“H. Somerset, Colonel,
“Commanding Field-Forces.
“To the Civil Commander of Albany,
“Graham’s Town.”
From McLuckie’s, Colonel Somerset proceeded, with a force of about sixty men, on the morning of the 5th of May, to the mouth of the Kowie, to render assistance to Mr Cock, an individual to whom the commercial interests of the Colony are much indebted for his success in opening the mouth of that river. Here, a large drove of cattle were discovered in the hands of the enemy as the detachment approached, and only one hundred and twenty head could be recaptured, as the Kaffirs took shelter in the bush, with but slight loss to themselves. On reaching the dwelling-house overlooking the river, it was ascertained that from four to five hundred Kaffirs, mostly armed with firelocks, had rushed upon the cattle as they were going to water, drove off the guard, and captured the herd. The little garrison kept up a spirited fire on the enemy, a small cannon on the building being well served, and doing good execution.
The following morning, another engagement took place near McLuckie’s, the troops following the Kaffirs into a Kloof where they had taken shelter. Here the enemy made a desperate stand, as they will do when driven to fight for their lives, and it was not until a field-piece was brought to play upon the position, that they were completely routed. The Kaffirs dragged off many of their dead and wounded, it being invariably their object to conceal the loss they sustain, but it is supposed that nearly fifty were killed; while on our side four men were wounded, three dangerously. In this encounter, some of these savages concealed themselves in wolf-holes, firing from their hiding-places.
Colonel Somerset’s next care was to secure all the oat-hay he could, amounting to 500,000 lbs. In the meantime, two large bodies of the enemy were in the immediate front of the troops, whose ammunition was running short. This, however, was speedily and safely conveyed to them.
It must not be forgotten, that where the troops could not render assistance to the farmers, the latter in many instances defended their homesteads with a gallantry equal to those mentioned by Colonel Somerset. Frequently, a mere handful of white men followed the enemy into the most frightful kloofs and passes, rescuing the cattle and cutting off the retreat of the savages across the drifts, or through the tangled bush, while their homes, containing their terrified families, were left to the protection of two or three individuals, the women assisting them in loading muskets, some bearing a brace of pistols at their sides, ready to use them if necessary, and mere boys playing their part right well, through the loop-holes, on any stray Kaffirs approaching the cattle-kraals.
Meanwhile the outposts, commanding the drifts leading from the colony into Kaffirland, were so weakly manned, from the want of a sufficient military force on the frontier (Note 4), that the Kaffirs passed beyond the range of the guns, but clearly in sight, driving flocks of sheep and cattle in thousands before them. At Block Drift, they brought their plunder to a sunny slope, and shouted in derision their usual cry of “Izapa!” “Come on!” They exchanged shots with the fort, and drove off a number of “slaughter cattle.” Had Major Campbell (of the 91st) permitted a sufficient number of men to leave the defences for the purpose of re-capturing the animals, there would have been a grand rush from the reserve of the enemy, who were concealed in the neighbouring kloofs and villages.
Almost all the outposts were similarly assailed, and all were well defended by the military. A general order was issued, in which Lieutenants Cole, Dixon, Metcalf, and Mill, and Ensign Thom, 91st Regiment, and Lieutenant Bourchier, R.E., were commended for the able stand they had made against the enemy.