FOOTNOTES:
[205] By this time, Van Rooyen and his men had got back from Zululand.
[206] In consequence of Bambata's and Sigananda's impis' raiding tactics. Many cattle were at the same time driven into Natal.
[207] Two of Gayede's sons were killed in the action at Bobe.
[208] The strength and disposition of Leuchars' forces, at 3rd May, was as follows: At Mazongwane (high up Inadi River)—U.M.R., 192; N.F.A., 37; N.M.C., 3; N.V.C., 2; N.T.C., 6. At Greytown—N.R.R., 44; N.S.C., 6; U.M.R., 7; Reserves, 81. At Krantzkop—N.R.R., 58; Reserves, 81; U.M.R., 5; N.S.C., 1. At Keate's Drift—U.M.R., 31. At Mapumulo—U.M.R., 20.
[209] These springs are in the bed of the Tugela River, some nine miles from Krantzkop.
[210] His force was composed as follows: U.M.R., 150; 1st Umvoti Reserves, 40; 2nd Umvoti Reserves, 30; Krantzkop Reserves, 50; N.F.A., two guns; N.R.R., 50; and 25 men of Sibindi's levy.
[211] Reports had been received as far back as the 19th ult. of messengers having come to Mtele from Mehlokazulu and Faku in Zululand asking him to co-operate. On his agreeing, Mehlokazulu instructed Kula through Mtele "to wait until fighting had commenced in earnest in Zululand, when he was to attack Pomeroy and then proceed against Greytown."
[212] When at Nondweni, a small party visited the spot where the Prince Imperial and others were killed during the Zulu War. The memorial cairn and graveyard, in charge of a Native headman, were found to be in good order.
[213] An account of the position and occurrences at Umsinga will be found in Chapter XV.
[214] It will be seen in Chapter XV., that a column (under Murray-Smith) was posted at Fort Murray-Smith, a couple of miles from Helpmakaar, simultaneously with the departure of the Zululand Field Force for Nkandhla from Dundee on the 1st May.
[215] Mackay was not advised, as the only means of communication, a telephone, was eighteen miles away.
[216] The sun rose, on the day in question, at about 6.45 a.m.
[217] Mackay camped at Isandhlwana on the night of the 27th. He operated at Malakata on the morning of the 28th, and at Hlazakazi at 1.30 p.m. on the same day.
[218] On Sibindi's levy getting within about three miles of the kraal of Nyoniyezwe, the minor for whom Sibindi was acting, they started to sing their ancient, tribal war-song. Up to that moment, the women had been in hiding in various places, owing to uncertainty as to whether the impi they had, two or three hours before, seen descending to the Buffalo from the direction of Mpukunyoni, was the enemy, or men of their own tribe. The sun had, in the meantime, set, and it had begun to get dark. On recognizing the old familiar song, and realizing that their men were returning triumphant, they forthwith emerged from their respective hiding-places and kraals, and, one and all, wherever, on the bush-covered mountain, they happened to be, accorded their heroes so weird and fantastic a greeting as will not quickly be forgotten by the European troops who had the privilege of hearing and witnessing it. At least sixty to seventy women, faces smeared with light-coloured clay, and carrying little hand-brooms, with leaves bound round their ankles, approached the advancing column, shrieking at the top of their voices as they ran about: "Ki, ki, ki, ki, ki, ki, ki, ki,—Kuhle kwetu!" (Oh! joy in our homes!) The oft-repeated cries were heard in all directions. Not only did this serve as a welcome to the warriors, but as an alarm to all of the tribe who were too far off to hear the famous war-song.
[XIII.]
FURTHER OPERATIONS BY ZULULAND FIELD FORCE.—ACTION AT MANZIPAMBANA.—ENEMY DECIDES TO MOVE IN FORCE TO MOME.
Hitherto McKenzie's efforts to come into conflict with the enemy had met with comparatively little success, and this in spite of the fact that the Zululand Field Force had been over three weeks on the spot. Ever since the force arrived, the men had, indeed, been kept particularly busy. Reconnaissances had been carried out time after time in Insuze valley and at Nkandhla by McKenzie, and in the neighbourhood of Macala and Qudeni by Barker, four columns had made a converging movement on Cetshwayo's grave (the enemy's headquarters), then had come Sigananda's negotiations for surrender, the reconnaissance to Macala, followed by further activity in the directions of Tate, Mome and Komo. In the course of the operations, many rebels had been come across, but as they were nearly always in small parties, it was impossible for those unacquainted with the peculiar conditions to repress feelings of disappointment with the results that had been achieved by the end of May, especially as intelligence went to show that Bambata and Company were at the head of at least 1,000 men, and that these numbers were constantly increasing. Where was this ever-vanishing impi? What was the best way of making it fight? That was the problem McKenzie was called on to solve. He had not merely to be ready to fight when it suited him to do so, but to hunt for the rebels and make them fight, however much in favour of the latter locality and time might happen to be. His difficulties were, therefore, primarily and, indeed, almost entirely of a strategical character. He, of course, knew of the rebels' perpetually shifting from one place to another on purpose to avoid a conflict, and, at the same time, of always being on the alert to take advantage of detached sections of the troops. That such were their methods had of itself required time to ascertain. The methods were novel. There was nothing of that kind during the Zulu War.[219] Sometimes the enemy would be at Nkandhla, at others at Macala. At each of these places there were dense forests and rocky hiding-places. The intervening country, moreover, was exceedingly rough, but so well known to the rebels that they could travel over it by night with the greatest ease. In these circumstances, in addition to robbing them of all food supplies to be found about Nkandhla, the O.C. came to the conclusion that the only policy was to drive the forests in as thorough and systematic a manner as possible. But to carry this out effectively with the men at his disposal was out of the question. That, at any rate, was the view of General Stephenson and other competent authorities. Hence he was compelled to adopt procedure which he felt might easily fail in actually cornering the enemy. However, in order that the best might be done, he decided to undertake and persevere with the drives. These it was necessary to carry out section by section, as it was quite impracticable, owing to their magnitude and interconnection, to attempt the whole of the forests in one day. If the enemy's strategy was to keep shifting about, the troops could at least help him to shift about a little more, and perhaps rather more than he had intended to do.
Whilst the troops, after operating at Tate gorge, were taking a much-needed rest on the 31st May, Mansel and Barker were summoned to Nomangci. Colonel McKenzie then proceeded with these and other officers to the heights above Mome valley, where the proposed drives were to begin, and explained the plans he had in mind for the following day.
On the 1st June, all the troops moved out at an early hour. When daylight appeared, Gun Hill had already been occupied by two 15-pounders, N.F.A., and two pompoms. The valley was heavily shelled and searched in every direction from above, as well as by Mansel from below, but without much result. The men then proceeded on foot with the Native levies to drive both sides and bottom of the valley in the following order: McKenzie's worked down the western slopes, whilst Mansel's ascended the ridge on the east as far as Esipongweni peak, near Sigananda's kraal, Enhlweni, and then down towards the river bed.
McKenzie's men, consisting of 400 R.H., 150 Z.M.R., 140 D.L.I., 100 N.P., and 100 Nongqai, or about 900 in all,[220] with about the same number of Native levies, moved in single file down an open ridge along the north edge of Esigqumeni forest and in the direction of the waterfall. On entering the forest, the Nongqai and levies were distributed along the line of troops. When the head of the column had got within a few yards of the Mome stream, "files right" was given, which brought the troops into line formation facing down the stream and towards the stronghold. The shelling from Gun Hill began when the head of the column was about half-way down, and continued until it had reached the Mome. Mansel's guns shelled the same forests from the mouth of the valley. Many of the shells burst over the troops, whilst others did so at the proper place. The column halted whilst Eziwojeni forest was being shelled. During the shelling, which lasted nearly an hour, one of R.H. was grazed across the forehead by one of the bullets of a shrapnel shell, whilst one of the levies was struck by a shell on the leg and seriously wounded. The troops remained in line formation until the right flank was in position.
Whilst waiting for the order to advance, one of General Stephenson's staff officers (who was with one or two others), when in the act of taking a photograph, was fired at by a rebel at a distance of about twenty yards. The charge, evidently one of slugs, luckily struck no one. One of the officers immediately fired three times with his revolver in the direction the shot had come from. This caused a little confusion, as some of the men, believing the enemy to be near, also began firing ahead. Just before resuming the advance, three volleys were fired in the direction to be traversed in order to clear the way. The left flank kept as close to the Mome as possible. Progress was slow on account of the abnormally steep and difficult nature of the ground.
Just above the thick forest at the bottom of the waterfall, orders were given to the troops in the higher portions of the forest to wheel gradually to the left and in the direction of the forest below, it being at the time thought that a number of rebels had gathered there to make a stand. In consequence of this, a section on the extreme left flank lost touch, but continued to move downwards. A number of other men in different parts of the line also temporarily lost touch.
In the meantime, on the opposite or eastern side of the valley, the T.M.R. had gradually worked their way up and co-operated generally in accordance with the plan. "A troop (T.M.R.), in the advance, occupied a kopje and sent ten of the men up the ridge to round up cattle, which they succeeded in doing. In retiring, a sniper on their left flank, concealed in the bush, shot Tpr. Steyn, who some days afterwards died from the effects of the wound. Three of his comrades immediately went to his assistance and carried him along, whilst two men went in advance and the remaining four protected the rear. The retirement was conducted with coolness and precision, and both General Stephenson and Colonel McKenzie, who witnessed the movement from Gun Hill, openly expressed their approval of the men's conduct."[221] After the forests in the immediate vicinity of the waterfall had been driven, the troops withdrew.
As a result of the operations, a considerable number of women and children emerged from the forest. They carried white flags. They were directed to a place of safety during the operations and subsequently returned to the bush. Much pains was taken, without success, to discover Sigananda's whereabouts. Only three rebels were killed; twenty-four surrendered to the troops. Traces of recent extensive occupation were, however, found. Information received at the time went to show that the enemy had vacated the gorge on the preceding day. About 300 cattle and many goats were captured. Sigananda's Enhlweni kraal was destroyed. Two men (including Steyn) of the T.M.R. were wounded by snipers.
Mpikwa, one of Sigananda's principal indunas, surrendered at the magistracy during the day with seventy-six men of the same tribe. Among these was a brother of Sigananda. All declared they were opposed to their Chief's conduct and, had, therefore, refrained from participating in the Rebellion.
On the 2nd June, McKenzie moved his camp to the east and further up the Mome stream, with the object of making an extensive drive to the east through the heart of the Nkandhla forests (Dukuza), as well as over Bomvana ridge where large numbers of cattle had been repeatedly seen and in which direction Sigananda's impi was then said to be. The Z.M.R. and N.C. were left to occupy the camp until dark when, with their fires alight, they were to withdraw, so as to lead the enemy to suppose the locality was still being occupied. A 15-pounder and a pompom, moreover, supported by the Z.M.R., continued to shell the upper portions of Mome gorge until dusk, with the view of keeping the enemy from entering the bush that had been driven that day.
Since McKenzie's departure from Insuze valley on the 23rd May, Mansel's column, when not actually engaged in a combined movement with that of McKenzie, had operated within a radius of five or six miles of the grave and succeeded in capturing considerable quantities of cattle, goats, etc., besides doing other useful work.
Colonel Woolls-Sampson at this stage received orders to proceed to Pietermaritzburg to confer with the Acting Commandant (Major-General Sir John Dartnell, K.C.B.)[222] and the Government. Major C.N.H. Rodwell, N.C., now assumed the duties of Chief Staff Officer, with the local rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
McKenzie left with his forces at 7 a.m. on the 3rd June, with the object of making an extensive drive in an easterly direction. Mansel, with N.P. and T.M.R., proceeded from his camp to the vicinity of Komo Hill. The guns and pompoms took up positions covering the general advance of the former column. Colonel McKenzie, accompanied by General Stephenson and his bodyguard of N.C., moved round open ground on the north to a position some three miles in a direct line from Bomvana ridge. The Z.M.R. occupied a kopje about one mile west of where it was proposed the drive should cease. Here they were subsequently joined by the O.C. Troops and General Stephenson, N.C. being strengthened by a troop temporarily detached from the Z.M.R.
R.H., D.L.I., and N.D.M.R., together with the Native levies, after crossing the head of the Mome valley, lined up along the edge of the bush, where instructions were given to the officers to drive the bush in line, with one European to every three levies, thus 1 *** 1 *** 1 *** 1. The objective pointed out was a knoll, which could be seen over the bush and beside the Nkandhla-Eshowe road. The N.D.M.R. took the left, D.L.I. the centre, and R.H. the right. As regards R.H., A and D squadrons were on the left, C in the centre, E and B on the right. Royston himself was on the right.
The idea was that, on the march through the bush, R.H. were to join forces with Mansel's men, who would move on the right from Cetshwayo's grave, whilst the left of the line was protected by McKenzie and the men posted near him on the open tops of the overlooking ridges.
After proceeding through the forest for about two miles over extremely broken country, the centre of the R.H. section of the line found that the spruit Royston had directed the right of the line to rest on was joined by another flowing down from the left front.
On C squadron, in command of Capt. E.G. Clerk, reaching the spruit referred to, a number of tracks of Natives were observed, so fresh as to appear to have been caused but a few minutes before. Following these, the men, still in fair line, came in contact with a party of thirty to forty rebels. A number of these were killed as they endeavoured to escape. Shortly after, it was discovered that touch had been completely lost with the two squadrons on the left, and that Royston with B and E had swung away more to the right and were at that time on the far side of a very high and narrow kopje. Four rebels were chased by men of C up this hill and would have escaped altogether had not the attention of men on the hill been attracted. The latter moved along the crest and shot the fugitives. Corporal Alexander, C squadron, killed later in the day, did some very accurate shooting at some Natives who were, as they thought, securely hidden on their side of the same kopje, sniping at members of C squadron in the valley below. These were shot by him at a range of about 500 yards.
After what remained of C had moved on, six amadhlangala (war-huts) beside the spruit were destroyed. Here a quantity of goods looted from Davis's waggon on the 29th May was found. About a mile and a half further on, the men emerged, about 1.30 p.m., on to an open ridge, where some forty-five men of the squadrons on C's right, together with some Native levies, were come upon. Here Clerk found instructions had just come from Colonel McKenzie through Colonel W.S. Shepstone to move on, as Royston, with the remainder of the right wing, was said to be in advance on the right. There was, however, ground for doubting the intelligence, as firing could be faintly heard away on the right and slightly to the rear. At this time, it was not known to C where the R.H. squadrons on the left, much less the D.L.I. and the N.D.M.R., had got to. After a few minutes' halt, Clerk gave the word to move forward. London, supported by Lieuts. Fryer and Midgley and others of R.H. were put on the right, with the main body of levies, whilst Clerk, supported by Lieut. Stewart and Sergt.-Major Webber, took the extreme left. Lieut. Shepstone, who was with a portion of the levies and some of R.H. on the left, soon completely detached himself. Many Native footprints were seen; indeed, there was every sign of a large body of the enemy being close in advance. Six cattle that were come upon was a further indication. "I passed the word down the line," says Clerk,[223] "to keep a sharp look-out, explaining that I knew we were close on the enemy. At this time, a number of the levies had moved from their proper position and were bunched up near me, close on my right. The nearest European was Corpl. Alexander, about ten yards off on my right. Hawkins was next to him, then Holmes, Flynn, Corpl. Woolnough (A squad), Act.-Sergt. Fraser, Harding, Wilkinson, Bouck, Nesbit and others. After passing the word of warning, we moved about 200 yards and had just crossed a small donga, when I thought I noticed something move on my left. On searching the bush, we failed to find anybody, though we noticed that the Natives' tracks were very numerous and fresh. We moved forward till the left was about twenty yards across the donga, the right not having yet crossed it, when a Native stepped out of a thick bush, between forty to fifty paces away on our left front. He was armed with, I think, a breech-loader. He fired the charge, striking close to the third man's feet (Hawkins). This appeared to be the signal, as immediately on the report, the forest on our left and left front seemed to be alive with the enemy. It looked like an overturned hive more than anything else. They must have been lying down till the shot was fired. They yelled 'Usutu!' and something like 'Zuzu!' and charged at us, one horn swinging round on our left and the other towards our right and breaking. I turned to call to the men, only to find that the Native levies were running for their lives, not directly back the way we had come, but down the line, straight down to our right. This served to break our line a lot and create a gap between the 7th and 8th men. Seeing that there was no chance of making a stand where we were, I shouted to the men to move back and rally in the donga lower down. Knowing that unless the centre were checked in some way, the enemy would cut us up before we could get back to the donga, I emptied my carbine (magazine) into the main lot at about twenty yards distance and about seventy from where I was afterwards lying. This served to check them for a minute or two and I took advantage of it to run after the men. While doing so, I slipped another cartridge into the breech of my carbine and had just succeeded in doing so, when I ran into another lot of the enemy who had charged between the donga and myself (i.e. between where I first fired on the enemy and the position at which we rallied), as if to partly surround the party in the donga. I thereupon fired five shots at them with my revolver as I ran towards my men. The enemy broke, and left, as I thought, a clear line to the donga, where I could hear Fraser's voice calling out, 'Here we are, Sir!' Just then a Native rose from the low bush in front of me, i.e. between me and where I heard Fraser's voice. He had a stabbing-assegai and some sort of weapon—it seemed like an old muzzle-loading gun. He raised the assegai, but as he did so, I snapped at him the last shot in my revolver and he fell. As he fell, another Native appeared suddenly on my left—I think he had been behind a small tree. He was within stabbing distance before I noticed him, my attention having been engaged with the other man. I had no time to aim my carbine, merely being able to swing it up and parry his thrust. I narrowly escaped being wounded, for the assegai just grazed the right eyelid (I thought my eye was out, as the blood flowed over my cheek and almost blinded me). Catching my foot in something I fell, but the slope of the ground being very steep, I succeeded in throwing myself right over. I turned over purposely and, in so doing, again faced my adversary. Swinging my carbine forward, I pulled the trigger, not, however, with the ordinary finger, for which there was no time, but with my little finger which happened to be in position at that instant. The shot struck the man in the chest and he fell forward past me on my left about seven yards from the east edge of the donga. I remarked that this man had bound round his forehead a broad band of Turkey-red, as well as a stiff peak of red over the centre of the forehead.[224] The first of the other two had a narrow strip of red cloth round his forehead. I also noticed that a great number of the remainder of the enemy had Turkey-red round their heads. Recovering my footing, I ran down and leaped into the donga, where I found Fraser, Woolnough, Alexander, Holmes, Flynn and Hawkins. The rebels seemed to surround us immediately and I had succeeded in firing only about two shots when Alexander staggered forward crying out, 'Oh, my God, pull this out, pull this out!' referring to an assegai which had been driven into the middle of his back. Someone pulled the assegai out and he sank down and died immediately. This assegai had been thrown from a distance of about ten yards up the donga by one of the enemy who was there. Almost immediately afterwards, Hawkins staggered forward and sank against the east bank just on my right, with two assegais in his back. He remained in a crouching position and, from the peculiar sound, I knew his lung had been injured. Once he cried to someone to shoot him and put him out of his misery. Just as he fell, I felt a shock through my left upper arm, which caused my hand to lose its power; owing to this, I dropped my carbine. Stooping quickly to pick it up, I found that my left hand was useless and that I could not grasp anything. The little finger only retained its normal power. I seated myself on a root which was jutting slightly out of the bank and, raising the carbine with my right hand, succeeded in loading it by gripping it between my knees. I then fired it by lifting it with the right hand and pulling the trigger with the little finger of my left. I continued doing this until loss of blood compelled me to abandon the carbine in favour of my revolver, which I had to load in the same way, i.e. between my knees.
"Shortly after I was wounded, I heard Holmes say, 'Ah! I've got it!'; he went on to explain that a bullet had gone through his thigh. He, however, continued firing, merely relieving himself by leaning against a tree which grew from the bank of the donga. Woolnough had already been wounded in the ankle, and was lying close by the bank on the eastern side of the donga. Flynn had blood streaming from wounds on the face, but Fraser, though in a very exposed position (with a white shirt on), suffered no injury whatever. All this time we were crying: 'Rally here, Royston's,' thinking it possible that the men further down the donga might succeed in forcing their way to us, or that Colonel Royston might be within hearing and come to our assistance. I also shouted out, 'Give it to them, boys!' intending that the enemy should hear, as I supposed a few of them might know English. I knew that the men lower down were busily engaged from the firing I could hear, and occasionally I could hear Sergt.-Major Webber's voice encouraging our men.
"The Natives had made two charges when, as I was aiming at one up the donga, about twenty yards off, a thrown assegai penetrated my right forearm.
"We were by this time getting very weak from loss of blood, and, as our fighting strength was four only, viz. Fraser, Holmes, Flynn and myself, things were looking very serious. I personally felt very weak but, after drinking some water from Flynn's water-bottle, I revived in time to assist in repelling the third charge. We succeeded in driving them back again, but I knew that unless help arrived soon, we would be overcome and, speaking to Fraser and Flynn, said if they succeeded in getting out to tell the Colonel that we had left our mark on the enemy. A minute or so later, Holmes said, 'Look out, they're preparing to rush again.' I, at that moment, was loading my revolver with the last six cartridges I had. I succeeded in getting five in, but dropped the sixth. I fired two shots at some Natives in the donga, twenty to thirty yards up. Holmes fired at them at the same time. They both dropped, I am certain Holmes killed one, but am not sure of the other. At this moment, shouting and shooting attracted our attention, and to our relief we saw other members of the regiment coming to our assistance, amongst the first being Lieuts. Male, Jones, and Oswald, then Colonel Royston a second or two later, he having stopped to bandage levy-leader W.H.E. Hopkins, who had been shot on the side of the head when running by the side of Colonel Royston in advance of the relieving party."
MANZIPAMBANA
Action at its height
The foregoing account is necessarily confined to what took place in Clerk's immediate vicinity. The following particulars, taken from others who were engaged, are intended to supplement Clerk's graphic narrative.
The action occurred at the bottom of a large valley, which lies wholly within Dukuza forest, and through which flows the Manzipambana stream. There are remarkably few stones about, except in the donga or water-course, which runs almost due north and south. The gully in question is but 130 yards long; it slopes steeply on the east, and is 12 to 14 ft. wide and about 6 ft. deep where Clerk lay. The forest is not very dense at this particular spot, one being able to see fifty yards all round. The enemy, about 300 strong—all exceptionally well-built men—was congregated in one spot. Although he must have been within twenty yards, the late Alexander, when sent forward to the left by Clerk to reconnoitre, did not see the impi, no doubt because lying flat on the ground in accordance with custom, and behind trees and other cover. Although frequent efforts were made by the rebels to charge one or other of the three groups of R.H. in that vicinity, not one was pressed home, due no doubt to the accuracy of the shooting, and to the fact that the 'horns' failed to get round at the lower end owing to the length of the line. Each of these groups was engaged, though at longer ranges than Clerk's group had to fire at. More than once the highest and the lowest groups fired at one another when masked by the rebels. Where Clerk was, the fighting was almost hand to hand. Many assegais were thrown and shots fired by the rebels. The engagement did not last more than fifteen to eighteen minutes.
It is difficult to determine how many of the enemy were killed; the number was at first given as fifty-three, but probably some of these were merely wounded and got away. In view of the duration of the action, and of its having taken place at short range, with at least twenty-four rifles, the killed were probably not less than thirty-five. The having of about nine head of cattle with them is noteworthy as evidence of an intention on the part of the rebels to decoy by offering a bait. As soon as the action commenced, the cattle were driven ahead, as if to confuse or afford cover. A device of this sort, it will be remembered, was adopted when the rebels made their first charge at Mpukunyoni. The enemy was in possession of anything from a dozen to three dozen guns of different kinds, but his shooting was distinctly poor; more casualties, however, were attributable to gun-fire, such as it was, in this action than in any other of the campaign.
The conduct of the levies in deserting en bloc at so critical a moment is a lesson to be carefully borne in mind in the future. At the same time, it is fair to point out that they were not being led by anyone well-known to them, or familiar with their language; there were not more than fifty, and these were separated from the rest of their party. In this connection, it was unfortunate that the levy-leader attached to that part of the line was not at hand to give such moral support as he could. The fact that one or more of the enemy wore Turkey-red, thereby becoming undistinguishable from the levies, may be due to such or similar material having been among the goods in the waggon looted by the rebels a few days before.
It was most providential that Royston was within reach. Had he not come when he did, the party must have been annihilated. When the relieving party heard their comrades' shouts, they set out as fast as they could down a steep incline nearly a mile away from the scene of the action. Royston was accompanied by Hopkins, Oswald, Male and others. Hopkins, struck by a bullet on the side of the head, fell, rose, plunged forward again down the hill, only to fall again, when he was assisted by Royston. The enemy was found on all sides, especially east of the donga, but, on seeing reinforcements arrive, showed no disposition to fight, especially after Major A.W. Fraser, with his officers, n.c.o.'s and men had deployed on the east. The wounded were attended on the spot by the rescuers and, a few minutes later, by Capt. Austin Robinson, N.M.C., who was most assiduous in the discharge of his duties under difficult conditions.
There were four killed, viz. Corpl. E. Alexander and Tprs. J.L. Bouck, Harding and S.J. Robertson; eleven were wounded: Capt. E.G. Clerk, Lieuts. P. Male and Oswald, Corpl. Woolnough, and Tprs. J. Hawkins, F. Flynn, W.C. Holmes, W.H.E. Hopkins, D.C. Swart, J. Mann and H.D.M. Barnett. Of the latter, Clerk, Hawkins, Holmes, Hopkins and Swart were wounded severely. Hawkins succumbed to his injuries the same evening.
"All the units engaged inflicted severe losses on the enemy during the day's operations, and over 150 were killed, ten of them by Colonel Mansel's force. Over two hundred head of cattle were captured. It was again a very hard day for the troops, who had to work dismounted over exceedingly difficult country."[225]
Colonel McKenzie moved his column through the forest on the following day (4th June) along the road (Nkandhla to Eshowe), to join Mansel's force near Bobe ridge. The combined force thereupon drove through the forest on the eastern side of the road, making towards Sibuda peak. N.N.C., T.M.R. and Natives were on the left of the line; D.L.I, and Nongqai in the centre; and N.C., Z.M.R. and R.H. on the right. The N.D.M.R. occupied high ground near the objective towards which the troops were working. Owing to no rebels being found in the vast area traversed, it seemed that the enemy had moved back to the western or Mome side of the forests. With the forces at his disposal, it was quite impossible for McKenzie to prevent such breaking back. His idea, under the circumstances, was to harass the enemy as much as possible, by constantly driving him from one position to another.
It was on this day that the Natal Rangers (seven companies, with Maxims and signallers), under Lieut.-Col. J. Dick, D.L.I., arrived at Nomangci camp. Their arrival was most opportune. They soon proved to be a valuable addition to the forces.
A detachment of 85 N.N.H. (under Major G. Moe, U.M.R.), also came in on the 4th, with a number of remounts. Many of the corps had seen service during the Zulu War and on other occasions. Their enrolment was, therefore, wise, not only from a political, but also from a military point of view.[226]
On the 5th, the men, including those of Mansel's column, thoroughly exhausted by the heavy climbing and driving, were given a complete rest.
Leaving sufficient troops to take charge of the camp, McKenzie proceeded, on the following day, to drive that portion of the forests which slopes away downwards from the waggon road in the direction of Insuze and Manzipambana rivers. The line of drivers, which included N.R. and N.N.H., swept along both sides of the Manzipambana, and through what is acknowledged by Native residents to be the densest and least frequented portion of the forest. The N.N.C., T.M.R., N.P. and Nongqai, under Barker, co-operated effectively on the south. Only ten rebels were shot, as but few of the enemy were come upon during the operations. These again covered an enormous and particularly rugged area.[227] Intelligence at this time went to show that the enemy was gradually quitting Nkandhla for Macala and the Qudeni forests, as a result of the frequent and thorough-going driving being done by the troops.
"The force bivouacked for the night at the Nkunzana stream," says McKenzie. "The next morning (7th June), I moved up the Bobe ridge, and having received information that Sigananda was in the bush facing the south of the road from Bobe ridge to the Isibuda (Esibudeni) hill, I made a drive through that section of the forest and also shelled the bush, the guns having come out of camp to join me. Unfortunately some pompom shells struck very close to the squadron of the Natal Carbineers, but, fortunately, no one was hit. No trace of Sigananda could be found. Twenty rebels were killed. A large number of cattle were taken and stores of grain destroyed."
After an exceedingly trying day, McKenzie withdrew for the night to Nomangci (the infantry being assisted by ox-waggons sent from camp to meet them), whilst Barker returned to his camp near the grave.
It became necessary to give the troops another rest on the 8th. Many of the men had, by this time, completely worn out their boots and clothing, in consequence of the rough work in the forests.
As the forests now appeared to be clear of rebels, in so far, at any rate, as large parties of them were concerned, McKenzie began to work out plans for a combined move of all the columns, including those of Leuchars and Mackay, to Qudeni, where the enemy was reported to have mustered in considerable strength.
Heliographic communication was established with Mackay at Madhlozi mountain. During the day (9th), small drives of bushes took place in the neighbourhood of the camp, unattended, however, with any success.
At night, however, intelligence of such vital importance was received as to enable McKenzie, not only to come face to face with his long-sought-for enemy, but, by taking advantage of the opportunity to the maximum, to deal him a crushing blow, so decisive, indeed, as to bring the Rebellion in Zululand to an abrupt end, much to the relief of the Colony and not least of the troops themselves.
Reference has already been made to the local intelligence staff, Lieut. Hedges and Sergts. Calverley and Titlestad. These officers, all of the Z.M.R., and intimately acquainted with Zululand, had, for some days past, been endeavouring to locate Sigananda. This was done with the assistance of Mandisindaba, a man who had for long been known to Calverley. He had been induced by the latter to surrender with his family a few days previously. This was allowed by McKenzie to take place on condition that he went to the Mome and ascertained Sigananda's whereabouts as precisely as possible. Accompanied by two or three Native scouts and two rebel spies—the latter disguised as messengers from Dinuzulu—Mandisindaba proceeded to the gorge. Whilst walking through a forest, the party accidentally met a member of Sigananda's tribe who, it so happened, was also in search of Sigananda. On being informed that two of the party were messengers from "the Prince" and were carrying a message which they had been directed to deliver to the Chief, the man referred to announced that he had been sent by Bambata and Mehlokazulu, then bivouacked at Kombe forest (fifteen miles west of Mome), to inform Sigananda that they would leave there with the whole of their forces (including many of Sigananda's tribe)—some twenty-three companies in all—that very evening, and, travelling viâ Macala, camp near the junction of the Mome and Insuze, with the object of entering the Nkandhla forests.
Whilst endeavouring to locate the Chief, the party separated themselves from Bambata's messenger. The former presently succeeded in obtaining information as to Sigananda's approximate whereabouts, when they immediately withdrew to carry back their extremely important intelligence. This was received at an appointed rendezvous, and at once, i.e. at 9.30 p.m., conveyed to Colonel McKenzie.
After considering the matter, McKenzie concluded that, although the rebels might reach Mome during the night, they would probably not enter the forests until daylight. He accordingly decided to try and prevent their entry, a decision which, having regard to the lateness of the hour and the great difficulties to be overcome, called for that swiftness and directness of action which are so characteristic of the man.
Whilst plans and arrangements were being made for the move, a message was received from the Magistrate at Empandhleni, confirming in all essentials the intelligence that had already been brought in.
This corroborative information had also been obtained by Native scouts—two very plucky men, one of them called Bayekana, who had themselves seen Bambata and Mehlokazulu's impi in the Kombe forest, and further ascertained from people in the vicinity that the intention was to move to the Mome the same night. This intelligence was at once transmitted by special runners over a distance of twenty-five miles to the Magistrate, who, again, was six miles from Nomangci.
Presuming that the rebels would move down the Insuze valley, that being their easiest route, it became necessary to place the responsibility of preventing the entry primarily on the column already in the vicinity of the grave. This column, in the absence of Mansel on duty in Pietermaritzburg, was then under the command of Lieut.-Col. W.F. Barker, D.S.O.[228]
The instructions issued at 10.30 p.m. by McKenzie to Barker, being important, are given in extenso:
"From O.C. Troops to Colonel Barker.
"On receipt of this despatch, you will please move at once, with all available men (leaving sufficient for the defence of your camp), to the mouth of the Mome valley. I have information that an impi is coming down from Qudeni to enter the Mome valley between this and to-morrow morning. Please try and way-lay this impi and prevent them from entering the Mome, and at daylight block the mouth of the Mome at once. It is anticipated that they will not enter the Mome till daylight.
"I have reliable information as to almost the exact spot Sigananda is in and I am moving from here to surround him. He is supposed to be just below the Mome stronghold, a little lower down than where we burnt his kraal. I will cut off this portion at daylight and drive down towards you, so please do all you can to prevent his escape, and to co-operate with me generally.
"At daylight, please send the Zululand Police and Native levies up to Sigananda's kraal, which you burnt the day we attacked the stronghold, where they will join my forces. You must take your gun[229] and Maxims in case you meet the impi, which is reported to be of strength.
"Look out for my signals."