Waller Ashe

“ From the General and all the officers to the rear-rank files there was a subdued and solemn determination of countenance which was far more eloquent in sympathy for their dead comrade than any words could speak, while might be seen, at the same time, in every eye and on every lip, a stern resolve of retribution should opportunity occur. The cry of "English cowards!" so often hurled at our men at Ekowe, at Zlobani, at Kambula, Ginghilovo, and, above all, on the fatal Sunday, was rankling in the hearts of our men, as they longed to find themselves in the presence of a Zulu force. ”

“ Sir, chief, and great warrior, whom I respect, because you fight against men, and do not kill women or children, I came here to your camp from a desire to see you, and to ask you to intercede for me and my people, who have never wished to make war upon you, but to live in peace and goodwill, and hunt the wild deer together. I have left more than two thousand of my people ready and most anxious to come in and submit to you, surrendering their arms and cattle, and giving their sons as hostages, if you will guarantee their safety. ”

“ While this was undertaken, the main force moved steadily along the front of the valley, and over the brow of the opposite ridge Bengough's men swarmed, chanting their war-song in native fashion. Down the hillside, to hold the head of the valley, came the four companies of the 24th, marching steadily in column of fours. The sun streamed in splendour upon the glittering files of cavalry as they wound like a brilliant chain along the greensward. Nothing could exceed the picturesque ensemble that greeted the eye on all sides; nothing could be sadder than the mission upon which they came. ”

“ The fort itself was situated in a most picturesque part of the country. The pass leading into the valley through which the river runs was most romantic, winding through a delightful parklike country, crossed by rapid streams of clear, ice-cold water, and, as it narrowed became quite precipitous, [199] the road dwindling to a mere footpath, so narrow that mounted men could not ride more than two abreast. The kloof was flanked on the precipice side by loose masses of rock, intermingled with trees and bush, and tangled with monkey-ropes and creepers of all kinds. ”

“ On the left bank of the Umvolosi Wood had admirably chosen the ground for his bivouac. Here was a firm, wide plateau, bounded on the east and north by a hilly country, broken up by knolls and tall cone-like eminences, whose slopes here and there were covered by patches of dense jungle or bordered by young forests, whose shades seemed to invite shelter during the fierce heat of the day. Away in the extreme distance the landscape differed materially in aspect from the country near. Mountains of loftier altitude, rising peak upon peak, tier upon tier, and range upon range, met the eye everywhere. ”

“ The plain narrows backwards between the ranges into a "poort" or valley, which, as it recedes away from the fort, presents a gloomy and terrific aspect of solitude. Through it, and winding in and out amongst tall boulders of rock, and under dangerous precipices, past wild and gorgeous hollows, rank with the semi-tropical vegetation so peculiar to this part of the country, runs a small footpath, by which, through heavy clumps of thorny bush and over naked rock-bound ridges, the explorer reaches the fertile valley, over which till lately frowned the stronghold of Umbelini. ”

“ Green trees covered their slopes in apparently endless expanse of vegetation. Immediately behind the Lancer camp, and sheltering it from the night breezes that swept across the plain, was a massive buttress of rock covered with richly and delicately-hued velvety mosses, while down the hard, steep, rocky beds of granite and sandstone, with here and there basalt and porphyry, flint and quartz, foamed sparkling little streams, which always seem so refreshing and so tempting on a South African march. ”

“ The Blood river flows through some fine scenery, bordered, however, at times by impenetrable bush and tangled vegetation of all descriptions, again winding under lofty mountains of basaltic rock, beautifully variegated with foliage, the thickets affording shelter to swarms of animal and insect life, giving rise on a still evening to a perfect babel of sound, amidst which the plaintive coo of the ringdove, the incessant chirp of the cicala, the twittering of many-plumaged birds, and the hoarse challenge of the bull-frogs are pre-eminent. ”

“ And then—oh, shame and humiliation!—this young lad, schooled to arms with English soldiers' sons, wearing an English uniform, and escorted by British soldiers to a bloody grave, was left alone to be speared to death, without a sword being drawn or a shot fired, even from a distance, in his defence.
The Zulus, seeing only one man unable to mount, burst at length from their treacherous cover, and with fiendish yells rush upon the Prince, who, holding the stirrup-leather with one hand and the holster-flap with the other, must have made one final and desperate attempt to spring into the saddle. ”

“ The fun is becoming fast and furious. Buller's men are in their glory. They have dashed into the kloof, and are driving the Zulus out of it in parties of six or eight at a time. Everybody who an hour ago was as silent and sombre as the grave thinks it now necessary to yell with excitement. The sun is now at the meridian, and the day fearfully hot. The pursuit has been carried through valley and over ridge; by kloof and through bosch, by bron (spring) and drift (ford) , and the whole column is scattered in every direction. ”

“ Vedettes were again thrown out, lance in sling and carbine on thigh. Oh! what a moment of pride for Drury-Lowe, for Boulderson, for Edgell, for Cooke, or for "Dick" Boyle (had he been there to see) . Every trooper's eye gleamed with excitement, every thigh pressed the horse's flank, and every heart throbbed with unspeakable rapture at the thought that a chance might be gained to dash as an enfant perdu at the Golgotha where the dead friends should be, even though the living enemies were waiting to wrap and twine them in their grim embrace. ”

“ A good billiard or racquet player likes a gallery, and if the very dashing rifleman and beau sabreur were at all anxious for an audience, they certainly had a large one on this occasion. In fact the whole camp—if camp you can call a bivouac without tents—turned out literally in its shirt-sleeves to see the fun. The fatigue parties stopped their wood-cutting to take a look at the two camp favourites as they raced like school-boys at a paper hunt after the Zulus, who were scuttling away like prize pedestrians to gain the shelter of a friendly kraal. ”

“ Light Infantry to advance over the slope, and open a cross-fire upon the enemy. This movement was magnificently carried out by Hackett, whose men moved out into the open as if on parade, and with a steady advance, such as British troops are proud of, marched on to the rear of the cattle laager, taking the Zulus completely by surprise. Nothing could be better than the calm and deliberate firing of these men. Every shot told with deadly effect, and dark bodies and shields soon began to dot the ground. ”

“ In front, with General Marshall and two other officers of the 17th Lancers, rode Captain Wyatt-Edgell, their eyes fixed on the donga, where the massacre—for it is difficult to give it another name—took place. Would the lifeless remains of one whose bright spirit was part of a widowed and stricken life, whose pure and Christian nature ennobled the profession of strife to which his heart was devoted, be left intact by the savages or mutilated by the instincts of their brutal superstition? ”

“ Usulu!" awoke the echoes of the valley, and a tremendous volley was poured in from the favouring cover of the grass and mealies. All the horses swerved instinctively with terror, and some broke away. Private Rogers was shot before he could mount, and the Prince's tall grey, half mad with fright, became impossible to mount. Where is the English iron nerve that is proof against the panic of a moment? Where are the guardians of England's princely guest? All have lost their courage and their sense of manhood. ”

“ Their road at first was an easy descent into the fertile plain that was spread out like a map at their feet; it then wound up in a somewhat zigzag manner by the sides of a steep hill, flanked on the one side by a ravine, and on the other by a dense bush. Presently a black body was seen by the advanced scouts, whom Buller always sent out as "feelers," creeping through the bushes on the left, and in our rear came a second. No shot, however, was fired, but a Zulu perched high above, and sheltered in the bush, hails the passing troops in a jeering manner, and asks them to come and see his kraal. ”

“ The Zulus kept up a feeble and ill-directed fire from the crevices of rock where they had taken cover, and all this time the troopers were employed in heading and turning back the cattle, a task which would have been far beyond their best energies had not an episode occurred which materially changed the aspect of affairs. Alone, in the midst of a score of enemies, the sergeant fought steadily on, loading, firing, advancing, and driving back the cattle as if he bore a charmed life. ”

“ On the arrival of the column at the Inyoni and Amatikula rivers the waggons were carefully packed in laager, and a well-made ditch and parapet formed around the camp. Sentries were posted at the various angles, and outlying piquets thrown well forward. No noise, or even loud talking was allowed, and the bivouac, for it could scarcely be called a camp, was each night as silent as a grave-yard. ”

“ If I have spoken strongly of the living in my sorrow for the dead, as a soldier I can but plead in vindication, that, in all my remembrance of the records of our English army I can recall no instance, save the one I have quoted, where an officer wearing our royal uniform and holding a royal commission, galloped away in front of his escort, and allowed a comrade to be done to death in unknightly fashion! ”

“ One friendly hand to steady the scared and ill-broken steed; one carbine, even unloaded, presented at the bush—for the savages [279] had not dared to come forth—or one gallant heart like Buller, Leet, or Wood to have shown the chivalry of France that England's sons were worthy of their ancient fame, and the Prince would have been alive to-day. There is, it is true, the testimony of one man, borne away by his frightened and possibly wounded horse, who says that not being more than half in the saddle, and having no control over his mount, he could not stay to aid the Prince. ”

“ At this moment Weatherly, with his gallant and noble-hearted boy, aged only fifteen, and who insisted on fighting by his father's side, were cheering on their men, dashing boldly into the caves, and closing in mortal strife with the Zulus. "Take a dozen men over to the cave to the right front, and rattle out the fellows who are firing so well, Colonel [124] Weatherly," said Colonel Wood, as his horse staggered under him from a deep assegai wound in the chest, and a savage from behind a boulder fired at that officer at ten paces' distance. ”

“ No sooner did a head or a shield appear above a rock, a boulder, or a tuft of grass, than the "ping" of the deadly Martini-Henry rang out, and in nine cases out of ten there was an enemy the less to encounter. Some portion of the band of the gallant but lost Piet Uys, had been sent to reinforce Buller's attenuated squadron, and these men particularly distinguished themselves as highly-skilled marksmen. Many of these Boers still retained their old national weapon, the long single-barrelled roer, carrying an enormous bullet, suited for the destruction of big game. ”

“ The bugle at once sounded the halt, and the word was suddenly given for twenty men to wheel about and charge back in full force upon the unsuspecting foe, who imagined no doubt that he was going to be allowed all the fun of peppering the rear without receiving any punishment in return. With a hearty English shout these fellows, led by Buller, went straight at the enemy, and bursting over rough ground and through the high and tall grass drove the flying Zulus in panic before them. ”

“ A moment more and the bristling line of steel meets the black and shining wall of human flesh, rent, pierced, and gashed by a weapon as death-dealing and unsparing as their own assegai. Still, though crushed and stabbed by the lances, and though their firm array was scattered like sea-foam, the Zulus fought on in stubborn knots, nor cried for quarter, stabbing at the horses' bellies as they went down, and trying to drag the men off their horses in the mêlée. The lance was now relegated in most cases to its sling, and the heavy sabres of the troopers became red with gore. ”

“ Scarcely had the sun disappeared below the horizon when the devoted little band started on their way, and the novelty of their position in the wilderness could hardly be realized by those who were not used to the country—the deep hum of hundreds of insect creatures signalling their presence to each other, the lizards and poisonous snakes that crawled across the path, the grim, gaunt figure of the beast of prey stalking near the projecting rock, the yells of the monkeys, and the howl of the wild dogs in the plain. ”

“ On receiving the intelligence of the Zulu advance, Colonel Wood had few preparations to make, for in the camp at Kambula each corps, each company, each subdivision, each section, and each man had a place allotted, and had been taught to be in that place at one sound of the bugle. The little fort was in an exceptionally strong position, being laid out upon an elevated and narrow ridge of table-land. A complete precipice, perfectly inaccessible to a white man, even though a born cragsman, guarded the right flank. ”

“ All may do the same, but all must first give up their arms and the king's cattle in token of their submission. The old laws of Zululand shall be restored, and you shall be ruled by your own chiefs, whom you all know. I shall divide the kingdom into four or five districts, and all men shall be free to come and go, to work, to marry, and to become rich. The great Queen, who sends me, wishes the Zulus should be happy, but those who continue to bear arms, and will not submit, must be given up. ”