On the 8th of April, Captain Murray, at the head of his company, gallantly climbed the cliff, although the Kaffirs, not content with the usual weapons, hurled down masses of rock on the attacking party. At length, however, the savage warriors fled, leaving a large number of killed on the ground, but not until Captain Murray and four of his men had been severely wounded by the assegais.[431] The result of this affair was the capture of 4000 head of cattle, the only loss on the British side being 1 sergeant of the Provincial Battalion, who was shot by a Hottentot deserter while driving the cattle out of the bush.
The patrol returned to the camp at night, and the Commander-in-Chief, in a General Order, thanked all the officers and troops employed in the affair. The conclusion of the General Order is in the following gratifying terms:—“The intrepid and determined perseverance of Captain Murray, who, though severely wounded, continued his exertions to the end of the day, with his company of the 72nd, was of the highest order, and deserves the especial thanks of the Commander-in-Chief.”
On the evening of the 8th of April all the troops were assembled at their respective points of attack, and prepared for a concentrating movement on the mountains in which the Keiskamma, Kaboosie, and Buffalo take their rise. Sir Benjamin D’Urban, with the second division and the mounted part of the first, was at the Posts of the Buffalo; Major Cox and the third division, at the head of the Keiskamma Hoek; Van Wyk, with the fourth, was on the plains to the northward; while Colonel Peddie, leaving the camp at midnight with four companies of the regiment and the First Provincial Battalion, ascended the Iseli-Berg; and having, early on the morning of the 9th, divided his forces into two columns, he penetrated the fastnesses of the Isidingi or Mount Kempt. The Kaffirs, now perceiving that they were attacked at every point, fled in the utmost dismay, and several thousand head of cattle became the reward of this movement; while on our side we had only to lament the loss of 1 man killed and 4 wounded, among whom was Field-Commander Van Wyk. This success is thus recorded in General Orders:—
“The hostile chiefs of the tribes of Tyali, Macomo, Bothina, Eno, and others, were at length compelled to assemble in the rocky woods near the sources of the Buffalo, with their followers, to the number of at least 7000 men, and had avowed their determination to defend themselves to the last. From these fastnesses, however, notwithstanding their impervious nature, they were immediately driven,—the troops penetrating them everywhere, each column in its ordered course; and they have scattered and dispersed in various directions, disheartened and dismayed, with a great loss of killed and wounded (among whom are some of the sons and relations of the chiefs), and in cattle to the number of ten thousand head. The Commander-in-Chief desires to express his warmest approbation of the conduct of all the troops; their excellent marching, their patient endurance of fatigue, and the brilliant gallantry with which they drove the enemy before them wherever they were to be found, alike deserve his praise and the thanks which he offers to Lieut.-Col. Peddie, commanding the first division; Lieut.-Col. Somerset, the second; Major Cox, the third; and Field-Commandant Van Wyk, the fourth; as well as the officers and soldiers of their respective divisions.”
On the 11th of April Sir Benjamin D’Urban, leaving the third and fourth divisions to harass and pursue the now discomfited Kaffirs, advanced to the river Kei in person with the two remaining divisions, the first taking the more direct road, the second moving in a parallel direction, but nearer the sea.
The first division crossed the Kei on the 16th; and now, upon entering the territories of Hintza, an order was issued forbidding any unprovoked hostility, and directing that all pillage or ill-treatment of the inhabitants should be repressed with the utmost rigour.
The first division encamped at Butterworth on the 17th, and on the 19th were joined by the second division, which had captured 3000 head of cattle, which Colonel Somerset had sent to the rear.
The Governor, having been engaged in fruitless negotiations with Hintza for some days, at length had recourse to hostile measures; and war was accordingly formally proclaimed on the morning of the 21st, on which day Colonel Smith, with the mounted force of the first division, started in pursuit of Hintza, and the regiment, with the First Provisional Battalion, marching in the direction of the Izolo, where they encamped on the 25th. There they were joined by Colonel Smith, who had taken the 12,000 head of cattle, which were sent to be guarded by the second division, that still remained at Butterworth.
On the 26th, Colonel Smith, with a large patrol, of which Captain Murray and two companies of the regiment formed a part, marched to the T’Somo and returned to the camp on the 29th, when Colonel Smith reported the result of these two days’ operations:—“Nearly 15,000 head of cattle have fallen into our hands, many of the enemy have been shot, whilst our loss has been trifling; and the savages have again been taught that neither woods, ravines, nor mountains can secure them from the pursuit of British troops. More difficult and fatiguing marches troops never encountered, and these happy results would not have been obtained without extraordinary exertions.”
Meanwhile, these movements and their results had a dire effect on Hintza, and upon the Commander-in-Chief’s assurance of a safe-conduct for himself and also that of other persons who would be admitted to treat for him, he came into the camp on the 29th of April with his ordinary retinue of fifty followers, and had an immediate conference with the Commander-in-Chief.