“‘Fat!’” exclaimed Mr Weston; “in the name of all that’s sensible, what has their growing fat got to do with their going to war?”
Captain Jamieson and his sons laughed at their friend’s astonishment, and the former replied:
“You must know, my dear Weston, that our Cape wars rarely arise from political causes, but chiefly from a desire on the part of the young men of the various tribes to distinguish themselves and earn the coveted title of ‘warrior.’ When a tribe has been some years at peace with its neighbours the number of young men increase; this they call growing ‘fat,’ or, in other words, becoming ready to take the field. Once in this condition the young men never rest until they find a pretext for going to war either with us or their neighbours.”
“And what pretext have they now?” inquired Miss Janet.
“A very simple one, my dear. Two Caffres, warriors of some standing in their tribe, were lately caught in the act of stealing an axe from a Beaufort storekeeper. They were secured, committed by the magistrate, and in due course were sent down to Graham’s Town with some other prisoners to stand their trial at the criminal court—their escort consisting of five or six civil constables. Now the highroad between Fort Beaufort and Graham’s Town runs close along the Caffre border; and before the constables had gone many miles they were suddenly attacked by a party of Gaikas, who had crossed the border with the express purpose of rescuing their fellow-tribesmen. The escort appear to have made a stout resistance, but, overcome by their weight of numbers, they were forced to beat a retreat and leave their prisoners in the hands of the victorious Gaikas. Now it so happened that the warriors who were the cause of this attack were handcuffed to two Hottentots; and their rescuers, not being able to unfasten the handcuffs, and being pressed for time, deliberately murdered these unhappy men, and, cutting off their arms at the elbow-joints, set their rascally friends at liberty.
“When the lieutenant-governor was informed of this outrage he at once sent a message to the chiefs of the offending tribe, and demanded that the two prisoners should be brought back and the murderers of the unfortunate Hottentots surrendered. But the young ‘amadodas’ of the tribe were eager for war, and, their counsels outweighing the counsels of the older men, the government message was treated with contempt.
“A ‘palaver’ was, however, subsequently arranged for; and last Wednesday the lieutenant-governor, the senior officer at Graham’s Town, and I started for the Block Drift mission station to meet the Gaika chiefs. They arrived at the appointed time, attended by a large body of warriors outnumbering the lieutenant-governor’s escort by ten to one.
“That the treacherous scoundrels meant mischief I am certain, but Captain S— who commanded the escort placed his men so judiciously that they made no attempt to attack us; and though the meeting was most unsatisfactory, at any rate it broke up without a rumpus—which was more than I expected. War, of course, is imminent; for it is absolutely necessary that the government should bring the refractory chiefs to order, otherwise our prestige will be seriously damaged throughout South Africa.”
“I suppose we shall have it all our way, Captain Jamieson?” said Tom Flinders, now a strapping young fellow of eighteen, with an incipient moustache and whiskers. “These Gaika fellows won’t make much of a stand against our troops.”
“The Gaikas and their allies are brave men, Tom, and fight well,” was the reply. “Indeed, my experience of Cape warfare is that at first the Caffres have it all their own way, though in the long run they succumb to our superior discipline and resources. Take the advice of an old campaigner, and never despise your enemies.”