My Command in South Africa. 1874-78. Comprising experiences of travel in the colonies of South Africa and the independent states ... With maps

Front matter

Frontispiece. MY COMMAND IN SOUTH AFEICA 1874-1878. COMPRISING EXPERIENCES OF TEAVEL IN THE COLONIES OF SOUTH AFEICA AND THE INDEPENDENT STATES. BY GENERAL SIR ARTHUR THURLOW CUNYNGHAME, G.0.B THEN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER OP THE FORCES IN SOUTH AFRICA. WITH MAPS. SJonbott : MACMILLAN AND CO. 1879. [Right of Translation and Reproduction reserved.] LONDON: PniNTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STA»FGIll> STREET AKli C1IATUKQ CROSS. THESE PAGES ARE §)ttwatel} TO MY BKOTHER OFFICERS OF BOTH BRANCHES OF THE SERVICE, IN GRATITUDE FOR THE ABLE ASSISTANCE I RECEIVED FROM BOTH THE ARMY AND NAVY DURING A COMMAND NOT FREE FROM DIFFICULTY.

Preface

. The country which is the subject of the following narrative is of considerable interest to Englishmen. The noble efforts to found colonies which have been made by England have been rewarded by results unequalled either iu ancient or modern times. Many problems have yet to be solved. One of the most important of these is, how to preserve the independence of the colonies without causing them to lose their filial affection for their mother country. The following pages will illustrate some of the difficulties of this problem. They contain descriptions of the country and anecdotes of its inhabitants. The Book is divided into five parts. Chapters I. to XL contain au account of a journey from Cape Town to the Eastern Frontier, the Free States, and Basuto land. Chapters XII. to XVIII. describe my visit to Pondo land and Natal.

In Chapters XIX. to XXII. I give an account of the threatened rebellion in the Diamond Fields, and the expedition sent to check it. Chapters XXIII. to XXIX. deal with the annexation of the Transvaal ; and Chapters XXXI. to XLI. are devoted to a description of the war on the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony. In these pages I shall often have the pleasure of praising the conduct of my own officers and others ; sometimes I shall be obliged to speak severely of men from whose policy I differed, but I am sure that I have not put down anything in malice, and I take this

PREFACE.

. VI opportunity of thanking those of my friends in South Africa whose kindness so greatly contributed to the pleasure of my stay. By far the greater part of the information in this volume is derived from personal observation, but many interesting facts have been gathered from articles written in the colonial news papers by gentlemen of knowledge and ability, to whom, as a body, I wish to acknowledge my gratitude for their valuable assistance. The colonies of South Africa, taken all together, are in area about 450,000 square miles, or equal in size to United Germany, France, Belgium, and Holland ; or nearly five times as large as Great Britain. The total population is rather more than two millions, of which about 440,000 persons are white. There are only five principal ports in South Africa ; Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, and Delagoa Bay.

With the exception of the last named, none of them possess very great natural advantages, and some are mere road steads. The coast is rocky. The rivers run between high banks, and are torrents in winter, and streams in summer. The coldest time of the year is in our summer, but the climate is delightful, and excellent for pulmonary complaints. The country is very varied, containing mountain chains, deserts, scanty forests, and boundless plains, once swarming with game, which have been destroyed in enormous quantities. Copper, coal, gold and diamonds form the chief mineral wealth of the country, but almost every species of metal exists. The chief pursuit is cattle-grazing, and the chief export is wool. Fruit-trees grow well all over the colony, and " nartjees " (or Maltese oranges) cost, in the season, a penny for twelve.

In Natal, pine-apples grow by the wayside. The vine, apricot, apple, pear, loquot, and cherry, all thrive there. Fish are plentiful, and you can live well on that food for 6d. a-day ; but they are not of so good a kiud as

PREFACE.

. VII those in the northern seas. Housekeeping at Cape Town costs on the average much the same as in England. While fruit and fish is cheap, and meat not so dear as at home, butter is very expensive. European luxuries cost about one-fourth more than at home, and clothes perhaps one and a half times the price here. This is due to the difficulty of finding good workmen in Cape Town to cut them out and make them. Repairs of all sorts are very expensive, particularly if they require any degree of skill. The arts do not flourish at the Cape. You might try every shop in the town and not be able to buy an oil canvas or colours, but music is cultivated, and many pianos come over from England. Reading is practised to a limited extent only, and even the barristers, whom one would expect to find provided with good libraries, seem to rely in argument rather upon readiness and elocution than upon an extensive reference to authorities.

The chief amusements of all classes are riding, driving, shooting, and billiards ; and un fortunately there is too great a tendency on all sides, from the highest to the lowest, to "take a glass with a friend" at all hours of the day, a practice which, to say the least of it, involves a considerable waste of time and money. Life proceeds at the colony at rather a slower pace than in England — there is more breathing-time, and the happy faces and jovial manners of the inhabitants suggest the idea of a people accustomed to a rude plenty, and not harassed to death by constant worries. Trade morality, I fear, does not rise to a very high level at the Cape. I dare say it is not worse than in other lands, and, being a soldier, I am not, perhaps, very well qualified to ex press an opinion. I can only go by what I have heard, but I certainly recommend any young gentleman who lands in Cape Town with money in his pocket to look well to the bargains he makes, and, above all, to be careful of the speculations in which he embarks.

PREFACE.

. I now propose to give a short sketch of the history of the various colonies in South Africa. 1. The Cape Colony. — Area, 220,000 square miles ; population, 235,000 white, 820,000 black. This colony was first formed by the Dutch as an invalid station for persons on their way to India. The Dutch garrison was small, and when the first importation of slaves took place from the Guinea coast, they outnumbered the whites. In its early day3 the colony never flourished very brilliantly. Its first encounter with savages was with the Hottentots. These people and the Bushmen may be looked upon as the aborigines of South Africa. An earlier race is believed to have preceded them, so barbarous in character as almost to furnish an example of the " missing link " between man and the ape. The Hotten tots are a yellowish-coloured African race, not of a very warlike disposition, and capable of being civilised.

They are, however, now so mixed with Kafirs and other races, that it is doubtful whether any men of pure blood remain. The Bushmen are diminutive savages, who present an example of the lowest known form of human life. Almost impossible to tame, active as animals, and quick-sighted as bii'ds, they seem incapable of understanding what it is to live in peace with their neighbours. When hunted in their rocks they retire, and never surrendering, fire poisoned arrows at the invaders. They do not seem to understand that their opponents can have any other wish than to destroy them, so that, like wild animals, they fight to the last. They have been hunted like game by the Kafirs, and I regret to state that on some occasions white men, mostly Boers, have been guilty of very great cruelties towards them.

Last year a number of men and women were killed in an expe dition sent out agaiust them by the Boers under circumstances which appeared almost like a slaughter in cold blood. In 1795 the English first appeared in the colony. They did so under authority of, aud in trust for, the Prince of Orano-e,

PREFACE.

. IX the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who was then a refugee in England. In 1806, however, the English took the colony for themselves. This step was little noticed at home, for at that time all England was ringing with the news of the battle of Trafalgar. During the time that the whites — the Dutch first, and the English afterwards — were effecting a lodgment on the western side of the peninsula, another race was advancing round it from the north-west. These were the Kafirs. By the word Kafir we designate all who belong to any one of five or six great tribes or families of barbarians who have come down from some unknown region in the centre of the continent. Savage in war, idle in peace, of predatory habits, uncivilised, and incapable of ac quiring civilisation, they broke the power of all nations that opposed them ; and, had they not met white races more deter mined still, they would undoubtedly have swept over the whole of South Africa.

Then ensued a series of collisions. The first of any importance was in the year 1811, and is known as the first Kafir war. After this other Kafir wars took place, of which that in 1835 was the most sanguinary. In most of them the whites were unprepared; in all of them, after temporary reverses, they were successful. The arms of the Kafirs then consisted almost entirely of assegais, with which they could do but little damage to regular troops, and the Boers never found any difficulty in conquering, killing, and enslaving natives armed only with such weapons. But not only were there wars with the natives. Intestine troubles succeeded. The Boers rebelled in 1815, and it was necessary to shoot some of them. Meanwhile the boundaries of the colony were being pushed further and further eastward. In 1838 a measure of great importance was passed — the slaves were manumitted. Com pensation was ordered to be made, but an unfortunate delay took place in the payment of the money, so that the Dutch a X

PREFACE.

. slave-owners, in despair at no longer having absolute control over their farm-servants, and of ever receiving the promised equivalent, sold their rights to Jews and middlemen for a trifle, and " trekked " far out of the country into the districts now known as Griqualand, the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal. The question of slavery has ever been a sore one with the Dutch. They are so attached to that institution that they will not readily consent to live in any country where it is abolished ; and it is to the desire of the Boers each to " whop his own nigger " in peace, that we may trace the opposition which has been experienced in our endeavours to bring the Transvaal and the Orange Free State under English rule. The colony still continued extending its boundaries, occasionally fighting, and ever growing more populous till the year 1872, when a responsible government was granted it, with a Legislative Council and House of Assembly, composed of members elected by various constituencies.

As regards national feelings the colony may be roughly divided into east and west. In the west the old Dutch element is in the ascendant, in the east the English prevail. Although the Dutch community is well united in opinion, Englishmen of the east are divided into two groups, corresponding to the two ports of Elizabeth and East London, between which ports there is considerable commercial jealousy. A government which rests mainly on the support of the Dutch is thus able by playing off one section of the English against the other to create sufficient dissension amongst the members of the opposition to give it a majority, and this I believe has been the practice of governments hitherto. In 1867 the first diamond was found, and there soon flowed into the colony a tide of wealth as welcome as it was unexpected. Railroads were commenced on a scale I think rather too extended at the commencement. To facilitate the making

PREFACE.

. XI of these railways immense gangs of natives were employed, and by permission of their chiefs they were allowed to leave their own localities far away in Kafir land. To make them work only one inducement was effectual — the permission to purchase fire-arms. There was a law in the colony for bidding the acquisition of arms by natives without a special permit, to be given in those cases only in which the magistrate empowered to do so was personally acquainted with the character of the applicant. Unfortunately this salutary provision was not attended to, and permits were given with a laxity quite alarming. Companies of natives marched home, each bearing his musket over his shoulder. Instances occurred in which justices of the peace granted permits to natives in reckless pro fusion in order to curry favour with traders.

The government set the example, and for a while, blinded by a desire to secure cheap labour, the colonists allowed the natives to arm, until at least 400,000 muskets and rifles, some of them breech-loaders, had been acquired. This was not done without protest. Warnings appeared in the newspapers, and the older colonists, who knew the Kafirs, were uneasy. I need hardly say that I fulfilled my duty by repeatedly pointing out to the Ministry the danger they were incurring. The circumstances which attended the sixth and last of our Kafir wars will be found stated in the last part of this work up to the time when my command ceased, at which period I consider that the first part of the war was virtually at an end. The present war against the Zulus may be regarded as the second part of the sixth Kafir war. 2.

Kaffekaria. — Area, 10,000 square miles ; population, 450,000 blacks. The district lying to the west of the Cape Colony is called Kafferaria. It is occupied chiefly by Kafir tribes. Amongst these are the Fingoes and Gaikas, who occupy part of British Kafferaria, sometimes called the Cis-Kei and the Galekas, Fingoes, Pondos, Pondomise, Tambookies, and Griquas, who

PREFACE.

. XII occupy Kafferaria proper, or the Transkei. (See the map of Kafferaria, page 304.) These tribes have the same language, and are undoubtedly derived from the same stock. Amongst them the Fingoes, whose name signifies " dogs," and who have been persecuted almost to extinction by the others, are our only firm friends. Under British rule, though at first cowardly, they have developed fighting powers, and always joined our side. They have lived peacefully in their locations, and are by far the richest in cattle. The whole of the Transkei is now under British protection, and in a short time we may expect that the barbarous customs which have hitherto prevailed there will be forcibly put an end to. The disarmament of all the natives has been decreed, and is to be hoped will be vigorously carried out.

No one will, I presume, object to depriving the Kafir of his gun, on the pseudo-philanthropic principle that it is like depriving a child of its toy. 3. Basuto land contains a population of about 150,000 of contented natives, easy to govern. They were reduced to a miserable state by the wars of Chaka (the Zulu). The battle of Berea was fought in 1852 between them and the English, and peace established. In 1869, after continued war with the Free State, the boundaries were established, and the Basutos placed themselves under British protection. 4. Natal.— Area, 18,700 square miles ; population, 19,000 white, 300,000 black. Natal was thickly populated by black races in the com mencement of this century. In 1820 it suffered the first incursion of the Zulus. These formidable people inhabit the country to the north of Natal, and their renown is due to Chaka.

He organised a military system so complete that the Zulus, since his time, may be considered the Prussians of South Africa. In the year above mentioned he desolated Natal, murdering men, women, and children; and laid it so com-

PREFACE.

. XIII pletely waste that it became a desert. This he did, not that he wanted territory, but as an amusement. From the year 1825 to 1834, a body of English settlers occupied Natal. In the meantime Chaka was murdered by his brother Dingaan, a monster, whose deeds of cruelty filled all Zulu land with blood. About the year 1834, the Dutch Boers made their first appear ance in Natal, under the leadership of Pieter Retief, who, however, having been decoyed to a conference, was treacherously murdered with all his followers by Dingaan in 1837. Ten thousand Zulus then marched on Natal, which they almost succeeded in surprising. As it was, they murdered about 600 persons, besides Retief's party. An attempt was made to avenge this by the advance of a body of men, mostly Kafirs under white leaders, styling them selves "the grand army of Natal."

But the Zulus, after a desperate battle, completely destroyed it. In 1838 General Pretorius marched from the Transvaal with about 460 men, supported by a smaller force. Being attacked by about 10,000 Kafirs, they killed 3000 of them with a loss of only four men killed, advanced into Zulu land and seized the capital. This was followed by a revolution in Zulu land, and a battle between Dingaan and Panda, his brother, by whom Dingaan was defeated and deposed. In 1834 Natal was seized by the British, in whose possession it has remained. Since that time it has steadily increased in prosperity. When Panda died, his son Cetewayo succeeded him. The martial system of Chaka has been steadily kept up since his time with but few relaxations. 5. The Okange Fkee State. — Area, 37,000 square miles ; population, 30,000 white, 15,000 black.

The Free State was colonised chiefly by those Boers who left the colony in 1834 in disgust at the emancipation of the slaves. In 1848 it Mas declared British territory, aud after a

PREFACE.

. XIV fight with the English at Boomplaats the Dutch submitted. But in 1854 an unwise dread of expenditure caused the British Government to abandon the colony ; and it became a republic, with a representative government and a president. 6. The Diamond Fields, or Griqualand West. — Area, 15,500 square miles ; permanent population, 1000 white, 4000 blacks ; fluctuating population of diggers, 40,000. This tract of country, lying to the west of the Orange Free State, had originally been occupied by the Griquas, a mixed race of Dutch and Hottentots under Waterboer, Cornelius Kok, aud Adam Kok. It was for a time nominally governed by the Orange Free State. Adam Kok, son of the above named Adam Kok, made an exodus with his people from Griqualand West in 1861 into a country north of Kaffraria, which, having been visited by the Zulus, had acquired the significant title of No Man's land.

Here his tribe now reside. It is called Griqua land East. In 1867 the first diamond was found ; and in 1869 a rush took place to the Diamond Fields. 8. Zulu land. — Area, about 10,000 square miles ; population 150,000 (black). This country is inhabited by the most war like of all the Kafir tribes. Cetewayo, the present king, almost rivals his uncle Dingaan in cruelty, and his uncle Chaka in military talent. After a sanguinary battle with his brothers, in which he was victorious, he was crowned by Sir Theopliilus (then Mr.) Shepstone, secretary for native affairs at Natal. During the Presidentship of Mr. Burgers, disputes arose be tween the Transvaal and Cetewayo, principally in consequence of grants of Zulu land having been made without right by the Transvaal Government. In these disputes, Mr. Shepstone acted as mediator, upholding Cetewayo against the Boers.

But as soon as the Transvaal had been annexed by the English, and Mr. Shepstone made Governor, Cetewayo perceived that times had changed. Since then his demeanour has been growing steadily more and more warlike, and in 1878 his attitude

PREFACE.

. XV became so threatening, that the safety of the colonies of Natal and the Transvaal was seriously threatened. This induced Sir Bartle Frere to bring matters to a head, and last year an ultimatum was sent to him, requiring that certain warlike customs should be abandoned, and that he should give certain guarantees for keeping the peace. In the meantime the boundary dispute between him and the Transvaal had been made the subject of arbitration, and an award given, which, while it gave most of the land to Cetewayo, guaranteed the rights of the private persons who had settled thereon under authority from the Boers. Cetewayo considered this not a bona-fi.de restoration of the land. Tho ultimatum of the English Government having been virtually rejected, and a delay demanded, which is well-known to be the natives' mode of refusal, an attack on the country was made by Lord Chelmsford, whose forces advanced from four points over the Tugela and Buffalo rivers. 9.

Aswasi land. — This country lies to the north of Zulu land. The Aswasis are probably as brave as the Zulus, but have not the same military discipline. They are hereditary enemies of the Zulus, and if backed by Europeans would pro bably fight against them. They assisted the Boers in their attack on Secocoeni's country, in the north of the Transvaal, and fought whilst the Dutch ran away. 10. The settlement of Lorenzo Marques (Delagoa Bay) is Portuguese. It has been from this port that the Zulus have obtained most of their arms ; and it is much to be wished that it should be acquired by the English. It will probably be the port of the future for the Transvaal. Since the war with the Zulus some English ships have gone there to stop the supply of muskets and ammunition to the Zulus. This last proceeding has greatly enraged Cetewayo. The question of Federation, and the native questions are dis cussed in the following pages. I wish merely to add to what I

PREFACE.

. XVI have said there, that I think one of the great defects in the ad ministration of native affairs, is the want of an efficient secret native police service. It happened repeatedly when I was in command that it was impossible to discover the motives and intentions of the various chiefs. Their characters could only be guessed at, and native councils of war often took place within two or three miles of our towns, within the colony, without the magistrates having the least idea of what had been said. Our secret information was derived from precarious rumours, and though the magistrates at various posts did far more in this respect than could have been expected of them, and frequently sent in admirable reports, neither means nor money were placed at their disposal sufficient to enable them to do what they might have done.

The spelling of South African names is rather a difficult matter, aud depends much on "the taste and fancy of the speller." I have adopted the spelling as I found it. To those however who wish for accuracy in this respect as well as a concise and excellent history of the Cape, I recommend Theal's ' History of South Africa,' a work printed by natives at the Lovedale Institute near Alice. The statistics above given are the best I could procure. I cannot vouch for their accuracy, as Government returns have as yet only been given for part of the colonies. The unfortunate issue of the first engagement, if compared with the battle fought between the Zulus and General Pretorius, will show the danger of arming savages with rifles. It is with the greatest pain that I have seen in the melancholy list of the killed in that action the names of many of my intimate friends and comrades.

Although South Africa is a rising colony, I hardly think it offers to the emigrant the chances which he would obtain in Australia or New Zealand. South Africa is not a very rich country, labour is hard to obtain, and it will be years before

PREFACE.

. XVII irrigation can be carried on on a sufficient scale to make acri culture a brilliant success. Nevertheless, land is so abundant, that the energetic colonist is sure at least to make a living, and provided he does not drink, has a good chance of becoming a rich man. The most valuable emigrant is the man who, having a strong bodily frame and knowing a trade, can turn his hand to anything. A blacksmith for instance, who is something of a hand at carpentering, aud on occasion can mend a lamp or a clock, or do a little simple builder's and architect's work, is sure to command an excellent position in the Transvaal, especially if he has a portable forge, some tools, and a small lathe with him. He would commence as a smith ; but in a very few years I believe he would become a landowner. The chief political questions affecting the colonies are federation, the disarmament of the natives, the formation of a force for colonial defence, and the reformation of the law.

The first three will be discussed in the following pages. The state of the law in South Africa offers a most interesting spectacle to the jurist. Ostensibly Dutch, it is really English, so that instead of consisting of a series of English statutes grafted on a Dutch root, the text-books of the famous Dutch jurists are either treated as obsolete, or else as mere ordinances ; the spirit of the law being entirely English. A short time ago the free disposition of property by will was introduced. This change is sure to come about when a foreign system of laws is for a long time administered by English judges. Unfortunately the law remains very technical, and it is greatly to be wished that Con solidation Acts should be passed resembling those which have done so much to render litigation simpler and less costly in England. CONTENTS.

Book I

— The Cape Colony. Chap. Pace I. Cape Town 1 II. Ostrich-Farming .. .. .. .. .. .. 11 III. Wine-Growing .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 20 IV. S\VELLENDAM .. .. .. .. .. .. ., 30 V. Bound for the Eastern Frontier .. .. .. .. 39 VI. Volunteer Cavalry .. .. .. .. .. .. 52 VII. Outspan — Locusts .. ..' .. .. .. .. 62 VIII. Dutch Characteristics — Sport .. .. .. .. 75 IX. Basuto land .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 82 X. Back to Port Elizabeth .. .. .. .. .. 90 XI. Federation and Colonial Defence .. .. .. 100

Book II

— Kafferaria and Natal. XII. The Komgha 108 XIH. Gangaleswe .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 119 XIV. Witchcraft .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 125 XV. Umthonthlo .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 139 XVI. Jojo — Griqualand East .. .. .. .. .. 145 XVII. Pietermaritzberg .. .. .. .. .. .. 157 XVIII. The Tugela 164

Book III

— The Diamond Fields. XIX. Griqualand West — The Diamond Fields .. .. .. 171 XX. Start for the Diamond Fields .. .. .. .. 177 XXI. The Kimberley Diamond Mine .. .. .. .. 194 XXII. Tns Lovedale Institute .. .. .. .. .. CONTENTS. XX

Book IV

— The Transvaal. Chap. Page XXIII. The Annexation of the Transvaal .. .. .. 218 XXIV. Tour to the Transvaal .. .. .. .. 238 XXV. Botse Bello 246 XXVI. Leydenburg 253 XXVII. Pilgrims' Best 260 XXVILL Start for the Beturn Journey 268 XXIX. Potchefstrom .. 274 XXX. The Transvaal Farming — Sport .. .. .. 281

Book V

— The Sixth Kafir War. XXXI. "The Frontier Scare"— War 296 XXXII. State of the Forces .. .. .. .. .. 306 XXXIII. The First Part of the War — Griffiths drives the Galekas over the Bashee .. .. .. .. .. 316 XXXIV. Stutterheim 323 XXXV. Further Spread of Disaffection — The Fight at Umzitzani .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 327 XXXVI. March of the British Troops over the Kei .. 338 XXXVII. Attack by the Kafirs upon the Mails between the Cisand the Transkei.. .. .. .. .. 343 XXXVIII. The Operations of the British Troops in the Transkei 351 XXXIX. Use of the Telegraph in the War.. .. .. 357 XL. Dismissal of the Ministry .. .. .. .. 368 XLI. The Fight at Quintana .. .. .. .. 372 MAPS. The South African Colonies .. .. .. Frontispiece. Kaffraria .. .. to face 316 Place of the Fight at Quintana .. .. .. „ MY COMMAND IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Chapter I. Cape Town

In the summer of the year 1873 I made an excursion to the north of Europe, travelling through Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, and found myself at Moscow in the month of August. Whilst at Moscow I received by telegram an intimation that it was her Majesty's intention to entrust to me the command of the forces in South Africa ; so, relinquishing the remainder of my tour, I lost no time in returning to London. At the commencement of October I sailed with my family and my personal staff in the Union Company's steamship Teuton for the Cape of Good Hope. I need not allude to the incidents of the outward voyage, as they differed little from those which have been so often told in voyages across the line. The Teuton was then a vessel of about 1500 tons, but, by the ingenuity of mechanics, she was subsequently increased by another thousand tons, introduced amidships, which in no way appeared to interfere with her speed, while it very much improved her capacity and comfort.