William Ross King

“ Pushing rapidly on to the point of attack, we waded the river, and commenced the arduous ascent, up which, in spite of a burning sun, the men mounted like true Highlanders. To our surprise the enemy allowed us to come considerably within range, and we were beginning to imagine the position was abandoned, when suddenly they opened fire upon us from the shelter of the crags, sweeping every inch of the smooth approach, themselves invisible, the tops only of their black heads peeping over the rocks as they took aim, and disappearing again as instantaneously as the flash of their guns. ”

“ On the following morning, after the luxury of a cold bath under a fine fall of the Kat River, we set off for Post Retief, making the ascent of the verdant Katberg mountain by a path of extraordinary steepness; the heat of the sun was overpowering. Three hours of uninterrupted and most toilsome climbing, brought us to the table-land above the beautifully-wooded ravine, Bothas bush; off-saddling our panting horses at a clear spring that bubbled out of the ground, we lay down to recover our breath, feasting our eyes on the extensive view below us. ”

“ Our camp, with two others consisting of Europeans and Fingoe Levies, was on a green level plain, between the fort and the River Chumie, beyond which rose a fine range of lofty mountains.
Anything more miserable in the shape of barrack accommodation than the officers' quarters in the fort can hardly be conceived; uneven floors of dried cow-dung, bending walls of "wattle and daub," smoke-blackened rafters and thatch, crazy doors, and ill-fitting windows, which exclude the light and admit in turn, wind, rain, and clouds of sand, are the characteristics of the best. ”

“ A twenty miles' trying march through a burning desert country brought us by sunset to our halting place, near a small vley; but we had no sooner got our tents up than a whirlwind threw half of them down again, enveloping us for a few minutes in such a cloud of sand, that we could not see a yard before us. The water in these stagnant pools, that simmer all day in the sun, and at night are used as baths by herds of wild game, is the most villanous mixture of mud, dung, and green scum that can be imagined ”

“ We bivouacked for breakfast, boiling our coffee on the embers of the huts, and spreading our rations of beef and black biscuit on the trampled grass, not many yards from the corpses of those who had fallen. A few stray Kaffirs were espied stealing away through the open bush in the valley below, and though far out of range, set all the Fingoes firing away at once in the wildest manner imaginable. ”

“ All having crossed, the first thing we did after pitching our tents by those of the other Brigade, was to rush to the river and plunge into its cooling flood, swimming and splashing about under the shade of the weeping willows that dipped into it; every body in a perfect frenzy of delight, many actually lying in the water smoking, and the whole breadth of the river covered over with heads, as if by wild fowl; for every man in the Division bathed twice or thrice over in the course of the day. ”

“ Late in the afternoon our long train reached the bivouac in torrents of rain, which again poured down with a steady relentlessness that soon flooded the camp, and we made up our minds for another wet night. On rising, at three o'clock next morning, we found little pools of water collected in the hollows indented in the soft ground by our hips and shoulders. We fell in, and stood for half an hour in the ranks ankle deep in the mud, waiting for the waggons to move on, shivering like men with ague, our fingers so benumbed that we could scarcely hold our rifles. ”

“ The whole locality was most beautiful; enormous detached masses of rock, scattered around, and stupendous cliffs of a bright yellow and orange colour, their crevices studded with bushes and scarlet and pink ivy-leaved geranium.
At mid-day on the 9th, a large body of the enemy, who had concealed themselves by night in the dry bed of a mountain torrent, suddenly rushed from their ambush, and having wounded a young man at work near the house, before he could seize his gun, instantly swept off the whole of Mynheer Rautenbach's horses, cattle, and sheep. ”

“ The heat of the sun was again most oppressive, shut in as we were between walls of bush, so close, that not a breath of air found its way through. The oxen were so completely done up, that they could scarcely draw the heavily-laden waggons through the deep sand, and numbers fell, to die on the roadside, or were abandoned a prey to the wild beasts and vultures. ”

“ A few miles more brought us at last to a halt on the Amatola Flats; where, after a continued march of above 250 miles, we pitched tents by the banks of the Quesana River, at the foot of the Great Amatolas. The sun sank behind the purple mountains in a flood of crimson; and as the darkness gathered around, and troops of wolves and jackals commenced their nightly howling, the flames of the burning village grew brighter and more distinct on the dark hill side. ”

“ The change was so great from the glare of the sunshine to the gloom of the forest, its thick foliage overhead interwoven with baboon-ropes and creepers, that we could hardly distinguish our enemies as they darted swiftly from cover to cover. Five rebel Hottentots were killed in a hole or pit half-hidden by bush. Another of our men was shot dead by a Kaffir perched in the thick branches of a lofty tree, from which he was brought down, riddled with balls, the body tumbling with a crash into the thicket beneath. ”

“ As we worked our difficult way through the underwood, taking care not to lose sight of our right and left files, we kept a sharp look out every step of our way; for each thicket, hollow trunk, or jackal's hole, tuft of grass, or lofty tree, may conceal the stealthy Kaffir when least expected; in an instant the silent forest is suddenly peopled with a legion of naked savages, springing, as it were, out of the earth, with a deadly volley from their unsuspected ambuscade. ”

“ Another heavy thunder storm suddenly burst on us, accompanied with such torrents of rain that we were soon wet through; the sluits running like rivers, and the plain so flooded, in less than an hour, as to resemble a lake; the men constantly plunging into the deep gullies. Though disagreeable enough, with our clothing soaked through and clinging to our bodies, it was much less so than the steaming condition we were thrown into when the sun broke out again. ”

“ As we returned the cattle suffered severely from want of pasturage; not a blade of grass was to be seen, and our horses, which had nothing to eat but the leaves of trees and shrubs during the day, when tied up at night devoured sticks, wood, dry dung, or anything chewable. On the plain we had the good fortune to fall in with several herd of springbok; their beautiful appearance and graceful agility delighted us, as they leaped into the air, clearing twenty feet at a bound. A party of Dutch Boers jagging them and firing above, drove a herd in our direction, giving us some splendid shots. ”

“ The next day the 74th Highlanders moved to the head of the pass to cover the ascent of commissariat waggons. We lay under the shade of a spreading mimosa, a merry party, little dreaming this would be the last time we should all be together; some sketching, some sweeping the vast panorama with their glasses, and others practising long ranges with their rifles at the aloes on the opposite side of the kloof. ”

“ We had gone but a few hundred yards, our eyes hardly yet accustomed to the gloom, when a dark figure crossed the road a little in front, and disappeared in the bush. To have fired would only have been to betray ourselves; so we held on our course, keeping a sharp look out. When half way down we came suddenly on a Kaffir fire in the bush on our left, not more than five or six yards from the path; round it lay several black fellows, rolled in their red blankets and karosses, sleeping soundly, after watching probably the greater part of the night. ”

“ We forced our difficult way, clambering up and down rocks thickly covered with enormous aloes in full flower, and tearing through the thorny cover, guided only by constant bugling; catching peeps now and then, from a higher crag, or through an opening in the forest, of the main column in the deep valley, slowly moving through the bush, their bugles scarcely heard, as they sounded the halt, or advance, according to our movements. ”

“ Within three weeks after this attack they again waylaid a like party, but with more fatal effect, two men being killed and four wounded. We were suffered to pass without molestation. The appearance of our long line, as it moved down the valley, was very striking; wild-looking Fingoes, strings of oxen and waggons, the glittering forest of bayonets, straggling Levies, pack-horses, and camp followers, winding along the hill-side, through the glowing bush, which was varied by magnificent euphorbias, rivalling forest trees in height. ”

“ At sunset we approached Beaufort by the smooth green down, over which innumerable herds of cattle were winding, whistled on by wild kaross-clad herdsmen, gun and assegais in hand, and entered the town through the Fingo Kraals, where swarthy maidens were milking their [259] goats, saturæ capellæ; men kraaling their cattle for the night, and women of all ages—young and graceful, old and haggard, skeletons or shaking masses of fat, constantly arriving, with huge bundles of firewood balanced on their heads. ”

“ The extensive range of country seen from this hill increased in beauty as we ascended the road which ran along the edge of the ravine, fringed with majestic euphorbias; in the distance deep blue mountains, and plains of red sand, then wavy bush-covered hills, and in the valley below us the winding river, and our rear guard, with their long line of waggons slowly advancing. ”

“ The bush was very beautiful, glowing with the fragrant golden mimosa and the snowy jessamine, mingled with the blue plumbago, the cluytea, and geranium; the ground too covered with mesembryanthemum, was one sheet of glowing pink. Along the deserted grass-grown road, doves, everywhere abundant, were unusually numerous, running along the ground before us and flying on from tree to tree like flocks of tame pigeons. On gaining the more open country we found ourselves again among the young locusts, now considerably grown, and turned to a reddish brown. ”

“ The camp was besieged all day long by visitors; rough Boers, with strings of colts for sale; townspeople on foot; and respectably dressed, well-mounted Dutchmen, with very pretty girls in pink or sky-blue riding habits, who rode up and down the lines, stared unceremoniously into the tents, and when the 'warning,' 'dinner pipes' or 'assembly' were played, flocked round the unfortunate "Piper of the day" with as much astonishment as if he had just dropped from the moon, drawling out the constant exclamation "Allamachtig! ”

“ No longer shaded by high wooded banks, we found the sun oppressively hot as we trekked along through endless clumps of dusty spek-boom, or elephant tree. In the evening we had a magnificent sunset view of the Amatolas; and just as night set in came to a halt (after a march of about two and twenty miles) at Lieuw Fontein (lion's spring) , close to a small military post standing alone in a desolate country, and garrisoned by some Hottentot Levies, under an officer of the line, who must have had a lively time of it, as no one dare go beyond the gates, except with a strong mounted escort. ”

“ REIT FONTEIN—STANDING CAMP—MARCH TO SOMERSET—ACTION ON KROMME HEIGHTS—RETURN TO FORT BEAUFORT.
Having been thus served with notice to quit, we stayed but two days longer, and then struck tents and marched across the dreary charred plain for nine miles; our clothes, hands, and faces soon becoming as grim as the blackened ground, from which clouds of impalpable ashes rose at every step. ”

“ Nine hours we sat on the ridge, watching the laborious and slow ascent of the column, a span of eight and twenty cattle being required to bring each waggon up. A few Kaffirs on the top of the hill, out of range, chaffed them about their oxen, which they said were "too swift and strong, and even dangerous," the poor brutes being, in reality, half starved. It was dark before one-half the train was up. Three companies of the Rifles encamping on our position for the night, while the remainder bivouacked below, left us at liberty to return to the ruin and sleep in our tents. ”

“ The tents of the Second Brigade and the Cavalry, which had already crossed, were seen on the plain on the other side the river. Halting at the top of the road leading down a high bank to the drift or ford, the men were ordered to take off their boots and trews, and pack their ammunition pouches in their blankets. The effect was most absurd,—nearly 1000 men standing in the ranks in column of companies, with bare legs, their unmentionables on their heads or round their necks, and their boots and socks dangling from the muzzles of their firelocks. ”

“ Under cover of our fire the 12th cleared the pass, bearing a wounded man with them; half a dozen of our mounted men were wounded, and several riderless horses galloped wildly past. The artillery, posted on a rising ground, about a quarter of a mile in our rear, opened on the bush, wherever the Kaffirs showed themselves in parties, and sent round shot and "spherical case" right in amongst them, whirring and hurtling over our heads with an astounding, and, at first, rather startling noise, splintering the trees and killing all within their deadly range. ”