CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
WAR.
It was at this juncture--the Christmas-tide of 1834, and the summer-timein South Africa--that a merry party was assembled under the shade ofumbrageous trees that crowned a little knoll from which could be seenthe blue smoke curling from a prosperous-looking homestead in the valebelow. It was a party of settlers enjoying their Christmas festivitiesin the open air. Hans Marais and Charlie Considine were among them,but, feeling less inclined than was their wont to join in the hilarityof the young folks, they had sauntered into the shrubbery and conversedsadly about the departure of Conrad Marais and his family, and of theunsettled state of the frontier at that time.
While they talked, an armed band of savages had crept past themunperceived, and advanced stealthily towards the party of revellers onthe knoll. Coming suddenly across the tracks of these savages, Hanscast an anxious look at his companion, and said quickly--
"Look here, Charlie--the spoor of Kafirs! Let's go--"
The sentence was cut short by a wild war-cry, which was immediatelyfollowed by shouts of men and screams of women.
Turning without another word, the two friends ran back to the knoll atfull speed, drawing their hunting-knives, which were the only weaponsthey happened to carry at the time.
On reaching the knoll a fearful scene presented itself. The Kafirs hadalready killed every man of the party--having come on them unawares andthrown their assagais with fatal precision from the bushes. They werecompleting the work of death with shouts and yells of fierce delight.Not a woman was to be seen. They had either been dragged into thebushes and slain, or had sought refuge in flight.
With a mighty shout of rage Hans and Considine dashed into the midst ofthe murderers, and two instantly fell, stabbed to the heart. Seizingthe assagais of these, they rushed through the midst of their foes, and,as if animated by one mind, made for the homestead below. To reach thestables and get possession of their horses and rifles was their object.
The savages, of whom there were about thirty, were so taken aback by thesuddenness and success of this onset that for a few seconds they did notpursue. Then, probably guessing the object of the fugitives, theyuttered a furious yell and followed them down the hill. But Hans andConsidine were active as well as strong. They kept well ahead, gainedthe principal house, and secured their rifles. Then, instead ofbarricading the doors and defending themselves, they ran out again andshot the two Kafirs who first came up.
Well did the savages know the deadly nature of the white man's rifle,although at that time they had not themselves become possessed of it.When their comrades fell, and the two white men were seen to kneel andtake deliberate aim at those who followed, the whole party scatteredright and left and took refuge in the bush.
But the friends did not fire. These were not the days ofbreech-loaders. Prudently reserving their fire, they made a rushtowards the stables, "saddled up" in a few seconds, and, mounting, rodeforth at a gallop straight back to the blood-stained hillock. Torescue, if possible, some of the females was their object. Regardlessof several assagais that whizzed close to them, they galloped hither andthither among the bushes, but without success.
"Let's try yonder hollow," cried Considine, pointing as he spoke.
The words had scarce left his lips when a host of some hundreds ofKafirs, with the shields, assagais and feathers of savage warriors,burst out of the hollow referred to. They had probably been attractedby the two shots, and instantly rushed towards the white men.
Hans Marais dismounted, kneeled to take steadier aim, fired, and shotthe foremost warrior. Then, springing on his steed at a bound, hegalloped away, loading as he went, and closely followed by his friend.Having reloaded, Hans pulled up and again leapt to the ground. Thistime Considine, appreciating his plan, followed his example, and bothwere about to kneel and fire when they perceived by a burst of smoke andflame that the farm-buildings had been set on fire.
In a straight line beyond, two other columns of dense smoke indicatedthe position of two neighbouring farms, and a third column, away to theright, and further removed from the line of the frontier, suddenlyconveyed to the mind of Hans the fact that a general rising of theKafirs had taken place. Instead of firing, he rose and remounted,exclaiming--
"Home, Charlie--home!"
At the moment a shout was heard in another direction. Turning round,they observed a body of a dozen or so of mounted Kafirs making straighttowards them. To have killed two or four of these would have been easyenough to first-rate shots armed with double-barrels, but they knew thatthose unhurt would continue the chase. They therefore turned and fledin the direction of their own home. Their steeds were good and fresh,but their pursuers were evidently well mounted, for they did not seem tolose ground.
In the kitchen of Conrad Marais's homestead Gertie stood that day,busily employed in the construction of a plum-pudding, with which shemeant to regale Hans and Charlie on their return. And very pretty andhappy did Gertie look, with her white apron and her dark hair looped upin careless braids, and her face flushed with exertion, and her prettyround arms bared to the dimpled elbows and scarcely capable of beingrendered whiter by the flour with which they were covered.
A young Hottentot Venus of indescribable ugliness assisted in retardingher.
"The master will be here soon," said Gertie, wiping the flour and piecesof dough off her hands; "we must be quick. Is the pot ready?"
Venus responded with a "Ja," and a grin which displayed a splendidcasket of pearls.
Just then the clatter of hoofs was heard.
"Why, here they come already, and in _such_ a hurry too!" said Gertie insurprise, untying her apron hastily.
Before the apron was untied, however, Hans had pulled up at the door andshouted "Gertie!" in a voice so tremendous that his wife turned pale andcame quickly to the door.
"Oh, Hans! what--"
"Come, darling, quick!"
There was no time for more. Hans held out his hand. Gertie took itmechanically.
"Your foot on my toe. Quick!"
Gertie did as she was bid, and felt herself swung to the saddle in frontof her husband, who held her in his strong right arm, while in the graspof his huge left hand he held the reins and an assagai.
Poor Gertie had time, in that brief moment, to note that CharlieConsidine sat motionless on his panting horse, gazing sternly towardsthe karroo, and that a cloud of dust was sweeping over the plain towardsthem. She guessed too surely what it was, but said not a word, whileher husband leaped his horse through a gap in the garden wall in orderto reach the road by a short cut. Double-weighted thus, the horse didnot run so well as before. Considine was frequently obliged to checkhis pace and look back.
The stern frown on the Dutchman's brow had now mingled with it aslightly troubled look.
"Go on. I'll follow immediately," said Considine as he reined in.
"Don't be foolhardy," cried Hans, with an anxious look as he shot past.
Without replying, Considine dismounted, knelt on a slight eminence onthe plain, and deliberately prepared to fire.
The pursuing savages observed the act, and when within about six orseven hundred yards began to draw rein.
Charlie Considine knew his rifle well; although not sighted for such arange, it was capable of carrying the distance when sufficientlyelevated, and practice had accustomed him to long-range shots. He aimeda little above the head of the foremost rider, fired, and killed hishorse. With the second barrel he wounded one of the Kafirs. At thesame moment he observed that his late home was wrapped in flames, andthat the cattle and sheep of Conrad Marais, which had been left incharge of Hans, were being driven off by the savages towards themountains.
This was enough. Remounting, Charlie followed his friend, and wasrejoiced to find on looking back that the Kafirs had ceased theirpursuit.
"Strange," he said on overtaking Hans, "that they should have given inso easily."
"It is not fear that influences them,"
returned his friend, with deeplyknitted brows; "the reptiles know there is a pass before us, and theywill surely try to cut us off. They know all the short cuts better thanI do. Push on!"
Urging their horses to their utmost speed, the fugitives soon approacheda more broken country, and skirted the mountain range, through which thepass referred to by Hans led into level ground beyond. It was a narrowtrack through jungle, which was dense in some places, open in others.They were soon in it, riding furiously. At one of the open spaces theycaught a glimpse of a mounted Kafir making towards a part of the pass inadvance of them. Hans pulled up at once, and looked eagerly, anxiouslyround, while he pressed the light form of Gertie tighter to his breast.
"We must fight here, Charlie," he said, as he made for a little moundwhich was crowned with a few bushes. "If you and I were alone we mightrisk forcing a passage, but--come; they observe our intention."
A few bounds placed them on the top of the mound, where they tookshelter among the bushes. These were scarcely thick enough to cover thehorses, but among them was found a hole or crevice into which Hans toldhis wife to creep. She had barely found refuge in this place, whenseveral assagais whizzed over their heads. Sheltering themselves behindstones, Hans and Considine looked eagerly in the direction whence theassagais had been thrown, and the former observed the ears of a horsejust appearing over a bush. He fired at the spot where he conjecturedthe rider must be, and a yell told that he had not missed his mark. Atthe same moment his companion observed part of a Kafir's form oppositeto him, and, firing, brought him to the ground.
Seeing this the other savages made a rush at the mound, supposingprobably that both guns were empty. They had either forgotten about orwere ignorant of double-barrelled weapons. Two more shots killed thetwo leading Kafirs, and the rest turned to fly, but a gigantic fellowshouted to them fiercely to come on, and at the same moment leaped onCharlie Considine with such force that, although the latter struck himheavily with the butt of his rifle, he was borne to the ground. Thetriumph however was momentary. Next instant Hans Marais seized him,stabbed him in the throat, and hurled him back among his comrades, alifeless corpse. Charlie, recovering himself, pointed his unloaded gunat the savages, who recoiled, turned, and fled back to the cover of theopposite bush.
"Now is our time," said Hans, dragging his wife from the place ofshelter. "Mount and make a dash before they recover."
While speaking Hans was acting. In another moment Gertie was in her oldplace, Considine in the saddle, and the two men made a bold push forlife.
It turned out as the Dutchman had conjectured. The Kafirs had left allparts of the surrounding jungle to join in the assault on the mound, andwhen the fugitives made a dash through them, only a few had presence ofmind to throw their assagais, and these missed their mark. A few boundscarried Hans and Charlie once more in advance of their enemies, but theclatter of hoofs immediately afterwards told that they were hotlypursued.
There is no saying how the chase might have ended, if they had not metwith a piece of good fortune immediately afterwards. On emerging fromthe other end of the pass, they almost ran into a small patrol of CapeMounted Rifles, who, attracted by the shots and cries in the pass, weregalloping to the rescue.
They did not halt to ask questions, but, with a hearty cheer and afriendly wave of the hand from the officer in command, dashed into thepass and met the pursuing savages in the very teeth.
Of course the latter turned and fled, leaving, however, several of theircomrades dead on the ground.
During this early period of the war the whole defending force of thefrontier consisted of only between seven and eight hundred men, composedof Cape Mounted Rifles and the 75th regiment, with a few of theArtillery and Engineers, and these had to be broken up into numeroussmall companies, who were sent here and there where succour was mostneeded.
With this little patrol, Hans, Gertie, and Considine bivouacked thatnight, and, travelling with them, soon afterwards reached Grahamstown.
The sight of the country as they approached was a sad one. From allquarters, men, women, children, vehicles, horses, cattle, and sheep,were crowding into the town as a place of refuge. At first the settlersnearest the eastern frontier, taken by surprise, fled to temporaryrallying-points. These, however, had to be abandoned for strongerplaces of refuge. On entering the town they found that the greatestconfusion and excitement prevailed. The church had been set apart as anasylum for the women and children, who had to put up, however, with theundesirable accompaniments of fire-arms and gunpowder. Public meetingswere being held; picquets of armed citizens were being despatched towatch the main roads. All the houses were thronged to suffocation withrefugees--white, brown, and black. The streets, squares, yards,gardens, and other vacant places were crowded by night, and thesurrounding hills by day, with the flocks and herds that had been savedfrom the invaders, while the lowing and bleating of these were mingledwith the sobs and wails of the widow and fatherless.
"What misery!" exclaimed Gertie, as she rode slowly through the crowdsby the side of her husband, mounted on a horse lent her by one of thepatrol, "Oh, how I dread to hear the news from home!"
Gertie referred to her father's home, about the condition of which sheknew nothing at the time.
"Where shall we go to seek for news?" she asked anxiously.
"To the barracks," replied Hans.
"You need not be anxious, I think," said Considine; "if anything veryserious had happened, it is likely the patrol who rescued us would haveheard some account of it before leaving Grahamstown.
"Don't you think?" he added, turning to Hans, "that we had betterinquire first at Dobson's place?"
At that moment they were passing a large store, over the door of whichwas a blue board with the words "Dobson, Skyd, and Company" emblazonedin large white letters thereon.
The store itself presented in its windows and interior an assortment ofdry goods, so extensive and miscellaneous as to suggest the idea of onebeing able to procure anything in it--from a silk dress to a grindstone.It was an extremely full, prosperous-looking store, and in the midst ofit were to be seen, sitting on the counters, James and Robert Skyd, bothlooking bluffer and stronger than when we last met them, though scarcelya day older. James and Robert were the managing partners of thisprosperous firm; Dobson and John Skyd were what the latter styled thehunting partners. Robert Skyd had recently married a pretty Grahamstowngirl, and her little boy--then about one year old--was, so said hisfather, the sleeping partner of the firm, who had been vaguely hinted atby the "Company" long before he was born. Indeed, the "Company" hadbeen prudently inserted with special reference to what might "turn up"in after years. At the time the firm was formed, it had been suggestedthat it should be styled Dobson, Skyd, and Sons, but as it was possiblenothing but daughters might fall to the lot of any of them, "Company"was substituted as being conveniently indefinite. Dobson tookprecedence in the title in virtue of his having brought most capitalinto the firm. He had invested his all in it--amounting to three poundsfour and nine-pence halfpenny. John Skyd had contributed half-a-crown,which happened to be a bad one. James brought nothing at all, andRobert entered it a little in debt for tobacco.
The great waggon of the hunting partners, loaded with hides, horns, andivory, stood at the door of the store, as Gertie and her protectorspassed, having just arrived from a successful trip into Kafirland, andfortunately escaped the outbreak of the war.
Fastening their bridles to one of its wheels, Hans, Gertie, andConsidine entered. The first face they saw was that of Edwin Brook,into whose arms Gertie ran with a wild cry of joy.
"Why, Hans Marais!" cried James Skyd, jumping off the counter andgrasping his big friend by the hand, while Robert seized that ofConsidine, "where have you dropped from?--But I need scarcely ask, forall the world seems to be crowding into the town. Not hurt, I hope?" headded, observing the blood which stained his friend's dress.
"Not in person," answered Hans, with a smile, returning his
cordialgrasp.
"And what of property!" asked Edwin Brook, looking round.
"All gone," returned Hans sadly. "I rose this morning a reasonablywealthy man--now, I am a beggar. But tell me, what of your family, MrBrook?"
"All saved, thank God," was the reply. "Junkie, dear boy, who is themost active young fellow in the land, managed to--Ah! here he comes, andwill speak for himself."
As he spoke a tall strapping youth of about fifteen entered, opened widehis laughing blue eyes on seeing Hans, and, after a hearty greeting,told with some hesitation that he had chanced to be out hunting on footin the jungles of the Great Fish River when the Kafirs crossed thefrontier, and had managed, being a pretty good runner, to give hisfather warning, so that the family had time to escape. He did _not_tell, however, that he had, in a narrow pass, kept above sixty Kafirs incheck with his own hand and gun until George Dally could run to thehouse for his weapons and ammunition, and that then the two held ahundred of them in play long enough to permit of the whole familyescaping under the care of Scholtz.
"But," said Edwin Brook, who related all this with evident satisfaction,"I am like yourself, Hans, in regard to property. Mount Hope is ablackened ruin, the farm is laid waste, and the cattle are over theborders."
"And where is Mrs Brook?" asked Considine.
"In this house. Up-stairs. Come, Gertie is getting impatient. Let usgo to see her."
"Now, friends," said Considine to the brothers Skyd, who had by thattime been joined by the hunting partners, "there is a matter on which wemust consult and act without delay."
Here he told of Conrad Marais's departure with the boers across thefrontier, and added that if the party was to be saved at all it must begone about instantly.
"You can't go about it to-day, Charlie," said John Skyd, "so don't giveway to impatience. For such a long trip into the enemy's country wemust go well armed and supplied."
"I will brook no delay," said Considine, with flushing countenance. "Ifit had not been for the necessity of bringing Gertie here in safety,Hans and I would have set out at once and alone on their spoor. Is itnot so?"
Hans nodded assent.
"No, friends," he said, turning to the brothers with decision, "we mustbe off at once."
"What! without your suppers?" exclaimed Bob Skyd; "but to be serious, itwon't be possible to get things ready before to-morrow. Surely thatwill do, if we start at daybreak. Besides, the party with your father,Hans, is a strong one, well able to hold out against a vastly superiorforce of savages. Moreover, if you wait we shall get up a small body ofvolunteers."
Hans and Charlie were thus constrained unwillingly to delay. At greydawn, however, they rode out of Grahamstown at the head of a smallparty, consisting of the entire firm of Dobson and Skyd, inclusive ofJunkie, whose father granted him permission to go. His mother silentlyacquiesced. Mrs Scholtz violently protested; and when she found thather protests were useless, she changed them into pathetic entreatiesthat Junkie would on no account whatever go to sleep in camp with wetfeet.
As soon as the invasion took place, an express had been sent toCapetown, and the able Governor, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, took instant andenergetic measures to undo, as far as possible, the mischief done by hispredecessors. Colonel (afterwards Sir Harry) Smith was despatched tothe frontier, and rode the distance--six hundred miles--in six days.
Arriving in Grahamstown, he took command with a firm hand, organised thewhole male population into a warlike garrison, built barricades acrossthe streets, planted cannon in commanding positions, cleared the town offlocks and herds, which were breeding a nuisance, sent them to the opencountry with a cattle guard, and prepared not only to defend thecapital, but to carry war into the enemy's country. In short, hebreathed into the people much of his own energy, and soon brought orderout of confusion.
The state of affairs in the colony had indeed reached a terrible pass.From all sides news came in of murder and pillage. The unfortunatetraders in Kafirland fared ill at that time. One of these, Rodgers, wasmurdered in the presence of his three children. A man named Cramer wassavagely butchered while driving a few cattle along the road. Another,named Mahony, with his wife and son-in-law, were intercepted whiletrying to escape to the military post of Kafir Drift, and Mahony wasstretched a corpse at his wife's feet, then the son-in-law was murdered,but Mrs Mahony escaped into the bush with two of her children and aHottentot female servant, and, after many hardships, reachedGrahamstown. A mounted patrol scouring the country fell in with afarm-house where three Dutchmen, in a thick clump of bushes, weredefending themselves against three hundred Kafirs. Of course the latterwere put to flight, and the three heroes--two of them badly wounded--were rescued. Nearly everywhere the settlers, outnumbered, had to fly,and many were slain while defending their homes, but at the littlevillage of Salem they held their ground gallantly. The Wesleyan chapel,mission-house, and schoolhouse, were filled with refugees, and althoughthe Kafirs swooped down on it at night in large numbers and carried offthe cattle, they failed to overcome the stout defenders. Theopolis alsoheld out successfully against them--and so did the Scottish party atBaviaans River, although attacked and harassed continually.
During an attack near the latter place a Scottish gentleman of thePringle race had a narrow escape. Sandy Black was with him at the time.Three or four Kafirs suddenly attacked them. Mr Pringle shot one,Sandy wounded another. A third ran forward while Pringle was loadingand threw an assagai at him. It struck him with great force on theleathern bullet-pouch which hung at his belt. Sandy Black took aim atthe savage with a pistol.
"Aim low, Sandy," said Pringle, continuing to load.
Sandy obeyed and shot the Kafir dead, then, turning round, saidanxiously--
"Are 'ee stickit, sir?"
"I'm not sure, Sandy," replied Pringle, putting his hand in at the waistof his trousers, "there's blood, I see."
On examination it was found that the assagai had been arrested by thestrong pouch and belt, and had only given him a trifling scratch, sothat the gallant and amiable Mr Dods Pringle lived to fight in futureKafir wars. [See Note 1.]
In another place, near the Kat River, thirty men were attacked by ahundred and fifty Kafirs. The latter came on with fury, but five of thefarmers brought down seven of the enemy at the first discharge, andthereafter poured into them so rapid and destructive a fire that theywere seized with panic, and fled, leaving seventy-five of their numberdead.
Instances of individual heroism might be endlessly multiplied, but wethink this is enough to show the desperate nature of the struggle whichhad begun.
In the course of one fortnight the labours of fourteen years wereannihilated. Forty-four persons were murdered, 369 dwellings consumed,261 pillaged, and 172,000 head of live-stock carried off into Kafirlandand irretrievably lost; and what aggravated the wickedness of theinvasion was the fact that during a great part of the year the Governorhad been engaged in special negotiations for a new--and to the Kafirsmost advantageous--system of relations, with which all the chiefs exceptone had expressed themselves satisfied.
Writing on the condition of the country Colonel Smith said: "Already areseven thousand persons dependent on Government for the necessaries oflife. The land is filled with the lamentations of the widow and thefatherless. The indelible impressions already made upon myself by thehorrors of an irruption of savages upon a scattered population, almostexclusively engaged in the peaceful occupations of husbandry, are suchas to make me look on those I have witnessed in a service of thirtyyears, ten of which in the most eventful period of war, as trifles towhat I have now witnessed, and compel me to bring under consideration,as forcibly as I am able, the heartrending position in which a verylarge portion of the inhabitants of this frontier are at present placed,as well as their intense anxiety respecting their future condition."
Sir Benjamin D'Urban, arriving soon afterwards, constituted a Board ofRelief to meet the necessities of the distressed; and relief committeeswere established in Capetow
n, Stellenbosch, Graaff-Reinet, and otherprincipal towns, while subscriptions were collected in Mauritius, SaintHelena, and India.
Soon after the arrival of Colonel Smith, burgher forces were collected;troops arrived with the Governor on the scene of action, and the work ofexpelling the invader was begun in earnest. Skirmishes by small bodiesof farmers and detachments of troops took place all over the land, inwhich the Dutch-African colonists and English settlers with theirdescendants vied with each other, and with the regulars, in heroicdaring. Justice requires it to be added that they had a bold enemy todeal with, for the Kafirs were physically splendid men; full of courageand daring, although armed only with light spears.
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Note 1. The author had the pleasure of spending a night last year(1876) under the hospitable roof of Mr Pringle, shortly before hisdeath, and saw the identical assagai, which was bent by the force withwhich it had been hurled against him on that occasion.