February was a month of suspense. Cetywayo had an opportunity of which he did not avail himself, but was contented with reorganizing and reanointing his armies. Colonel Pearson remained at Ekowe; forts were placed on the Tugela river; mounted forces were distributed along the border from Fort Pearson to Thring's Post. There was, in addition, a border guard of white officers and natives, about 1500 strong. "Stanger"—fifteen miles on the Natal side—as well as D'Urban, Maritzburg, and every town of the least consequence, was fortified, and then volunteer and citizen soldiers prepared themselves for any emergency. The High Commissioner, Sir Bartle Frere, who had proceeded to Natal on the outbreak of hostilities, still remained at Pietermaritzburg, and was there in the best possible position for giving that advice and assistance so necessary in the serious emergencies in which a British colony and a British general were placed. Unfortunately, many of the people of Dutch extraction in the Transvaal seemed to take the opportunity for loudly protesting against the annexation of that territory to the Crown, then recently effected by Sir Theophilus Shepstone. A people's committee was appointed, and a firm determination expressed to regain that republican liberty of which they believed they had been unjustly deprived. One of the most satisfactory events of this month was the evident desire of the king's brother, Oham, to be regarded as our friend. His country lay in the north-west of Zululand, and at an interview held with Colonel Wood, conditions of surrender were arranged. Early in March he came in with more than 600 people.
Under the orders and with the connivance of Cetywayo, the chiefs Umbellini and Manyanyoba perpetrated the most horrid cruelties. Atrocious outrages had been committed long previously, but the Transvaal republican authorities had not apparently considered it expedient to report them fully. The little town of Luneberg was undoubtedly saved by a company of troops sent there by Colonel Wood. This officer had it in his power, when passing through Manyanyoba's country, to crush him and his warriors, but accepted in good faith the statement of that chief, professing a desire to come under the British Government. In spite of this, on the 10th of February, a Zulu war party, led by Umbellini, crossed the Pongolo, and was joined on the north by a strong force of Manyanyoba's people, led by Manyanyoba himself.[27] The combined force consisted of 1500 men. At half-past 3 a.m. of the 11th February, they reached the mission station of the Rev. Mr. Wagner, only four miles from Luneberg, and then commenced a scene of most atrocious murder. Men, women, and children were massacred. The houses of the Christian natives were given to the flames, and no fewer than seven children were burnt alive. From Wagner's they went to Nomapela's kraal, where they killed two men, eleven women, and fifteen children. Thence they proceeded to Luhlanya's kraal, where they murdered one man, two women, and two children. But it is unnecessary to prolong the narrative; suffice it to say that they went through the country with fire and sword, sparing neither age nor sex, and plundering wherever they had an opportunity. Bodies of women and children were found frightfully mutilated, and at Mr. Wagner's house a woman was found still alive, who bore thirty-seven assegai wounds on her body.
Life at Helpmakaar.
The movements of the main Zulu army were mysterious. One day scouts arrived with the information that the enemy was in force between the Tugela and Ekowe; another day information was received that there was an army beyond the later place. The plan adopted on our side was simply to entrench and wait. A dull, monotonous round of garrison duty had to be performed at a number of posts, while the danger was so great and imminent as to turn every citizen into a soldier, and every town into a barrack. As a specimen of life at a fort, we quote from a correspondent who writes in February from "Helpmakaar:" "Here we are, foot artillery, police, and contingent, about 500 strong, living in tents during the day and going into the fort at night. With the exception of a stink of rotten mealies and the rain continually swelling through and through, the fort is not so bad, being so strong and well built that the men here now could hold it against the whole of the Zulu army. It is not healthy. Hospital leaks. What with guards, vedettes, etc., the duties are very heavy." What was said at Helpmakaar might have been said with very little variation at every other fort. The most active operations were carried on from Colonel Wood's column, whose head-quarters were entrenched at Kambula. Among its brilliant exploits was the capture, on the 20th February, of the almost inaccessible Makkatees mountain. One of the captured natives said that our troops had not come a day too soon, as Cetywayo had promised to send reinforcements.
Arrival of reinforcements.
The first ship to arrive with reinforcements was H.M.S. Shah, which anchored at Port Natal on Thursday, the 6th of March. The troops available by her were 392 men of the Naval Brigade and 200 men from the St. Helena garrison.[28] Baker and Lonsdale's Light Horse, as well as other irregulars, were recruited in the Cape Colony, and sent on by degrees. The first steamer from England to arrive with reinforcements was the Pretoria, of the Union Royal Mail Steam Shipping Company's fleet. She made the run to Natal in less than twenty-four days, and had on board 34 officers, 7 staff officers, and 890 men of the 71st Highlanders. The British soldiers were received in Natal with the utmost enthusiasm, as saviours of the country. Each ship and each regiment was eagerly looked for and gladly welcomed. Previous to the Pretoria, the 57th Regiment had arrived from Ceylon in H.M. troopship Tamar. The Secretary of War telegraphed, on the 13th of February, to Lord Chelmsford that the following reinforcements had been placed under immediate orders for Natal:—Two regiments of cavalry, each 648 men and 480 horses; two field batteries of artillery, 336 men and 220 horses; one field company of Engineers; five regiments of infantry from home, each 806 men; 57th Regiment from Ceylon; three companies Army Reserve Corps, 140 men, 380 horses; Army Hospital Corps, 140; drafts for the 57th, the 24th, and Royal Artillery. The steamers employed to bring out these troops were—
| Line. | Troops conveyed. | |
| The Pretoria | Union S.S. Co. | 91st Highlanders |
| Danube | Ditto | 200 men 60th Rifles |
| Dublin Castle | D. Currie & Co. | 3rd Battalion, Rifle Brigade |
| England | National S.S. Co. | 17th Lancers and horses |
| France | Ditto | Ditto |
| Egypt | Ditto | 1st Dragoon Guards and horses |
| Spain | Ditto | Ditto |
| Loando | British and African S.S. Co. | Military stores and field telegraph |
| Russia | Cunard Line | 58th Regiment |
| China | Ditto | 94th Regiment |
| Olympus | Ditto | Royal Artillery |
| Palmyra | Ditto | Royal Engineers |
| Manora | McNeil Denny | M Battery, 6th Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery |
| City of Paris[29] | Inman Company | 21st Regiment |
| City of Venice | Smith & Sons | Army Service and Hospital Corps |
| Clyde | Temperley's | Drafts of 24th Regiment. Wrecked off Cape Coast, brought in by Tamar. |
| Queen Margaret | Queen Line | Army Service Corps and horses |
| Andean | East India and Pacific | Reserve ammunition column |
Staff of the Troops.
| Major-General Marshall; | 1 brigade major; | 1 A.D.C. |
| Major-General Crealock. | Ditto | |
| Major-General Newdigate. | Ditto |