf, and reaching there on the 10th of April. Colonel Lanyon had been in office about a month, Sir T. Shepstone having left shortly after his arrival for England, via the Free State and Natal ; while Colonel Rowlands, V.C., C.B., was appointed Commandant of the Transvaal, and had to superintend the execution of such a distribution of the troops and Volunteers as would confine Secocoeni to his own mountain, and check the border raids of Umbelini and other predatory chiefs, situated in the Utrecht, Wakkerstrom, and New Scotland Districts. This he managed as well as could be expected, witb the 80th Eegiment and several Volunteer corps, the IBth Eegimcnt having been sent down from Pretoria to join Colonel Wood's column on their advance into Zululand. Previous to Sir Bartle Frere' s arrival at Pretoria, the Boers had been 92 With the Boers in the Transvaal. assemliled for three weeks, iu number about 4,000, and held a hirj^e meeting close to the town at Ivleiufontein, on the 18th of March, which lasted a week, and during which Colonel Lanyon had gone out on one occasion to meet and confer with them. Nothing was, however, decided upon, as they wished to meet Sir Bartle Frere himself, and have a conference face to face on the subject. On the 12th, two days after Sir Bartle'a arrival at Pretoria, he went alone into their large camp — not- withstanding the danger, which was represented as being very gi-eat by the officials in Pretoria — with only a few members of his Staff, and had a long personal interview with the leaders of the people, at which it was decided to send no more deputations, but to get up another memorial, and leave its transmission to England accompanied with any recommendations thereon entirely in Sir Bartle Frere's hands. The adoption of this moderate and sensible course was due solely to the sympathetic and straight- forward manner of Sir Bartle himself; who, Avhile distinctly stating that he could not give them any hope of the past being recalled, or what was done being undone, yet expressed his feeling that the Boers had many grievances, which might and ought to be redressed ; and that he considered all the expecta- tions and promises held out to them in the time of annexation had not been fulfilled. Foremost among these engagements was the gift of really representative institutions, which he then and has since advocated repeatedly and consistently up to the present time. Sir liartlc Frerc sent the memorial home, together with his views thereon, and a sketch of the constitution, which in hi? o])iiiioii should be granteritish and Colonial Press. A Boer mass meeting was held on i\\v. lOt li to _1 7th o f Decemb er, ImV'J, at which tlio people"^ asscmT)k'd togclhe r , for thg.LkiidjImu hoisted the Ihig of the South African licjmljlic. Arrest of Prdoritts and Bo/c. 99 and passed resolut ions to the following effect : — That, tlioro being no hope of recoveri ng their independence by peaceful means, the Volksr aad should be convened, and a strong form of _tbe Sout h African JRepublic should be instituted — and the people swore to co-npprnin fpr tliai-p uvpose i \\^(\ J\£^o^^ (\ tbfij r rights until death. The outcome of this wa s the immediate ~~S2 .__ . — arrest of the President, M. W. Pretoriu s, and the Secre tary, MiV T^oK; ~ Mrr~Pret(jriusrwas' arresfcdT^iFli^otchefstroinon^ the ^ffroT J anuarj^ and Mr. Bok at Pretoria on the 5th. They were both allowed out on bail of £3,000 each. Xilg y w^ere charge d Avith |]2^l]2Ji^l<^Q.lll-.JLL^'^"'""g^^ ^^^ ^ TTifiptiiig hnrl declared that th e actual carrying put of the resol utions should be delayed unt il they had been commu nicated _to_th£jid.^i«lT n-nvpi^nm ent by j ir G. Wolseley ; and a deputation was sent to the Cape to ask for their sympathy and help, as well as to unite in preventing the confederation of all the States and Colonies in South Africa, until their grievances were redressed. Sir Garnet, however, seemed to think better of his hasty proceedings, and after a sho rt det ention Pretor ius a nd Bok were released and their trial for high treason dropped through. The 80th Ecgi- ment, which7~aTter being~eighteeTf months in the Transvaal, had just left Pretoria on the 2Gtii of December, 1879, were in Potchefstrom at the time, and were detained there in con- sequence of the attitude assumed by the Boers after the arrest of Pretorius and Bok. Kruger, Joubert, and S. Prinsloo were also to have been arrested^_bjit^for,.spme_reason or other the arrests didnot take place. About the same time another important link in the chain of Boer grievances occurred in this wise. After the surrender of Secocoeni and his conveyance to Pretoria gaol, he made a state- ment against Mr. Abel Erasmus, the leading Boer in the Leydenberg District, incriminating him for treasonable corre- spondence and negotiations ; and for inciting Secocoeni not to submit to the Government and pay the fine imposed on him, but to fight ; as the Boers were going to fight the English and turn them out of the country. Upon this statement being verified on oath before the Secretary for Native Affairs, trans- lated, and then signed by Secocoeni, the Government issued H 2 joo JViih the Boers in the Transvaal. warrants for the apprehension of Abel Erasmus and the Native messengers. The latter were arrested and brought to Pretoria for trial, while Erasmus surrendered after a time, but every charge against him fell to the ground. Sir Garnet, however, had meanwhile somewhat unwisely denounced him as a traitor at a Pretoria banquet, causing great excitement. In the face of these serious disturbances (though as yet no overt act of rebellion had occurred, and the people paid their taxes in most cases under protest), and of the active sympathy shown by the Cape and Orange Free State to their Dutch brethren in the Transvaal, by meetings and the getting up of memorials to the Queen, numerously signed and sent to England, Sir Garnet published his scheme for a Transvaal Government. This, however, he stated, was not to be con- sidered as a final one, but only to last until such time as the Boers desisted from seditious practices, when a just system would be granted to them. Sir Garnet's scheme was that of an Executive Council, to consist of five official and three non- official members, and a Legislative Council, consisting of the members of the Executive Council, the Chief Justice and six non-official members. This was by no means well received or held in favourable estimation by the Boers. Moreover, the general discontent was enhanced b}' the arrival of intelligence from England of the positive statement made by the then Secretary of State for the Colonics, in answer to repeated applications from the Liberal opposition members and deputa- tions from members of societies, &c., that " under no circum- stances whatever would the Transvaal independence be restored to the Boers." An equally positive but more poetic declaration of the same sentiment was made by Sir Garnet himself, to the effect "that as long as the sun shone the Transvaal would remain liritish territory." Every one then felt that things must speedily come to a crisis. Thereafter followed in quick succession alleged illegalities and irregularities in connection with the ill-chosen appointments of outsiders to the various ])ublic appointments, from the judicial bench — when a Cape Colony judge, De Wet, for personal reasons best known to Sir 0. Lanyon, was brought in and made Chief Justice over the Prohibition of Public Meetings. loi bead of Judge Kotze, who had honestly served the British Government under Sir T. Shepstone's Administration — down to the minor offices. Furthermore, the imposition of railway and other taxes, ill-advised imprisonments, and high-handed proceedings in connection with the collection of taxes and other matters, all tended to increase the exasperation of the recalcitrant Boers. Then, again, the prevention of public meetings (attempted so fatally by Lord E. Somerset at the Cape in 1822) had the efiect of preventing that free discussion of their grievances, so necessary to the Boers ; allowing the underhand and silent workings of demagogues to assume a pro- minence otherwise impossible, and throwing the people blindly into the hands of a few irresponsible and rash leaders. I may here mention that the telegraph cable was finished late in the year 1879, and on December 25th Sir Garnet telegraphed his congratulation through to Her Majesty the Queen, and received back an answer in two days, thus establish- ing the much-needed through communication between Great Britain and South Africa. On the 11th of January, Mr. Osborne, the Colonial Secretary, left Pretoria to take up his post as British Resident in Zululand, and was succeeded on February 17th by Mr. George Hudson, from Iving Williams Town, Cape Colony (the p»resent British Resident in the Trans- vaal). On the 13th, an important appeal case, of Messrs. Jorrissen and Colliers, against the enforced payment of taxes, was decided by Judge Kotze, who dismissed the appeal ; stating that the Act of Annexation did away with the old Yolksraad, and Burgers Government, and brought the Transvaal under Imperial Legislation, and that until the laws then existing were altered by competent authority the Government was acting legally in collecting the overdue and other taxes. As the first meeting of the New Councils was to take place in March, and as his presence was required in Natal, Sir Garnet \yolseleyleft Pretoria on the 22nd of January for Pietermaritzburg where he remained until February 24th, when he left again for the Transvaal — after hearing of a large Boer meeting being held near Heidelberg on February 14th and following days to con- sider the arrest of Bok and Pretorius and other important 102 //'//// the Boers in the Transvaal. matters — arriving at Pretoria four days later. During Marcli it was decided to send out Sir G. Pomeroy Colley as Governor of and High Commissioner for S.E. Africa ; and Sir Garnet Wolseley was to return home to occupy an important post at the War OflEice. Sir Garnet awaited the opening of his newly- created Councils, which occurred on March 10th, and on April 4th he left again on horschack, attended only hy Major Stewart, the rest of the Staff coming down by the Post-cart to Natal. His official connection with the Transvaal ceased after Sir . George Pomeroy Colley's arrival at Natal in July. Sir Garnet, however, did not remain in South Africa long enough to see the working of his unfortunate, hut, from his point of view, well- intentioned scheme. After the departure of Messrs. Krugor and Joubert as a deputation to the Cape, and the apparently voluntary payment of the taxes by the people, who were only thus acting under the advice of their leaders, even Sir Owen Lanyon seemed to be lulled into a sense of security, and reported monthly, both to Sir G. P. Colley, the High Commissioner, and the Home Government, the apparent subsidence of the Boer agitation, improved regard for law and order, and better payment of taxes by both black and white alike. As showing how sparsely our Natal authorities were informed as to what was going on in the Transvaal previous to the outbreak, the following remarks in a despatch from Sir George Pomeroy Colley to the Secretary of State, founded upon his reports from Sir Owen Lanyon, are signilicant. He wrote on the 13th of December : — " There is little news from the Transvaal. The present agitation seems principally connected with the annual tax notices. Protests have been made b}' armed deputations of Doers at various points against the payment of taxes, but no overt act of resistance to the law appears to have occurred except at Potcbofstrom. The great meeting originally lixed for the Slh of .binuary was suddenly and for no explained reason sum- moned for the 8t,h of I )ec(Mnl)er instead ; but the notice was too short to allow of many attending, and I. unihsrstand it has now been postponed to the ir>tli instant. Although largo armed gatherings have taken place, and a good deal of violent Agitation Abroad. lO' 'ii language lias been used by the Boers, I still trust that wo shall bo able to avoid any collision ; and that a patient but firm enforcement of the law will ultimately tire out these spas- modic efforts of disaffection. A wing of the o8th Eegiment is now on its march to rciiiTL-rco the garrison of the Transvaal; and the loyal inhabitants of Pretoria arc taking measures for their own protection, and have formed a volunteer corps, 200 strong." Sir George Collcy had also himself taken a tour through the Transvaal in August, 1880, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, the late Lieutenant Wilkinson, 3-GOth Rifles, within a month of his appointment as Governor of Natal and High Commissioner for South-Eastern Africa. So that he had every opportunity of becoming acquainted with the real state of affairs and the trae condition of the countr3% It is to be noted that events occurring in England had their infla cnce^D_ the caurse-of-^veats. A number ol i\lembers~of Parliament had forme d_theiu se lves into a committpft, tng ptbpr \ntJbmany_„other_ -gentlemen,. ^iuid wer&--trying--.ta-secure the independence of the Transvaal , or, at any rate, better terms for the Boers. The agitation thus kept up in Great Britain, parts of Europe, America, and South Africa, received great assistance from the position taken up, and the statcmentg^ made by the Liberal party in England^ then out__Qf__Qffic£, but still commanding a powerfu l Opposition. So far back as 1878, Mr. Gladstone had questioned both the pol icy and th e right of tlie Conservative Government, first, in ann£xing_tlie Transvaal, and then in retaining it by force : wh en it had been clearly proved that however muchjthe act might have be en a political necessity, or to whatever extent the Governments iiad been misinformed at the time about a majority of the inhabi- tants being in favour of annexation, no such majority e ver did desire annexatiQii ; but that, as the real facts of the case after- wards showed, out of about 8,000 qualified Burghers, more than three-fourths were bitterly against it, and had remained so ever since. But the Home Government remained unmoved ; _aiid— again ^isled by their officials in_the_Transvaal, they approved jof_all that _was done, regard l^s^.ofja r'seqnencfta. I04 With the Boers in the Transvaal. "\Ylien the people of the Transvaal, however, began to realize how their passive resistance was misunderstood and their actions misrepresented, they again met together and signed declarations that they w^ould no longer pay taxes, either under protest or otherwise, except to the lawfully constituted Govern- ment of the South African Eej)ublic, but w^ould exercise their rights as an independent people, and defend them with their lives ; and also forbidding all Englishmen or English partisans to come upon their farms or into their houses for any reasons whatever. These resolutions, principally from the Wakkerstrom District, were published in the newspapers, one of which, Th& Volksicm, is the principal organ of the Dutch party published in Pretoria, and edited by a Mr. J. F. Celliers. This led to a criminal prosecution against the editor and proprietor for the publication of seditious writing, the Government doubtless regarding the issu- ing of such notices to be a rebellious and a dangerous sj^mptom. Sir 0. Lanyon, after consulting with his Attorney-General, Mr. Morcom, thought the adoption of a strong course the best; for he stated in a Proclamation issued at that time : '* that under the guidance of Mr. Celliers that paper had been productive of much agitation for the reversal of the Annexation, aud had kept alive the spirit of antagonism which had been existent since the assumption of Her Majesty's rule over the Transvaal." But, in the reality and widespread exhibition of this spirit of antagonism he did not apparently believe, for he further added, on the 19th of November: "Had the j^eople been left alone, or had they been accessible to those mcars and sources which govern public opinion elsewhere, their own good sense and feelings of right and wrong would have prompted them to accept the change as one which has brought increased security and i)rospcrity to their homes and country." This prosecution of Mr. Colliers was, moreover, specially insisted upon at the time as being of value — in view of the great 13oer meeting to be held in December, 1879 — as showing the disafl'ectcd lioers the determination and power of the new Government in putting down all hucIj attempts now and for ever. AVliat an ephemeral assumption of dignity and power this was has since bcc:i proved. We now know more fully and truthfully that, had it Jeppes Official Almanac Stalcmcnts. 105 not been for the earnest and constant endeavours of the few- more moderate leaders among the Boers, an appeal would previously have been made to arms ; and the allegation that there Avas in reality no vox pojjidi, nor any general spirit of antagonism among them, has since been painfully and bitterly refuted. The events which followed in quick succession, during the latter end of November and the beginning of December, 1879, deserve and require a chapter to themselves ; but in concluding this one, I cannot do better, in justification of my own views on the subject, than give a curious extract from " The Trans- vaal Book Almanack and Official Directory for 1881," published in the latter end of November, 1880, in Pretoria, by Frederick Jeppe, " Government Translator and Compiler of Statistics to the Colonial Ofl&ce of the Transvaal," a Government official and confidential friend of the Administrator ; and one who, from his long residence in and knowledge of the Transvaal, ought assuredly to have been better informed ; — " The wish for independence and self-government, encouraged and supported by designing agitators, is, however, gradually subsiding. The taxes are paid better than they were under the old Government, as will be seen by our financial statistics, published elsewhere. The Secocoeni rebellion has been quelled, the natives are made to pay taxes, labour is more plentiful, and now that all former obstacles are removed, the Transvaal enters upon a career of prosperity it has never before known, and which it never could have attained under the old regime. As j)art of the future South African Confederation, it must prosper and flourish. Great postal facilities have been instituted, and the telegraph connects us with the outer world. The railway from Delagoa Bay will soon be commenced, and its completion is only a question of time. With peace and security on our borders, a strong, liberal, and enlightened Government and Legislature to guide and rule this infant State, confidence will at once be originated, and enterprise will launch its cajiital, where so large and varied a field off'ers itself for yielding highly remunerative returns, cither in mining operations for the precious metals, with which this country abounds, or in io6 With the Boers in the Transvaal. agricultural or stock-breecliug pursuits, for which this highly- favoured country is so eminently suitable." How far this sanguine vaticination has been verified or falsified has long since been shown by the subsequent course of events, now to be recorded. In other statements in this official volume the same inaccuracy or ignorance is visible in regard to historical facts. But his statistics as to the revenue, expenditure, and debt are reliable, and show clearly that, far from having progressed in a monetary sense, the Transvaal caused Great Britain a military expenditure of over two millions even up to 1880, while her own debt had increased from £295,071 at tho time of annexation to 507O4,OG-4 on December 31st, 1879. I07 CHAPTER XL THE OUTBREAK. KcasoDS of the Great Mass Meeting — Mr. Gladstone's Speeches — The Bezuidenhou Tax Defiance Affair — Rising of Schoons Spruit Burghers— Steps of Pretoria Government — Declaration of Independence — South African Republican Flag hoisted at Heidelburg — Patrol to Potchefstrom for Issue of Proclamation — Envoy sent to Sir 0. Lanyon — Letter to Commander of British Troops — Boer Proclamation and Details — Letter to Sir G. Colley — Proclamations by Sir 0. Lanyon — Declaration of Martial Law — Potchefstrom Defence — General Com- mencement of Hostilities. We now come to the actual cause of the outbreak in December, which otherwise would most probably not have taken place until much later, and with more and clearer warning to the Govern- ment, if we can consider, after reading the occurrences detailed in the previous chapters, that they wanted any clearer or stronger warning. After the return of Messrs. Kruger and Joubert from the Cape in November, a mass meeting of the Boers had been convened by their leaders for the 8th of January, 1881, to consider a letter addressed to them by the Eight Hon. W. E. Gladstone, immediately after the accession to power of the Liberal party, and other matters in connection with the recovery of their independence. The Boers had every reason to hope for bettei^on^sid^ratiQiijm,^mJIderTi'eatment frorn the Liberal Government^ than they had received from that of the Con - seryative^_part y under Lord 'Beaconstield , because throughout the political campaign Mr. Gladstone had i-ep^atedLy made- a strong point of the conduct of South African affairs b}' _the Con servative s. In his first Midlothian speech, on November 25th, 1879, Mr. Gladstone said : — " They (tlie Conservatives) have annexed in Africa the Transvaal ter- ritory, inhabited by a free European Christian Eepublican community, which they have thought j^roper to bring within the limits of a Monarchy, although out of 8,00i> ]iersons in that Republic qualided to vote on the subject we are told, and I have never seen the statement officially con- tradicted, that G,5uO protested against it. These are the circumstances under which we undertake to transform Eepublicans into subjects of a Monarchy." loS With the Boers in the Transvaal. On the next day Mr. Gladstone again declared that — " Thei-e is no strengtli to be added to your country by governing tlie Transvaal. The Traiissvaal is a country where we have chosen, most iinwisely, I am tempted to say insanely, to place ourselves in the strange predicament of the free subjects of a monarchj^ going to coerce the free sub- jects of a republic, and to compel them to accept a citizenship which they decline and refuse. But if that is to be done it must be done by force." A week later lie declared that the annexation of the Transvaal was the invasion of a free people. Again, on the 29th De- cember, 1879 : — " "We have undertaken to govern despotically two bodies of human beings who were never under our despotic power before, and one of them who was in the enjoj'ment of freedom before. We have gone into the Transvaal terri- tory, where it appears — the statement has not been contradicted — that there were 8,000 persons in a condition of self-government, under a Republican form. Lord Carnarvon announced, as Secretary of State, that he was desirous of annexing their own territory if they were willing. They replied by signing to the number of (J, 500 out of 8,000 a jsrotest against the assumption of sovereignty over them. We have what you call 'annexed' that territory. I need not tell you there are and can be no free institutions in such a country as that. Tlie utmost, I suppose, that could be done was to name three or four or half a dozen persons to assist the Governor. But how are they chosen ? I apprehend not out of the 6,500, but they are chosen out of the small minority who were not opposed to being annexed. Is it not wonderful to those who are freemen, and whose fathers had been freemen, and who hope that their children will be freemen, and who consider that freedom is an essential condition of civil life, and that without it j'on can have nothing great and nothing noble in political society, that wo are led by an Administration, and led, I admit, by I'arlianient, to find ourselves in this position, that we are to march upon another body of freemen, and against their will to suliject them to despotic government? " — L'irthdaij SpeccJi, 2[Hh December, 187!^. And lastl}', on the 18tli of March, 1880, when the elections were already beginning to turn against the Conservatives, and his own return to oflice was probable, he spoke as follows : — "Lord Bciiconsfield omitted Africn, and did not say the Radicals had created any dilliculties for iiim there. ]3nt there he has contrived, without, 80 lar as I am ;il)le to judge, tiie smallest necessity or excuse, to spend five millions of your money in iiiv;i(iiug a peojile (the Zulus) who had done him no wrong; and now ho is ol)lig('d to spend more of your money in estalilisliing the suprcmiicy of tlw! (^ueen over a community i'rote.stant in religion, ilolliinders in origin, vigorous, obstinate, and tenacious in clui- raclur, oven us we arc ourselves — namely, the Dutchmen of the Transvaal." It may be perfectly true thnt tlicic is an important distinction to be drawn Itntween the comb miintioii of a particular policy ami course of action adopted liy oiu; (lovcnimcnt, and tho oflicial revcr.^iil of that policy 1 y a succeeding Government The Beziiidcnhoitt Tax Defiance Aj}ai7\ 109 after it has been adopted, but surely the Boers are not very much to be blamed because they failed to recognize that dilTorence. But, from their point of view, it is not to be wondered at, if they consider that subsequent events gave them a severe though much needed lesson, which would in the future make them chary of believing in the statements or promises of any English Government whatever, and one which had done more than any other acts of any British Government of this ■century to lessen the belief in the will and power of a great nation, hitherto noted for its true and honourable policy, and regarded as a pattern of justice and national morality in its dealings with weaker nations. Be this as it may, the consequence of these openly expressed views of one of England's greatest Ministers, of the encouraging sympathy shown to the Boer cause by many other nations, and of the events detailed previously in this work, was that a determined stand was made, and throughout November the people banded together to oppose the execution of the laws, and to refuse to pay the taxes. The history of the dis- contented Boers in the "Wakkerstrom District was given in the last chapter ; but we have now to deal with those of the District of Potchefstrom, among whom were a number of in- habitants of Schoons Spruit and Mooi River, who notified to their Landdrost their refusal to pay taxes or permit the processes of law then instituted for the forcible recovery thereof. In one case out of many, proceedings were taken against a Boer named Piet Bezuidenhout for overdue taxes. Judgment was given against him, and execution issued, and a waggon was attached by the sheriti''s officers for sale in liquidation of the judgment and costs. The sale was tixed for a certain day in November at Potchefstrom, having been duly notified in all the papers. On that day a number of Boers (about one hundred), attended the sale, armed, under the orders of certain leaders, the principal of whom was P. A. Cronje, afterwards Commandant at Pot- <2hefstrom. They removed the waggon by force from the custody of the sheriif's officers ; and after much speechifying they took the waggon away from the town and then dispersed. On the report of this occurrence to the Government at Pretoria, a re- no With the Boers in the Transvaal. inforcement of troops was sent to Potcbefstrom, a number of special police were enrolled, and otber steps taken to ensure tbe arrest and trial of tbe leaders of tbe recent emciitc. Tlie men concerned, bowever, again banded tbem selves togetbcr, and prevented tbe arrest of tbe leaders, and defied tbe autbority of tbe Britisb Government. TbfiRft^tjfHno ^fiprf-n.d ^o_ra pidly, and matters became so serious, tbat Mr. Kruger and tbe otber members of tbe Boer Committee fouifd tbemselves carried along witb tbe stream and unableTo^ stem tbe tide of active a nd armed resistance. Tbej tbereiore made a virtue of necessity, and summoned a mass meeting of tbe Boers, including tbe members of tbe old Volksraad of 1877, for tbe 15tb of December instead of tbe 8tb of January, as previously agreed. But, in view of tbe measures being taken by tbe Administrator and tbe INIilitary autboritics, of wbom at tbat time Colonel Bellairs, tbe Deputy Adjutant-General in Soutb Africa, was tbe bead, tbey altered tbe date of tbe meeting to tbe Stb. Tbe object was tbe im- mediate consideration of tbe question as to wbetbcr tbe leaders of tbe Scboons Spruit affair sliould bo encouraged, and protected from arrest, or wbctber a temporizing policy would be best, in order to give tbe Government anotber cbance of meeting tbeir views peaceably. Tbe meeting was bold at Paarde Kraal, a farm situated on tbe eastern side of tbe road from Pretoria to Potcbefstrom, and Mr. Hudson, tbe Colonial Secretary, went tbere to meet and confer witb Kruger, wbo told bim tbat it was no longer an affair of individuals but of tbe nation. On Monday, tbe 13tb of December, it was definitely decided to restore t]icl?outli Aji-ican Kcpublj c, by foi-ce of arms if neces^ sary; and a Trium virate, consisting of3Tcssi-s. Paul Kruger, PW oub cr t, and M PWTTrctoiius, witb Mr. E. Bok as Secretary, was appointed to carry on and orgiinizo" a Gov ernme nt unde r lb (\ 11P.W order p f_tbing3. Tliis decision was proclaimed at Heidelberg, wliilbei-tbo Triumvirate and tbo armed Boers proceeded, on tbe Ifitb or tbreo days afterwards. "J'bat town was made tbe bead-quarters of tbe new Government and steps were immediately taken to carry out tbeir scbcmes. Tbe notices, calling tbo Boers togetbcr for tbe great meeting on tbe 8tb, bad Steps of Pretoria Government. 1 1 1 desirGcl them all to c ome armed and provisio ned ; and the luke- ^'arm and half-do ubtful Boers were distinctly warned that they must either be for or against the movement for libe rty, and thaFno one would be allowed to remain or be treated as neutral. The Administrator, on his side, had just issued a notice that as the arrival of any number of armed men in the villages of the province for many reasons might prove dangerous and entirely unlawful and might endanger the public peace, and bearing in mind the dithculty to control such armed gatherings of people, all armed parties of people should be forbidden to approach any village in the province within a mile, or to enter the same. And on the same day that the Boers proclaimed their independence at Heidelberg, a District order was published and issued to the various garrisons at Potchefstrom and other towns in the Transvaal, by Captain Churchill, 58th Regiment, D.A.A. and Quartermaster-General, calling attention to the notice forbidding the approach of any armed body of men within a mile of any town in the province. Officers commanding stations vrcre instructed to be guided accordingly, and having due regard to their order, never to endanger the safety of their posts through overwcakening their garrison, they should endeavour to carry out the spirit of the instructions conveyed in the notice, and prevent such approach of any unauthorized hostile armed body of men. Another order provided that " During the present disturbed state of the country, seventy rounds of ammunition will be carried by each soldier, and whenever likely to become hotly engaged, and conveyance for the regimental reserve not to be at hand, thirty rounds extra will be issued and carried on the person of each man." Two days previously to the arrival of the Triumvirate in Heidelberg, they had sent a strong patrol under Commandant P. A. Cronje, to Potchefstrom, in order to get their Proclamation l}rinted; with distinct orders not to fire unless attacked ; and with the following letter to Major Clarke, just appointed Special Commissioner at that town : — " We have the honour to inform you that the Government of the South African Republic, hereby restored, wants a certain document to be printed at once. AYe trust that from your side no measures 1 1 2 JVii/i the Boers in the Transvaal. will be ordered or taken to hinder us, as it is jiressing, and of the most serious importance to both parties. The publishin*]^ •of this document all over the world is very likely to prevent bloodshed — at least so is our intention. Therefore it must be •done, and it shall be done. AYe take it that, considering the seriousness of this matter, you will not make this a casus belli. If so, we throw the responsibility of this step on your shoul- ders, and take the liberty to remind you that in a very same state of affairs three years ago, when Sir Theophilus Shepstone wanted the Annexation Proclamation to be printed, the then ■Government of the Republic was generous enough to allow the Government printer to print the same. We are of opinion that the representative of Her Majesty the Queen will, in generosity, not be behind the President of a small Piepublic. At all events, we know that the civilized world, and the people of England, in this matter, will be on our side." At the same time the Triumvirate sent the following characteristic letter to the Administrator, Sir Owen Lanyon, by the hands of their -appointed Diplomatic Envoy, Mr. H. Schoemann : — " Your E xcellency, — In the name of the people of Jhe South African Piepublic we address ourselves to you for the per- formance of an earnest but imperative duty. "\Ye have the honour to enclose copy of a Proclamation, decided upon by the Govern- ment and Volksraad, and published for general notice. The will of the people is therefore clear, and requires no further explanation at our hands. We declare in the most earnest manner that we have no desire to shed blood, and that we will have no war on our part. Willi you therefore it rests, to necessitate us to take resource to arms in self-defence. If, which may God forbid, it should ever come so far, we shall do so with the most profound respect for Her Majesty the Queen of England, and for her ilag. If it should ever come so far, we shall defend ourselves with the knowledge that wo fight for the honour of Iler Majesty, lighting as wo do for the sanc- tity of treaties, sworn to by her, but violated through her servants, liut the time for complaining is past, and wo desire only your J'^xccllcncy's co-operation to arrive at a peaceful Jiolutiou of the dilliculty in question. From the last paragraphs Zj^U£y_ Jo Com manders of__ British Troops, 113 of our Proclamation, your Excellency will observe the unalter- able and determined intention of the people to co-operate with the English Government in all concerning the progress of South Africa. But the only condition to arrive hereat is also comprised in the same Proclamation, clearly and explicitly ex- plained, and provided with good reasons. Iu^l877 our Govern- ment handed over the keys of the Government offices without causing bloodshed ; we trust that your Excellency, as repre- sentative of the noble British nation, will, in magnanimity, not be second to us, and in an equal manner enable our Govern- ment to resume its functions. We expect an answer within twice twenty-four hours. — Signed by the Triumvirate ani> Members of the Executive Council." At the same t ime they took steps in order to prevent, as- they thoughtj the co ncentration of troops, wh ile awaiting the (lecision of Sir Owen Lanyon, on the question of jpeace or war. And, as they had heard of the 94th Piegiment being ordered down from Leydenberg to Pretoria, the following letter was forwarded to Colonel Anstruther, as well as similar ones ta other commanding officers : — "South African Piepublic, Heidelberg, Dec. 17, 1880.— To the Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's troops on the road between Heidelberg and Pretoria. — Sir, — We have the honour to inform you that the Government of the South African Piepublic has taken up their residence at Heidelberg ; that a dij^lomatic Commissioner has been sent by them with despatches to His Excellency Sir W. Owen Lanyon ; that until the arrival of His Excellency's answer we don't know Avhether- we are in a state of war or not; that consequently we cannot, allow any movement of troops from your side, and wish you to. stop where you are. We not bemg_at_warjadtk- Her Majesty the Queen, nor with the people ot England, ( who we are sure would be on our side if the y w ere ac quainted with the position), but only recovering the independe^ce_of j)ur co untry, we do not wish to take up a rms, and therefore inform you tha t any^ove- ments of troops frornjj-our side will be taken b y us as a dec la- ration of war, t he r espo nsibility whereo f ^'^ put np^n y^ur shoulders, as we know w hat we will have to do in self-defe nce." I 114 IJlth the Boers in the Transvaal. The Proclamation issued b}- the Eoer Triumvirate and printed in Potchefstrom is too lengthy a document to be inserted here and -will therefore be found in Appendix E. It consists of statements of the facts in reference to 1, The occasion of its issue ; 2, Copy of the Sand Pviver Treaty ; 3, The Boer rights therein given ; 4, The annexation ; 5, The Protests of the Exe- cutive Council and President Burgers ; and 6, A lengthy recital in justification of their own subsequent acts, and their proposi- tions for a mutual and peaceful satisfactor}^ settlement, con- sisting of twenty-seven paragraphs. Copies of this Proclama- tion were sent off at once to Sir Owen Lanyon and Sir George Colley. Letters explanatory of these actions and intentions were also forwarded to President Brand of the Orange Free State (on December 17th), the Hon. Mr. Sprigg, Colonial Secretary of the Cape Colony, on the same date ; and also to Governor and High Commissioner Sir G. Colley in Natal, under date Decem- ber 20th. After a collision had occurred between the Boers and British at Pretoria and Potchefstrom, they wrote again as follows : — " South African Republic, Heidelberg, 20th of Dec, 1880. To His Excellency Sir Pomeroy Colley, Her Majesty's High Com- missioner and Governor of Natal. — Sir, — As we had the honour to inform you, the Government of the South African Piepublic is restored and established at Pleidclbcrg, the Proclamation set- ting forth our legal grounds, fully explaining the facts that we never have been British subjects, and a conducting letter asking Sir "W. Owen Lanyon for a peaceful surrender of our State to its legitimate founders and owners, was sent to His Excellency by our diplomatic envoy on Friday the 17th. The only answer that it pleased His Excellency to our legitimate demand was the sending of attached printed Proclamation already drawn up before the arrival of our envoy. "We arc very sorry that neither His l^xcollency nor his legal advisers seem to be able to under- Ktand the real state of affairs, and still endeavour to involve the respected name of Her Most Gracious IMajosty the Queen of Eng- land and the proud name of the people of iMigland in acts of wan- ton cruelty and bad politics, which can only lead to a most cruel Letter to Sir George Col ley. \ 1 5 and destructive war between fellow-colonists — a war not brought on by us, but by the sole acts of the Government in Pretoria. Wo beg to draw your Excellency's attention to a deliberate false- hood advanced by Sir Owen Lanyon, namely, where he is accusing us of inciting the natives of our country against Her Majesty. Your Excellency, we challenge Sir Owen Lanyon to 23rove this very unfair assertion, and we state as plainly as pos- sible that the contrary is the truth. No gentleman can for a moment entertain these opinions of a people who, during the disastrous Zulu war, never for a moment flinched from the high road to neutrality, never availing themselves of the opportunity of taking their country back, because they Avere unwilling to spoil their good cause by using the brutal forces of uncivilized brutes. It is our firm conviction that Sir W. Owen Lan3-on advances this assertion merely for the j)urpose of blinding the oj'CS of the civilized world to his own acts, as it is a fact that in the last \veeks he armed Ivaifirs and Hottentots to fight against the Boers. Whereas Sir W. Owen Lanyon seems now to incite to war, we appeal to you. The Lord be the iudge betweer» us and those who force us to take to arms. Already th- nrs shot has been fired, not by us, but by some of Her Majesty's troops in Potchefstrom, and on the public road a few miles from Pretoria, we suppose by order of Sir W. Owen Lan3'on." In reply to the Proclamations and acts of the Boers, the Administrator issued a Proclamation on the 28th of December, declaring the Boers so assembled in arms to be rebels, and ordering the military to take immediate steps to put the re- bellion down VI ct armis. On the 21st he proclaimed martial law throughout the Province of the Transvaal, on receipt of the news of the Bronkhorst Spruit disaster. In Potchefstrom itself the strong garrison made every preparation in the Fort, under Colonel Winsloe, 21st Picgiment ; and Major Clark, with Commandant Eaafif, the Landdrost Goetz, and a few soldiers and volunteers, defended themselves for two days in the Court Plouse, but were then obliged to surrender, after the loss of one ofiicer and some men. The town was then occupied by a large Boer force under Commandant Cronje. The details of this, the first real action in the war, and the subsequent siege I 2 1 1 6 With the Boers in the Transvaal. of the Fort, will be found in extenso in a later chapter. The second action at Bronkhorst Spruit, which occurred on the 20th of December, or four days after the declaration of Independence, and the next important event, viz., the murder of Captain Elliott, shortly afterwards, merit and need a fuller description. Of course it will easily be understood by every one now, and doubtless admitted by the officials themselves, that if the Government was powerless to prevent the large meeting of armed men on the 8th of December, they would be equally powerless to take any active steps to quell the rebellion, but would simply have to remain on the defensive until reinforce- ments arrived ; while the Boers M'ould become masters of the whole country, except the few garrison towns, and thus be enabled to obtain the prestige of victors to start with, as well as the power of taking the initiative in attacking, instead of having to act purely on the defence. However, in any event, the military then in the Transvaal can neither be blamed for the course taken, nor for the part they afterwards played in the struggle. They did the best under the circumstances with the limited means at their disposal. As will be seen, in the various accounts of the sieges of Pretoria, Potchefstrom, Standerton, Wakkerstrom and Lcydcnbcrg, they fought well and gallantly against heavy odds, and added the lustre of many a brave and noble deed to their reputation as soldiers of Great Britain. ii; CHAPTER XII. THE FIRST ACTION. Bronkborst "MeiJDisaster — 94th leave Leydenherg — Journey to Middelbcrg — Deten- ' tion at Olipliants River — 'Warnings of Boer Rising — Arrival at Bronkhorst Vlei — Narrative of Conductor (now Lieutenant) Egerton — Disaster not a Massacre — Details of Fight aud Prisoners' Treatment — Sir Bartle Frere's Opinioa of Prinsloo and Joubert — The Messenger's (Paul de Beer) Story — List of British Casualties — Details of Boer Force and Losses. THE_news o£ the disaster at Bronkborst Vlei or Sp mit ("Water Cress Pond), on the 2Gth of December, reacbed Pretoria on tbe day after ; wl fence^ tetegrams were sent to Natal, tbe Cape, and England, detailing tbe particulars, wbicb, bowevtr, were h ardly believed at first. Of course inosF" exaggerated reports were quickly spread about, but tbe truth in all its bare entirety was soon officially made known. Then, and then only, people at length began to realize tbe unity, earnestness, and desperation of tbe Boers, instead of under- valuing tbe former and doubting the latter, as was done by those even high in authority. It appears that tbe bead- quarters of the 94tb Eegiment, which had been stationed at Leydenherg for some time, left that town in order to reinforce the garrison at Pretoria, on Sunday, December oth, with their band, &c. ; leaving Lieutenant Long to garrison tbe place •with about fifty men. The force was composed as follows : — 246 officers, non-commissioned officers and men, tbree women, and two children. Army Service Corps : two officers, five non- commissioned officers and men. Army Hospital Corps : three non-commissioned officers and men. Army Medical Depart- ment : one surgeon. Total, nine officers and 248 men, with thirty-four waggons. Tbe officers accompanying were Colonel Anstruther, in command, Captains Elliott (paymaster) and ii8 IVith the Boers in the Transvaal, Naivne, and Lieutenants Swiney (adjutant), Harrison, anci Hume, Dr. Ward, D.A.C.G. Carter, and Chief Conductor Egerton. Pre^-ious to their departure they had heard rumours of the Boers fighting, but did not beheve them. The force reached Middelberg about a week after, without anything occurring en route worthy of notice, except that before entering the town thirty rounds of ammunition were issued to every man in the ranks. The Kegiment stayed only one day in Middelberg, the band playing on the square, much to the enjoyment of the people. In consequence of the alarming rumours which were prevalent, many of the residents did not wish the Regiment to proceed, but it was not until the detach- ment reached the Oliphants Eiver that any real credence was placed in those reports. While encamped on that river, which was so high as to prevent them crossing for a day, three gentle- men rode after them from ]Middelbcrg, and made a communi- cation to Colonel Anstruthcr, resulting in a laager being formed with the waggons every night afterwards, and orders being issued for all the men to sleep with their arms beside them. Two days after crossing the river, a Kaffir came up to the Adjutant and told him there were Boers about, and in con- sequence of this orders were given that at the close of the day's march the bandsmen were to give in their instruments that night, and to take their places in the ranks, distributed between the two companies. But about one o'clock, as the band was still playing, and the Colonel and Conductor Egerton were riding a little way ahead to select a camping ground, the Boers were perceived. What occurred is best given in Con- ductor Egerton's own words : — " On .Sunday, the ioth of December, 1880, abont 1.20 v.M., when about 1\ miles from Ih-onkhorst or JMmlder ISpruit (about 08 miles from I'ro- toriii), tlie hand suddenly ceased ]ilaying, and on turuinfi round to nscertiiin the reason, we saw about 100 Boers on the left of tlio road m formation, about 10 i>aces between each horseman, all mounted. The Uoi-rs were uhout ">0u yards from the column, on the left Hank. The Colonel galloped back, and gave the word to halt and for the n-ar wn£Tgon» and men to close up. While ho was giving these orders 1 saw u llaj.: of truce approaching, and rode out to meet it, and the messenger (Paul do Been gave me a scaled despatch, which I handed to the l''.i(.nei There was only one )uau with it and he was unarmed. Tlu; letter was in EngliBh. The Culoael rca,d it out to me, and llie purport of it was—* The Narrative of Conductor Egerton. 119 RepuLlic having been proclaimed at IleiJelberg, and tlie Dntch people being determined to maintain it, any movements of English troops were prejudicial to their interests, and if the Colonel advanced beyond the Sj^ruit, they should consider it a declaration of war, and he must be responsible for the consequences.' The messenger said verbally that two minutes were allowed for the Colonel's decision. The Colonel replied his orders were to march to Pretoria, and he should go there. Each party galloped back to his own force, and no sooner had he reached than the Boers commenced firing. The men were extended in skirmishing order in front of tiie waggons at about four paces interval. The tiring lasted about twenty minutes. The officers all fell in the first ten minutes. The Boera were standing and kneeling behind trees on some rising ground above our men. Our men were lying down on the grass. The fire of the Boers seemed to be directed on the officers, the oxen and the ammunition waggons, which were denoted by the red flag. The ammunition was in the first two waggons, and the band and the prisoners were getting out the reserve ammunition. All the officers were wounded, and 1 should think that between thirty and forty men were killed, and about seventy or eighty wounded. The doctor told me that in killed and wounded he had about 120. Dr. "Ward was the doctor ; he was not hurt. When Colonel Anstrnther saw that all the officers were shot, and the men falling fast, and that there was no chance, he told them to throw up their hats and wave handkerchiefs as a signal to surrender. There were thirty-four waggons and carts in all, and the mei'^with the waggons had not time to get up to join the main body. I heard from some ox drivers that the rear guard were taken prisoners at the commencement. They said that hundreds of Boers galloped up and took them prisoners. The convoy extended about half a mile, and the rear guard was in rear of all. They were about twenty strong. Mr. Carter, Commissariat and Transport Staff, supposed to be with the rear guard, was missing when I left. The band were, at the time of the attack, playing the last piece they were to play on the march, as they were to join the ranks on getting to camp. The Boers took off the arms and ammunition at once — three waggons — and the remainder were standing there when I left, and the Boers formed a circle round the Eegiment, and Commandant Franz Joubert gave leave for the men to take what rations they pleased, and to pitch tents for the wounded, and to work the water carts. Joubert gave me permission, on the Colonel's request, to come into Pretoria for doctors and ambulances. I was to carry no weapon, and he would not give me a horse, but allowed Sergeant Bradley to accompany me. I took the colours of the 94th Hegimentwith me, which some of the men tore off the poles and gave to me, and I held them round my waist, imder my coat. Joubert asked for the guns and colours, and I told them there were no guns, and not being in the 94th I did not know where the colours were. 1 believe the colours were secreted under Mrs. Fox (the wife of the sergeant-major), who was wounded. I had ridden through the bush from where the attack was made about ten minutes before the column reached the spot and saw nothing. A mounted infantry man pointed out to the Colonel what he considered to be mounted men, near the Bronkhorst Spruit, and after looking at them through the glass, the Colonel saw they were cattle, and handed the glass to me, and I looked, and am sure they were cattle. This repoi-t was made about 51)0 yards before the attack. The sujiposed mounted men reported were about twelve miles distant. The Boers were concealed in a valley on the distant side of the rising ground irom which I20 IViih the Boers in the Transvaal. they fired, and ■when I first saw them were galloping at full speed at the crest of the rising ground. I estimate that about oUO Boers attacked the head of the column. I only saw one dead and five wounded on their side, and I don't think there were any more. I believe the Boers were con- cealed in a farm house (Solomon Prinsloo's) behind trees (willows and poplars), and when they saw the mounted infantry returning from their reconnoitring, they galloped on up the valley before mentioned. The 94th fought i-emarkably well, but their fire did not seem to take eff'ect — ■ they did not seem to find the range, and all the ofiicers were down. On my way in I was challenged several times, but they let me go on hearing I had a pass. The reason I was so long on the road was, I was wounded and kept oft' the road, so that I might not be taken with the colours." The gallant action of ]\[r. Ealpli Egerton, in saving tlie colours of the Eegiment, has been since rewarded b}^ a com- mission in the 94th, and his account, given immediately after the event, has proved substantially correct ; and it does him credit, as well as effectually disposes of the sta tements and accusations made against the JJoers for murder and massacr e. No doubt they took every advan tage that ^ t heir knowledge of the_ground and intention to surpris e gave them ; but _ con- sidering th at they are not regular armed soldiers, and a re cej;- t ainly ignorant of Eu ropeanmct hods of fi g hting, I think all u ninte rested and^Jii43j'ejadiccdj3cople_wih^ivc them credit for thcii- h onc sty of purpose, although, perhaps, disap])roviu<>' of th e mann e r of carrying out their purpose s. Some further details of the fight and after occurrences are thus described by one of the prisoners, a bandsman, who was sent through the Orange Free State to Natal with the rest of the captured. After detailing the march from Leydenberg and the events up to the commencement of the attack, ho proceeds : — " Orders were issued for the ' band waggon ' to draw uji, and the bands- men got their rifles. The Boers had now got within '200 yards, and were to be seen in Hank and rear, cutting off the roar guard before anybody was aware of it; the advance guard had fiillcn back on the main body. The ne.Kt thing 1 saw was a wliite ihig, as near as possible '200 yarda away, and, when this was noticed, we hoisted a signal also. The Boer with liis Ihig and our man (Kgerton) advanced, meeting about half way, but th(! letter lie received lie lirouglit Ut the Colonel. Tiu! letter 1 heard stated ' 'I'lie Boers did not know whether they were on a war footing or not, and, if we advanced further, we sliould liave to fight for it, asking that wt! lay down our arms at once.' 1 Jieard tlic (Colonel say, *I have got my orders for I'retoria, and to Pretoria I'll go.' Tim Colonel tlieu gave the order ' to extend in Kkiniii.sliiiig order;' indeed he had hardly Details of Fight and Prisoners Treatment. 121 time to give it before a volley was poured into us, and my comrades fell all around. We were enclosed; the Boers had cover, a sort of 'little bush' and an incline in their favour. The Boers themselves told us afterwards that they had everything arranged beforehand, the distance having been ascertained exactly. During the time the flag of truce was flying the Boers continued advancing, and had the officers and non-com- missioned officers all spotted; they all fell at once. While the firing was going on, and about ten minutes from the commencement. Adjutant Harrison got np and shouted 'Fire, men, keep it up,' when a bullet struck him on the forehead dead. AVe \ie\it firing for about ten minutes or so after this, but our ammunition getting short, and the Boers in front, rear, and all round at the same time, picked off our men. We knew not how, but they outnumbered us altogether. We got no time to extend, and that was the reason our men fell so quickly. The bugle sounded ' Cease firing ' three times before the men heeded it, or in fact heard it. The Boers disappeai'cd directly the flag dropped. Their fire lasted about twenty minutes, and the Colonel, who was wounded, said ' he had better leave a few men to tell the stor}-.' The bullocks in the waggons were all over the place, dragging waggons, &c., among the wounded, dead, and dying. The Boers' fire now slackened, and they came in among iis and ordered those still standing to put down their arms, pulled our helmets off, and made us 'squat down' like Kaffirs. While this was going on, I think they took away their own dead and wounded ; they then made us pitch tents for the wounded. The men that were not wounded were collected, and thirty of the best were picked out by Sergeant-Major Fox to stay and look after the wounded and bury the dead, myself being one of those left behind for that purpose. Another man and Sergeant Bradley were sent ofl' (on their asking to be allowed to proceed) to Pretoria for aid, &c. The Boers left Ur. Ward with us, who worked hard and did all he could for the sutt'ercrs. All the other prisoners were marched off to Heidelberg. The Boers searched the pockets of the dead and wounded, taking rings, watches, and everything worth taking they could lay their hands on. I saw one Boer search Mr. Carter's pockets and take his watch. All our -waggons were taken away, ambulance waggons as well: only leaving us with tents, but no provisions; we only had what we managed to take out of the oifioers' mess and canteen after the departure of the Boers and prisoners lor Heidelberg. Our part}"- set about carrying in the wounded to the tents u]> to four o'clock the next morning. Adjutant Harrison wasdeadandLieutenantMcSwiney; Captain Nairne died duringthe night; Colonel Anstrutlier and Lieutenant Hume were wounded, and still living when I left. .Mrs. Fo.x Avas wounded through the lower part of her body, and was then living. Two doctors, Surgeon-Major Comerford and Civil Sui'geon Crow, and two ambulances had arrived at the scene of the disaster before 1 left, and a few A.H.C. men. Sergeant-Major Fox, the lady's husband, was shot through the arm. I was detained four days on the spot, when I was ordered along with twenty others (leaving ten men then) off to Heidelberg. We were marched to Prinsloo's house, over the veldt, which is about two miles distance. Here we stayed a night. Next morning Commamlant Prinsloo ordered us to Heidelberg, inspanned sixteen of us like bullocks to a waggon, holding the yokes, etc.. the other five of us pushing the waggons; this work we were kept at for about an liour, and they cracked their whips over us and drove us like a lot of oxen. It took us three daj's to get to Heidelberg. On arrival there we were marched through the town and sent to the head-quarters of their Com- 122 TViih the Boers in the Transvaal. mandant. The Commandant came to us and said it was ' the d d humbugs of English Government that was trying to impose upon them.' This man wore double-glassed spectacles — blue, I think — and he spoke English like an Englishman. The first lot of prisoners that left I did not see anything of at Heidelberg — they had left before our party of twenty- one men arrived there. The Commandant said we could get away if we deserted our regiment; or would we go to Pretoria to take up arms against them ? We replied we preferred going to the Free State. AVe were sent to the Yaal Eiver and crossed into the Free State, and left to our fate on the veldt — they gave us nothing. We all agreed to separate and choose our own way. I managed to walk 100 miles as well as I could in my shirt-sleeves, and arrived at Harrismith, where I came across a man with a lot of horses coming to Pietermaritzburg for Government sale, and I offered my services to assist him. He accepted them, and treatvrl me well, and we got to Pietermaritzburg Saturday morning about twelve o'clock. I overtook the first party of i^risoners at Harrismith, and left them at Estcourt." With reference to the man, S. Prinsloo, mentioned in the ahoYC extract, Sir Bartle Frere, in a letter to the Times, said inter alia : — " As far as we have yet seen, the massacre of the 9-4th Regiment was committed near the farm of Solomon Prinsloo and under the command of Joubert. These two were always the leaders of the violent party. Prinsloo was said to have been by his turbulence and insubordination the principal cause of Mr. Burgers' repulse from Sekukuni's stronghold in 1876. When I visited the Boer camp S. Prinsloo was said to be the leader of the party which urged the remonstrants to * shoot or put over the border ' the High Commissioner (myself) and the Administrator (Colonel Lanyon), and to haul down the I'ritish flag. Once we were assured that a party of hot-headed young meii, urged by Prinsloo, had started from tho camp at night with the purpose of carrying out this threat before daybreak by surprising us in the house where wo slept at Pretoria. These attempts, wo were told, were always overruled by tbc good sense and authority of Pretorius and Krnger, and by a majority of the l^oer Committee. I should be slow to Ijclieve that either Pretorius or Krnger, or any l)ufc a very small minority of that Committee, would have consented to tho trcacbcrous surprise of the l^lth or the murder of Captain J'^lliott ; but it is quite possible that when blood had once been shed and the iiisuri'ectioii liad I'lolccn out tlicy did not see their way to repudiate the vioK lit acts of a lew of their The Messenger Paid de Bco'^s Story. 123 colleagues. I have alwaj^s belicvccl the outbreak to be prin- cipally instigated by adventurers of other than Boer descent, and to be more nearly connected than people supposed \vith troubles nearer home." As a great many contradictory statements have from time to time been published about this disaster, it is only fair to give insertion to the sworn statement of the Boer bearer of the flag of truce, which shows conclusively that the above accounts are substantially the truth ; and that massacre is hardly the word for the action that ensued. Other statements, made by Com- mandant Prinsloo and Feldt-Cornet J. M. Engelbrecht, are also corroborative of the three statements. The following is the sworn declaration : — '' I, the undersigned, Paul de Beer, hereby declare: — That on Monday, the ■20th December, between the farms of Solomon Prinsloo and Vermaak, I was appointed by Commandant Joubert to act as report-carrier and interpreter between the citizens of the South African Republic and the troops of the British Government which were there. I received from said Commandant a sealed letter, the contents of which, were unknown to me, to take to the Colonel in command of the troops. I also had the verljal message : That the burghers had come to prevent them from going to Pretoria, and see that they remained where they were. I carried a white flag in my hand. I rode within 100 yards. The troops stood then in rank and file, with their weapons in their hands ; the drums and music ceased playing, and the bugle had been sounded to call the troops from the waggons. "Within lUU yards 1 halted abont two minutes, calling out loudly, thrice in Dutch, and thrice in English, that if there was anybody to speak to me he should come forward. Then a corporal came out towards me. I asked whether the General was there. He said yes ; whereupon I told him I had a letter for the General, and desired to see him. The corporal said, ' Come to the troops, there you can speak to the General.' I replied that this was against my order, and that I was not allowed to near the troops. He rode back to the troops, returning with the Colonel and two other officers. They were on foot, and I rode fully fifty yards to meet them. I said to the Colonel, ' I have a sealed letter to hand to you,' whereupon he took it out of my hand. He asked me, ' What does this letter contain? ' I answered, 'That is more than I can say; open it and read.' We spoke in English. Then I gave him my verbal message, and said that I had to take back an answer. He opened the letter. He said, ' I go to Pretoria.' I said, ' My General gives you five minutes' time to consider over the matter, and what j'onr plan will be; ' whereupon he again replied, ' I go to Pretoria, do as yon like ! ' He seemed angiy, for I greeted him friendly and he did not return it ; only Captain Elliott returned the greeting. I then said, ' Do you mean waf or peace ? ' He answered a second time, ' I go to Pretoria, do as you like.' Daring all this time the music played ' God Save the Queen.' Then the Colonel turned round, and I asked the third time, ' \\'ar or peace? ' He gave no answer. 1 remained standing on the spot, and as 124 IVil/i the Boers in the Transvaal. he was about ten yards away he called out to me: 'Take back my answer.' I rode back 100 yards at a walk, then quicker. I came to our General and gave him the answer just as the English Colonel had told me. Our burghers were all this time within 330 yards of the troops; then the order was given to advance, and they advanced within 130 yards, wherenpon tiring commenced. Between the time when I was told by Commandant Joubert to bring the letter addressed to the Colonel and the time I brought back the verbal answer is, according to my calculation, about thirtj^ or forty minutes, for I had to wait long, and had a long talk, the troops having ample time, which they used to convert at least six waggons into a sort of camp, and to let the rest of the waggons come up, so tliat the troops behind had at least ten minutes' time to get down. According to calculation, the fight lasted ten minutes. The conversation after the fight between Commandant Joubert and the Colonel I also interpreted. Coming there we found the Colonel wounded. I said to General Joubert, 'This is the Colonel,' and to the English Colonel, 'This is my General.' Then our General greeted the Colonel. Our General ordered me to tell the Colonel that he must not be angr}', as it was not his fault but that of the English Colonel. Our General then took up the letter addressed to the Colonel, and which was lying next to him. The Colonel said to me, ' Tell your General that all he did against me was honest.' The English Colonel also said, ' Bring all wounded of the burghers nearer that the doctor may bind tjp their wounds, i'or they behaved well, and are good shots.' The Colonel said, "God be with you!' After this I started to bring a report of the tight to the camp. This is the whole truth, and declared by me under oath." The official report of the late Colonel Austruther ami list of the killed will be found in Appendix F. The casualties numbered six officers and sixt3'-eiglit non-commissioned officers and men. The Boer losses were one man, Kieser, killed, C Coetzee, junior, died next day, and five wounded — P. Yon Minnaar, B. Roos, W. Neethling-, and Gorobbelaar ; and their whole force consisted of about 200 men, under Commandant Franz Joubert and Feldt-Cornet Jan Greylin<^. Thus ended tho lirst action in the Transvaal War of 1880-1. 12: CHAPTER XIII. CAPTAIN Elliott's murder — natal's neutrality. Captains Elliott and Lambart at Heidelberg — Their Departure on Parole — Murder of Elliott and Escape of Lambart — The Survivor's Official Statement — First News of Outbreak reaches Home — Boer Advance — British Camp formed at Newcastle — Sir George Colley's General Order — Jleeting of British Parliament — Queen's Speech — Sir George Colley reaches Newcastle — Arrival of Mounted Infantry — Naval Brigade — Reinforcements of Drafts — Newcastle desires Neu- trality — The Resident Magistrate's Letter — Comniandant-General Joubert's Answer — The Triumvirate to Sir George Colley — Sir George Colley's Repudiation — Sir George Colley to Newcastle Memorialists — Home Reinforcements offered io Strength — Resolve to advance. The excitement consequent upon the receipt of the news of the Bronkhorst Spruit disaster had hardly subsided when it was followed by the report of the murder of Captain Elliott, Paymaster of the 94th Piegiment, while crossing the Orange Piiver from the Transvaal to the Orange Free State Territory, accompanied by Captain Lambart, of the 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers. These officers had both been released upon parole not to take up arms against the Boers again during the war. Captain Elliott, who was the only officer that was not wounded at Bronkhorst Spruit, had been brought a prisoner to Heidel- berg, the Boer head-quarters, along with a detachment, about forty in number, of the unfortunate 94th men. He arrived there on the 23rd, and found Captain Lambart also under detention. Captain Lambart, with Mr. McHattie, had been purchasing horses in the Orange Free State for the use of the troops at Pretoria, and was returning to Pretoria with a troop of horses by the high veldt road, so as to leave Heidelberg on one side. On the 18th of December, two days after the outbreak, they were seen by a small patrol party, and upon it being reported at head- quarters a larger detachment went off hi 126 IVifk the Boers in the Transvaal. 2)ursuit and came up with them. Captain Lambart and tho horses were all captured and taken back to Heidelberg, while IMcHattie managed to escape after being fired at repeatedly. The following official report of Captain Lambart gives the details of the murder and other particulars after that time : — " After being there (Heidelberg) some sis or seven days, I was joined by Captain and Paymaster Elliott, 9-itli Eegiment. On the following day (the i-ith of December) we received a written communication from the Secretary to the Republican Government, to the effect ' that tlie members of the said Government would call on us at 3.30 that day,' which they did. The purport of their interview being — 'That at a meeting of Council they had decided to give us one of two alternatives : 1. To remain prisoners of war during hostilities in the Transvaal ; 2. To be released on jiarole iVlionneur, tliat we would leave the Transvaal at once, cross into the Free State under escort, and not bear arms against the Republican Government during the war.' Time being given us for ■deliberation. Captain Elliott and myself decided to accept No. 2 alter- native, and communicated the same to the Secretary of the South African Republic, who informed us in the presence of the Commandant-General P. Joubert, that we could leave next day, taking with us all our private property. The following days being respectively Christmas Day and Sunday, we were informed that we could not start till Monday, on which day, having signed our pa ro?c dloonneur, my horses were harnessed and we were provided with a duplicate of our parole, or free pass, signed by Commandant-General, and escort of two men to show us the road to the nearest drift over the Vaal River, distant twenty-five (25) miles, and by which P. Joubert personally told us both we should cross, as there was a punt there. We started about 1 p.m. from the Eoer camp, passing through the town of Heidelberg. After going about six to eight miles I noticed we were not going the right road, and mentioned the fact to the escort, who said it was all right. Having been ' look-out ' officer in the Transvaal, I knew the district well. I was certain we were going wrong, but we had to obe\ orders. At nightfall we found ourselves nowhere near the river drift, and were ordered to outspan ibr the night ; and next morning the escort told us they would look for the drift. In- spanning at daybreak we again started, but after driving about for some hours acros.'j country, I told the escort we would stop where we were, wliile they went to search for the drift. Shortly after they returned, and eaid they had found it, and we must come, wliich we did, eventually arriving at Iho junction of two rivers (Vaal and Klij)), Avhere we found the River Vaal impassable, but a small punt capable of only holding two passengers at most, by wliich they said wc must cross. I pointed out that it was imjiossible to get my carriage or horses over by it, and that it was not tho \n\nt tho General said we were to cross. The escort replied it was to Pretorius' Punt that the General told them to take us, Jind we must cross; that we niu.st leave the carriage behind and swim the horses, wliich we refused to do, as we should then have liad no means of getting on. I asked them to show me their written instructions, which they did (written in Dutch), and I pointed out that the name of I'retoriua was rot in it. 1 then told them they must eitlier take us l)ack to the Boer camj) again or on to the jirojier drilt. We turned back, and after The Stirvivors Official Statement. 127 poirifT a few miles the escort disappeared. Not knowing where we were, I proposed to Captain Elliott we should go to the banks of the Vaal and follow the river till we came to the proper punt. After travelling all Monday, Tuesday, and up till "Wednesday about 1 p.il., when we ound our- selves about four hours or twenty-live miles from Spencer's Punt, we were suddenly stopped by two armed Boers, who handed us an official letter, ■which was opened and found to be from the Secretary to the llepublican Government, stating ' that the members were surprised that as officers and gentlemen we had broken our parole dlionnenr and refused to leave the Transvaal ; that if wo did not do so immediately by the nearest drift, which the bearers would show ns, we must return as prisoners of war; that as through our ignorance of the language of the covintry there might be some misunderstanding, they were loth to think we had willingly broken our promise.' We explained that we should reply to the letter and request them to take it to their Government, and were prepared to go with them at once. They took us back to a farm house, where we were told to wait till they fetched their Commandant, who arrived about 6 P.M., and repeated to us the same that was contained in our letter of that day. "We told him we were ready to explain matters, and requested him to take our answer back to camp. He then ordered us to start at once for the drift. I asked him, as it was then getting dark, if we could start early next morning, but he refused. So we started, he having said we should cross at Spencer's, being closest. As we left the farm house, I pointed out to him that we were going in the wrong direction, but he said never mind, come on across a drift close at hand. W-'hen we got opposite it, he kept straight on ; I called to him, and said that this was where we were to cross. His reply was ' Come on.' I then said to Captain Elliott, ' They intend taking ns back to Pretorius,' distant some forty miles. Suddenly the escort (which had all at once increased from two to eight men, which Captain Elliott pointed out to me, and I replied, 'I suppose they ai'e determined we shall not escape, which they need not be afraid of, as we are too keen to get over the border),' wheeled sharp down to the river, stopped, and pointing to the banks said, 'There is the drift, cross.' Being pitch dai'k, with vivid lightning, the river roaring past, and as I knew impassable, I asked had we not better wait till morning, as I did not know the drift ? They replied, ' iSTo, cross at once.' I drove my horses into the river, when they immediately fell; lifted them, and drove on about five or six yards, when we fell into a hole. Got them out with difficulty, and advanced another yard, when we got stuck against a rock. The current was now so strong and drift deep my cart was turned over on to its side, and water rushed over the seat. I called out to the Com- mandant on the bank that we were stuck, and to send assistance, or might we return ? to which he replied, ' If you do we will shoot you.' I ' then tried but failed to get the horses to move. Turning to Captain Elliott, who was sitting beside me, I said, ' We must swim for it,' and asked could he swim ? to which he replied ' Yes.' I said, ' If you can't I will stick to you, for I can.' AVhile we were holding this conversation a vollej' from the bank, ten or fifteen yards off", was fired into us, the bullets passing through the tent of my cart, one of which must have mortally wounded poor Elliott, who only uttered the single word ' Oh,' and fell lieadlcng into the river from the carriage. I immediately sprang in after him, but was swept down the river under the current some yards. On gaining the surface of the water I could see nothing of Elliott, but I called out his name twice, but received no reply. Immediately another 128 Witk the Boers in the Transvaal. volley ^/as fired at me, making the water hiss around where the bullets ptruck. I now struck out for the opposite bank, which I reached with difficulty in about ten minutes; but, as it was deep, black mud, on landing- I stuck fast, but eventually reached the top of the bank, and ran for about 2,000 yards under a heavy tire the whole while. The night being pitch dark, but lit up every minute by vivid tlashes of lightning, showed the enemy my whereabouts. I found myself now in the Free State, but where I could not tell, but knew my direction was south, which, though it was raining, hailing, and blowing hard, and bitterly cold, an occasional glimpse of the stars showed me I was going right. I walked all that night and next day till one o'clock, when eventually I crawled into a store, kept by an Englishman, Mr. Groom, who did all in his power to help me. I had tasted no food since the previous morning at sunrise, and all the Dutch farmei-s refused me water, so without hat or coat (which I had left on the banks of the Vaal) and shoes worn through, I arrived exhausted at the above gentleman's place, who kindly dnive me to Heilbron, where I took the pcst-cartto jMarit/.burg v;'peat, wo are willing to comply with any wishes of the Imperial Government tending to tlio consolidatiou and confederation of South Africa, and in order to make this oiler from our side as clear and unequivocal Relief Column at Nczvcastle. 141 as possiMe — although we have explained this point fully in all our documents, and especially in paragraphs 3G to 38 of our first Proclamation — we declare we would be satisfied with a, rescinding of the Annexation and restoration of the South African Republic under a Protectorate of Her Majesty the Queen, so that once a j-ear the British flag shall be hoisted, all in strict accordance with the above-mentioned clauses of our first Proclamation. If Your Excellency resolves to reject this, we have only to submit to our fate ; but the Lord will provide." In England, the House of Commons, then sitting in extra- ordinary session, negatived a motion of Mr, Piylands, " That the Annexation of the Transvaal was impolitic and should be- reversed " ; and the Eight Hon. W. E. Gladstone, the Prime Minister, in th^ course of hts speech thereon, said that though annexation at the time might have been impolitic an^' undesirabl e, its reve rsal now was quite impossibl e. Thi s took place on the 22nd of January (the second anniversary of Isandhlwana), and the news reached South Africa by tele - graph next day . ~~~ " After the despatch of the Ultimatum, Sir G. Colley held a. review of all the troops at Newcastle, and addressed the forces,, announcing that a relief column would start on the following day, and appealing to the valour of the troops, though inferior in numbers, to fight for the relief of the garrisons and loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal ; as waiting for the reinforce- ments, causing at least a month's delay, would involve suffering and suspense, and probably in some cases neces- sitate surrender. The address was received with enthusiasm. The morning of the 24th of January, 1881, saw the departure from Newcastle camp of the small column of Her Majesty's troops that could be got together for the relief of the Trans- vaal. It was commanded in person by General Sir G. P. Colley, accompanied by Commodore Pdchards, R.N., Colonel Ashburnham, 3-GOth, Colonel Deane, D.A.G., temporarily in com- mand of the 58th Eegiment, and comprised about sixty officers and 1,200 men. The exact strength of the force which moved, out of Newcastle in the relief column was not known for some Y42 JJlfh the Boers in the Transvaal. time ; as it was thouglit iuexpeclient to allow its paucity of numbers to become publicly known, especially as the Boers were well known to have many spies throughout the Colony of Natal, as well as active sympathisers and advisers in Pieter- maritzburg. Owing to the rain which had fallen for three days previous to the march, the column was unable to proceed far the first day. On the second they reached the Ingogo River, seeing Boer patrols a few miles distant ; and on the 26th they encamped and entrenched themselves at Mount Prospect, a hilly position about three and a half miles from Lang's Nek, where a large Boer force was encamped, and easily discernible. The Boers had previously sent a large detach- ment to Utrecht, under Commandant Yiljoen, who established himself in that town. He captured the Landdrost Rudolph, who was sent under escort as a prisoner to Heidelberg ; and the other officials were sent across the Buffalo River by an armed escort, who stationed themselves on the Drift, to prevent the escape of other loyal Boers, and give notice of the passage of any British troops by that road. A few skirmishes occurred between the patrols, but with no casualties. The 27th of January was spent in inactivity, through a heavy storm of rain and thick mist, but, the Avcathcr clearing on the 28th, an advance was then made. The course of serious events thus occurring through Januarj', was well known all over South Africa and Europe ; and earnest endeavours were made by many in order to avert further collision between British troops and the Boers, and the con- sequent spilling of blood. Meetings were held throughout the Cape Colony and Orange Free State, subscriptions were got up, a Red Cross society started for helping the wounded, and large quantities of provisions, arms, and ammunition were sent Tip through the Free State to the Transvaalers. At Capo Town, at once, thus making his third visit to South Africa. The- appointment was a most popular one, both with Boers and British, as it was felt that his special knowledge of the Transvaal and the Boers, combined with his high military talents, would be of great service in preventing, if possible, any further fight- ing ; and if it became unfortunately necessary to proceed to extremities, his presence would relieve Sir George Colley of his military duties ; thus leaving his whole time and services, free for the more important duties connected with the High Commissionership. Many special service officers were also- despatched, most of whom had already seen service in South Africa. Prominent among these were. Major Barrow, lOtli Hussars, who brought with him a properly organized squadron of irregular cavalry and mounted infantry force. Colonel Bullor,. Y.C., C.B., Colonel Herbert Stewart, and many others, Avhose- names occur farther on. The first of the reinforcements arrived from India om January 25th, when H.M.S. Euphrates anchored at Durban with the 2-60th, 15th Hussars, and 3-F Battery, R.A. on board. She was followed on the 30th by H.M.S. Crocodile, also from 154 TVi'ih the Boers in the Transvaal. India, witli the 83rd and 92nd ; and the day after II. M.S. B'xdo jirrived and landed a Naval Lrigade of her own and some of the Boad'icca' s men, in numher about sixty, with two Gatlings and Iv.'o 241b. rocket tubes. After the news of Lang-'s Nek, the 2-GOth were hurried up from the camp at Lillicfontein — established about seven miles south of Pictermaritzburg, in a liigli open and healthy situation, close by the Richmond Eoad station of the railwa_y from the Port to the Caj^tal — and they left Pietermaritzburg for the front on Januar}- 30th, being preceded one day by a squadron of the 15th Hussars, and followed two days later by a detachment of the Natal mounted police, from the Ipopolela, under Sub-Inspector Jackson, and another squad- ron of the 15th Hussars. The 92nd w^ere also sent up at once, find left on February 2nd for Newcastle, being followed by the Naval Brigade ; while the 83rd Ecgiment was left at the Rich- mond Road camp. On the same date was received the following message of condolence from Her Majesty the Queen on learning the issue of the late battle. It showed that Her Majesty had a feeling of genuine sympathy for, and appreciation of, the ofibrts of her soldiers to uphold the honour of the Empire, and as such it would be considered by Colonists as well as English- men at Home : — " The Secretary of State for War has received ;nid communicated to the INIajor-Gcneral Commanding the following message from Her Majesty : — * I am deeply grieved at the loss of so many of my brave officers and men. Major Poole is a great loss. Pray convey to Sir G. Collcy the ex- pression of my deep sorrow and anxiety for the wounded, as AvoU as confidence.' A. H. Wavell, Lt.-Col., A. -A. General. Head-quarters, I'ietcrmaritzburg, February 2, 1881." It was then determined to establish a camp on the ]>iggars- hcrg, between Ladysmith and Newcastle ; and to form another column there for the relief of Sir George Collcy, whoso position was becoming critical, being hemmed in at INIount Prospect, provisions running short, and his communication witli Ncw- onstlo almost cut ofT. Strong parties of IJoers occasionally penetrated nearly to Ladysmith, and threatened Newcastle ■itself from the l^rakcnsborg and Utrecht Districts. They cut ofl" convoys, stopped, captured, and destroyed many transport JVczas from Pretoria. 1 5 5 waggons, prevented tlie Post-cart service from beyond Lady- smith, and rendered even the movements of troops, unless in large numbers, very dilBcult and dangerous. Fort Pine, an out- station of the Natal mounted police, situated close to the Buffalo Piiver Border, and commanding the Dundee Coal District, was reinforced by a detachment of thirty Natal mounted police. On February 3rd the following official telegram was sent from the General, Natal, to the Colonial Secretary, Pietermaritzburg: *' Feb. 3rd. — All quiet. Moved the camp to fresh ground. Sent in bulk of waggons to Newcastle. Boers erecting schanzes and earthworks on hill. Telegraphic connection to camp com- plete." Five ambulances, with wounded, also started on the same day for the Base-Hospital at Newcastle. H.M.S. Tamarv^as the next-vessel to arrive at Durban, on the 4th of February, with the 97th Regiment on board from Hali- fax and Gibraltar ; while, from Cape Town, ammunition and remounts for the cavalr}- were sent up b}* the Dunkeld, which vessel brought round Colonel Stewart, Major Clarke, and Major Fraser. Major McGregor, Staff Officer at Durban, went up to take Major Poole's place with Sir G. Colley, and Colonel Stewart succeeded him at Durban. News also arrived by tele- gram from the Cape that large orders for powder and ammuni- tion from the Orange Free State had reached Port Elizabeth, but the Cape Government had refused granting the permits under present circumstances, of This step was looked upon in some quarters as an abuse authority, and as likely to lead to serious consequences if persisted in. On February 4th and 5th the General telegraphed as follows from the camp. Mount Prospect : " February 4th. — All quiet. Heavy rains. Pavers flooded. Convoy of wounded sent into Newcastle yesterday, arrived safely. — February 5th. — News re- ceived from Lanyon, Pretoria, to 23rd of January. Town aban- doned. Nearly 5,000 persons collected in entrenched laager under protection of Fort. Supplies on hand for several months. Garrison, augmented by volunteers, ample. Boers in laager all round at average distance of eight miles. Successful sortie on IGth. Boers defeated with loss. Surrender of Leydenberg garrison contradicted. Picported that Leydenberg and Piusteu- 156 lVi//i the Boers in the Transvaal. berg forts have been unsuccessfully attacked. Forts well pro- visioned and soldiers reinforced by local help. Marabastadt not attacked ; but well prepared and provisioned. Natives loyal, but being cruelly treated." This news from Pretoria was brought by Mr. H. J. Dacorabe, who pluckily rode from Ivimberle}' there and back, accomplishing the distance of nearly 1,000 miles in thirty days. The garrison at Pretoria welcomed him, and cheered upon hearing of the reinforcements. All his horses died 01 route, and he was constantly shot at and chased by the Boers throughout the journey. He secured also, on tho way, some despatches, of which a loyal Kaffir runner divested himself when chased, and brought them in with him. He brought the first information of the death of Colonel Anstru- ther, 4th Piegiment, from his wounds received at Bronkhorst's Vlei, and also that of D. A. C. G. Carter. On the 7th the following telegrams were received at Pieter- maritzburg: — "Mount Prospect, February 7th, 4 p.m. Post l)ags, under small escort mounted infantry, left column to-day for Newcastle. After proceeding as far as lugogo were fired on by force of Boers and compelled to retire back on camp with mail. No casualties, but one man missing ; supposed he has got through to Newcastle. Attack on camp not expected. Wire may be cut at any moment. All communication stopped." — "Newcastle, 5.30 p.m. Boers are in force within ten miles from Newcastle. Large convoy was starting but now detained. Communication with the column is virtually cut off. From Boer scouts we learn that son of Swart Dirk Uys died of wounds in Boer camp on Sunday. Boer medical report of casualties gives fourteen killed and ten wounded. Joubert withdrew inhabitants of Utrecht District with intention of destroying homesteads by fire if defeated." — The next day, February 8tli, it was determined by the General to open up communication with Newcastle, and clear tho road of tho Boers, at the same time protecting the mail and some ambu- lances which had been despatched to the Base Hospital. 157 CHAPTER XVI. INGOGO FIGHT. Sir George Colley's Attempt to re-open Communications — Ambulances stopped by Boers — March to Ingogo — Opposition at Schuin's Hooghte — Fight Commences — Details from Morning till Night — Boers charge Guns Three Times — Heavy Losses on British Side — Rain and Darkness intervene — Night Retreat of Sir George Colley's Force to Camp — Dead and Wounded left on Field— Gallant Conduct of Dr. McGann — Boers capture Gun, Limber, and Ammunition Waggons — Flag of Truce for Burial of Dead — Return of Wounded to Newcastle — Death of Lieutenant Wilkinson and Six Men — Free State Boers join — Movements of Reinforcements — 2-60th, 92nd, and 15tli Hussars at Ladysmith— Arrival of Sir Evelyn Wood — Transports from England to Durban — Quick Despatch of Troops — Concentration at Biggarsberg — Red Cross Societies — Further News from Pretoria and Standerton — Telegraph Wires cut — Column advance unopposed from Biggarsberg — Reach Newcastle safely — Flying Squadron at Cape — - Oi'ange Free State Volksraad — PresiJent Brand's Speech — Resolution of Raad. The figlit at Schuin's Hooghte — or, as it is now called, the Ingogo, being the name of the river which flows round the heights — took place on the 8th of February, and on a spot about half way between Newcastle and the camp at Mount Prospect. Early that day a number of Boers took possession of De "Wet's house on the Newcastle side of the Ingogo, and stopped an ambulance train of five mule-waggons under Mr. Newbold Smith, a dresser who was bringing twenty wounded men from the camp to the Base Hospital. The Boers, notwith- standing that the Red Cross was flying, outspanned all the mules and drove them away, also taking the horses of Mr. Smith and his waggon conductor, and threatening any one who left the waggons with death. This occurred about 11 o'clock ; but two hours previously General Colley had left the camp at Mount Prospect with five companies of the 3-GOth under Colonel Ashburnham, the mountain-guns and two 9-pounder guns, under Captain Greer, and a detachment of mounted 158 Wiih the Boers in the Transvaal. men. Leaving one company of the 60th and the two mountain- guns on the commanding height, on the camp side of the River Ingogo, the General crossed the river with the rest of the force, throwing out vedettes and scouts in front and on the flanks. Nothing was seen of the enemy until after ascending the height on the other side of the river, when shots were exchanged hy the advanced scouts. The Eifles were then extended in skirmishing order, and advanced to the top of the plateau, when the vedettes fell hack, reporting presence of mounted Boers in strength on the right and left. The Special Correspondent of the Times of Natal, Mr. Carter, the only one present during that action, sent the following concise and ahle telegram after the engagement, written as the fighting progressed, and it speaks well for his nerve and courage when under fire for the first time : — • " Tlic moment wo got to tlie top of the hill, which has an area of fl.it of about four acres, we saw Boers, about lUO, mounted, on ridge lower than this, (JOO yards as crow ilies distant. Greer's '.'-pounders imme- diately unlirabered and let drive a couple of shells ; the elevation too high to be effective. Boers immediately rushed for donga for shelter. Rilles having lined the crest of this hill, kept up smart lire. Time, 12 noon. Boers returned fire hotly and from all sides of hill, excejjt rear. One of the 0-pounders facing right, other left, pounded away for good half-hour. Fire of Boers then slackened for ten minutes, then commenced again, kept up briskly from all sides for ten minutes. Now, 2.30, Boer lire is slackening; our artillery is not wasting ammunition. Lieutenan t Parsons hasjust passed me, and, in answer to my hail, says he has only five gunners left. The Boers seem to direct their fire on guns. My horse shot in two i)laces as he stood by my side, within ten minutes of first gun firc^d. General was within fifteen yards at the time. General and StaiF coolly engaged directing operations. The bullets fly unpleasantly close, but mostly over our heads here in centre of the hill top. Boers now (2.10) round in rear, reinforced and keej)int,' up dropping fire. 3.t0 P.M., occasional shots still going on on both sides, but there is an evident lull in the fight. It is thundering huavily, and threatens rain. The two 7-]>ounders left near camp liave not advanced, neither do wo sec any sign of movement of our men in that direction. Captain Greer, ll.A., was killed early in tho action. Lieutenant i'arsous then had charge of both guu.s, and coolly ho did his work. Wlien tho fire at the guns was hottest, ho was here and there directing the fire, seeing to the moving of the guns as (juietly and coolly us if on jjarade. Among the gunners the casualties arc very heavy. 'I'lien; are over a do/.(!n wounded men lying rouiul me now taking Hhclter a.s best they can behind the dead horses and limbers. The artil- lerymen were not more than ."(Ou yards distant from the Boers — so closo that our men used ca.se-8hot and reverted shrapnel, which answers same purpo.4(! as case-.shot. -t. I.^. — The firing is kept up in a desultory way, now dropping, now freshening up again. There is no knowing what tho Deiails from Mo^niing till Night. 159 direction is going to be next, for it seems to go all round the hill. Xo sign of reinforcements from the camp yet. No water is procurable, and the wounded are sadly in need of it, after being so long in the sun. We have seen small parties of Boers joining the force below us. There seems every probability of our spending the night here. I can see the camp with glasses, but cannot make out the two 7-pounders, though I can distinguish the rise they were left upon. 5.25. — The rain is beginning to fall in torrents. 5 40. — The two 7-pounders have just opened lire from the hill. The Boer fire slackens. Lieutenant Parsons has just landed a shell into some bush on our right rear with splendid effect, as the Boers skedaddled right and left out of the clump. Surgeon McGann, only surgeon in field, has been doing his duty thoroughly, and has been ably assisted by Mr. Allan McLean, Transvaal Light Horse. I have seen this gentleman dozens of times walk out to wounded men in exposed positions and help them in. 6 p. 31. — White flag shown on Boer side, and order given to "cease firing," in our lines. The Boers I can see in large num- bers on a flat a mile off', retreating towards their camp at the Xek, but making a detour to west of our standing camp to avoid it and our two 7-pounders. 6.10. — Occasional shots whiz over us still. 6.15. — Boers keep firing occasional shots, increasing now in number, so order given to re-open on our side. Lieutenant Parsons walks up to the gun to give orders, and is immediately wounded and walks quietly back towards the Staff as if nothing had happened. The guns recommence on our right. It is on this side firing has been since flag of truce was shown on the opposite side. Evidently the one party is unaware of what is going on in their own lines on the other side of the hill. The Rev. Mr. Ritchie goes down our left slope with white flag again in an endea- vour to get the truce observed, but the firing becomes so hot again that the General calls him back. I see the Surgeon is dressing Lieutenant Parsons' right hand ; his wound is not a very serious one, and the two 7-l)ounders have not fired a shot for the last fwe minutes, nor do we see anything of our reinforcements now. The gunners are nearly all down. Rifles have to help to serve the guns, but must be falling short now (6.30), as only 234- rounds were brought out. For six and a half mortal hours it has been dangerous to rise from the ground, and quite dangerous enough even when in a recumbent position. 6.40. — The two 7-l)ounders are opening again on the enemy away to our right flank (towards the Drakensberg) ; this seems the only side on which Boers are now. It is the direction in which they will retreat when it pleases them to make that move. I must say they have kept it up well, but it has been from first to last pot- shooting on both sides, except when our artillerymen were exposed, and then Boers fired in volleys at them. Major Brownlow, who is in command of mounted squadron (only forty came out with us) has been actively engaged on all sides of our plateau. I have not seen for the last hour or two either Captain MacGregor, Assistant ^lilitary Secretary, or Major Esse.x, of Staff'. Colonel Ashburnham, who is in command of 60th, is unhurt, and continues to visit his men all round with a regularity which must be getting quite monotonous. It looks at present as if we were g"ing to have a night of it on this hill. 7 P.M. — Our ammunition supply has not been repleni.shed, while that of the Boers is practically inexluiustible, as they are being supplied by their men who have access to- their camp. I reckon, from the fire that has been kept up on this hill at times from every ]:)oiut of compass at once, one thousand Boers have been engaged. 8.20. — We propose evacuating the position, and falling back oa i6o With the Boers in the Transvaal. -camp under cover of darkness, leaving wounded on field. 8 a.m. — 9th of Pebruary, Mount Prospect — arrived here about an hour ago atter most horrid spell on foot. Impossible to regard affair other than as reverse for our «ide, though our men fought bravely and well — every individual. Tht; retreat commenced about 9 p.m. ; the wounded, such as were brought in •(about 50) left under care of Chaplain Ritchie ; no water procurable — few blankets — no other cover — rain falling all the while. We left in the lines, not brought in, I reckon, 150 killed and wounded, who cannot be attended to till this afternoon. Major Essex uninjured ; Captain J. C. MacGregor killed. Flag of truce and waggons to carry dead now being sent from •camp. Mr. Stuart, R.M., Interpreter, missing. In the fight yesterday 150 of our side were killed and wounded. The Boers made three succes- sive charges at the guns, and were repulsed with grape and canister shot. It may, therefore, be assumed that their loss was heavy." The Official Report {zee also Aj)pendix H) was made on the return of the General to Mount Prospect as follows, and reached Pietermaritzburg early next morning : — " General, Natal, to Colonial Secretary, Maritzburg. — Communication between this and Newcastle having been interrupted by Boers, I moved out this morning with five companies GOth, two field and two mountain-guns, and detachment mounted men, to patrol road. Leaving two mountain-guns and one company of Pdfles on commanding height this side Ingogo, I crossed river with remainder of force. On rising ridge beyond Ingogo, enemy ■showed in considerable force. I seized plateau, and was imme- diately vigorously attacked on all sides by Boers, who received large reinforcements during day. Attack maintained from 12.15 P.M. till nearly six, but repulsed at all points. Boers ■drew off towards sunset, and I brought in force. Captain Macgrcgor (Stafi"), Captain Greer (Artillery), Lieutenants Garrett and O'Connell (GOth), killed; Lieutenant Parsons, E.A., Lieutenants Pix^cy, Howarth (afterwards died from his wounds), And Thistlewaite (GOth), wounded. About 150 men killed and wounded, lioer losses, judging by nature of attack and numljer of Avoundcd seen being carried away, very heavy." And the following appeared in General Orders after tlio battle, and two days after the annexed message from the Queen : — "Army llead-quartors, jNIount Prospect, Fel)ruary 1), 1881. — The Major-Gcneral desires to express his high appreciation of the conduct of the officers and men of the Boyal Artillery and 3-G()L]i JJiflcs in tlic action fought yesterday against vastly .superior numbers. The lioyal Artillery well sustained tho Sir G. Colleys General Orders. i6i Bplendid reputation of that corps by the way they served their guns under a murderous fire, and brought them out of action, notwithstanding their heavy losses in men and horses ; and the conduct of the 3-GOth, their unflinching steadiness under fire, and the perfect order, the coolness, and the spirit with which the night march was carried out, under trying circumstances, were worthy of any veterans. The Major-General has again to deplore the loss of one of his personal Staff, Captain MacGregor, R.E., his Military Secretary, and right-hand man, whose loss the Major-General believes will be as much regretted by the force generally as it is by the General himself; of Cap- tain Greer, R.A., who was killed at his guns, setting a noble example, worthily followed by the men under him ; and of two young officers of the Eifles, Lieutenants Garrett and O'Connell, who fell in the gallant performance of their duties. The Major- General Commanding feels sure that the force engaged yester- day will join with him in specially recognizing the distinguished conduct of Lieutenant Parsons, R.A., who directed the fire of the Artillery in a most exposed position till two-thirds of his men and horses were disabled, and he was ordered to retire, and who was afterwards severely wounded while directing and refitting his guns ; of Surgeon McGann, whose unremitting attention to the wounded under a heavy fire did honour to the branch of the profession he belongs to, and of Sergeant-Major "Wilkins, 3-60th Pdfles, who was to be seen where the fire was hottest, setting an example of cheerful, gallant, cool, and steady shooting." — " Camp, Mount Prospect, 11th of February, 1881. — The Major-General has the honour to publish to the troops under his command the following gracious Message from Her Majesty the Queen, received and communicated by the Plight Honourable the Secretary of State for War : — ' Pray express my satisfaction at the success of my brave Troops, my sorrow at so many losses, and my anxiety for the wounded.' " The official despatch and list of casualties in this engage- ment will be found in Appendix H. During the afternoon the General sent back to the camp for reinforcements, and two companies of the 58th were sent out towards him, but they found Boers between themselves and the General, and ivi 1 62 With the Boers in the Transvaal. ■uere unable to reach him in time. On the day following steps were taken to succour the wounded and bury the dead, from Loth Mount Prospect and Newcastle, and late that evening Mr. Smith's ambulance reached Newcastle with forty-two wounded in charge of McGann and one officer, Lieutenant Parsons, R.A.; bfing followed next day by twenty-six more, in charge of Sur- geon Kir\\dn and one officer, which included all that were left on the field. Owing to the darkness and heavy rain, and the severe losses sustained by the troops, it was necessary to leave all the dead and wounded on the field of battle the same night, where, notwithstanding all drawbacks, they were assiduously tended by Surgeon McGann and Eev. Mr. Ritchie. Lieutenant AVilkinson, with a small party of ten men, also left Mount Prospect on the evening of the 14th, and took some medical supplies to the wounded on the field, but unfortunately in returning Lieutenant Wilkinson and six of the men were drowned in re-crossing the Ingogo Eivor, which was very high and rapid. The Boers returned the next morning to the field of battle, and were surprised that the troops had been able to withdraw to their camp in the dark. They state that, had it not been for the rain and darkness, they would have cut up or captured the whole force, as well as the guns, which were their main object, as they were constantly receiving reinforcements, and had less than twenty killed and wounded. They took away two gun-limbers left on the field, and an ammunition- waggon which was deserted at the drift, and then fell back to join their main force, which was reported as advancing towards Newcastle and the Biggarsberg to prevent the reinforcements reaching there. A number of Free State Boers were also seen descending the Drakensberg, and laagered at C. Uys' Farm, in Natal territory, south-west of Newcastle, and commanding the Ingagani Drift and Ladysmith Road. The heavy rains still continued ; but on the 11th, three days after the engagement, the 2-60th, Naval Brigade, and part of the 15th Hussars crossed the Klip River and marched towards the ]iiggarsl)org. being followed on the day following by the 92nd and some more lliissars. On February 18th, a party was sent under a Hag of Inicc from .Mount I'rospcct to exhume and bring to the camp Boer Account of the Fight. 163 the bodies of those officers who died in the fight, and who were hastily buried on the morning after. None of the enemy were seen, and flocks of vultures were the only visible things. The party returned with the bodies of Captain MacGregor, R.E., C;iptain Greer, R.A., Lieutenants O'Connell and Garrett, 3- 60th, and Mr. Stewart, the Resident Magistrate in the Ixopo, who had accompanied General CoUey at his special request as Dutch interpreter. These were all interred in the Military cemetery with the customary honours. The following satisfac- tory telegram was sent down in reference to the wounded : — *' From S.M.O., Newcastle, to P.M.O., Maritzburg. — Supplies ample for present wants. Will send on some to Mount Prospect when opportunity offers. No more nurses required at present. Wounded comfortably provided for. Two deaths. Surgeons remained on field on 8th until every man had been removed. Surgeon McGann mentioned in orders for gallantry on the field." The following is the Boer version of the Ingogo fight, pub- lished in the Staats Courant, the Boer official paper, established and printed at Potchefstrom, and issued bi-weekly since the outbreak occurred in January : — "Head-quarterSjWakkerstrom, February 10. — Sir, — I have arrived here through God's goodness in good health. I did not see the General at the laager. His E.Kcellency was still at Lang's Xek. Yesterday another heavy engagement took place opposite Gogo, near Schuin's Valley, be- tween a patrol of 20-2 men commanded by Commandant-General Nicholas Smidt and the British forces, directed by General CoUey. As yet we have no olEcial report, but from particulars received through the wounded who have just been brought in, we hear that through God's goodness our side has been again successful. We have, I am sorry to say, lost eight killed and six wounded, whose names we are just now not in a position to give. The fighting commenced at 11 in the morning, and ceased at 8 in the evening, when darkness and rain set in, preventing any further figliting. We have destroyed everything. There were blue jackets and mounted men present, and the following morning 205 of the enemy were found Iving dead on the field, the survivors having escaped during the night with their cannon. In all probability, these have been thrown in the river by the enemy, but there is every likelihood that they will be recov- ered. Our people stormed the battery without mucli loss, owing to their shots going over our heads. The whole of the battery was destroyed ; but on account of intense darkness and heavy rain our people could not take away the gun-carriages. AVe found the cannon gone except 'onderstel.' On the 8th of February, at midday, Colley wrote about requesting to have the killed and wounded removed, which naturally was M 2 164 IJl'ih the Boers in the Transvaal. granted. Colley is now surrounded and cut oflP, and remains stationary. As soon as we receive a report of the engagement, we will make it known to the public." Meanwhile Sir Evelyn Wood had arrived at the Cape in the Kuhian, along with many other special service officers, and came round at once in the Ararat, arriving at Durban on Satur- day, the 12th, proceeding the same day by special train to Pietermaritzburg, and thence by special cart on the following evening in order to catch up the Indian column at the Biggars- berg. The Hanhoiv had arrived at Durban on the preceding Thursday, bringing a wing of the 6th Dragoons, Barrow's Mounted Infantry, some Artillery and Army Hospital Corps Drafts, and some special service officers. The Dragoons and Mounted Infantry were despatched at once, horses, &c., being in readiness for the Mounted Infantry, and re-mount horses having been plentifully brought round from the Cape. The Ararat followed on the Saturday with 7 officers, 107 men, and 11 horses (6th Dragoons), and the Palmyra on Sunday with 11 officers, 208 men, R.A., 143 horses, and six 9-pounders. The Queen was the next arrival, with the remainder of the 6tli Dragoons and the draft for the 97th Begiment, consisting of 215 non-commissioned officers and men ; Avhile more reinforce- ments were promised from home, consisting of the 7th and 14th Hussars, two batteries of Artillery, and another battalion of infantry. At the front the General had received (on the day following the Ingogo light) the annexed telegram, which he forwarded to President Brand : — ** Following telegram just been received from Lord Kimborley, dated 8th of February: ' Inform President Ijrand that if ]>oers cease from armed opposition Iler Majesty's Government will be ready to give all reasonable guarantees after submission, and that scheme will lie formed with a view to permanent friendly settlement of difficulties ; and that Her Majesty's Government will bo glad if President will commu- Dicato tins and former messages to him to leaders of ]>oers.' " T may add tliat Bed Cross societies, in aid of the wounded, bad liccii formed at Capo Town, Blocmfontein, and Durban, and ill connection with similar societies in Great Ihilain and Red Cross Societies. 165 Holland, they raised subscriptions, and sent up surgeons, with ambulances, medical stores, and comforts, to succour the wounded on both sides, if necessary ; and the following telegram was received by Mr. Myburgh, Consul-General for the Netherlands at the Cape (in reply to enquiry on the subject), from General Sir G. Pomeroy Colley : — "Mount Prospect, Feb. 5. — I feel grateful to the Pied Cross Society of the Hague for the assist- ance offered by them for the wounded. "We are well provided, but I shall be glad to give passes for nurses and medical men to the Transvaal. I hope, however, that operations will be of short duration," From Pietermaritzburg also Messrs. Egner & Co. despatched three waggons containing hospital ap- pliances and medical comforts for the sick of the Boer forces. The waggons were supplied by Umvoti farmers, to whose generous effort the Boers are indebted. Part of the supplies came from Durban, and part were procured in Maritzburg. All such appli- ances as stretchers were locally manufactured — Mr. Egner ex- periencing great difficulty in procuring the desired articles. The waggons were placed in charge of Mr. Bourse, who had recently arrived from Cape Town as the representative of the relief society formed there. The 83rd Piegiment was ordered up to the front at once on their arrival, and Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert Stewart went up to succeed the late Captain MacGregor as Military Secretary to General Colley. On February 13tli the road was clear from Newcastle to Mount Prospect, but large bodies of mounted Boers were seen to the south of Newcastle, proceeding towards the Biggarsberg ; and seventy horses were seized by them at Adendorffs, about six miles south of the town, while all trans- port on the road was stopped, the Boers capturing and burning the waggons, and looting the contents. At the same date fur- ther news reached Natal from Pretoria, dated 14tli of January, to the effect that a successful attack had been made on the 6tli by Colonel Gildea, with 400 men, on laager on Eemau's Eiver. Boers twice fired on the troops after hoisting white flag. All well. Forts were safe and well provisioned. A report had been received from Major ^lontague, Standerton, dated 30th January : — They had been attacked on 29th of December, and 1 66 With the Boers in the Transvaal. invested since. Had lost nine killed and wounded ; raised a corps of seventy-five mounted men ; and kept a circle of two miles clear, acting on the defensive. Their position safe, and they could hold out two months if necessary. As the roads were unsafe, heliographic communication was commenced on the 14th of February with the Biggarsberg camp. General Evelyn Wood joined the first advance of reinforcements ten miles beyond Sunday's River on the 15th (Tuesday). The entire force — the 15th Hussars, the 2-60th Pdfles, the 92nd Highlanders, and the Blue Jackets with two guns — marched together from the top of the Biggarsberg, eight miles towards the Eiver Ingagani. The troops bivouacked on the ground there, and next morning crossed the river at daylight, and marched four miles further on towards Newcastle. One com- pany of the 92ud, under Captain Robertson, was left at the River Ingagani to watch the Ferry and keep open communi- cation, while one company of the 97th was left at the Biggars- berg, and another of the same Regiment at a spot fifteen miles beyond, together with ten mounted police at each place for despatch-riding and scouting. General "Wood reached Newcastle without opposition on the morning of the 17th of February, the column arriving at mid-day. General Colley rode down from Mount Prospect to meet him. News reached them there of the arrival on the IGth, in Simon's Bay, of the Flying Squadron, consisting of the Inconstant, Bacchante — with the Prince of Wales' two sons on board — Clcojjatra, Carysfort, and Tour- maline. In the Orange Free State the meeting — anxiously looked forward to — of the Volksraad took place on the 18th, and the annexed extract from President JJrand's speech shows clearly what he had done in seeking to arrange matters : — " When I t( Ic^'raplicd, on tlio Gth of December, to Ilis Excellency the AflmiiiiHtrator of tlio Capo Colony that I looked upon the state of tho TranKvaal with extreme anxiety, and hojyetl that without delay means could be found io nrevent the threatened outbreak, I had no notion that the outbreak whiidi has filled the heart of every inhal)itant of South Africa with ^rief would take place ho soon. On receipt of the paiiilul intellit,'cnce that a C(*llision had occurred in the 'I'ransvaal, 1 issued, with the advice of the Kxecutive, a ])roclaniation in the (iov( nvmcnl (j