The Story of the Zulu Campaign

by Waller Ashe; Edmund Verney Wyatt-Edgell

There were on parade the Buffs, 60th Rifles, 91st, the naval brigade of the "Boadicea," one company of Marines, two troops of Lonsdale's Horse, one troop of Natal Horse, and a battery of 7-pounders. This little army was drawn up on the usual parade-ground, not far from the river, and in the midst of a scene of the greatest natural beauty. The banks of the stream are thickly wooded, and the valley is the resort of large species of game. Crocodiles frequent the river, and make it dangerous to bathe. Thick, thorny underwood, mingled with tall reeds and date-palms, grow close down to the waters, which reflect the tall green trees that overarch above. Trees, with branches bearing bright green leaves and yellow fragile flowers, drooped nearly to the ground around the plain. Pre-eminent in splendour shone out the brilliant combretta, whose masses of bloom gleamed like torches amidst the dark green of the thickets, whilst the golden sheen of the fruit intensified the marked contrast of the tints. At the drinking-place used for the horses the water flowed in streamlets over the rocks and along a long red sandbank. A ledge of granite forms a rugged barrier eight or ten feet high across the river, and down the hollows of this the clear waters rush and ripple in rills, cascades, and rapids, bubbling and eddying among the great masses of rock below, in many of which, like those of the Zambesi, great holes are worn by stones which during the flood perhaps had settled in small hollows. Dark lines of trees border the river on the right, and on the left there is a fine grove of baobabs with large dark green leaves and wide-spreading branches. Crossing a sandstone hill with a spur stretching away to the eastward, and adorned with some splendid specimens of the encephalartos, or Kaffir bread, and then descending into the valley of the Umlalasi, one comes to sandstone and gneiss, rising in cliffs of 600 feet on the south of the river, but sloping away gradually on the north. The banks are covered with verdant and golden-blossomed acacias, some of them with yellow bark and the sweet gum, which is said to indicate the presence of the tsetse fly. Away to the north are to be seen groves of palm and mimosas, with stems forty feet to the lower branches. Far away beyond the plain can be seen the purple outlines of the great Lebombo range of mountains. These are to the east of the Drakenberg, and intervene between it and the sea. Stretching northward from the Pongolo river, this range crosses the Oliphant and touches the Limpopo. Its highest elevation is about 2150 feet high, and at the point at which the Umvolosi passes through the range to Delagoa Bay there is a lofty peak which reaches to 1900 feet, the river bed being there only 300 feet above sea level. Further north the range declines, and is cut through by the Pongolo and the Usuta, tributaries of the Maputa; also by the Umvolosi, the Umcomazi, the Sabia, and the Oliphant, all of which run into the Indian Ocean. Such were the features of the landscape, and such was the background to this farewell parade.

After the division had wheeled into line a very creditable march past was performed, and the troops then wheeled into a square, and were addressed by General Crealock, who told them that, in obedience to orders received from Sir Garnet Wolseley, the column was to be broken up and dispersed. The General said that he took this opportunity, before separating, to thank all hands for their good conduct and constant hard work, carried on without a murmur and in the midst of many difficulties. The task allotted to the 1st Division was to establish a series of posts along the coast of Zululand with an advanced depôt of supplies, to open a base of supplies at Port Durnford, from which to feed a force operating against Ulundi, and finally to destroy the military kraals and clear the district of Zulus. All these instructions were fully carried out by the 1st Division by the 5th of July; and the General, in wishing them a hearty good-bye and success and prosperity, thanked all for the good conduct and zeal which enabled him to do so much.

Lord Chelmsford, who was now on his way home to England, received most enthusiastic receptions at Maritzburg, Durban, and Capetown. The banquet given in his honour at Pietermaritzburg was, perhaps, the most brilliant affair of the kind ever achieved in the colony, but there were those who considered the ball in Durban as a still greater, for there were more ladies and officers present who had come long distances to assist at the festivity. Sir Garnet Wolseley and the Lieutenant Governor, Sir Evelyn Wood, and his Fidus Achates, Colonel Buller, Major-General Clifford, and all the fighting and dancing men within a hundred miles of the place responded to the call. Durban never before saw such a display of "rank, beauty, and fashion." All the belles of Natal were there to welcome the winner of Ulundi, and to sympathize with him in his efforts, under adverse criticisms and untoward fortune, to do his duty as a soldier of our Queen. The general feeling of the colony may be gathered from the mayor's speech, who, in proposing his lordship's health, said that he felt doubly proud on the occasion, as he did not speak alone for himself, but in the name and with the voice of all Natal. Against difficulties which only colonial experience could realize, and against bitter and most vituperative criticism, Lord Chelmsford had worked steadily and patiently until he accomplished the object he was sent to perform. The General, in reply, expressed in a soldierlike and impressive manner his deep sense of the kind feelings expressed by the mayor, and acknowledged that the reception accorded to him had quite overwhelmed him. But in giving his acknowledgments and thanks, his lordship made a happy allusion to the devotion and zeal of those who commanded and fought under him; and when he came to the mention of Evelyn Wood and Redvers Buller—two names which, he said, represented all that a soldier could show in loyalty and efficiency—his modest eulogium upon these, "his right hand and left hand supports during the war," was perhaps the most well received and telling point of his address. That Wood's services were appreciated by the colonists may be gathered from the fact that he was most warmly solicited by Mr. Gordon Sprigg, the Premier, to accept the appointment of Commandant-General of the Colonial Forces; and this request was made by the almost unanimous wish of the whole ministry. Sir Evelyn, however, did not feel at liberty to accept till he had consulted with the authorities at home.

On August 5th, Lord Chelmsford, Sir Evelyn Wood, Colonel Crealock, Colonel Buller, Major Grenfell, Captain Molyneux, and Captain Buller, embarked on board the Union steamship "German," and sailed for England, where they arrived safely and were received with the honours they had so worthily deserved.

After the meeting of chiefs on the 19th, at the camp on the Umlatoosi, Sir Garnet Wolseley returned to Pietermaritzburg. Here he was engaged in arranging matters of detail until July 29th. Disturbances in Pondoland and the Transvaal also now claimed his attention. In the former the Pondos had attacked the Xesibes, a tribe in alliance with England and under British protection. Hither Lieutenant-Colonel Bayley, with a detachment of Cape Mounted Rifles, was despatched from Butterworth, and soon succeeded in putting an end to this trouble. In the Transvaal the Boers were agitating for a repeal of the union, and threatening to assert their independence by force of arms. To render matters secure in this quarter Sir Garnet sent the headquarters of the King's Dragoon Guards, under Colonel Alexander, to Pretoria. On the 30th the Commander and his staff moved to Greytown and thence on, with a small escort, to the temporary camp at Umsingu. Travelling herefrom with all speed he reached Rorke's Drift early the following morning (August 3rd). Despatches were waiting here for the Commander-in-chief, and determined the next week's movements. Cetywayo was still reported in a kraal in the Ngome, while letters were at hand from Villiers giving anything but a flattering account of his friend Oham and his promised Burgher and native levies. M'Leod also wrote to point out the difficulties under which he was labouring with his Swazis, and asking for some European troops to be sent to him to keep them under control. Villiers was concentrating his heterogeneous gathering of levies at Luneberg, and hoped to be ready on or by the 6th; while M'Leod suggested that he should merely guard the frontier to prevent Cetywayo's escape, and not tempt his savages with the sight of their enemy's kraals or cattle; for to allow them to cross the border would be, he wrote, risking murder, rapine, and all sorts of atrocities, which, if once begun, it would be impossible to stop.

So little is generally known of the Swazis, that a short description of their persons and habits may here be acceptable. What are usually called Swazis are, in reality, somewhat a mongrel race, being a cross between the Zulu and the old race of Swaziland. The Swazis living along the borders of the Wakkerstroom, until late owed allegiance to Cetywayo, and some of them indeed had fought for him, notably Manyoyaba, a chief paramount in the Abakalusian district. But quarrels arose between the two races and they became most bitter foes; indeed once the Swazis were near extermination at the hands of the Zulus.

The whole tribe possess characteristically broad heads with thick hair, which would be as frizzly as that of a negro were it not carefully dressed in the Zulu fashion with plaster of grease and red clay. Their eyes, almond-shaped and somewhat sloping, are shaded with thick, sharply-defined brows, and are of remarkable size and fulness. The wide space between them testifies to the unusual width of the skull, and contributes a mingled expression of animal ferocity, warlike resolution, and, strange to say, ingenuous candour. A flat, square nose, a mouth of about the same width as the nose, with very thick lips; a round chin, and full, plump cheeks complete the countenance which may be described as circular in its general contour. The bodies of the Swazis are generally inclined, like those of the Zulus, to be fat, but they are seldom wanting in muscular strength. They are fairly well proportioned, but the upper part of the figure is somewhat long in proportion to the legs, and this peculiarity gives a strange character to their movements, although it does not seem any bar to their agility in their war-dances. Nothing can be more simple than the ordinary headgear of the women. It would, however, be a matter of some difficulty to find any kind of plait, tuft, or topknot, which has not been used by the Swazi men. The hair is usually parted right down the middle; towards the forehead it branches off so as to leave a kind of triangle, and from the fork which is thus formed, a tuft is raised and carried back to be fastened behind. On either side of this tuft the hair is arranged in rolls, like the ridges and crevices of a melon, while over the temples separate rolls are gathered up into knots, from which hang more tufts, twisted like a cord, that fall in bunches round the neck, three or four of the largest tresses being allowed to go free over the breast and shoulders. A favourite decoration is formed with the teeth of a dog strung together under the hair and hanging along the forehead like a fringe. Another ornament not at all uncommon is worn by some, and this is ivory cut in imitation of lions' teeth, and arranged in radial fashion round the breast, the effect of the white substance in contrast with the dark skin being very striking. The weapons of the Swazis are much the same as those of the Zulus, but they have more variety in shape and quality of the assegai. The shields are smaller, and usually woven of stout reeds and then covered with undressed hide. They use also a heavy kind of lance which is adapted to the chase of large game.

A favourite amusement is a kind of war-dance, in which a warrior describes a conflict in which he was once engaged. Thus a chief may be often seen with his assegais in one hand, his woven shield and knobkerrie in the other, with his knife in his girdle, and his limbs encircled by a skin, to which are attached the tails of the wild cat and other animals. Adorned on his breast and on his forehead by strings of teeth, the trophies of war or of the chase, his large keen eyes gleaming from beneath his heavy brow, his white and pointed teeth shining from between his parted lips, he alternately advances and retires before an imaginary foe, with a wild yet dramatic grace, which adds life and reality to the tale he is telling. In describing these people, it is hard to determine how far they should be deemed a race of hunters or of agriculturists, the two occupations being apparently equally distributed between the sexes. The men most assiduously devote themselves to their hunting, and leave the care of the cattle and the culture of the soil to be carried on exclusively by the women. Now and then, indeed, the men bring home fruits, tubers, and funguses from their excursions in the forests, but practically they do nothing for their families beyond providing them with game. The agriculture of Swaziland, like that of Zululand involves but a small amount of labour. The area of the arable land is certainly limited, but the exuberant productiveness of the soil, scarcely to be surpassed in any part of the world, makes the cultivation of the country supremely easy, and provides the people with all they want. The entire land is, besides, pre-eminently rich in spontaneous products, animal and vegetable alike, and these conduce to a direct maintenance in comparative ease of human life. Manioc, sweet potatoes, yams, are cultivated with little trouble, and all yield good crops. Plantains are rarely seen. Although the Swazis have a few carefully prepared dishes, of which they partake on high feasts and festivals, in a general way they exhibit as little nicety or choice in their diet as the Amaxosas or the Zulus. They have one dish, however, on which they pride themselves, and this most palatable mess is composed of the pulp of fresh maize, ground or pounded while the grain is soft and milky, cleansed from the bran, and prepared carefully, so that it is not burnt to the bottom of the pot. The mode of preparation is ingenious. A little water having been put over the fire, until it is just beginning to boil, the raw meal, which has previously been rolled into small lumps, is very gently shaken in, and, having been allowed to simmer for a time, the whole is finally stirred up together. The acme, however, of all earthly enjoyments to these people would seem to be meat. "Meat!" is a watchword that one hears in all their campaigns, and beyond all doubt the alacrity with which these people responded to M'Leod's appeal was caused by the anticipations of devouring Cetywayo's cattle. Amongst their other accomplishments may be mentioned the art they possess of making from malted eleusine a very palatable species of beer. This drink, which by the Swazis is prepared from the eleusine, is really capable, from the skill with which it is manipulated, of laying a very fair claim to be known as beer. It is quite bright, of a reddish pale brown colour, and is regularly brewed from the malted grain, without the addition of any extraneous ingredient. It has, moreover, a pleasant bitter flavour derived from the dark husks, which, if they were mixed in their natural condition with the dough, would impart a twang that would be exceedingly unpalatable. How large is the proportion of beer consumed by the Swazis may be estimated by simply observing the ordinary manner in which they store their corn. As a rule there are three granaries allotted to each dwelling, of which two are made to suffice for the supply which is to contribute the meal necessary for the household, and the other is entirely devoted to the grain that has been malted.

On August 4th Sir Garnet Wolseley left Rorke's Drift, and, after inspecting the several posts en route, reached Intanjaneni on the evening of the 6th. Intanjaneni is admirably situated for a central rendezvous as well as a depôt of supplies. It is on the left bank of the Umlatoosi, or Slater's River, a stream which is constantly confounded by careless geographers with the Umlalazi, which is ten miles further to the south-west. Hither General Clarke and his column had preceded him; messengers also had already come in from Umnyama, Cetywayo's prime minister, from Tyengwayo, who was second in command at Isandhlwana, and likewise from the headmen Usukame and Umkilebani; all these men said they would come in if their lives were spared and their property not confiscated. Many other chiefs were also in correspondence and treaty with the General, and all had promised to come to Ulundi on the 10th August.

On the 7th August messengers came from another chief of importance, by name Mbelebele, whose kraal was situated on the eastern bank of the Black Umvolosi, about twenty miles N.N.E. of the old kraal at Ondini. A party was sent, in accordance with his request, to meet him halfway between his kraal and Fort Victoria, the new post near Ulundi. The interview, which took place at the foot of the mountain range of the Lebombo, was short and satisfactory.