Presented to the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
by the
ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE LIBRARY
1980
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013
http://archive.org/details/twentyfiveyearssOOcolo
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING IN SOUTH AFRICA
£ ' &r&^c^e ^2fec^
p
*1
■
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS'
SOLDIERING
IN SOUTH AFRICA
tA 'Personal {Narrative
^
t!fe
BY
A COLONIAL OFFICER
<
LONDON: ANDREW MELROSE
3 YORK STREET, Covent Garden
1909
T
7
/ /
( er
INTRODUCTION
TN putting before my fellow-countrymen a Book on South Africa, I am conscious that some explanation is needed, and something of an apology. I have no great acquaintance with literature, but I know that scores of books have been written about South Africa during the last few years, until I am told the public are pretty nearly sick of the subject. My explanation is, that this book is not about the Boer War, although it is dealt with in one or two chapters in which I relate my experiences as a Captain in Mounted Eegiments of Irregulars.
My book is mainly the narrative of twenty-five years of a life crowded with incident, stretching over a period which has seen some of the most momentous happenings in South Africa. I have been more concerned in showing the evolution of a somewhat rough-and-ready corps of Mounted Police into one of the, to my mind, smartest and most efficient regiments in the British Empire. Thus the reader will find that quite half of the book is taken up with my experiences as a young soldier, and the work of the Cape Mounted Eiflemen in the various engagements from the date of my joining to the end of the Langberg Campaign.
vi INTRODUCTION
The experiences of a recruit at the present time are no doubt interesting enough, and the life is still full of adventure — so dear to young men ; but the old life of the corps in the days when I joined it has gone for ever, and I am not without hopes that the plain record of that time which I have here set down may have some interest for young fellows, as I am con- fident it will have for many of my old comrades who shared the experiences with me.
My apology is for the literary form of the book. I have been in many queer positions, and have been prepared for all sorts of things, but in my wildest dreams I never imagined myself an author. I have had no experience in writing any- thing but regimental orders, and am sorry to say that, even in regard to letter-writing to my friends, I have not exhausted myself with the use of the pen. The following pages have therefore no pretension to literary form. When the book was first suggested to me, during a holiday in England, I thought of nothing more ambitious than to put my crude notes into the hands of a practised writer for the purpose of getting a book made.
When my story was finished, however, I was advised by a literary friend to let it go without getting it rewritten by a literary man. So with all its faults and crudities, the book as it stands is my own. I must add, however, that I owe gratitude to the same literary friend for his careful revision of the proofs.
It only remains for me to add that I hope none of the men,
INTRODUCTION vii
many of them life-long friends, who find their names men- tioned here, will discover any reason for resenting the liberty I have taken with their personalities. The chief asset which I have retained from my life in South Africa is the friendship of some of the most loyal comrades that ever a man was blessed with.
And now, having made my explanation and apology, I send my book forth with a little hope, and much fear and
trembling.
A COLONIAL OFFICER.
Many of the Drawings in this volume are based upon sketches which appeared in The Graphic and Illustrated London News of the period, and the publisher hereby ex- presses his sense of the courtesy of the editors of these papers in readily allow- ing his artist to make use of them.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
1879.
PAGS
Leaving home — Arrival at Durban — Close of Zulu War — Land at East London— King William's Town in 1879 — Join Cape Mounted Riflemen — Leave for up-country . . .1
CHAPTER II.
First outspan — Wagon trekking — Meet Colonel Bayly en route to headquarters — Arrival at Butterworth — Initiated into stable and fatigue duties — Mounted and equipped . . .7
CHAPTER III.
C.M.R. and F.A.M.P. — Orders to proceed to Moirosi's mountain — First attempt to mount fully equipped — Get bucked off — On the march — Method of trekking . . . .24
CHAPTER IV.
Arrive at Queenstown — Good reception — Sergeant comes to grief with my horse — Arrive at Dordrecht — Meet returning yeomanry — My impressions of same — Horse guard in the veldt — My horse gets lost — Reach Palmietfontein — Joined by some old hands — Enter Moirosi's country — Precautions against attack — Arrive at Thomas's shop — Meet No. 5 Troop . . .39
CHAPTER V.
Final trek to Moirosi's mountain — Mistake distant firing of big guns for thunder — Am disabused of the idea — Arrival at head- quarters camp — Moirosi's mountain — Undecided which troop
CONTENTS
to join — First impressions of the mountain — Watching relief of saddle picquet — Decide to join No. 3 Troop — Preparations for attack on mountain — Bayonet drill — Night attack on mountain — Lieutenant Sprenger lirst man up on the top — Capture of mountain — Death of Moirosi and his sons — Orders for troops to march to various stations . . . . .57
CHAPTER VI.
Mounted men trek across the Drakensberg mountains — Remain with wagons to travel by road — Leave wagons and ride to Dordrecht — News of my lost horse — Overtake wagons at Maclear — Arrive at Kokstad— Kokstad in 1879 — Griqua dance —Rejoin Troop at Fort Donald . . . . .77
CHAPTER VII.
1880.
Fort Donald — Old hands take their discharges — Arrival of recruits — Undesirables in the regiment — Colonel Carrington arrives and takes command of left wing C.M.R. — Our new Captain — Get sent to Natal on escort duty — Impressions of Natal- Return to Kokstad — Am promoted to corporal — Sergeant Trippler comes to grief — Am promoted sergeant
CHAPTER VIII.
Rumours of trouble in Basutoland — C.M.R. ordered to Basutoland — Leave Kokstad, July 1880 — Pass through Umtata — Column enters Basutoland, 13th September 1880 — First shot fired — Relieve traders at Diphering — Occupy Mafeteng — Disarmament Act — Arrival of Mr. Sprigg in Mafeteng — A patrol and its result — Death of Lieutenant Clarke — Mr. Sprigg's hurried departure — Funeral parade ..... 108
CHAPTER IX.
Basutos surrounding Mafeteng — Carstensen's patrol — R.S.-M. meets with mishap — Basutos attack Mafeteng — Heavy fighting — Bare-backed charge on Basutos — Defeat of enemy — Loss of our stock — Reduced to eat horse-flesh and mealies . . . 130
CONTENTS xi
CHAPTER X.
I'AGB
Communication by helio. with border — Relief column masses on border — Column under General Clarke march to our relief — Heavy firing — First sight of relief column — Mafeteng relieved — Loss of Yeomanry at Kalabani — We receive fresh remounts — Attack on Lerothodi's village — Charge on donga — Village captured and burnt — Return to Mafeteng . . . 143
CHAPTER XI.
General Clarke leaves for Cape Colony — Outbreak of the Pondomisi — Murder of Magistrate — Attack on Maquaisberg — Basuto tactics — Major Grant's column surrounded — Second engage- ment, Lerothodi's village — Retreat of column — 1st City Volun- teers cut off — C.M.R. cover retreat .... 157
CHAPTER XII.
Wagon captured by Basutos — Ex-C.M.R. killed — Column leaves Mafeteng for Kolah mountain — French missionaries and their work — Laager formed at night — March on Kolah mountain — Column heavily attacked on all sides — Return to camping ground — A panic — " All's well " — Return of column to Mafeteng — General advance into the country — Severe fighting — Camp pitched — Attack by Basutos on the horse-guard — Night attack on our camp — The band plays — Patrol meets with severe fighting— Kiddy killed .... 167
CHAPTER XIII.
Change camp to Boleka ridge — Enemy shelled — Burghers arrive in Mafeteng — Burghers visit column — Attack made on Basutos by two columns — Behaviour of Burghers with our column — Enemy in large numbers — Columns retire on camp — Am wounded — Sent to hospital — Christmas in hospital, Aliwal North — Artillery pass through en route to front — C.M.R. re- armed with Martini-Henry carbines . . . .185
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIV.
1881.
PAGH
Am invalided to King William's Town— Pass reliefs on road — Arrival at King William's Town — C.M.R. Barracks — News from the front — Burghers distinguish themselves in their camp — Colonel Carrington goes on a wood patrol — Burghers charged by Basutos — Heavy losses — Sword charge by Yeomanry — Car- rington's dispatch — C.M.R. lose their horses . . . 198
CHAPTER XV.
Incompetent Ministers — Leave King William's Town for the front — New sub. joins — Carry dispatches to Maseru — Night at a Boer farmhouse — Maseru — Arrival of Colonel Bayly — Meet Colonel Carrington — Rejoin regiment — Armistice — Desertions in regi- ment— Cause of desertions — Meet Basuto chiefs — Peace pro- claimed— Basutoland handed over to Imperial Government — Troops leave country — A forecast . . . .211
CHAPTER XVI.
1881-1884.
My troop stationed at Ibeka — Veldtman, the Fingo chief — A visit — Leave for Umtata — Civil servants — Bishop Callaway — Cape Infantry formed — General Gordon visits Umtata — Stationed at Qumbu — Arrival of Cape Infantry — C.M.R. massed at Stockwe's Basin — Evicting squatters — Colonel Carrington re- turns— Cricket tour to East Griqualand — Amalgamation of both wings of C.M.R. — Carrington takes command of B.B. Police . . . . . . . .237
CHAPTER XVII.
1885-1892.
Native Troubles — Pondos v. Xesibes — Gaga, the Xesibe Headman- Fight at Sugar Bush — C.M.R. expedition to N'tola's kraal- Colonel Bayly retires from command of Colonial forces — Major Grant promoted Colonel — Surrender of Umhlangaso to C.M.R. — Sir Henry Loch visits Pondoland — Governor's escort — Urn- fundisweni mission station — Change of officers at Umtata . 252
CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER XVIII.
1892-1893.
PAGE
Cecil Rhodes, Premier — Foot-and-mouth disease — An English Christmas Day — East Griqualand farmers — Am ordered to King William's Town as assistant adjutant — Matabele and Chartered Company — Ordered to Matabeleland — Train journey — Arrive at Vryburg — Thirsty horses — Result — March to Mafeking — Old faces — Arrival of Imperial contingents — Visit of Sir Henry Loch — Grey's column leaves Mafeking — Remarks on Trekking — Arrive at Palachwi — Lunch with " King " Khama ........ 268
CHAPTER XIX.
Mr. Rhodes joins column — Impressions of Rhodes — A wet march — Flooded river — Rhodes leaves with escort for Buluwayo — Arrive at Tati, Matabeleland— Casual trekking in enemy's country — Column arrives at Khame River — C.M.R. ordered forward — Meet Colonel Goold-Adams at Buluwayo — King's kraal, Buluwayo — March to Inyati — Meet Chartered Company's troops— Dissatisfaction of troops — C.M.R. remain at Inyati — Exciting patrols — A defiant headman — Return to Buluwayo . 288
CHAPTER XX.
1894.
Pay off my left troop at Mangwe— Horses sold to Chartered Com- pany— March from Mangwe off the track — A waif — Rations exhausted — Swollen river — Timely meeting — Shaski River in flood — Arrive Macloutsie — On trek to Mafeking — Palachwi — Khama's police — Arrive Mafeking — Visit Kimberley — De Beers —Return to King William's Town— Feted by the Mayor . . 306
CHAPTER XXI.
1894-1897.
Leave for Pondoland — Meet Colonel Grant — Dispatches from Colonel Goold-Adams — Arrive Coldstream — Mr. Rhodes ar- rives in Umtata — Compensation for kits — Jameson's reply —
xiv CONTENTS
The Jameson Raid — Effect on the country — Police work- Native trouble in Griqualand West — My squadron ordered to Bechuanaland — Meet Bryan — A tale of a peacock — Arrive at Kuruman — Meeting with chiefs from Langberg . . . 320
CHAPTER XXII.
Galishwe takes refuge in the Langberg — Orders to proceed to the Langberg — Arrive at Gamisep — Contrary orders from Defence — Rebels fire on native picquet — Patrol attacked — Lieutenant Hopkins and Private Venn killed — effect of Maxim fire — Return to Kuruman — All the Langberg natives rebels . . 337
CHAPTER XXIII.
1897-1898.
Orders to remain at Kuruman — Arrival of reinforcements — Official documents — Defence Department's shortcomings — Advance of column — Capture of Khartu — Badly planned attack on Gamisep — A failure — Return of column to Ryan's Farm — Column pro- ceeds to Oliphant's Hoek — Night attack — Advance on Puda- husch — Severe engagement — C.M.R. casualties — Capture of Pudahusch — Column returns to Ryan's Farm — Patrol along Kuruman River — Galishwe returns to the Langberg — Final attack on Gamisep — Death of Lukajantje — Capture of rebels — Under arrest — Return to Umtata — Leave the regiment — Start for Natal . . . . . . . .352
CHAPTER XXIV.
1899.
Arrive at Durban — Changes in twenty years— Journey to Transvaal — Johannesburg — Grievance of Uitlanders — Return to Natal — Take charge of cadets — Cadet system in Natal — Rumours of war — Departure of troops from Maritzburg — Invasion of Natal by the Boers — Irregular corps formed— Colonial Scouts leave for the front — Ladysmith invested — Arrival of General Buller — Disaster at Ladysmith — Capture of British troops — Mooi River shelled ....... 380
CONTENTS xv
CHAPTER XXV.
1899-1901.
PAGE
General Buller arrives at Frere — Colenso — Retire on Chieveley — Return to Mooi River — Christmas in camp — Attack on Lady- smith by Boers — Advance to Springfield — Six days' fighting — Spion Kop — Colonial Scouts ordered to Zululand — Battlefield of Isandlwana — Retreat to N'kandhla Forest — N'qutu cap- tured by Boers — Magazine blown up by Magistrate at N'kandhla — Occupied by Boers — Retake N'kandhla — Return to Eschowe — Escort to naval guns — Relief of Ladysmith — General advance of Natal Field Force — Wounded — Invalided to England . . . . . . .398
CHAPTER XXVI.
1901-1902.
Netley Hospital — Fit for duty — Return to Cape — Appointed adjutant of Steinaecker's Horse — Leave for Komati Poort — Train attack at Belfast — A " sell " for the Boers — Steinaecker's Horse at Komati Poort — M'pisane's — Bremersdorp — March to Pigg's Peak — Capture of Boers at Usutu — Night in the veldt — Sand River — Lion seizes a sentry — Border patrols . .415
CHAPTER XXVII.
1902-1904.
Dispatch-riders for Boers — Intercepting dispatches — Death of Von Wass — Trip to Pretoria — Peace negotiations — Peace proclaimed — Coronation detachment leaves — Garrison work at Komati — Disbanclment of Steinaecker's Horse — Central Judicial Com- mission— Compensation claims in Standerton district — Military service ends in South Africa ..... 432
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Retrospect and prospect in South Africa— Conclusion . . 443
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Portrait of "A Colonial Officer"
C.M.R. Camp, Palmietfontein, 1880
Summit of Moirosi's Mountain : The " Crown " .
Storming of Moirosi's Mountain .
Scene of Moirosi's Death ....
Sketch Plan of Disaffected Area in Basutoland
Lerothodi's Stronghold ....
Maseru Magistracy, from Camp, 1881
Chief Magistrate's House, Umtata
St. John's Pro-Cathedral, Umtata
Sketch Map ......
Group of C.M.R. N.C.O.'s, with "A Colonial Offici in the centre .....
Men's Huts, Macloutsie ....
Hospital at Macloutsie ....
Old Mission, Kuruman ....
The Fountain, Kuruman ....
Attack on Galishwe's Position, Gamisep
Attack on Galishwe's Position, Gamisep : showing " A Colonial Officer" on Horseback . Reproduced from The Graphic
Burning of Pudahusch ....
Sketch Map of Area covered by "A Colonial Officer"
in Twenty-five Years' Soldiering .
Frontispiece,
Faciny p. 48
60
72 76 112 144 224 240 242 272
288 312 320 332 336 340
346
370
442
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING m SOUTH AFRICA
CHAPTEK I.
LEAVING HOME — AERIVAL AT DURBAN — CLOSE OF ZULU WAR — LAND AT EAST LONDON — KING WILLIAM'S TOWN IN 1879 — JOIN CAPE MOUNTED jr RIFLEMEN — LEAVE FOR UP COUNTRY.
T WAS, as it may be expressed, born to the Service. My •*~ father was a British officer, my eldest brother had in due course got his commission in the Imperial Army, and I looked forward to following in their footsteps. But my father's death when I had just finished my education at one of our well-known public schools, and domestic circumstances, made my long-cherished idea impossible, and as I had no thoughts that were not connected with soldiering, I turned to the military forces of the Colonies.
All England was then ringing with the news of the Zulu War and the massacre of the 24th Eegiment at Isandlwana. Among the fallen officers were two old school-chums of my own, and a great desire to go to Zululand took hold of me. My people, seeing that I was determined to become a soldier somehow, placed no obstacles in my way, and I duly sailed for the Cape.
2 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
When I left England, Sir Garnet — now Lord — Wolseley had taken command of the army in Africa, and everybody was expecting great results ; but at that time there was no cable to South Africa, and the news of his progress came very slowly.
On my arrival at Durban, Natal, the first news that greeted me was that the Prince Imperial had been killed whilst reconnoitring, and that the battle of Ulundi had been fought, that Cetewayo was captured and the war practically over. This was a great damper on my youthful ardour, but learning that the Cape Colonial forces were engaged some- where in the Cape Colony, I decided to go to that Colony and see what chance I had of being sent to the front.
I did not waste much time, but went by a coasting steamer to East London, at that period a very primitive port, called Panmure. All the buildings, with the exception of a very few, were built on the west side of the river. It was a great contrast to the same city at the present day, with its splendid breakwater and wharves on the river, with its very fine public buildings and houses. East London is to-day one of the most flourishing towns and ports in South Africa, and the inhabitants of East London and district are the most go-ahead and most manly of our Colonials, as the records of their volunteer regiments will show in every campaign since the Galeka War of 77. As I have soldiered with them in four of my five campaigns, I think I am a fair judge, and I never wish for better comrades in the field, or friends out of it.
After being slung over the side of the ship in a huge basket, and deposited in the hold of an evil-smelling lighter, we were duly towed into the river, and directed to the hotel at
IN SOUTH AFRICA 3
Panmure, where during the evening I was enlightened as to where the war in the Colony was. It was explained to me that an old Basuto chief had shut himself up on a mountain and had defied the Colonial forces for about seven months, that there had been two unsuccessful attacks on the mountain resulting in a fair amount of casualties on the Colonial side, that a new colonel was on his way up to command the Cape Mounted Kiflemen, and that all the regiment had been ordered to the front and that it would not be long before it was captured, now that the C.M.R were going. This news, together with the implicit faith in the C.M.E. evinced by the two fair young ladies of the hotel, who apparently knew every man in the regiment and were most enthusiastic about them, settled me. I determined, if possible, to become a Cape Mounted Kineman.
The next day saw me in the train, en route for King William's Town. This place is situated in a slight hollow, surrounded by blue mountains and the Perie Bush; the Buffalo Kiver running through the town and the white- washed houses and gardens made an effect of beauty that appealed very much to my youthful mind. King William's Town — known to all South Africans as " King " — was at that time the leading town of the Cape Colony; nearly all the principal merchants lived there, and it was the despot for all the trading stations in the Native districts surrounding it and the Transkei. Prior to the Galeka and Gaika War of 1877 and 1878 it had also been a garrison town, with one or more Imperial regiments constantly stationed there. On my arrival, I found that the headquarters of the C.M.R had been re- moved to Butterworth — a place situated about 84 miles distant, in the Transkei — and that there was only a small
4 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
detachment of the regiment stationed at what was then called the old Police Barracks, about a mile from town, in the direction of Fort Murray. I put up at a boarding-house not far from the station, where I was very much impressed by the kindness and courtesy shown by every one to the stranger. Several people tried to dissuade me from joining the Police, as they called the regiment of Cape Mounted Riflemen. The regiment had been changed in name from the "Frontier Armed and Mounted Police" — abbreviated to F.A.M.P. — to " Cape Mounted Riflemen," by Act of Parliament, Act 9 of 1878. Several members of the force objected to the change, and were tried and imprisoned for mutiny; but up to September '79 there had been no alteration in the condition of the force, and the civilians spoke of them as the Police. The only reasons that my new acquaintance adduced in order to dissuade me from joining, were that it was a very rough life, that the men had to sleep in the veldt, and that they were all harum-scarum young fellows, and they were hardly sufficient to deter any adventurous young fellow from joining. In my case, my mind had been made up at East London by a different version given me by the afore-mentioned young ladies, the scale to my mind being considerably in favour of the harum-scarum young fellows, and not of the sedate youths in an office.
I went the next morning to the Police Barracks, where I met the corporal in charge, who asked me in, and introduced me to a roomful of men, with whom I was immediately at home. These men — about twenty in all — were all time-expired men or men invalided from the front, and waiting the end of the campaign before getting their discharge. They were a mixed lot and, as I subsequently found out, typical of the regiment.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 5
There were a couple of Merchant Service men, one ex-soldier, two or three medical students, and an ex-naval officer, and, with the exception of about four of them, all were public-school men and a good sporting lot. The corporal told me he had no orders about recruiting, and as far as he knew there had been no recruiting under the new Act, but he promised to wire to Butterworth for instructions. In the meantime I was invited to take up my abode with them, and the open-hearted, free manner in which I was treated by them all made me very anxious to become one of them. In due course an official letter arrived to the corporal in charge, giving him authority to " take me on," — i.e., enlist me, — and I was taken by him up to the Eesident Magistrate, Mr. Eose Innes, and there and then I swore to serve Her Majesty, heirs and successors, etc., for the period of five years dating from 14th September 1879. Mine was the first enlistment under the new Act, and I therefore became the first C.M.E. recruit, all the others having joined the F.A.M.P. for three years. However, the extra two years did not seem any obstacle to me, neither did it turn out to be, as I was fortunate enough to obtain my commission in eighteen months, which cancelled my enrolment papers.
Immediately on leaving the Court House I was taken to the C.M.E. contractor, Mr. Ben Eyan, the friend and benefactor of a great many in the regiment, where I duly had my kit handed to me. The uniform was not quite my idea of what a young soldier should have. It consisted of a black corduroy jacket and riding-breeches, ammunition boots and leggings, a peaked cap like a railway porter's, the necessary underclothing, blankets, and so forth. With these, I was a fully equipped Cape Mounted Eifleman as regards uniform.
I remained in King William's Town about a week, when
6 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
orders came from headquarters that I was to proceed there in company with two other men as escort and two wagons taking stores. We started the following day at daylight, and the old hands all turned out to see us off with a good hand- shake and a " Good luck, my boy ! " — the corporal riding out with us to the first outspan, and giving me useful tips for the road.
He left the regiment soon afterwards, and is now a flourish- ing postmaster in a well-known town in the Transkei. Long may he live and prosper !
IN SOUTH AFRICA
CHAPTEE II.
FIRST OUTSPAN — WAGON TREKKING — MEET COLONEL BAYLY EN ROUTE TO HEADQUARTERS — ARRIVAL AT BUTTERWORTH — INITIATED INTO STABLE AND FATIGUE DUTIES — MOUNTED AND EQUIPPED.
/^vUK first outspan was on the bank of a small stream. " An old-fashioned-looking house stood about 200 yards from us, called "Yellow Woods." It is still in existence, though very much improved. It was here that I learnt my first lesson in veldt life.
The first thing to be done was to get a fire. I was sent off by the senior man to collect dry cow-dung for fuel. As it was a regular outspan site, there was no difficulty in collecting as much as we wanted, and under the able management of the two old hands we soon had a blazing fire. Dried cow-dung makes the very best fuel any one can wish for in the veldt, and throws out a great heat. I then watched the operation of making dry cookies — a simple process when you know how to do it. Mix dough, — the old soldier always carries baking- powder in his kit when trekking with wagons, — tear the dough up into lumps the size of a bun and put them in the ashes scraped to the side of the fire, so that they can be replenished — and there you are ! In a few minutes your patrol- tin filled with water is boiling, and tea or coffee made. The meat is cut into strips or small chunks, and cooked in the same way as the dough, except that you don't put ashes on the
8 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
top of it, but directly it is set at the bottom, turn it over, and continue the motion till you imagine it is cooked sufficiently, which all depends on the degree of hunger you feel. Your store-box — an old whisky-case — produces plates, knives and forks, as well as a mixture of sardines, jam, cheese, butter, pickles, and tinned beef, commonly known as " Harriet Lane," — a perpetual reminder of the famous Wainwright murder. The contents of the store-box depend very much on the amount of credit you were entitled to before you went on trek, — the recruits revelling in jam, milk, and sardines ; the old stagers in a couple of bottles of Dop, — i.e., Colonial brandy, — plug tobacco, matches, candles, etc. The latter articles a recruit ignores as a rule, till he is taught the full value of a box of matches by getting stranded in the veldt on a wet night without any, when he begins to think soldiering a rotten game. Breakfast over, I, being the "Bookie," as recruits are called, had the honour of washing up, filling the patrol- tins, and collecting more fuel; whilst the other two sat under the wagon and played a game of twenty-fives — then a very popular game of cards in the regiment, but now almost obsolete. About 4 p.m. the drivers got the oxen in and inspanned — an operation I watched with the liveliest interest. The two spans of bullocks are driven in by the voor-loopers, who are generally small Kaffir boys with very dilapidated shirts as their sole wardrobe, and whose duties are to lead the leading oxen through drifts, or when passing through villages, or meeting other wagons, light the fires for the drivers when outspanned, and then go into the veldt and stay with the oxen whilst they are grazing, till it is time to trek again. The oxen are then brought up to the wagons en masse, with cries of " A now ! " the vernacular for " Whoa ! " ; the drivers then get
IN SOUTH AFRICA 9
amongst them with reims and single out the different oxen, throwing the loop of the reim over their horns and calling them by their names. The animal called instantly sticks his head down, comes out of the mob, and falls into line opposite his yoke. The process of inspanning is soon performed. The yoke is placed on the neck of the oxen, and kept there by two wooden pins like tent pegs, only longer, and called " yoke skuys"; they are fastened underneath by a strap made of twisted hide ; the oxen move into their places, the long chain is pulled taut, the driver loosens his whip, and they are ready to trek. The whip is a most effective weapon in the hands of an expert, and without it the most experienced driver is helpless. It is a ten-foot bamboo, with a long lash which reaches half-way up the span of bullocks, and is used not only to punish refractory oxen but to direct the team by light flicks if they should happen to get out of the track in any way.
Seating ourselves on the top of the wagon and selecting comfortable spots upon the packages and cases, we are ready. A loud crack of the whip, a yell of " Yaak ! " and the whole team of eighteen oxen pull out like one man, and we are off. The driver lets off a few cracks, and brings the lash down heavily on some wretched animal by way of encouragement ; the whole team gradually settle down ; the little voor-looper throws the loop of the reim with which he has been leading the front oxen over their horns, and steps aside and lets them go on on their own; the driver coils his whip round the stick, and gets up in front of the wagon, and proceeds to utter weird noises only understood by the oxen; and after calling them individually by their names, with queer epithets, he lights his pipe and takes things easy, till, catching sight of
io TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
a solitary bullock not pulling his fair share, he jumps off the wagon, dragging his whip after him, and immediately the whole span break into a jog-trot. After administering a half- dozen well directed cuts to the shirker, he climbs on the wagon again, lays his whip down, and the team return to their ordinary breakneck pace of two miles per hour.
It is a marvellous sight to see a well-trained team of oxen with a good driver negotiate an ugly drift, or go down the side of a steep hill, half washed away by the rain, where a man would think twice of going with a buggy and pair of horses. In fact, nothing seems to stop a well-trained team. Many things have changed in South Africa since those early times, but transport riding — as wagon-travelling is called — is the same to-day as it was then. The advent of the train has taken a great deal of business from them, and wagons are not nearly as numerous as they were, but there is still a very large percentage of merchants — Kaffir traders — who prefer getting their goods from the port by wagon instead of paying the ruinous rates charged by the railways. As time is not much object to these traders, the extra time taken by the wagon makes no material difference, and the cost is an im- portant item.
After trekking about four hours, during which time we dozed on the wagon or walked behind it, we arrived at Kei Road, a small wayside hotel, two or three small houses and two shops, and outspanned for the night opposite the railway station. The oxen are tied up — that is, instead of being let loose to feed, they are simply unyoked and the end of the reim tied on to the trek chain ; they then stand quietly in their places till one by one they drop down, and apparently start thinking deeply of their troubles, only their jaws moving as
IN SOUTH AFRICA n
they chew the cud, coughing and making various other noises all night, not conducive to sleep to the novice lying under the wagon wrapped up in his blankets and trying to emulate the old hands, who are fast asleep.
Before settling down for the night, the tarpaulin or wagon sail is spread over the whole of the wagon and pulled down to the ground on the weather side, a fire lighted on the other side of the wagon, and coffee handed round. The fire is kept alight the whole night by the little voor-looper, who seems automatically to get up from his sleep, put on fresh fuel, and turn in again at regular intervals.
Just as I was getting accustomed to my novel surroundings and dropping off to sleep, I was aroused by footsteps approach- ing the wagon. A figure appeared by the fire and shouted out, " Who is in charge of these wagons ? " In a second the two men, who had been lying like logs, turned over, and one of them answered, "/ am"; and then, recognising the newcomer, said, " Hullo, sergeant ! When did you come down ? "
Sergeant Morris, the stranger, stooped down under the wagon, and sat on my blanket and gave us some interesting news. He had just ridden down from Butterworth, and had arrived at the hotel opposite about two hours before. Colonel Bayly was expected by the next morning train from King, with most of his staff, on his way to Butterworth, en route for Moirosi Mountain, and we were to await his arrival and take on whatever baggage they had with them on our wagons. The sergeant then told us that he had come down from the front about a fortnight before, that a batch of men were being hurriedly got ready to accompany Colonel Bayly from Butter- worth, and that all the other troops were on the march from
12 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
their various stations to the mountain. He had been present at the second attack on the mountain, which had failed.
The sergeant asked me when I joined, what school I was at, and where I came from. He told me he was a Marl- borough boy, asked if I was a cricketer, and appeared very pleased when he heard that I had both my school-caps, cricket and football. When he found out that I had been drilled and could ride, he said he thought there would be no difficulty in the way of my being sent up with the detachment which was being prepared, as he was one of the sergeants returning with them, and he would do what he could for me. After advising us to clean up, and be ready to start by ten o'clock the next morning, in case the colonel wished to see us, he went off to the hotel. My two comrades were soon asleep, but all desire to follow their example was completely banished from my mind. I lay awake the whole night, picturing to myself the stirring deeds I had heard the sergeant calmly relate as if they were an everyday occurrence, till at last daylight came, and the oxen were let loose to graze about at their sweet will.
After morning coffee we went down to the river for a bathe, when I found, to my intense disgust, that my legs were the colour of a nigger's. The others laughed at me, and said it was what I had to expect till my uniform breeches had been thoroughly wet through and dried. The dye had all come out, and my shirt and my lower extremities were as black as the ace of spades. It took me about half an hour's hard work, scrubbing myself with mud and soap, before my skin was restored to its natural colour.
On returning to the wagons, we found Sergeant Morris there, looking very smart and soldierly in a blue cloth uniform jacket and black Bedford-cord breeches, which made me feel
IN SOUTH AFRICA 13
more disgusted than ever with the black corduroy uniform I was wearing. To my joy, he told us that the uniform was going to be altered after the campaign was finished, and that mean- time we could get decent riding-breeches at headquarters when we arrived.
Shortly after ten o'clock the train steamed into the station, and Colonel Bayly, with two staff officers and about ten non- commissioned officers and some orderlies, got out and walked across to the hotel. As they passed the wagon the colonel stopped and spoke to us. He inquired how long I had been in the regiment, and seemed quite surprised when I told him only ten days. He asked if I could ride and if I knew my drill. I could only say that I thought I did ; and he then turned to Mason, the man in charge of the wagon, and gave him instructions about his baggage, and told him to push on to Butterworth.
Colonel Bayly was then a man of about forty years of age, medium height, with fair hair and moustache, rather inclined to stoutness; but a thorough-looking soldier all through. He had been Adjutant of the 9th Kegiment, and afterwards commanded the Duke of Edinburgh's Own Volun- teer Bines at Cape Town. He made his name at the battle of Umzinzani, in Galekaland, in the '77 and '78 campaign, when he commanded the column. He had recently been appointed to the command of the Cape Mounted Biflemen, and was then on his way to take over the regiment and to conduct the operations before Moirosi Mountain.
This was my first sight of Colonel Bayly, and the strong impression he made on me then has never been effaced. Unfortunately, ill-health caused his retirement from active service and the regiment at a comparatively early age ; but he
14 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
has never ceased to take the liveliest interest in all things concerning the regiment and the Colonial forces in general. A more popular commanding officer I cannot conceive, and his capacity as a soldier is evident from the fact that he took over the regiment in its transition stage from a Police force, and made it one of the smartest regiments in the field, and out of it, in the British Empire.
Shortly after Colonel Bayly's departure we inspanned and trekked. As the bullocks were in good condition and the roads dry, we got over the ground fairly well ; but a good stock of patience is needed when travelling by wagon. Two miles an hour is the average pace, and eighteen to twenty miles a day is counted good going. At that time there were no properly made roads as at present, and this pace was really very good.
We passed through Draaibosch, the scene of the fight be- tween the Gaikas and the 88th Eegiment, under Colonel Moore, who gained the Victoria Cross during the engagement. A troop of C.M.K. had been engaged in the same action, and my comrades assured me it was not a very glorious victory for Colonel Moore ; for it was touch-and-go with the gallant Connaught Kangers, who were nearly cut off and over- whelmed.
About eight miles from Draaibosch we came to Komgha, then a small frontier village, with very few inhabitants, but now a decent-sized town, with a railway running through it, and the centre of a large and influential farming com- munity. From there we went through the Kei Hills, a very picturesque part of Cape Colony, the road winding in and out of high hills till it reaches the Kei River. At that time there was only a wooden bridge across the river, and the roads were
IN SOUTH AFRICA 15
almost impassable ; now the railway runs through magnificent cuttings, a perfect triumph of engineering art. The main roads and splendid bridge over the river are kept in perfect order, and trekking by road is vastly different from the time of which I am writing.
After crossing the river we were in the Transkei, the scene of the fighting in 77, and after a long climb we reached Toleni, a small hotel on the top of the hills. From there we trekked over comparatively flat country till we reached Butter- worth, which consisted of a post office, Hedding's Store, and two or three small houses. On crossing the river we came to the camp, comprising a few huts and tents, where we found the headquarters of the C.M.E. temporarily established. I was told off to a hut where four other men lived, and my first trek in South Africa was ended, and I was about to learn my first lesson as a rifleman.
I found that my room-mates were clerks in the different offices, two of them being in the Quartermaster's Department, one in the Paymaster's, and the other in the Eegimental Orderly Eoom. Two of them subsequently received com- missions in the Cape Infantry Eegiment when it was formed in 1882. One of them was killed at Elandslaagte, in Natal, in the Boer War, where he was serving as a captain in the Imperial Light Horse. They all made me very welcome, and I spent my first evening listening to the latest news from the front, and to stories of life in the regiment, and of South Africa as far as they had experienced it. They had then served about three years, and had spent most of that period in the Transkei; they had gone through the Gaika and Galeka campaign, and their accounts of the various engagements and risky patrols which the Police had gone* through were exciting to listen to,
1 6 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
and made my nerves tingle to share similar experiences; I was quite disappointed when " Lights out " sounded, and we had to turn in.
Before sunrise next morning " ReVeille " sounded, and I was brought back from my dreams to face life in earnest. Up to this time I had been practically under no control since joining, being under a lenient corporal in King, and a private of two years' service in my trek up ; now I found what it was to be at headquarters. The " Dress " next sounded. The remainder of my hut companions being on the staff and dismounted, did not budge, but one of them kindly suggested I should turn out, as the "Fall in" would go shortly, and it would not be for the benefit of my health to be late. I accordingly turned out to where there was a scuffled square — i.e., the grass all scraped off for the purposes of parade and drill grounds. The " Fall in," which went shortly after, sounded as only " Jammer " could sound, and I fell in with the rest — some thirty men, most of whom had been left in charge of small out-stations when their troops left for the front, and had now been brought into headquarters to prepare for the front. The roll was called, and my name came at the end of the list. The word was then given by the sergeant, " Break and fall in at stables." I went with the others, and found that the " stables " consisted of two long lines of rope, called picquet ropes, to which were attached some forty horses by the reims of their headstalls.
The picquet ropes were placed about fifty yards at the back of the camp, in the open veldt. The owners of the horses untied them, and fell in line about twenty yards from the ropes, facing the rear of the camp, and, putting the nose-bags contain- ing mealies, which is more or less the standing feed for C.M.R.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 17
horses, on the ground in front of their animals, commenced grooming them.
I stood looking on while the sergeant again called the roll, and the men answered for their horses. They were then told to go on grooming, and the scene became a lively one ; some of the horses playfully biting at the men, and others kicking directly they were touched. I was not allowed to take the part of a spectator long. A smart-looking sergeant who was the senior in charge at the station called me, and told me to go to a certain hut and fetch a horse's feed and a curry-comb and brush, and bring a horse which was standing unattended on the picquet line to the ground where the men were, and groom it.
I did so, watching the other men to see how they did it. I slipped the curry-comb on my left hand and began grooming with my right as hard as I could, which drew comments from several old hands who did not believe in unnecessary energy excepting when the N.C.O.'s were passing by. Three sergeants were walking up and down in front of the horses, keeping their eyes on horses and men as they passed, bestowing remarks on any man who in their opinion was not doing justice to his horse : — " What are you flat-ironing about ? " " Put some elbow-grease into it " ; " It isn't a wild animal you have got hold of," — or if the horse showed signs of using his heels, " Get close to it, then it can't kick you." Kemarks of this kind were flung about, and, afraid of any of them being directed to me, I groomed away for all I was worth. Fortunately, the horse I was grooming was an old stager who had been in the regiment some time. His owner was on the sick list, and this accounted for him being placed temporarily under my charge. All he seemed to care about was to empty the nose-bag of
1 8 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
mealies before the knock-off time came, and he took not the slightest notice of my brushing and scraping. Some mud not coming off his legs to my satisfaction, I began to scrape it with the curry-comb, and earned a sharp reproof from one of the N C 0 *b " Now then, youngster, not so much of the comb and a little more of the brush. The comb is only used to clean the brush, and don't forget it." I didn't.
After the horses had been groomed to the satisfaction of the senior N.C.O., the feed having been finished some time, the order was given: "Headstalls off-Let go-Fall in, the horse guard " Seeing the man on my right undo his horse's throat- lash and take the headstall off, I did the same, and the horse immediately shook his head, twisted round, and went gallop- ing as hard as he could with the majority of them, towards the place where they were accustomed to graze.
I then saw three men in shirt sleeves and smasher hats, with greatcoats hanging on their arms, saunter after them, driving the laggards on as they went, making them go at a gallop after the others who had reached the feeding-ground. These I was told, were the horse guards, whose duty it was to go out into the veldt with the horses and remain with them the whole day, bringing them into camp in the evening for stables-or as many times during the day as horses were required. I was told I would soon know all about it, and would probably be for guard myself that night.
On returning to the hut where I had slept, I found my companions still in bed, drinking coffee and smoking. I was told to help myself. I got my pannikin-a tin mug with a handle folding inside which fits in and forms the top of a patrol- tin-and filled it up from a large tin billy which stood on the floor of the hut half full of coffee. There was no milk, but
IN SOUTH AFRICA 19
plenty of sugar, and I enjoyed it after the half-hour's exercise in the early morning air.
About half an hour after, the trumpet again rang out a sharp call, and one of the men remarking, "There goes the fatigue, you had better turn out," I went to the same ground where I had fallen in for roll-call. I found the men already there, all without jackets, and holding brooms and spades. One of them, seeing me without any implement, con- siderately gave me his spade. I thought it rather kind of him at the time, but when I was told off by the provost-sergeant to go with six other men and dig two latrines, I altered my opinion. The remainder of the men went off to the picquet ropes to sweep them clean, and also clean camp.
In due course the fatigue was over, and I went to my hut and had breakfast ; the others were up and dressed, ready to go to their different offices. Breakfast consisted of fried beef, bread-and-butter, with coffee, cooked by the native boy who was the general slave of the mess. The men were not told off into messes, but the occupants of a tent or hut messed together, and provided their own food according to their fancy. A man was entitled to a pound of meat, pound and a quarter of bread, with a ration of coffee, tea, salt, and pepper daily, and one man drew the rations in bulk for his mess every morning. Each man was allowed a canteen account of 30s. per month, so any extra he wished for could be obtained from the regimental canteen. But as a man's canteen account also provided for liquor, his account was often " blocked " in less than a week after it had been opened, leaving him to get through the remainder of the month as best he could — with only his bare rations to live on.
Breakfast over and my companions having departed to
20 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
their various duties, I was wondering what would be next, when a corporal put his head inside the hut door and told me I would be required at orderly-room at ten o'clock to see the adjutant, and instructed me to clean up. Ten o'clock saw me standing outside the orderly-room, an old building close to the wagon drift of the river. The place had been a mill and was very much out of repair, but, being the only accommodation available, was temporarily used as orderly-room for the head- quarters, quartermaster's stores, and ordnance. I was marched in, and found myself facing Captain Goldsworthy, who was adjutant to the regiment. He was an Imperial officer seconded from his regiment. Three years afterwards he was made a Major of the Cape Infantry Kegiment, and left the C.M.E.
He questioned me as to how long I had been in the Colony and whether I could ride. My replies apparently satisfied him, for he told the orderly sergeant to take me to the quartermaster and draw my equipments. I was taken next door, where I found a party of men breaking open boxes containing saddlery, equipments, and clothing, and I saw my two messmates " up to their eyes in it." One of them volun- teered to the sergeant to see me fixed up, and, after telling me to come straight back to camp when I had drawn my kit, the sergeant left.
I waited some time in the store-room, giving a hand to the fatigue party, passing on saddles, etc., to where they were being stacked, when a sudden hush came over the hitherto noisy party. An elderly man came into the room ; he was dressed in rather shabby mufti, and had a scraggy grey beard, and stooped slightly. My messmate, who I then found was an issuer of stores, came up to me, saying, " Here, I say, come along," walked me straight up to the new arrival, and, saluting,
IN SOUTH AFRICA 21
said, "A recruit, sir, for equipments." Captain Leatherland, the quartermaster of the regiment, as the old gentleman turned out to be, looked hard at me and said, " Where did you get those things from ? " I replied that the uniform I was wearing had been issued to me at the contractor's in King William's Town, and was told, "Well, they won't do here. That is an old Police coat you've got on — the new ones are a cut above these old ones." He then sent me to Quartermaster- Sergeant Lock, who, taking down a list of articles I had received at King, told the issuer to make me up a full kit.
The first item that pleased me was a new jacket — a black velvet corduroy the same as the one issued in King, with the difference — to my youthful mind a very big one — that the new coat was ornamented with black braid round the edges and cuffs. It was certainly more fitted for a mounted man, and was a tolerably good fit for one that had not been made to measure. I was then allowed to pick a saddle, and my messmate selected the necessary valise, saddle-bags, and straps, a large mackintosh which proved very serviceable, horse-brushes, shoe-brushes, nose-bag, and razor, the last of which caused a good deal of chaff, and suggestions as to borrowing one of the office kittens made me wish myself outside.
After signing for the long list of articles received, which were entered to my equipment account, I went into another part of the store, and there got my first issue of arms. It consisted of a very ancient Snider carbine with a barrel like a gas-pipe, which had evidently seen a lot of service ; a revolver, an old-fashioned article which threatened more damage to the man behind it than any one in front ; a black leather pouch - belt worn round the waist and holding forty-two rounds of Snider ammunition ; a black leather gun-sling worn over the
22 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
right shoulder and used for slinging the carbine when mounted on the line of march, and serving as a badge of duty when dismounted, instead of the cross belt which was issued later. In fact, the whole equipment was a Police one, and it was some two years later before the regiment received a proper military outfit.
With the aid of a couple of the men who were returning to camp, I got my kit up to the hut I had slept in the previous night. To my delight, the sergeant in charge told me I could remain in it, and that he had put me in their mess. This was a great advantage for a start, as I not only had kindred spirits for companions, but as they were on the staff I learnt what was going on in the regiment and our probable movements.
The sergeant told me that I would have a day off to get my traps in order, and that probably some horses would arrive during the day and I would be mounted almost at once. This was good news to me, and I spent the rest of the day soft- soaping my saddle and reins, and trying to work out the new appearance of everything which stamped me recruit. New leather can easily be darkened and made to look well by rubbing the leather with the inside of the skins of bananas, which were easily obtainable, and when once stained will not wash out, so that by the time my saddlery was cleaned and hung up on the rack, it looked quite presentable.
The horses did not arrive that day, but shortly after stables the following morning a civilian rode up with two natives leading six horses, and I was sent down to look at them. The horses all passed the Board, which comprised one sergeant, one corporal, and one 1st class private, and being approved by the adjutant, were ready for disposal. There being three other men besides myself to be mounted, I had the fourth pick,
IN SOUTH AFRICA 23
and took a dark chestnut gelding, about 14 hands 3 inches in height — a nice-looking animal, and apparently quiet to handle. It was with great delight that I put my new headstall on the animal, and led him off to the picquet line to be tied up. A group of men soon collected round the horses, and the general verdict seemed to be that although I had fourth pick, my horse was the best of the lot. One of the sergeants came up and took down the description of the animal, colour, age, marks, etc., and then cut a considerable amount of tail off, leaving it cut square exactly one hand above the hock, which is the regulation length a horse is allowed wherewith to knock the flies off. After watering and feeding the four new horses, they were taken out to join the troop, and, after being handed over to the horse guard, were let go, to fraternise with their new chums.
I then had my arms to attend to, and both carbine and revolver badly needed it. They had evidently been soaked in oil at some remote period and put away in store to await contingencies — a solitary recruit like myself to be armed, or a broken carbine to be replaced. The regiment at that period was very badly armed, a Snider carbine and a Colt revolver only being used.
24 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
CHAPTER III
C.M.R. AND F.A.M.P. — ORDERS TO PROCEED TO MOIROSl'S MOUNTAIN — FIRST ATTEMPT TO MOUNT FULLY EQUIPPED — GET BUCKED OFF — ON THE MARCH — METHOD OF TREKKING.
nnHE Colonial forces, which had hitherto been engaged in -*- the operations at the front, consisted of the three regiments of Cape Yeomanry, some Burgher volunteers and native levies, and two troops of "F.A.M.P." or "C.M.R," as they were now beginning to be called, and were commanded by Commandant Griffith of the Police, who was now retiring to be succeeded by Colonel Bayly, C.M.R. This force had been unsuccessful in all attempts to subdue the tough old chief Moirosi, who with his five sons and a strong tribe of Baphutis, an offshoot of the powerful Basuto nation, had long defied the Cape Government. After being driven from some of his strongholds, the chief had taken his stand on the celebrated mountain now known as Moirosi's Mountain.
After about a week at headquarters, orders were read out for twenty of us to hold ourselves in readiness to proceed to Moirosi's Mountain. Colonel Bayly and his staff had already left for that place a few days before. This caused a great commotion, and was not altogether pleasant news for many of the men ordered up. These men had already completed their three years' service, and intended taking their discharge when possible ; but as the terms of service
IN SOUTH AFRICA 25
under which they had joined the F.A.M.P. were for a period of three years, or more if required, there was no help for it, and the sooner Moirosi's Mountain was captured the sooner they would be free men. So, after a lot of grumbling, and a consignment of the powers that be to the lower regions, the majority accepted the inevitable, and the greatest bustle pervaded the camp. Horses had to be re-shod, and new straps, valises, etc., drawn from the store, but within twenty-four hours the detachment was ready to start, and only awaited the arrival of two bullock-wagons which were to accompany it as transport. Imagine my delight when my name was read out amongst the others to " go with the detachment " ! The adjutant seemed to be satisfied that if not exactly a trained soldier, I was as good as the rest at my drill, and only required the necessary experience on the veldt to finish my education.
The detachment was to march under the charge of N.C.O.'s, of which there were five, all of them having been at the Mountain in the early part of the campaign. It was with a great feeling of relief that I found my Kei Eoad friend, Sergeant Morris, was the senior, and would be in charge of the party. Since my arrival at headquarters he had evinced a great interest in my welfare, and I afterwards found out that it was to him I owed the good fortune of being placed in the hut with the four men I have already referred to.
The wagons having arrived, we were ordered to parade in heavy marching order the following morning, and make a start. This meant that practically all the kit we possessed had to be packed in as small a compass as possible and carried on our unfortunate horses. I looked with dismay at my two large red blankets, two extra shirts, half a dozen pairs of socks,
26 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
slacks, — as any sort of trousers, flannels or others are called, — brushes, and the civilian clothes which I had in the box I had brought from home, and wondered what was to be done. It was soon solved for me by my messmates, who had apparently taken a day off to help to swell the confusion that was going on. With their aid, my packing was soon accomplished. One of them rolled one blanket into an in- credibly small space, and fitted it into the valise; another showed me how to pack my saddle-bags, and the amount of kit that was stowed away seemed wonderful to me. Shirts, socks, trousers, brushes, towels, soap, razor, tobacco, matches, blacking, and cleaning gear, all disappeared com- fortably into the bags, which are connected by a flat piece of leather, the width of the seat of the saddle, and hang down on either side, being kept in their place by loops attached to the bags, through which the girths are passed. The mackintosh was then rolled and strapped on the top of the valise, which was strapped firmly to the front of the saddle. My saddle was now complete till morning, when my nose-bag with horse-brushes had to be attached to it from one of the Ds on the near side. Everything else I possessed — photos, letters, clothes, etc. — was locked up in my box, of which one of my chums in the quartermaster's store took charge. I did not see that box again for three years, when it reached me at Umtata, on the transfer of headquarters to that place.
A grand smoking concert in the evening, organised at Hedding's Store, in which "local talent" did marvellously, constituted our farewell ; but although " shandies " were as freely indulged in as smoking, every man reached quarters somehow, and in great good humour.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 27
Shortly after Reveille' next morning there was a great bustling and hurrying about in camp. The wagons had to be packed with bags of mealies from the store for horses' feed on the line of march. A picquet rope and pegs had to be taken up from the lines and also packed. Next came the rations — flour, tea, coffee, sugar, and tinned corned beef ("Harriet Lane"). Then came the packing of mess-boxes. We were told off in messes of six, and each man made his contribution towards "extras" for the road. Jams, tinned butter, cheese, and chiefly pickles, were purchased from the canteen, each man being allowed full 30s. credit. Eventually the wagons were packed to the satisfaction of the N.C.O.'s, and those who had any appetite went to breakfast, and there was a peaceful hour.
At 9 a.m. "Boot and saddle " sounded. This call is sounded three-quarters of an hour before the " Fall in," and it is not too much time for the unassisted recruit, although it can be easily accomplished in five minutes by an old hand. First of all, the horses are brought from the picquet line to the huts where their respective owners reside. Each one is then rubbed down to knock off any dirt that may have got on the animal since stables. The saddle is then put on and girthed up, and the bridle, headstall, and bits put on over the stable head- stall. The reim is carefully put round the horse's neck, and the end put through the ring and pulled till it hangs level, then it is twisted round and round till the spare length is used up and neatly knotted; the knee-band, used for knee-haltering the horse when off-saddled and turned out to graze during the halt, is fastened on the stable headstall below the throat- lash. The horse is then ready. The man then turns his attention to himself, whilst one of the numerous camp
28 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
■ hangers-on, in the shape of a Kaffir boy, holds the horse and
walks it up and down.
Leggings, boots, and spurs are put on — a hurried wash — then the jacket — the haversack containing your towel, soap, hair-brushes, razor, pipe, tobacco and matches, and very often two packages of cartridges containing twenty spare rounds, is then slung over your left shoulder. (This was before the bandolier was in use.) The black leather belt containing forty-two rounds is buckled round your waist, the buckle to the rear ; revolver strap over the right shoulder, gun-sling with carbine suspended by a strap fastened round the small of the butt, and hanging close to your hip, muzzle down- wards; the peaked cap put on, and you are ready for the " Fall in " to sound.
The regimental call, which was the same as the 10th Hussars' at that time, was then sounded. This is termed the " Warning," and takes place five minutes before the " Fall in," and is the signal for the riflemen to mount and move in the direction of the parade-ground. My late messmates, who were all assembled outside the hut, and had in fact not only saddled my horse, but also accoutred me, gave me a hand to mount. This was not such an easy affair as it appears to an onlooker. In the first place, the blanket rolled in the valise with the mackintosh folded on top of it presents an obstacle to getting hold of a lock of the mane ; and the saddle-bags and patrol-tin and nose-bag hanging at the back of the saddle look to the beginner as if they left no place for him.
To my eyes my horse did not look the same animal as on previous mornings, when I had mounted him without any difficulty on a stripped saddle, and ridden him about in company with a sergeant. This day he appeared to share
IN SOUTH AFRICA 29
my opinion that he had quite enough on his back without my weight in addition; and finding myself something like an overweighted Christmas tree, I did not feel as confident as usual. Anyway, it had to be done. One of my chums holding him tight by the bridle, another on the off side pulling on the stirrup leather to keep the saddle from slipping over with my weight, and another giving me a friendly push up, I managed to land on his back.
Whether it was the unaccustomed weight, or the barrel of my carbine which swung against his flanks and frightened him, I could never make out, but " Frank," as I had christened the animal, who had hitherto been so docile, suddenly appeared to acquire a taste for throwing somersaults. He made a bound forward, my chum let go his head, and before I had the reins firmly in my hands they were jerked out of them, and I found myself deposited on the ground with a bump which made the whole country revolve round me, with the butt of my carbine under my shoulder-blade. Frank having got rid of me, now seemed desirous of getting rid of my kit as well, and galloped into the rest of the men who were riding towards the parade-ground, kicking and jumping for all he was worth. He was almost immediately caught and brought back to where I was standing with my sympathetic friends. They told me he only pig-jumped, and explained what I ought to have done — stretch my legs out, sit back, look up, etc., were some of the many tips. I thought dis- consolately, if that was only pig-jumping, what would the buck-jumping be like that I had so often heard them talking about ?
After they had rearranged the saddle, which had been jerked nearly on to his neck, and hurried up by a loud voice
30 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
calling on us to look alive, my chums got me into the saddle again, two of them hanging on to the bridle, and the others walking beside me — I suppose to give me confidence, which I didn't feel. With a kind of crab-like action the horse reached the parade-ground, and was led into position between two men who eased off to let me in, when, apparently thinking he had done enough mischief for one day, Frank stood per- fectly still whilst the roll was being called and the troop numbered off.
The paymaster and quartermaster were the only two officers left on the parade-ground to inspect us and see us off; the former made a remark about my dusty appearance, and on Sergeant Morris telling him I had been bucked off, he said I had no business to be sent up if I couldn't ride. I felt very sick at this, but consoled myself with the thought that perhaps the reason he was being left behind was that he could not ride. I was not far out. In all the years I have known " Smithfield Jim " I have never seen him astride a horse. The wagons had started with the usual accompaniment of whip-cracks and cries of "Yaak man!" etc., and two mounted men falling out to escort them, the remainder of us wheeled into half-sections, the same order as the bullocks, and "Walk march" being given, we started amidst cheers from our comrades, and with all sorts of good wishes and suggestions as to what we should do with the wily Moirosi when we got him. "March at ease" was given, pipes were produced, and we settled in our saddles for a three or four hours' trek.
My horse being as unused to the march as I was myself, could not walk with the old stager he was beside, and was continually jogging at a slow trot to keep up. My hip was
IN SOUTH AFRICA 31
very sore, the bump-bump of the butt of my carbine against it didn't improve it, and before an hour was past I was feeling pretty sick of things in general. Sergeant Morris, seeing that I did not look happy, asked me whether I was hurt, and when I said my hip was bothering me, he kindly told me to fall out and wait till the wagons came up, — they were a short distance behind us at the time, — put my carbine on a wagon, and come on with the escort slowly. This I did, and before we reached the camping-ground at midday I had quite regained the confidence the horse had knocked out of me, and had also taught him a lesson that he could not do what he liked with me in future.
As the wagons travelled very slowly, we dismounted several times to let them get well ahead, and then remounted and trotted after them. This did me a lot of good, and I found after three or four attempts I could mount the horse quite easily, and soon got accustomed to the packed saddle — also my horse began to develop a good walk.
On arrival at the camping-ground we rode up to the saddles where the remainder of the men were, who had arrived an hour or more before us, off-saddled our horses, and knee- haltered them. This is done with a knee-band which fits round the horse's leg above the knee, and the reim of the stable headstall passed through the ring of the band and again through the headstall till it is the required length — generally about two feet — and brings the horse's head down to that distance from his knee. The animal is then let go with the others to graze. This makes it very simple to catch them when they are driven in to feed or saddle-up again.
On the arrival of the wagons the mess-boxes were quickly unpacked, and a good meal indulged in. The water having
32 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
already been boiled in the individual patrol-tins, it did not take many minutes to make tea. Having eaten our fill, we stretched ourselves out by our saddles for a smoke and a sleep, and in a very short space of time every man except those who volunteered to cook the evening meal to be eaten before trekking again, were sound asleep.
About 4 p.m. the word to draw grain for the horses was passed round, and the men shaking themselves together, proceeded to the wagon with their horse-bags, and drew suffi- cient mealies for the evening feed for the horses.
Plates, knives and forks were then produced from the mess-boxes, and we all gathered round our respective mess fire, on which a large three-legged pot or camp-kettle was already standing, with patrol-tins filled with water all round it. All eyes were centred on the cook, who shortly announced that skoff (dinner) was ready. Each man in turn held out his plate over the pot whilst the cook ladled out his share with a large tin spoon. The stew, which is generally the standing dish for the evening meal, was excellent, and con- sisted of two or three chunks of mutton or beef, or perhaps both, rice, potatoes, and vegetable cake — the latter an assort- ment of dried compressed vegetables, cabbage, turnips, etc., which, when well stewed, makes a very good imitation of the real article. This, together with bread-and-butter and coffee, is all that a young Colonial soldier could desire, and when eaten makes him feel charitably disposed to the whole world.
Skoff being finished, each man washes his own utensils, and they are repacked in the mess-box. The order pack up is then given by the N.C.O. in charge, and boxes are stowed on the wagon, the pots slung on the sides and fastened with string, and the bullocks having been brought up,
IN SOUTH AFRICA
33
the drivers commence inspanning. The two men detailed for baggage-guard saddle-up, their horses having been caught in the veldt by them some time before, and fed, and the wagons move off on their next stage, while the remainder of the men return to the fires, and sit round them smoking and yarning. Sometimes a mysterious black bottle appears and is handed round, and then disappears again into a haversack.
After the wagons have been gone for about an hour, the troop horses are brought up to the saddles by the horse guard and caught by their respective owners, formed into line, nose-bags fastened on, and the horses fed. In those days " stables " was not observed as strictly as it was later on, and as a rule a man pleased himself whether he groomed his horse on the line of march or not, but in most cases a man brushed his horse down during the time the animal was feeding.
When the sergeant had satisfied himself that the horses had finished their feed, the order to saddle-up was given, and the horses led by their respective owners up to the saddles and saddled-up. This operation, which seemed so simple to my comrades, took me a considerable time. No sooner did I fit the blanket on the horse's back (we carried one blanket under the saddle on the march, besides the one in the valise) and lift my saddle to place it on the blanket, than the wretched horse would turn round, and the blanket slip off, when I had to put the saddle down and start again. Fortunately for me, one of the men, who had saddled his horse and dressed himself almost as quickly as I had folded my blanket, came to my assistance, and the horse, recognising that it was no use playing the fool, stood still and was saddled in time for me to fall in without any uncharitable remarks from the N.C.O.'s. 3
34 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
To my great relief the horse did not indulge in any of the eccentricities he had displayed in the morning, but let me climb up, and walked into the ranks with me as if showing me that he understood his job, if I didn't.
We soon numbered off and marched away in pursuit of the wagons. It was now nearly dark ; march at ease having been given, and pipes produced, the files closed up and the singers of the company were called on for a song. Several songs with good old choruses were given ; the horses seemed to enjoy the music, and snorted and stepped out gaily. This continued for about two hours, and we had almost caught up the wagons when the halt was called. We were told to dismount and loosen girths — look round our saddlery to see if it was all correct, and nothing galling the horse in any way. After a rest of half an hour, spent in lying on the roadside and yarning, we were told to girth up — tighten the girths, mount, and forward. Songs again enlivened the way, and the mysterious black bottle often made its appearance and was handed back from one to another upon the line, but the only effect it seemed to have was that the choruses got a trifle louder, and the chaffing a little more pointed.
After passing the wagons, we marched steadily on for about two hours, when we were wheeled off the road — " Front form, dismount and off- saddle." This was soon accom- plished and the horses led out in front. The new guard fell in and counted over the horses, which were then knee- haltered as in the morning, and let go into the veldt, where they remained till morning.
As a rule when a troop off-saddles for the night on the line of march, the horses are rung — that is, put in a line and then fastened to one another from left to right. The two end
IN SOUTH AFRICA 35
horses are then brought together, making a ring, and tied to one another, and the animals remain in that position till untied. But at the time I am writing of this was rarely done except in bad weather, and the old Policeman rarely lost a horse from the troop however dark the night was, even if the animals were turned loose without being knee-haltered.
After letting the horses go, we unpacked our saddles, and unrolling our blankets made our beds down behind our saddles in line ; the carbines placed in an upright position inside, the saddles, belts, caps, hung round it, the mackintosh thrown over the top and coming down over the head of the sleeper, making a very comfortable bed. It did not take very long before I was sound asleep, although my left hip was giving me considerable pain. I have a vague sort of recollection of the wagons arriving during the night, but that is all, and I did not wake till daylight.
Next morning shortly after daybreak, I looked around for our two wagons but could see no sign of them. On making inquiries, I was told that they had arrived about midnight, tied the oxen up for a couple of hours, and then trekked on again. I found that a very heavy dew had fallen during the night and the grass was very wet, also my top blanket. Some of the men were standing round a fire watching the water boiling for coffee. I filled my patrol tin from a sluit with running water in it, just below where we had slept, and proceeded to follow their example. In a short time the water was boiling, and with the aid of a tin of cocoa paste, containing milk and sugar among the ingredients, which I carried in my haversack, I succeeded in making a patrol tin full of excellent cocoa.
The sergeant gave the word to pack up, which neces-
36 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
sitated rolling the wet blanket up and getting it and then the mackintosh into the valise, then we were ready. The horses, looking rather stiff and wet, were driven up and caught, and we proceeded to saddle up and fall in. I thought I was in for a repetition of the previous morning's performance, as the horse flinched considerably when the saddle was placed on his back, and did not seem to like being girthed up. After getting into my own accoutrements, minus my carbine, which was still on the wagon, I had to be assisted up into the saddle, as my hip was dreadfully sore and stiff; but, contrary to my expectations, Frank took it very calmly, and beyond a plunge which I managed to sit, walked quietly into his place in the ranks. I was then convinced that it was the carbine that had caused the trouble the day before, and decided in my own mind that it should remain where it was on the wagon until I was ordered to take it off.
After about three hours' trekking at a good walk, with a couple of short halts, we came to a nice stream, where we found the wagons already outspanned and the bullocks out in the veldt. We off-saddled, knee-haltered the horses and let them go. Getting out of our belts and coats, and shirt sleeves rolled up, we set about unpacking our blankets and spreading them out for the sun to dry. One man from each mess started the fires, whilst the remainder drew grain for the horses, and got the mess boxes off the wagon and took them up to the fires. After breakfast the horses were brought in and fed, and then turned out into the veldt again, while we spent the time wiping over the steel bit and stirrup irons with oil rags, and cleaning carbines and revolvers. This being finished we were at liberty to bathe, which most of us did, in a splendid stream of water. I then discovered a beautiful bruise on my hip and
IN SOUTH AFRICA 37
shoulder, but the bathe did me good, and I was not so stiff after it as I had been in the early morning. I asked and obtained permission to leave my carbine on the wagon till my hip was well, and a load was off my mind for a time.
We remained at the outspan all day; the weather being hot in the daytime, all the trekking was to be done at night. As the duration of the marches depended solely on the state of the roads, the distances covered varied considerably. The owner of the wagons was with them, and being a Colonial and an old Kurveyor, as transport riders were called, he did the trekking independently of the troop, and we as a rule only stayed with the wagons during the day. The usual routine was the wagons leaving about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and trekking till about 10 ; the drivers would then tie up the bullocks till about 2 or 3 in the morning, when they would inspan and trek on till 8 or 9 a.m. The bullocks were then let go to feed all day till time for the evening trek. By this method we averaged 18 to 20 miles a day.
Men drew grain for their horses, had dinner, and packed the wagons before 4 in the afternoon, fed the horses at 5 p.m., saddled up about 6 p.m., and marched till 10 p.m. ; off-saddled and turned the horses knee-haltered into the veldt with a guard, unrolled their blankets and turned in. Next morning, we marched about 5.30 a.m. till we came up to the wagons, which was generally about 8 or 9, and remained with them until they started off again in the afternoon. So all the meals were taken while we were with the wagons except coffee in the early morning, which we carried in our haversacks, our patrol tins being always attached to the saddles. The days were usually spent lying in the shade of the wagons, cleaning gear, talking, washing clothes, etc. Owing to the late Galeka
38 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
and Gaika Wars, the natives had abandoned the part of the country through which we were marching, and we only occasionally saw a few of them rebuilding huts in the distance. As they evidently distrusted the Ama Police, as we were called, they kept that distance.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 39
CHAPTER IV.
ARRIVE AT QUEENSTOWN — GOOD RECEPTION — SERGEANT COMES TO GRIEF WITH MY HORSE — ARRIVE AT DORDRECHT — MEET RETURNING YEO- MANRY— MY IMPRESSIONS OF THEM— HORSE GUARD IN THE VELDT — MY HORSE GETS LOST — REACH PALMIETFONTEIN — JOINED BY SOME OLD HANDS — ENTER MOIROSl's COUNTRY— PRECAUTIONS AGAINST ATTACK — ARRIVE AT THOMAS'S SHOP — MEET NO. 5 TROOP.
A ETER about a week of marching through a very fine -*-■*- country, well watered, we came to Queenstown, a pretty little up-country town connected with East London and King William's Town by train. We outspanned on the out- skirts of the town over the railway crossing on the Dordrecht Road, and after breakfast and polishing ourselves up we got leave to go into the town.
Queenstown was even then the centre of a large farming community. It is one of the prettiest towns in the Colony, situated at the foot of a range of hills, its white houses sur- rounded by fine trees and very picturesque gardens. The main street ran straight through the town, with a few smaller streets running parallel to it, connected by smaller ones. Queenstown had the reputation of possessing the prettiest girls to be found in South Africa, and, as far as I can judge, it justifies that reputation still. The Queenstown girl is the most English of all Colonials in her manners, well educated and brought up. They are a most healthy looking lot, some of the finest tennis players coming from that district. Their
40 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
hospitality is too well known for comment, and if there had been a few more Queenstowns in South Africa in the matter of loyalty it would have been better for the Mother Country. Unhappily, since the Boer War, the word loyalty is one that brings a sneer to the lips of Britishers in South Africa.
At the time of our arrival in Queenstown, great interest was centred in the doings of the troops at Moirosi Mountain, of which a strong contingent of Queenstown volunteers formed part. We were received with open arms, strangers shook hands with us and invited us into their houses or hotels for refreshments, and wished us all kinds of luck and safe return from our expedition. This was my first experience of the great friendship which I found existed between men in private life in the Cape Colony and their " first line of defence," as the C.M.R. were and are. Their intimate knowledge of the individual officers and men of the regiment pointed to the interest evinced by all in the welfare of the corps, and made me feel proud of being a member of it.
As my two chums and myself were leaving Gammer's Hotel we met Sergeant Morris, who instructed us to be in camp not later than 3 p.m., as he had received a telegram from Aliwal North telling him to push on as quickly as the bullocks could travel.
Next morning at daybreak I was awakened by an angry voice telling us to get up and catch our horses. Wondering what had caused the change in the manner of our hitherto strict but genial sergeant, I got up with the others and caught my horse, and then found that there were several missing, amongst them two of the N.C.O.'s horses and Sergeant Morris' pack-horse which carried the N.C.O.'s blankets. Amid dire
IN SOUTH AFRICA 41
threats of what would happen when they reached Moirosi Mountain if the horses were not immediately found, the guard saddled up to go in search of them.
One of the N.C.O.'s, anxious about his horse, and seeing me holding mine, came to me and said, "Lend me your moke, youngster, and I will soon find them." He took my horse and put his own saddle and bridle on, and hurriedly mounted, but Frank was " not taking any." He refused to budge, and the sergeant getting annoyed jammed both his spurs home, with a result not altogether expected by him. Frank gave one plunge, got his head down and treated us to a great display of bucking. The sergeant sat him manfully for about three of the awful jerks, and then went flying over the horse's head on to the ground. Frank, whose dormant spirit had evidently been roused by the dig of the spurs, continued the motion in the hope, I suppose, of getting rid of the saddle as well. Finding all attempts at this ineffectual, he raised his head, and raced off as hard as he could across the veldt. It was not till the lost horses had been recovered and driven in by the guard, who had found him on their way, that I succeeded in catching him. When the sergeant picked himself up his language was an education of sorts, and, after abusing the horse till words failed him, he told me I was a cad for not telling him that the brute was a bucker. I reminded him that he himself had told me that the horse only pig-jumped when I met with my downfall. The other N.C.O.'s laughed at this, and he joined in and the incident closed. We were the best of friends afterwards, and had many a laugh over what he termed being let down by a " rookie."
We hurriedly saddled up and made up for lost time by trotting most of the road till we overtook the wagons.
42 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
Frank went splendidly with me, and I had a secret feeling of satisfaction that I had regained some of my self-esteem in the way of horsemanship.
After two more days' trekking through rather uninteresting country, chiefly hills, with a good outcrop of boulders, we arrived at Dordrecht, marched through the only street, and camped by a vlei in a hollow below the town. Dordrecht at that time was a most desolate-looking place situated under a range of very bleak and high hills. Its population, with the exception of a few English shop and hotel keepers and professional men, consisted of Dutch, the families in the sur- rounding district being mostly of the same nationality. Eelations between the Police and the Dutch had evidently not been very cordial, in this district at any rate, a mutual distrust being manifest. We found a troop of yeomanry in the town, who were on their way to their homes. They had left Moirosi Mountain on the arrival of Colonel Bayly, and seemed very well pleased with themselves on that account. They informed us that all the volunteers and yeomanry had either left or were leaving the mountain, and that only the C.M.R and about forty men called the Northern Border Guard were remaining, and offered to bet freely that the mountain would not be taken by us. As they had been imbibing pretty freely, and were becoming rather personal in their remarks about the regiment, a row looked imminent, and Sergeant Morris, seeing the state of affairs, ordered us all back to the wagons, and what might have been an ugly row was averted. They rode off shortly afterwards, and seemed to have no semblance of discipline left in them, if they had ever possessed any, riding along just as they pleased. I remember thinking at the time that if they were a specimen of the Colonial
IN SOUTH AFRICA 43
troops it was no wonder that Moirosi was still defying the Government.
There were six men told off daily for guard, who used to mount, that is, parade, at 6 p.m. ; this gave us two nights in bed, as off-duty is generally termed. At that period the duties were not performed nearly so strictly as subsequently when the regiment became properly reorganised, and the guard used to sleep in their ordinary places. The first relief of two men would mount guard directly the horses were let go, that is, they would go out into the veldt with them and keep a look-out that they did not stray, or any unauthorised person come near them. The time the reliefs would remain out depended on the length of the outspan, which was divided amongst the three reliefs.
On the night in question the reliefs were divided into four hours' duration. I was on first relief with another man, and we went out with the horses, after feeding them, at 6 p.m. and remained out with them till 10 p.m., when my companion went to the saddles to call the second relief. On their arrival they should have counted the horses to see that they were correct, as there were only about twenty - eight, including spare ponies, which the guard were not held responsible for. It was a very clear night and the animals were easily dis- cernible, and the second relief took them over, that is, remained with them whilst my companion and I returned to the camp.
Next morning I found that the wagons had not gone on as usual, and was told by Wilson, the conductor, that his bullocks were lost; they had strayed away on the previous afternoon and the boys had not succeeded in bringing them in. This is a common experience with spans of bullocks whilst trekking, towards the end of the journey. The brutes
44 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
would crawl along the road at a snail's pace, and an onlooker would imagine that they were absolutely done up, but the moment they are outspanned and out of the yoke, they mouch off, one behind the other, generally in the direction from which they have come, and unless the piccaninny, or voor-looper, as the boy is called, is after them at once, they go wandering on till they get out of sight. I have known the oxen get eight or ten miles from the wagons before they have been discovered and brought back. And I know very few things more annoying to happen on the march than the oxen going astray. It was destined that I should have another experi- ence of the kind that day. When the horses were brought in at 6 a.m. to be fed, we found four absent, my Frank being one of the absentees. The third relief admitted having taken over horses correctly from the second relief at 2 a.m., and the onus was on them. One of the pleasures of the third relief when too good natured to count the animals and accept the other relief's word of " All Correct," is that they pay the penalty of being the scapegoat.
All of the guard were hauled up before Sergeant Morris, who made inquiries from us as to how the horses appeared to be feeding, whether they were giving trouble or not, and in what direction they appeared to want to stray. But it ended, of course, in the fact that the third relief having taken them over as correct at 2 a.m., were therefore responsible for the loss of them. They were denounced as a couple of lazy sweeps, who had been asleep, and would probably get six months and have to pay for the horses. In the meantime, to give us a chance, Sergeant Morris ordered us to saddle up and go in search of them.
The second and third reliefs saddled up together with half
IN SOUTH AFRICA 45
a dozen of the oldest hands, experts at recovering all kinds of stock, and went in search of them, whilst I and the other first relief wandered out into the veldt with the remainder of the horses. At about 8 a.m. the bullocks were visible slowly coming over the hills about three miles away, and on their arrival at the wagons they were kept close by to await the return of the search-party.
The men arrived by twos and threes at intervals during the next two hours, and the last man having turned up reporting no signs of the horses for miles round the town, and no stray animals in the pound in the town itself, I began to feel sick and sorry for myself. Sergeant Morris sent a description of the horses to the Magistrates' Court, gave the order to inspan, as there had already been a trek lost, and told us four unlucky ones to put our saddles and kits on the wagons and " foot slog " beside them, thereby dispensing with a mounted escort. This was much to the delight of the mounted section, who were not sorry to get off the disagree- able duty of keeping pace with the crawling teams of oxen, of the deadly monotony entailed by which duty only those who have experienced it can judge.
Inspanning, we started off walking, and after going some distance we were invited by the owner to jump up. I took up my position at his side, and soon found him very inter- esting company. His name was Wilson, and he came from Amalinda, a small village not far from East London. He was a Colonial-born man, of Scottish parentage, and had been with wagons since his boyhood. He was very much annoyed at having lost a trek through the oxen straying, and by the way he jumped off the front of the wagon with the huge whip, and sent it coiling round his head and brought
46 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
the lash down on some unfortunate beast's back, he seemed determined to make them regain the lost time. We certainly got over the ground in a quicker time than I had hitherto seen bullocks travel, and arrived at the outspan place before the mounted men had caught us. It was a short trek, not more than six miles, but it was the middle of the day, and he told me he intended going on late in the afternoon and trekking most of the night.
The mounted men having arrived after dinner, we started off with the wagons just before sundown, and trekked on at a good pace. After dark, the four of us coiled ourselves up in our blankets, picked out soft spots amidst the boxes and sacks of grain, and, assisted by the rocking and jolting of the wagon, went asleep. I never slept better, and only awakened in the middle of the night, when we outspanned for a short while, to go to sleep again and wake with the sun streaming on my face, when we got off the wagon and walked off the stiffness we all more or less experienced from our cramped positions during the night.
It was just on 10 o'clock before we arrived at the outspan, where we found the mounted men impatiently awaiting our arrival. They had been off-saddled for a few hours and were getting hungry; the men's boxes were soon tumbled off, and after a good breakfast we began to be civil to one another. Wilson told me we were quite 30 miles from Dordrecht, and had practically made up for the lost trek. This satisfied the N.C.O.'s., and the world went very well then.
We trekked on in the same regular manner day after day, or rather night after night. The country was similar to Dordrecht district — hills and stones, hardly a tree to be
IN SOUTH AFRICA 47
seen, and, except for an occasional farmhouse stuck under some prominent little kopje, hardly any sign of life. A few miserable looking sheep, a span of oxen and some cows, and two or three horses running loose; a small garden close to a house with apparently nothing in it ; a figure in a female dress, surmounted by a capje, a bonnet of various colours, generally white, which might have been a young girl, or her grandmother, for all an observer could tell, without actually looking under the overhanging brim of the thing; two or three tall, gaunt-looking men, or overgrown boys, with long hair and a general appearance of being total strangers to the use of soap and water, loafing about, apparently doing nothing — and you were told you had passed a Dutch farm.
We met a good many wagons returning empty from the front, generally passing them during the night. The mountains of Basutoland were now beginning to show up in the distance, and we passed Lady Grey some miles lower down, and were gradually drawing close to Palmietfontein, a Police station, where No. 4 Troop of the F.A.M.P. had their headquarters for some years, and where we hoped to hear some news on our arrival. The N.C.O.'s pointed out a range of mountains to the front and right as the Drakensberg Range, and also the direction of Moirosi's Mountain, which lay behind some of the mountains in sight. All this tended to liven us up, and make us very anxious to push on and join our comrades who were already there, but of whose doings we could get no satisfactory account from the various wagon-drivers we had passed.
Two or three more treks brought us one morning early in November to Palmietfontein, where we outspanned the
48 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
wagons outside the barracks which we found there. About a dozen or more men came out to greet us, and we found that they were details of different troops who had been left behind sick when they passed through. These men were now fit again and were to go forward with our detachment. They were as glad to see us as we were to see them, and the way they immediately pounced upon the different men whom they knew, taking their horses from them and off- saddling, and then taking the animals to the stables for a feed, gave me my first real insight into the wonderful feeling of comradeship that existed between the men of the regiment.
As I had no horse, and was standing rather disconsolately by the wagon, a cheery voice called out to me, " Won't you come in and have some skoff ? " and a young Irishman came up and asked what troop I belonged to. I explained that I had not yet been posted to a troop, and that I was a recruit. " Faith," said he, " I wish there were a few more like you ; come on, me son, we must be chums," and led the way into a room where there were already about six of my detachment doing justice to an excellent breakfast of bacon and eggs. I joined in, my host being most assiduous in his attentions, and seeming quite concerned when I couldn't eat any more.
After breakfast my new friend took me round the camp, introduced me to his friends, and showed me the stables, recreation-room, etc., and then we strolled down to the store. He told me he belonged to No. 1 Troop, generally called the Irish Brigade, and that, begad, I must join it directly I got to the mountain; that nearly all the troop were Irish, and " every mother's son of them gentlemen." I afterwards found out that he was nearly correct in his statement as to the
C.M.R. CAMP, PALMIETFONTEIN, 1880.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 49
nationality of the troop, and that with a few exceptions the officers, N.C.O.'s, and men all hailed from the Emerald Isle and were a splendid lot of fellows. Faulkner, my new friend had the reputation of being one of the best riders and sports- men in the regiment, and we remained great friends as long as he remained in the corps. Four years later Paddy went as a law agent to East Griqualand, where he died a few years afterwards. There were few more popular men in the regiment than Paddy Faulkner, and I shall never forget his kindness to me when I was an inexperienced lad and needed friendly advice.
After spending some time at the store chatting with the proprietor, who was an ex-Policeman and doing well, we returned to camp, where the afternoon was spent in cleaning our saddlery and equipments. Getting an empty mealie bag from the wagon, I carefully oiled all my gear and put it with the saddlery into the sack, and stowed it carefully away on the wagon, where it would not be thrown about till my arrival at the mountain. Eations issued for four days, ammunition inspected and deficiencies made up, orders issued that ammunition belts were not to be taken off nor arms quitted after leaving the station, began to give an air of reality to the business on which we were embarking, and when I was told that on crossing a stream about five miles from Palmietfontein we would be in the enemy's country, I had all sorts of imaginary visions, and could hardly sleep that night with anticipations of what would happen on the morrow.
We were aroused at daylight next morning, and packing up was proceeded with. One reinforcement packed their belong- ings on our wagon, which had got considerably lighter on 4
50 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
the journey. The horse rations being nearly finished, had materially altered the weights allotted on commencing the journey, and there was not as much danger of our sticking in the drifts and mountain roads through which we would have to pass as there would have been with full loads. The blankets and saddle-bags of the mounted men were also packed on the wagons, only their mackintoshes being left on their saddles to enable them to move quickly over the country if it should be necessary. This made a great difference to the appearance of the detachment. The horses moved more freely, and the men looked much more active and smart in the saddle than formerly.
The wagons were inspanned, and the detachment saddling up at the same time, we all moved off together, two of us dismounted men on each wagon, two N.C.O.'s and the men about 100 yards ahead of the leading wagon, and the remainder the same distance in rear of the second one, keeping clear of the dust and riding on the veldt when possible. This went on till we reached a stream which divided the two districts. We were now in the country of the rebels, who were supposed to have fallen back on their last position at Moirosi's Mountain. The country was of a barren nature, with very strong kopjes standing up in the veldt in all directions, and a very bad road, filled with holes and boulders. It was marvellous how any vehicle could stand the sudden jolts and shocks that we were treated to, and it got so bad that we were told to get off and walk. This we did, taking our carbines with us. The road twisted round a hill, then descended into a ravine with the water rushing over the rocks in the drift — generally composed of large stones through which nothing but an African wagon
IN SOUTH AFRICA 51
or strong Cape cart could possibly get without smashing up ; then up a steep hill, generally straight up the face, no attempts being made at a cutting, at which the bullocks strained every muscle, the drivers swearing and cracking their long whips, stopping at short intervals, sticking stones behind the wheels; then on again, panting bullocks, yelling drivers, and the cracking whips making a scene almost inde- scribable. Half the detachment on the top of the hill dismounted to watch the progress of the wagons and the surrounding country at the same time; the other half, the other side of the drift, also dismounted and waited till the wagons reached the summit before following up.
Here I may say that it is one of the unwritten rules in the C.M.R. never to march a detachment of men up a hill immediately in the rear of a wagon. The whole weight of the wagon is on the sixteen bullocks pulling on the trek- chain to which are fastened the yokes ; and in a bad place going up a steep hill, if the strain should prove too much for the chain, and it were to snap at the dessel-boom to which it is attached, the whole wagon would rush down the hill and crush everything in its course. This rule might well be observed by other corps. I saw some glaring instances of its breach in the late war with the Dutch, when mounted men and infantry often followed close behind wagons in some very dangerous places, where the snapping of a chain would have caused as many casualties as a decent engagement, and have brought home to the officers in command a sense of their utter ignorance of veldt work in South Africa.
We outspanned about four miles after crossing the stream — the wagons, as usual, side by side. The horses were let out to graze more closely knee-haltered than usual ; the first relief
52 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
of two men going out mounted, and the remainder of the guard tying their horses up to the wagons and feeding them, to enable them at any moment to get the horses in quickly should the occasion arise. I also noticed two men climbing to the top of a hill overlooking us, where they remained till they were relieved to get their breakfast. They were videttes keeping a look-out for the safety of the camp. We marched on again from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., the same order being observed on the march, and outspanned before dark.
We were then on the top of a high range of hills. Stretching across our front, in the distance, looking very high in comparison, we saw the Drakensberg mountains, amongst which was Moirosi Mountain. It was getting dark, and the wagons were now placed about twenty yards apart and abreast of one another, the picquet rope fastened from one to the other, and the horses tied up to it on either side of the rope. The men placed their saddles, half of them on the outer side of one of the wagons, and the other half on the outer flank of the other, whilst the guard and the four of us dismounted men slept on the rear face outside the horses. Fires were lighted behind some rocks, and we soon had dinner, and lay down in our blankets at our various stations with our carbines alongside of us. Shortly afterwards, with the exception of the two sentries who walked up and down the sides outside the men, everything was quiet, except for an occasional snort from a horse or cough from a bullock.
We inspanned and saddled up next morning shortly after daylight, morning coffee being dispensed with, and marched ofl*. We went very slowly, the roads being in a very bad state and gradually getting steeper as we went along, so that
IN SOUTH AFRICA 53
it seemed almost impossible to go any farther with a wagon. We consoled ourselves with the knowledge that wagons had gone in the same direction, although there was very little in the shape of tracks to show that they had gone over that way. So the bullocks struggled on, and with the aid of whip- cracks and yelling, which might have been heard miles off, succeeded in doing a very fair trek. While outspanned, the sergeant whom my horse had succeeded in bucking off, called me up and asked me if I would like to ride on to Thomas's shop with him ; if so, I could ride his spare pony, which had hitherto been ridden by his Kaffir boy, who led his pack-horse. I, of course, said Yes, and thanked him. He then told me to catch his horse and the pony in the troop, and we would start in half an hour's time. I was highly delighted, and with the aid of the horse-guard easily caught the two animals. The sergeant told me to put his spare saddle and bridle on the pony for myself, and after he had saddled up his troop horse we left the wagons and cantered off to Thomas's shop. We passed through very rugged country, where the mountains seemed to close in on us. I noticed several large caves under the ledges of rock on some of the mountains as we passed These were pointed out to me as the places where Moirosi had taken refuge from time to time, and had been driven out of at the commencement of the campaign. The sergeant was very interesting in his talk, and told me a good many inci- dents of his career in the regiment. He told me he expected to get the sword shortly — he expected to receive his commission — and as at that period only officers wore swords, a commission was termed " getting the sword." His expectations turned out to be correct, for he was promoted to lieutenant in less than a month from that time.
54 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
After about a twelve miles' ride, which I thoroughly enjoyed after the wagon travelling, we arrived at Thomas's shop, so called after the trader who lived at the place. There were several buildings, or rather large huts, which were used as a hospital, in which there were several men in various stages of convalescence, C.M.R. and Yeomanry. There was also a troop of C.M.R, No. 5, the same one that had been knocked about in the second attack on the mountain.
Our horses were taken from us and looked after by men eager to welcome us, and I was asked into a tent wThere ten or twelve men were, and made to feel at home among them. They were a rough-looking lot ; nearly all of them had beards, and their uniforms had only one thing in common, and that was their jackets — all of which had at some remote period been black velvet corduroy of the same pattern that Mr. Ryan had issued to me on my joining, but were now almost white and threadbare ; riding breeches of all colours, which had evidently been bought at traders' stores from time to time, were the fashion. The two rings of black braid on the cuffs of their coats showed me that they were all first-class privates — or, to use the C.M.R. term, " They had all got their rings," which meant one shilling a day rise in pay and the first step up the ladder, a man having to become a first-class private before he could be made a corporal. As a man had to wait his turn on the seniority list before he got his ring, and this only as vacancies occurred, he had some- times to wait three years before his turn came. This made promotion in the regiment very slow, and disheartened not a few, who left the regiment after their three years' engagement as they had joined it, full-blown second-class
IN SOUTH AFRICA 55
privates. Promotions went in the troops to which the men belonged, so many first-class men being allowed per troop, and the rapidity of a man's promotion depended greatly on the time he happened to join and on the number of first-class men who were about to take their discharges.
I met a good many of the men who had been wounded at the second attack. They had all recovered and were ready for the next one — everybody being confident that now the regiment had got together, and the new colonel was just the sort, further operations would be of a disastrous nature to old Moirosi and his tribe. Surgeon-Major Hartley was at Thomas's shop when we arrived, and the men were full of admiration of his conduct at the former attack. He received the Victoria Cross for the same action some two years later.
Amongst the veterans I met Heskins, known throughout the regiment as " Snowball," a not very flattering allusion to his personal appearance, which was decidedly tubby. Snow- ball left the regiment many years ago, and is an old resident in the Transvaal at the present time. He was the " character " of the troop, and no matter what adverse circumstances the men were placed in, Snowball's quaint doings and sayings always brought a smile or a laugh to his down-in-the-mouth companions.
Our wagons arriving the next morning with the detach- ment, the whole of No. 5 Troop turned out and cheered them. Great excitement prevailed for the time ; men met who had not seen each other since they were recruits together three years before, and they walked away in all directions with their chums, swapping experiences and adventures that had happened to them since they last met. Paddy Faulkner soon
56 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
hunted me up, and we spent the day together visiting different tents and hearing the latest reports from the front, now only fifteen miles from us, till the evening came, when an excellent sing-song round a large bonfire brought a very pleasant day to a close.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 57
CHAPTEE V.
FINAL TREK TO MOIROSl'S MOUNTAIN — MISTAKE DISTANT FIRING OF BIG GUNS FOR THUNDER — AM DISABUSED OF THE IDEA — ARRIVAL AT HEADQUARTERS CAMP, MOIROSl'S MOUNTAIN — UNDECIDED WHICH TROOP TO JOIN — FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN — WATCHING RELIEF OF SADDLE PICQUET — DECIDE TO JOIN NO. 3 TROOP — PREPARA- TIONS FOR ATTACK ON MOUNTAIN — BAYONET DRILL — NIGHT ATTACK ON MOUNTAIN — LIEUTENANT SPRENGER FIRST MAN UP ON THE TOP — CAPTURE OF MOUNTAIN — DEATH OF MOIROSI AND HIS SONS — ORDERS FOR TROOPS TO MARCH TO VARIOUS STATIONS.
rnHE next morning we left Thomas's shop for our final trek, -*- hoping to reach the mountain that night. With " Good-bye, and see you in a day or two " from our friends of No. 5, who were being held in readiness to go forward at a moment's notice, we started — the mounted men with drawn arms, and advance and rear guards. The road, which was very rocky, wound its way along the side of a range of small mountains, a spur of the great Drakensberg Eange, where the slightest mistake in handling the bullock teams would have sent the wagons toppling down the steep sides, which fell some hundreds of feet. We gradually descended to the level of the river and crossed the drift of the Buffalo Eiver, where we outspanned. There was an officer and detachment at this drift under canvas. The camp was a mixture of bell and small patrol tents, the latter just large enough to accom- modate two men with their saddlery at the head, and suitable only for purposes of sleep. These men were held in readiness
58 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
to march at any moment, and were at present fore-laying the drifts and passes leading into Basutoland along the Orange River. The scenery about here was very grand ; the mountains, varying in shapes and sizes, stood up against the sky in all directions ; huge overhanging rocks, that looked as if a touch would send them toppling over and crush everything beneath, including the puny man, who looking up at them felt a very insignificant object indeed.
A sound as of the rumbling of distant thunder occurred at intervals, and I began to think that we were in for a storm, although the sky, or as much as we could see of it, was cloud- less. Faulkner disillusioned me unpleasantly by coming up and saying, " Do you hear the guns, my boy ? but its little damage they do with all their noise ; they might just as well be shooting peas out of a pea-shooter for all the good they are." When I remarked that surely they must have some effect on the natives, he retorted, " Effect your grandmother — what do you know about shells — except with eggs in them — you will see the place yourself to-night, and then you will be able to judge what effect it has on the nigger — mighty little, I can tell you ; but the artillery must earn the extra sixpence, I suppose, that's why they keep on blazing away at nothing," an allusion to the well-earned extra sixpence per diem which the artillery troop were allowed above the ordi- nary rate of pay.
We marched again that afternoon, and after a stiff pull out for the open, found ourselves where there had been an attempt at road making, a place called " The Cutting." The road was hewn out of the side of the mountains, and wound round them for some distance, afterwards following an almost straight line. On rounding the corner we at last came in
IN SOUTH AFRICA 59
sight of the notorious Moirosi Mountain straight ahead of us, standing alone — a giant amongst the surrounding mountains. On our left, at the foot of the hills we were traversing, about 500 feet below us, flowed the Orange Kiver, the boundary between Basutoland proper and the country we were now fighting in, inhabited by the Baphutis, of whom Moirosi was the chief. We had glimpses of the river running in and out the mountains and flowing past the bottom of Moirosi, which rose majestically and, as it seemed, sheer from its bank, dwarfing the other by no means small mountains which surrounded it.
We could distinctly hear the booming of the guns as they were fired; the sound travelling up the valley of the river seemed to lessen the distance. The road being fairly level, though still very rocky and worn in places, the bullocks travelled along very well, and I soon had visible signs that the hitherto easy life I had experienced since joining the regiment was about to undergo a startling change.
We could now see the different camps of tents between us and the foot of the mountain, also troops of horses grazing on the slope between the camps and the river. Between the booming of the guns, which was gradually growing louder, we could hear the sharper report of the carbine, and see an occasional puff of smoke half-way up the mountain, followed by a faint report a considerable time after. I was told that this meant that the niggers were potting at the saddle picquet from the second schanze. Occasional remarks about " Captain Jonas " roused my curiosity, and on inquiry I was told that Captain Jonas was the name given to a " white nigger " (meaning an albino) by the troops ; that he was a good shot, and generally supposed to be in charge of the schanzes ; and that he made things very warm for any man who exposed
60 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
himself or the saddle picquet. From various expressions of my comrades, I concluded that Captain Jonas would not have a rosy time of it if he happened to get into their hands.
As we got closer to the encampments we could see several bodies of men in formation, and by the occasional flash of the sun on their arms they appeared to be drilling. As we came closer still we saw that the men were exercising with long rifles and bayonets, in preparation for the forthcoming attack. Two horsemen then made their appearance riding in our direction, clouds of dust rising at every stride of their horses. On reaching the detachment, which had resumed its position by the wagons, I saw that one of them was a sergeant-major and the other a corporal ; they were greeted by the N.C.O.'s, and they turned their horses and rode back with the detachment. They had evidently ridden out with orders as to our movements, for on arriving about half a mile from the camp, and after passing a small sluit with water in it, the mounted men hurried off to the left, while we with the wagons went plough- ing through sand in the direction of the largest of the encampments, where there were about fifty or sixty other wagons drawn up. This I found to be the headquarters camp and artillery, where the foodstuffs for the whole force in the field were stored under tarpaulins or any other improvised shelter that could be rigged up.
Our wagons drew up by the others and outspanned, and crowds of men came round them and asked innumerable questions from the four of us as to the news from the outside world. Some of them had not received a letter or seen a newspaper for months. The men of my detachment came up to the wagons and took their kits off and went their various ways to rejoin their respective troops. I, having no troop to
SUMMIT OF MOIROSI'S MOUNTAIN: THE "CKOWN.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 6\
go to, was making for somebody in authority in the head- quarter lines, when my chum Paddy said I was to go up with him for the night, and I would be fixed up by next day. I went with him, taking my kit with me, up to where Nos. 1 and 3 Troops were encamped in a square, with a small wall outside
the tents. I saw Sergeant-Major , who told me I could
stay there till I got posted to a troop, and asked if I had any preference for a particular troop. I had none, and told him so, but he advised me to think over it and let him know in the morning. I deposited my kit where there were eight others, and being told "skoff" would be ready in an hour after stables, and not having a horse to look after, I went for a look round.
The mountain was a giant among the surrounding ones in a very mountainous country ; rising steep from the banks of the Orange Kiver to the height of about 3000 feet, with rocky and precipitous sides, and perfectly inaccessible to man and beast on the back and eastern side. In shape it looked like a square with the edges cornered off, but much broader at the back than in the front ; with a flat top where a con- siderable number of cattle could graze with ease ; about a mile from the front to rear and half a mile across. The only way up seemed to be from the front face, which began with a gradual slope and ended on a plateau about 800 feet high from the base, called the " saddle," from its shape. From the plateau upwards were a series of "schanzes" — solid walls loop-holed and covering all the paths. Against these the Colonial forces had made many unsuccessful attacks, which had resulted in heavy losses for the Colonial troops, No. 5 Troop C.M.K. in particular. This troop led the advance from the saddle, and had fifteen men killed or wounded before they had gone fifty
62 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
yards. Some of the men reached the first schanze but could not get any farther, and had to remain there till night, several casualties occurring, and some very gallant deeds being per- formed. Sergeant Scott, Artillery Troop, and Private Brown, No. 5 Troop, received the Victoria Cross for their gallant conduct that day ; but I shall have more to say of this later on.
It was here that a strong picquet of the besieging force was always stationed, to prevent natives leaving the mountain or reinforcements going up, and it had been the scene of many a skirmish. At the end of the plateau, which was about 400 yards in length and about 80 yards across, the mountain rose almost straight, with paths winding in and out, till it reached the crown, a huge rock which appears to be almost toppling over.
On my right another mountain stood, connected by a ridge with the part of Moirosi's Mountain near the "saddle," and by this ridge or "nek" the men went on their way to the picquet. On this nek, and at the end farthest from Moirosi's Mountain, 'considerably above us, were stationed No. 2 Troop, and it was not considered an enviable post.
Some little time previously, a troop of the 1st Yeomanry had occupied the position now held by No. 2 Troop C.M.R. The rebels succeeded in surprising the camp, stabbed the sentries, and cut the tent ropes, bringing the tents down on the unfortunate occupants who were asleep. The natives assegaied every man as he was struggling to get out from under the canvas which imprisoned him, and after this wholesale slaughter escaped untouched up the mountain by some paths on the right face only known to themselves. Such a disaster could only have happened through gross negligence on the part of the picquet, which had probably been posted in a
IN SOUTH AFRICA 63
very careless manner; this, at least, was the verdict of the majority of the other troops who were at the mountain at the time. It was possibly this disaster, and the fact that other corps wanted to return to their homes, having had enough of Moirosi and his ways, that had influenced Colonel Bayly in asking for the removal of all troops other than C.M.R With the exception of about forty men of the Northern Border Guard from the Dordrecht district, and a few hundred Fingoes under Alan Maclean, a C.M.R captain with a great reputation as a Kaffir fighter, the force at present under command of Colonel Bayly was composed solely of C.M.R, and a tough, hardened lot they looked. In all stages of raggedness in the shape of clothing — more marked in the troops who had been stationed the farthest away from King William's Town, and had no opportunity of replenishing their kits even if they wished to do so — the majority of the men, so far as I could judge, had completed their term of service, and were waiting for the present campaign to end before taking their discharges ; but their wardrobes left much to be desired, though their horses and saddlery were spick and span.
I don't remember ever seeing a regiment so well mounted. At the time I am writing of each man's horse was his own property, and looked upon as a valuable asset when the time came for taking his discharge. The men therefore looked after them considerably better than they otherwise would have done. It must be remembered that at this period " stables " were purely a matter of form, and only consisted of answering whether your horse was present or not. To these old stagers of Policemen who formed the greater bulk of men present in the field, the curb had not as yet been applied in the matter of parades, and as nobody could teach them more
b
li
64 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
than they already knew in the shape of fighting natives, and being up to all the dodges of the wily savage, they were left to their own ways to a great extent, and were not troubled by the N.C.O.'s except when necessary. The military spirit of discipline was practically unknown in the corps.
* Stables were now sounding, and I saw No. 1 Troop on the right side of square, and No. 3 on the left catching their horses and taking them to their positions on the picquet lines inside the square at the back of the tents. I went • as close to the parade as I thought advisable, thinking that there might be some horses without owners requiring grooming, and having learnt if the N.C.O.'s saw any man idle they very soon found him employment, I remained amongst the tents. I was particularly struck with the look of the No. 3 Troop horses — a hard, wiry looking lot of animals with no superfluous fat about them. The men were nearly all unshaven, and some of them quite old looking, with long grey beards ; others with all sorts of appendages — long or short as they thought fit. The three officers of No. 3 were also on the parade, looking at the animals with experienced eyes.
They were Colonial men, and splendid specimens of the Police officer, all three over six feet in height and with long beards. One of them was destined in a short time to make a name second to none in the regiment, the man who first set foot on the top of Moirosi Mountain. He was promoted to Captain for this feat, much to the satisfaction of us all.
I may add here that Captain met his death in the late
Boer War in the trenches at Wepener, and died as he had lived, one of the best and bravest men in the regiment, and greatly missed by every man who had ever served under him or enjoyed his friendship.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 65
I also noticed two officers inspecting No. 1 Troop — a captain and a subaltern — the former a jovial Irishman, the latter a Colonial, who left the regiment less than a year after we captured the mountain. The captain became one of my staunchest friends in the regiment for years, and is now spending his old age in the old country on a well-earned pension.
Stables being over, I returned with Faulkner to the tent where my kit was, and where I was to take up my abode till the time arrived for me to be posted to a troop. Dinner was soon over, and I was interested in the fact that the men in the tent were for picquet that night, and watched their proceed- ings. They were evidently used to it, and got into their belts, etc., as if they were going out for a short stroll, instead of going on the most dangerous and irksome duty of the expedi- tion. They were forming a part of the saddle picquet, con- sisting of 1 officer, 3 N.C.O.'s, and 25 men, whose duty it was to march up to the " saddle " at dusk, relieve the old picquet, and remain there for twenty-four hours, till relieved in their turn by another fresh picquet. In fact, the " saddle " was practically the drawbridge of the fortress, and the natives leaving or reinforcing the mountain in any numbers would have to pass over the picquet to do so.
Shortly afterwards the whole picquet paraded by the head- quarter camp, and marched off in the direction of the saddle. As they reached the foot of the rock leading up to the saddle, it soon became evident that it was not a picnic they were en- gaged on. A few puffs of smoke from the schanzes, where the natives were evidently watching our operations, were followed by distant reports which echoed loudly round the mountains, and then by a smart answering volley from the old picquet, who 5
66 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
could now be seen lying behind their small shelters on the ridge ; then desultory firing on both sides whenever they saw a chance of something to shoot at — but the new picquet kept on their way. They marched in single file along the footpath that led up to the saddle, and on arriving near the summit broke into the double till they reached the entrenchments of the picquet; the firing from the schanzes increased as the new picquet came into range, and was promptly replied to by the men in the entrenchments.
On arrival of the new picquet the old one was seen to leave in the same fashion, the new picquet taking up the firing till the old one was under cover of the hill, when the firing slowed down on both sides till only an occasional shot could be heard.
The old picquet marched down to the headquarters camp and then dispatched to their own quarters, and I saw six or seven of them making for our camp — there were two of No. 1 Troop and four or five of No. 3 Troop. They strolled into their respective tents as if they had been for a walk, and commenced an attack on their dinners which had been kept on the fire for them, no further attention being paid them. To a recruit like myself this seemed quite amazing.
One of the men of No. 1 Troop belonged to the tent in which I was staying, but excepting a careless look he took no notice of me, but proceeded to take off his belts and great- coat and flung them on the ground one by one, accompanied by a succession of oaths, so bad that I began to wonder why the other men did not remonstrate. But nobody seemed in the slightest degree put out by it. I was young and inex- perienced, and his oaths fairly staggered me. Faulkner, guessing my thoughts, considerately suggested a stroll by No.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 67
3 Lines, and, glad to get away from such a sulphurous atmosphere, I immediately left with him.
I learned that it was no accidental outbreak, but the normal condition of the man. An Oxford man, he had been intended for the Church, and had now evidently gone to the other extreme. He had a considerable following in No. 1 Troop in a lot of young idiots, who thought it smart to inter- lard their conversation with oaths and blasphemous remarks. In the two years succeeding I often came across the man. I found no alteration in him : later he became mad, with a form of religious mania, and some three years after our first meeting he died in Grahamstown Lunatic Asylum. It is charitable to suppose that he must have been mad at the time that he cultivated his mania for blasphemy.
The incident I have related had considerable weight in my selection of a troop. Before it occurred, if I had been asked if I wished to go to any particular troop, I should un- doubtedly have said No. 1 Troop, that being the troop to which my chum Faulkner belonged ; but I had received such a shock from the blasphemer that I would not go back to sleep in the same tent with him, and had a shakedown in a tent in No. 3 Lines, where I received a rough but friendly welcome from men old enough to be my father. That night I decided to join No. 3 Troop, and I never had cause to regret my decision.
The next morning I was duly taken on the strength of No. 3. We were named the Africander Troop by the rest of the regiment, on account of the majority of the men being Colonials. By Colonials I mean men born in South Africa of British extraction, used to the ways of the country and natives from boyhood. Such a class of men exists now in the
6$ TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
Cape Mounted Police, and are the finest breed of men for the work they have to do.
Talking Dutch and Kaffir in most instances, and born horsemen, they make a splendid body of men for the suppres- sion of stock thefts and keeping order in the various native locations in the Cape Colony. In the late war they were invaluable in showing up the Cape rebel — the man of Dutch descent living in the Cape Colony, who, whilst professing loyalty to the British Crown with his lips, was in his heart more bitter and treacherous than his Dutch friends from the neighbouring republics.
I found my new comrades of No. 3 Troop a most interesting lot of men. The N.C.O.'s were with one or two exceptions Colonials, and Policemen of the old type. The horse was the first consideration with these men. Provided a man's horse, saddle, and bridle were in good order — the former kept free from sore back and girth gall, and always ready for duty — the man might go about in any sort of kit that suited his fancy, and nobody checked him. At the time of joining I think I was the only man with a pair of regimental riding breeches in the troop, the majority of the men wearing white Bedford cord pants, bought from time to time at traders' shops or wagons, and fitting wherever they touched ; others wore velveteen cord trousers with spurs hanging down their heels. These old veterans had just come down from Natcha's Nek in the Drakensberg Mountains, where they had acquired a consider- able amount of money in the shape of loot during the time they were stationed there, and they were now, apparently for the first time for years, enjoying the luxury of living in a bell tent and indulging in their favourite pastime of gambling. They looked upon arms, parades, fatigues, etc., as an attempt
IN SOUTH AFRICA 69
to defraud them of their good time, and growled and grumbled at what they termed being made "swaddies" or soldiers of. Picquets they took as a matter of course, or "all the three years," as they expressed it ; but horse-guards, in the shape of going out into the veldt all day with the horses, when they could be enjoying themselves at Nap, they strictly barred. They paid willingly any sum from five shillings up to a pound for a substitute to do the day's guard for them, and with the tacit consent of the sergeant-major they always succeeded in finding some less fortunate member than themselves ready to do the guard for a consideration.
Some of these old fellows had served considerably over twenty years, and seeing the changes in the shape of discipline in the regiment imminent, were anxious to get out of it as soon as possible, and were only waiting to fix up old Moirosi to attain their heart's desire. There were also a good sprinkling of men in the troop of about three to six years' service, younger men, mostly Colonial born, who accepted the changes in the regiment gladly, and were rather anxious to get decent kits and start drilling. Quite a number of these men remained on and became very good soldiers.
It soon became evident that our new colonel had some scheme in his head. The fact that the natives had hitherto managed to get supplies on to the mountain made him con- vinced that there must exist some other path besides those which went up its face, and several reconnoitring parties went out with him to view the sides. To the casual observer the huge precipices and overhanging rocks made the idea of getting to the top except from the front out of the question. A few months before, Sir Garnet Wolseley had sent some engineer officers to examine and report on the state of the
jo TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
mountain, and rumour declared that they had returned declaring Moirosi Mountain impregnable unless aided by very heavy artillery, which might make some impression on the defences. Men were now daily exercised with long rifles and bayonets, so it was clear that we were preparing for a hand-to-hand assault, and opinions as to the superiority of the bayonet over the existing arm of carbine and revolver were freely exchanged. As it was optional which arm a man took, a good many stuck to the carbine and revolver as being more serviceable for climbing and close quarters.
The mortars were now placed nearer the mountain, and an incessant bombardment kept up both on the schanzes and on the top of the mountain. Shells exploded at the back of the Crown, but nobody could see what damage was being inflicted, and the solid rock stood as firm as ever. For three days the guns kept up firing at two minutes' interval, and all night the practice continued. If the firing did not actually inflict many casualties, it kept the enemy on the alert and made sleep impossible for a good many of them.
On the night of the fourth day the regiment was paraded for attack. For two or three days previously scaling ladders had been improvised in the headquarters camp, and it was generally known that an attack was to be made on a flank of the mountain which hitherto had been considered impossible of ascent. Nos. 1 and 3 Troops were told off for the duty, and to lead the way, supported by two other troops. A Native contingent under the Macleans were to threaten the front face supported by more C.M.R., and the attack was to be pushed home if the flanking party made good its footing at the side.
The troops paraded about 10 p.m. on the night of the 19th November 1879, the men clad mostly in dark-coloured
IN SOUTH AFRICA 71
guernseys and trousers, and carrying rifles and bayonets, or carbines, as they preferred. Twelve men were told off from each troop, Nos. 1 and 3, to carry the ladders, and so we left camp and moved towards the mountain, making in the direction of the neck below the saddle. We crossed it in single file, led by Lieutenants Sprenger and M'Mullen with No. 3 Troop leading, and made our way along a footpath stretching away to the right flank and upwards towards the summit. After rests and changes of ladder-bearers, we got up to a con- siderable height. At this point we must have been heard by the natives at the front or on the top of the mountain, for the party was challenged in Dutch. No answer was given, but quietly the order to halt was passed along, and every man stood still or crouched under the shadow of the huge boulders which were all around. Apparently not quite satisfied about some noise they could not understand, the natives commenced rolling stones down. These stones, some of them boulders, came down with a deafening noise, jumping into the air and striking the ground again and again in their descent to the bottom, and making our hearts jump in our throats. Luckily they all passed in front of the men, or clean over the path on which we were stretched. After an interval which seemed interminable, the stone fusillade suddenly ceased. We were told afterwards that the natives thought it was a picquet going to guard some water, and they rolled stones to frighten us. Not hearing any further movement as a result, they took for granted that it was a false alarm, and left their places to get a sleep, which they were badly in want of.
The order was now passed along to go forward, and we continued up the winding pathway with the utmost caution, not talking, and hardly dislodging a stone. The front suddenly
72 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
stopped, and the word was passed for the ladders. We were then at the foot of a large rock which seemed to tower above us. The ladder was fixed, and up went the officers, the men following in file, till we found ourselves assembled on the top of a large rock, with no room to spare, and what looked like the top of the mountain about eighteen feet above us. The ladders, which were passed up and placed against the side, unfortunately were found short of the top by about four feet. Lieutenant M'Mullen held the ladder, and Lieutenant Sprenger, not to be beaten, mounted up with a carbine in his right hand. On reaching the top of the ladder, he raised his head and looked over the edge. We saw his carbine go up held at arm's length ; then a shot rang out, and a body came toppling over, just missed the ladder, and ricochetted off the stone we were standing on, falling a hundred or more feet below us. Lieutenant Sprenger then dragged himself up on to the top, and, bending down, dragged a sergeant up, who in his turn assisted another man up. In the space of a minute twenty of us were standing on the edge of the mountain. Shots were now coming in all directions from the front of the mountain, and the surprise was complete.
The C.M.R. and native levies pressed on the front face, and the rebels, being taken on their flank, broke away to the side of the mountain overlooking the river. We advanced in line across the mountain, being joined by men from the front face, and made a clean sweep of the enemy, shooting at every man we saw. In one hour from Lieutenant Sprenger's first shot the mountain was captured. Only a slight resistance from one cave on the mountain overlooking the river was made, and in this brief time all the Baphutis had been either killed by our men, or dashed to pieces in attempting to escape. Our luck
IN SOUTH AFRICA 73
was the happy shot by Lieutenant Sprenger which had killed the sentry, who had probably been asleep.
Moirosi and five of his sons were killed, but his youngest son, Dodo, escaped by jumping over the side. Moirosi himself was shot by Private Whitehead, No. 1 Troop, who had his own cap shot through in doing so. The body was identified by a man named Nevile of the Border Guard who knew Moirosi well, and for this service he was handsomely paid, for he received the two hundred pounds reward which had been offered for Moirosi dead or alive. Whitehead re- ceived twenty-five pounds for shooting him — an odd division of profits !
Later examination showed that Moirosi's Mountain was indeed an impregnable fortress which could never have been taken except by a surprise. Behind the huge rock which we called the Crown was built quite a large village of stone huts, all completely under cover, whilst innumerable caves around the inside of the rock, the mouths of which were covered over with dried hides, made them perfectly safe retreats for the natives. Along the top a perfect plateau of green grass gave enough pasture to feed hundreds of sheep, goats, and oxen.
Loud cheering and waving of hats greeted Colonel Bayly as he arrived breathless at the top, after having walked up the front. Too full of emotion for words, he gave the men of the regiment a look which was quite sufficient reward for them, and was remembered by us for years. By this victory he had walked straight into the hearts of the regiment. He also earned the gratitude and praise of the whole of the Cape Colony by the capture of Moirosi's stronghold, which had defied all the efforts of other men for nine months; for he
74 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
had planned and executed it, with the loss of only three men wounded, in a single night.
Soon dispatch riders were saddled up and off as hard as they could ride for Aliwal North, the nearest telegraph station, and soon the news was dispatched to Cape Town which roused the whole Colony : " Mountain a molehill — Union Jack flying from the Crown." Thus ended a troublesome rebellion which had worried the Government for nine months.
Lieutenant Sprenger was promoted to be captain on the spot, and several promotions were made. For helping to carry the scaling ladders, several of the troopers received small gratuities of money. I was among the fortunate ones.
Strong picquets of natives were left on the mountain, and we returned to camp, down the front, destroying as we passed the several rows of schanzes which covered every path and approach on the front face, and so on to our old picquet ground on the saddle, where we levelled everything in the shape of shelter, and finally returned to camp amid cheers from the artillery troop and details left to guard the camp in our absence. Here we discussed the night's exciting adventures over our breakfasts, but the discussion did not affect our appe- tites. Wagons which had been outside the camps were allowed in, and bottled beer was retailed at four shillings a bottle, and spirits in proportion. But no one grumbled, and all restraint being thrown off, the men were able to do themselves well, as a great number of them had been unable to spend their cattle money which they had received some months before. My troop especially was in clover, as we had drawn much more than any other troop, each man receiving twenty-five pounds a share, N.C.O.'s three shares, lieutenants five, and a captain seven.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 75
The amount of bottled beer these old stagers put away, over their parties of Nap, was to my inexperienced eyes wonderful to behold. They were generous too, these old veterans, and many a tin of preserved fruit, plum pudding, or potted meat found its way into my tent, with an " It will do for the youngster " as a sort of excuse for their generosity.
For the next week patrols were the order of the day, and every cave along the Orange Eiver was visited where a stray refugee might have hidden. But not a sign of life was visible anywhere, and it was in a cave seven miles away that the unfortunate Dodo, the last of the Moirosi race, was found dying of wounds caused through the tremendous leap for liberty down the side of the mountain. He had broken his thigh in escaping, and how the poor wretch ever reached the distant spot where he was found was a mystery to us, and remains so to me yet.
Colonel Bayly, with the newly created Captain Sprenger and a crowd of smart staff-officers and N.C.O.'s, started off for King William's Town, where the headquarters were to be once more, and the other troops got the route. No. 2 Troop remained at the Buffalo Biver for some time, No. 4 returned to their old station at Palmietfontein, artillery and head- quarters troop men for King William's Town, whilst the remainder, taking with them pack oxen to carry all their possessions on, were ordered to cross the double range of the Drakensberg Mountains and proceed to Griqualand East, where the process of re-forming the regiment into two wings was to be carried out. The right wing consisted of half the regiment under command of Colonel Bayly with headquarters at King William's Town, and was composed of Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9 Troops and headquarter troop; the left wing, under Colonel
76 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
F. Carrington of the 24th Eegiment, with headquarters in East Griqualand, consisted of the remainder of the troops, namely, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The right wing occupied most of the old stations in Cape Colony and Transkei ; the left wing, Kokstad and various stations in East Griqualand.
SCENE OF MOIROSIS DEATH.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 77
CHAPTEE VI.
MOUNTED MEN TREK ACROSS THE DRAKENSBERG MOUNTAINS — REMAIN WITH WAGONS TO TRAVEL BY ROAD — LEAVE WAGONS AND RIDE TO DORDRECHT — NEWS OF MY LOST HORSE — OVERTAKE WAGONS AT MACLEAR — ARRIVE AT KOKSTAD — KOKSTAD IN 1879— GRIQUA DANCE — REJOIN TROOP AT FORT DONALD.
nnHEEE was a scene of great bustle at the foot of Moirosi's ■*■ Mountain when the troops paraded for their march. The pack bullocks, led by Basuto boys from whom the animals had been hired, were a very novel sight to the uninitiated. Great unwieldy animals, each with a rein fastened to a ring through his nose, and easily managed by a small conductor, they carried large loads, some laden with boxes full of ammunition, others carrying tents and blankets, cooking utensils, rations, grain for horses, and every necessary required for a week's march. The columns start, the men dismount, leading their troop horses up the sides of the mountains opposite Moirosi's old stronghold, very cheerful at the prospect of getting back to civilisation, from which they have so long been strangers, and making light of the difficulties which lie in front of them and the large range of mountains covered in snow through which they will have to pass before descending the other side, hundreds of miles distant, to East Griqualand.
I was left behind together with some other dismounted men of the various troops, our orders being to accompany the convoy of wagons, which carried all the heavy baggage of the
7$ TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
column, office records, etc., and the spare kits of the mounted men — and proceed by road passing close under the mountains of the Drakensberg range, our destination being Kokstad, the then most eastern town of the Cape Colony and not far from the borders of Natal. Altogether we had to look forward to a journey of, roughly speaking, three hundred miles, travelling at the rate of two miles an hour, and liable to be held up by drifts, swollen rivers, and the hundred and one little incidents that tend to make a long trek with wagons the most unde- sirable experience of life in South Africa.
The wagons were drawn up together where the remains of the old headquarter camp stood, and we foregathered round them and took stock of one another. There were about fifty of us all told, and, as on my former trek up the mountain, there was no officer in command. There were several sergeants, but from that day to this I do not know who was in charge. The N.C.O.'s and men of different troop kept to their respective wagons, and trekked and outspanned according to the whim of the conductor.
We remained for one night at Moirosi's Mountain after the troops had left, and a disconsolate lot we must have looked. The place was fearfully lonely for a handful of men. The old mountain, with its dismantled schanzes and general forlorn look, standing straight up against the sky, no living thing to be seen or heard, and occasionally the blood-curdling cry of some Kaffir mongrel which had escaped a bayonet thrust or a bullet, and was wandering around the mountain looking for a master who was not. The howling of a dog at night is never a cheerful sound, but heard under the conditions I have indicated it is ghostly and depressing. The whole scene was decidedly jumpy, and we got together unconsciously for mutual support.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 79
Altogether it was the most miserable evening I ever remember spending in the country.
It was a great relief to us all when we started at daybreak next morning on our journey. We made up to No. 1 Troop encamped at the Buffalo Eiver. They had the unenviable duty of remaining in that forsaken part of the country for some months at least, to prevent any rebel natives returning to their old haunts, and to capture any waifs or strays who might be found wandering among the mountains trying to escape across the river into Basutoland.
Moirosi's district remains to this day a deserted country, and the mountain a silent witness to a memorable struggle and a warning to other tribes against the futility of defying the British Government.
We passed Thomas' Shop, and had a look at the wounded men in hospital. They were all doing well, except one who had been shot in the head, and even he eventually recovered and lived to receive a pension. We next got on to Palmiet- fontein, where No. 4 Troop had already arrived and shaken themselves down into their quarters, and spent the night there. We had now settled down to our journey and were doing very good trekking, and the time passed fairly pleasantly. There were about six horses with us, the owners of which were unable to ride owing to various ailments, so being a light weight I was often asked by these men to ride their horses for a bit. I was very pleased to do so, as it varied the monotony con- siderably, riding off to farmhouses or Kaffir kraals to buy eggs, vegetables, and so on for the mess.
Shortly after turning off the road on which we had travelled up, to take up our new line of country round the mountains, a sergeant troop clerk, and in charge of our weapons,
80 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
told me he was going to ride into Dordrecht, and asked me if I would like to go with him. As I was anxious to find if there was any news of my lost horse, I jumped at the offer, and, having the pick of three horses to ride, I selected one and off we rode. We arrived at Dordrecht and put up at the hotel kept by an ex-Policeman, and at that time the best one in the place.
I went to the Magistrates' Court, and was told that my horse had been found and put in the pound, but had been
handed over to Sergeant , who was passing through the
town en route to King William's Town, where he had gone to receive his commission. It was the same sergeant who had come up with my detachment and whom Frank had so unceremoniously bucked off en route, who had now been promoted to lieutenant. I received the horse about four months afterwards, when he was brought to Fort Donald by a batch of recruits from King William's Town.
We found Dordrecht full of people. The men of the Northern Border Guard, who chiefly came from the district, had lately returned from the mountain, and been received with open arms by the inhabitants, and they were having a royal time of it. We met them everywhere, and heard nothing else from morning till night but how they had taken Moirosi's Mountain, "assisted" of course by the C.M.R. "Assisted" struck us as pretty cool.
The man who had found Moirosi's body was the hero of the day, and was rapidly approaching the stage when one sees
things generally associated with a zoo. Sergeant met
many old friends, and was — to use his own expression — " Doing himself proud," and insisted on my joining in. Altogether we spent a very enjoyable week of it. At last either funds
IN SOUTH AFRICA 81
getting low or a sense of duty made Sergeant remember
that there was a wagon full of troop office records— equip- ments, etc. — somewhere on the road between Dordrecht and Kokstad, and that it would be advisable for us to get into touch with it again. So one morning, after good-byes with chums and affecting farewells with some young ladies, we rode off after the wagons.
If you want to find out how quickly the South African trek-ox wagon can get over the ground, do as we did — give it a week's fair start and then try to overtake it. It seemed as if we were never going to catch up to our wagons. After a good day's ride we would arrive at a wayside store to be told that the wagons had passed so many days before, and it was not till we arrived opposite the Calbey, after three days' ride, that we were told that they had passed the evening before, and we would probably catch them up at Maclear. We stayed at Calbey Store that afternoon and night, and there we met for the first time the owner, the redoubtable John Bull. This man was quite a character in his way, and not least in appear- ance. He had a very large body, and head to match, with stunted legs ; and if you saw him seated at a table telling some of his yarns you would have imagined that he was a very big man. To see him quietly slip off his seat and walk round the table at the same height from the ground made one feel inclined to rub one's eyes and look again. The effect was uncanny. This was my first meeting with John Bull, but it was by no means the last — as will be seen later.
There were only about two rooms in the house besides the storeroom, and as the rooms seemed full of four or five off- coloured children, the progeny of John Bull and his native wife, Sergeant and myself had to enter the store, after a
82 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
dinner of sardines and biscuits — the only edible things to be bought in his shop. Mr. Bull at our invitation joined us, and the hospitality opened his heart and made him produce a bottle of Dop brandy — commonly called " Cape Smoke " — of which he asked us to have a drink, it being Christmas Day.
The smell of the stuff was awful, and even Sergeant ,
acclimatised as he was, shied at it and refused. So Bull made his vrow (wife) make us some coffee; it tasted burnt, but it was better than the awful stuff Mr. Bull kept drinking. Besides having a vile smell its effects were potent, and in a while Mr. Bull was very drunk and very noisy. Finally, he was dragged out of the store into one of the rooms by his vrow,
assisted by two or three native hangers-on ; and Sergeant
and I, pulling all the available blankets we could see out of the shelves, made our beds on the counter and slept till morning.
I often think of my first Christmas in South Africa, and it brings to my mind John Bull and many others like him whom I have met, living out their lives in isolated spots, tied to black women, impossible to shake off, and their descendants ; grow- ing up a curse to themselves and every one else — avoided by white men and looked down upon by black. It makes one think with irony and some anger of the sentimentalists in the old country who prate on platforms and in the newspapers about a united South Africa whilst such a state of things exists.
Next morning we made an early start, and after passing XJgie — then a place with one store, now a decent little village with a railway — we caught the wagons up at Maclear, a small village situated between hills, at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 83
Since leaving Dordrecht we had travelled at the foot of this magnificent range, which is supposed to stretch right across South Africa. The various mountains rise to various heights, and are all connected. There are several passes or neks over these mountains, the best known and really only wagon road being Barkly Pass, leading into the Barkly East District ; the others generally consist of bridle-paths, and are used chiefly by Basutos and speculators or dealers in cattle who cross the mountains into Basutoland, purchase cattle from natives, and drive them back to the various markets. Natal draws its supplies to a great extent from these agencies, who often amass small fortunes in a few years.
The whole range presents a very grand appearance, some of the tops looking like old castles, where they have been worn by time and rain. The slopes afford excellent pasturage and shelter for sheep, goats, and cattle — at that time not very numerous, and at the present time they are all laid out in farms occupied by a good class of farmer, who, after some years of uphill work, become wealthy and prosperous. At the present moment the East Griqualand farmer is the most progressive and flourishing person, and probably the most British, to be found in South Africa.
We found that everything had gone on smoothly during the time we had been absent, and there had been no break- downs. Probably this was due to the fact that the white conductors accompanied their own wagons, and did not leave all their driving to their native drivers — who on arriving at some spot where there is a chance of native beer-drinking are not above breaking a dissel-boom to force a stay. This is a huge pole to which the two hind, or after, oxen are attached, and it can easily be broken by a skilful driver if he wishes
84 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
to, in the hundreds of holes and bad drifts which occur along the road.
No incident occurred during the rest of the trek of about a hundred and twenty odd miles from Maclear to Kokstad, and at last we arrived at the future headquarters of the left wing C.M.R., then a purely Griqua village with a couple of hotels and five or six stores.
The town had been founded by Adam Kok, a Griqua who had travelled over the mountains from Griqualand West with his following some years previously, and had been given grants of land for farming purposes ; Adam Kok settling where the present town, which is called after him, is situated. When the C.M.R. arrived from Moirosi's Mountain the town was composed of three streets, — the principal one, Main Street, containing two hotels. The Post Office is on the site of Adam Kok's house, and a monument to his memory is to be seen at the present time in the garden between two streets.
The Griquas are not as numerous as they were, and as a tribe are fast dying out in East Griqualand. In colour they are quite light, and the girls have long hair, and when young are, generally speaking, quite good-looking. They are supposed to have descended from a mixed Dutch and Hottentot breed; their language is Dutch, but they are equally conversant with English, and can swear with facility in either. Dutch being more impressive in its variety of scum words, they generally use that language for choice.
On arrival with the wagons, we outspanned below the magazine, and walked up to the camp, which was composed of bell tents pitched on a flat piece of ground close to the magazine, and where we found No. 1 Troop had been stationed. We soon heard the account of the march across the mountains to
IN SOUTH AFRICA 85
Kokstad, which had been a very trying one. Not a man had mounted his horse till they arrived on the flats on the East Griqualand side, about fifty miles from Kokstad, to which they had pushed on as fast as possible. On the evening of their arrival there had been a great jollification in the town. This took place at the various Griqua shanties then forming the main street; the men taking liquor with them, treating the Griqua men, and dancing with the girls, a great institution in those days. Imagine a small square-built house with one large room in it, and two or three poky little dens leading off it, all with mud floors hardened with cow-dung, and you have the Griqualand shanty of '79. A wizened-looking object in the shape of an old man is perched up on a table pushed into a corner, playing on an accordion the one and only tune to which they dance, keeping time by stamping and singing the refrain in Dutch — the only words recognisable being, " I love the C.M.R," etc.
There are half a dozen mad young fellows, and the same number of Griqua girls, hopping round keeping time to the hideous music. The Griqua men and old women sit outside or lean against the wall, drinking and scowling at the merry couples — the young Griqua man watching with jealous eyes his best girl being made violent love to by an amorous C.M.R private, or some young shop assistant out on the spree, before his face. At last he thinks it time to interfere with the love-making, and gets snubbed by the girl for his pains ; then, losing control of himself, he insults the white man, and gets promptly knocked down. A general fight then takes place, which generally terminates the ball.
On this particular night — either through this cause, or through men of different troops clashing at some dance — about
$6 TWENTY FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
midnight there was an alarm of fire in the town, and before it could be put out nearly the whole of the main street of Griqua shanties had been burnt down, and the greatest disorder pre- vailed all over the place. Picquets were sent from the different troops, men were all ordered to their respective camps, and three or four troops were made to saddle up on the spot, and were taken by their officers some three miles out of the town across the river, there to wait till morning. There was an inquiry by the magistrate and the officers, but the origin of the fire and riot was never discovered.
The troops belonging to the right wing — Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9 — had been ordered off the next day to Umtata, in the Transkei, and Nos. 3 and 5 had been sent to Fort Donald, a station on the Pondoland border, and the worst station in the regiment, situated about eighteen miles from Kokstad.
These were the news that Paddy Faulkner retailed to me as we sat in his tent discussing breakfast the morning of our arrival. Further, he informed me that our new colonel was expected shortly, together with an adjutant from the Imperial Service ; that my old captain had handed over No. 3 Troop to Lieutenant Mac, and was to become quartermaster of the left wing ; that a large batch of recruits were on the march from King William's Town with new officers ; that a batch of the 17th Lancers had been transferred to the regiment as drill instructors; that shortly we would all be made to sit up; life wouldn't be worth living; all the old hands would be leaving ; finally, that, in Paddy's opinion, the regiment would become a lot of damned soldiers, and he was hanged if he was going to stay a moment after his time expired. He was surprised when I expressed my satisfaction at the coming changes, and asked why I had come to the country if I wanted
IN SOUTH AFRICA 87
to be a Tommy ? Why hadn't I enlisted at home and walked about with slaveys, etc. ?
However, he soon recovered his good temper, and promised to take me down town in the evening, after he had got through his duties for the day. I had to start with the No. 3 Troop wagons on the following morning, and had nothing to do but clean myself and have a look round the place. I walked up to the magazine, which was built on a small ridge of rocks and commanded a view of the town. It was a new building of brick and stone surrounded by a sod wall with one entrance, at which was a sentry, who — a sign of the times — was sitting on a wall with his carbine leaning up against it. I would have pitied the man found in the same attitude three months later. But the old Police methods had not yet died out, and a regimental sergeant-major was then a thing unknown. The sentry appeared pleased to see me, and informed me that the new magazine was on the site of the one blown up during the Griqua rebellion of eighteen months before.
The rebellion had been a shortlived one. No. 2 Troop went out to the laager at Mount Currie and fairly charged the Griquas out of it, killing a good many, the remainder dispersing and hiding in the surrounding hills. It was during this fight that the magazine blew up, the ammunition boxes flying in all directions and doing a lot of damage amongst the unfortunate women and children who were under the walls, killing one of the daughters of the chief magistrate.
Since then the new magazine had been built, and from it I looked down the town, and saw the long line of street with the ruins of the burnt houses, and the rest of the town with a fine river running below it called the Umzimsulava. Beyond it were blue mountains called the Ingeli, with large forests on
88 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
the sides; a great treat for the eyes after the stony, barren country we had just come from.
That evening Faulkner and I went down the town and visited the hotel, then, as at present, the only place to go to in Kokstad of an evening, and met a good many of the civilians, most of whom were either in the Civil Service or law agents, and had, with very few exceptions, been members of the regiment at some time or another. One of the hotels was kept by an American negro and another by two other coloured persons ; but every one seemed hail-fellow-well-met, and, judg- ing by the amount of liquor every one seemed to imbibe, the business must have been a very thriving one. I did not see very much of the Griquas on that occasion, as they were rather shy of the C.M.R. after the recent disturbance, and kept in their shanties, which it was inadvisable to visit.
The next morning we all parted on crossing the river, the wagons and men of Nos. 6, 7, and 9 going the Umtata road, and those of Nos. 3 and 5 by the old road past Usher's Farm to Fort Donald, which place we succeeded in reaching late that night. The next day I was able to have a good look at the surroundings of my new station.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 89
CHAPTEK VII.
FORT DONALD, 1880 — OLD HANDS TAKE THEIR DISCHARGES — ARRIVAL OF RECRUITS — UNDESIRABLES IN THE REGIMENT — COLONEL CARRINGTON ARRIVES AND (TAKES COMMAND OF LEFT WING C.M.R. — OUR NEW CAPTAIN — AM SENT TO NATAL ON ESCORT DUTY — IMPRESSIONS OF NATAL — RETURN TO KOKSTAD — AM PROMOTED CORPORAL — SERGEANT TRIPPLER COMES TO GRIEF — AM PROMOTED SERGEANT.
T710ET DONALD was situated on the Kokstad side of the ■*■ Spitzkop, a high hill sloping to a point — hence the name. The fort was built of sods and in square formation, with a few huts inside which were used for officers' quarters, office hut, and storerooms. On a nek stretching towards a large forest two rows of Kaffir huts had been built. These were made of wattles plaited together and covered with mud, and called " wattle and daub huts." Prior to the arrival of the two troops, the station had been occupied by native levies, which had now been disbanded and had returned to their kraals. As can be imagined, the huts were not fit for white men to go into, and the troop was under canvas whilst the old huts were being destroyed and new ones rebuilt.
Fort Donald has always had the reputation, and justly, of being the most undesirable station in the C.M.R. It is situated in a high part of the country, almost level with the top of the Ingeli Mountains, which stretch along the valley between it and Kokstad to the Natal border. The natives in the district are called Xesibes, and their country adjoins
90 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
Pondoland, then an independent tribe and a very insolent one. The Pondoland border was about six miles from Fort Donald, and for about eight months in the year the country for about five miles round the Spitzkop was enveloped in a dense fog or mist, and was a very difficult country to find one's way about in. The roads were old sleigh roads, leading towards the bush, where poles for fencing and wood for burning purposes were procured from the sawyers, who were chiefly Griquas who had huts in the bush. These cross tracks made it very difficult to keep in the right road leading from Pondoland through Fort Donald to Kokstad. The fog was so dense, it was impossible to see more than a yard or two in front of your horse's head; and once off the right road, it was next to an impossibility to regain it. Dispatch riders — men told off to carry the post or official letters — were sometimes lost for ten or twelve hours at a time, and were eventually led into the camp by natives whom they had met by chance in their wanderings. This sort of thing was daily happening when we arrived, and we were thought very lucky to have got a fine day for our trek out.
I found that nearly the whole of my troop, No. 3, and a great number of No. 5, were awaiting their discharges from King William's Town to make them free men, and these were expected by every post. These men had ceased to do duty, and simply loafed about the tents, swearing at the delay and weather.
The troops, therefore, being very short-handed, were await- ing the arrival of recruits from King William's Town, and also, it was rumoured, a number of men who had been enlisted for the regiment in Natal, — ex-irregulars from Sekikuni's campaign, who had served there under General Carrington, —
IN SOUTH AFRICA 91
who were expected to arrive with them. In the meantime only horse guard and camp guard were being furnished, and there were no parades.
The rain came down on our first afternoon, accompanied by a heavy mist, which soaked through everything both inside and outside of the tents. It was some days before we saw more than two tents at a time in any one direction. Stables were a farce ; the horses, as many of them as the guard could find, were driven in the direction of the camp, which was only to be found by shouting to one another. These were fed and turned loose into a brushwood kraal, a few poles thrown across for a gate, and the animals left to themselves for the night, nobody troubling about the absentees till the next clear day, when men would be told off to go and look for them. They were generally found huddled up against a bush in a hollow not far from the camp.
Shortly after our arrival with the wagons at Fort Donald, the discharges of the time-expired men arrived, and there was a great farewell evening in the canteen, a large wattle and daub oblong hut kept by two civilians, who had also been Policemen. The difficulty experienced by the majority in finding their way home from the end of the camp, where the canteen was situated, to their respective tents in the dense fog and rain, caused a good many to wander wide of the mark and get stranded in the veldt for the night, and it was late in the following day when the whole lot of them rode off on their way to Kokstad as civilians.
We were left with about eighteen men per troop for nearly a month, when over a hundred men came vid Kokstad from Natal. These men were nearly all posted to No. 5 Troop, which was made up to a hundred strong, the balance coming
92 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
to No. 3. With them came Captain Shervinton, to take the vacant command of my troop. He was the very beau-ideal of a soldier, and had seen service in the Gaika and Galeka War, also in Zululand the previous year. He was a splendid horse- man, a good all-round athlete, and a very good drill, and under his command the conditions at Fort Donald altered considerably.
The men who had been recruited in Natal were without exception the biggest lot of blackguards I have ever seen. If they were fair samples of the irregular forces engaged in Sekikuni's war, the officer commanding must have been terribly handicapped. They arrived drunk, more or less, and roamed about the camp, cursing and swearing at every one they met who didn't belong to their particular gang. The guard hut was constantly full of them, but no punishment seemed to deter them from getting drunk again, stealing liquor from the canteen, and righting amongst themselves day and night. When they could get no liquor, they wandered off and got lost in the fog, till found by natives and brought back to camp. They refused to do duty, and there were not enough men in our troop to cope with them when they broke out of the guardroom. The whole state of the place was sickening to contemplate.
Colonel Carrington had arrived in Kokstad by this time, and, being informed of the state of affairs, did the only thing possible under the circumstances. The men who were charged with an offence were handed their discharges at once, their uniforms taken from them, and they were literally kicked out of camp. Within three months there were only about ten of the whole batch left in the regiment ; and the Colony had learned a lesson in recruiting waifs and strays from other
IN SOUTH AFRICA 93
Colonies. For the future, except in rare instances, recruits were brought from England, and the men began to be composed of the class that made the name of the C.M.E. renowned in the British Empire. But this was not done in a day, and it was six months before the left wing began to show signs of what it eventually proved to be — an efficient, highly disciplined regiment.
Some three hundred men having arrived in Kokstad from England, all young English recruits, the necessary number of them were sent out to Fort Donald to make the garrison up to strength. On the arrival of the batch of recruits for my troop, No. 3, I found that my old horse was with them, having been forwarded from King William's Town. I was delighted at once more becoming mounted. My horse looked very fit, and I was told that he had become quite the old trooper, and had been ridden the whole way up country.
A newly promoted lieutenant also joined. So we were now complete — one captain, two subalterns, and one hundred N.C.O/s and men. Captain Shervinton lost no time in making us as efficient as possible ; and considering the awful climate, the incessant wet — not rain, but a soaking mist, which made it impossible to keep anything dry or clean — the progress made was little short of marvellous. Kiding school was in all weathers, in the open veldt, with horses slipping all over the place. There were many falls, but the young hands soon began to show signs of improvement, and when the troop marched into Kokstad in June it was no discredit to the headquarter men.
Shortly after the arrival of Captain Shervinton to command my troop I was promoted to first-class private, the wholesale discharge of the old hands in the troop having
94 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
created many vacancies ; I had also been recommended by our lieutenant at the time for the rank of corporal, but this recommendation had been refused on the grounds that I was too young, and a minute to that effect sent by the acting adjutant, Kokstad. I was told by my old friend, Sergeant
, who had control of the troop office, that Captain
Shervinton had been enraged at the refusal and the reason,
and had told Sergeant that he would see the colonel on
the subject the next time he went to Kokstad.
About this time a sergeant in my troop, who was proceed- ing to England on six months' leave vid Natal, recognised a deserter from the troop in Durban, and had him arrested. A wire had been sent asking for an escort to proceed to Natal
to bring the prisoner back. Sergeant volunteered to
go as the N.C.O., and I was ordered to accompany him ; and glad I was of the opportunity of getting rid of the eternal mist, and of seeing something of Natal, as, with the exception of a short stay in Durban, I had not seen the country.
We rode into Kokstad, and from there, proceeding along the post-cart road vid Richmond, eventually reached Maritz- burg, the abbreviated name for Pietermaritzburg. We stayed there for a week, and thence went on to Durban, over very hilly country, but a great contrast to Moirosi's country. In Natal everything was green; the fields and trees looked familiar and more like the old country than any other place I had as yet seen. The people of the country were very hospitable, and the uniform we wore was passport anywhere. We had discarded the old velvet corduroy coat and pants, and the regiment was now clothed in a dark blue jacket with black braid for bordering, black Bedford cord riding breeches, well fitting top-boots with regulation cavalry
IN SOUTH AFRICA 95
spurs, and white helmet with brass spike and chain, and a round cavalry forage cap when not wearing the helmet. N.C.O.'s wore silver chevrons on both arms in the left wing, and on the right arm only in the right wing, and their jackets were braided across the front, and looked very smart. I wore a single silver strip above the cuff on my left arm to denote first-class private, and very proud of it I was ; a revolver slung over my right shoulder denoted on duty.
On nearing Durban we came in sight of the sea, and felt the emotions which most Englishmen experience on seeing the sea after a long absence. We passed through Pine Town, where the 6th Enniskillen Dragoons was stationed, a lovely spot, with gardens and luxuriant foliage, wild plantains and bananas growing everywhere, and smart, comfortable-looking villas dotted about the various hills right on to Durban. Durban was then rather a straggling town, built below the hills, and stretching down to the sea — only a few houses were built on the Berea (the hill at the back of the town) where now there are numberless palatial residences.
We put up at the Prince of Wales' Hotel, then quite the largest in Durban, but now one of the smallest, although it has been considerably enlarged since my first visit. We were delayed a week by the authorities before our prisoner was finally handed over to us, and during this time we enjoyed ourselves immensely. We were treated most kindly by the inhabitants, who seemed to have a regard for the old Colony Police as they called us, and we met a number of people who had lived in the Cape, and were never tired of asking after people whom they thought we ought to know.
When our prisoner was handed over to us, we mounted him on a spare pony of Sergeant , and started on our
96 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
return journey to Kokstad. I found that our man had been some years in No. 3 Troop, and was a friend of Sergeant
; that his time had expired some months before he was
ordered up with the troop to Moirosi's Mountain. When he found that he could not get his discharge, he had taken it himself, and had now laid himself open to be tried for deser- tion in the face of the enemy — a very serious charge even in the old days of Police, but much more so since the regiment had altered to C.M.R. He appeared very cheerful over it, and denied the right of the present authorities to try him,
as he had never been a C.M.R man. Sergeant did
not contradict him, and let him remain cheerful, and they appeared to pass the time away agreeably talking about their old adventures together.
When within a day's ride from Kokstad, we saw a man coming in our direction, on tramp, with his blankets rolled over his shoulder. As he approached us, I recognised him as one of the undesirable mob that had joined us from Natal. He had been tried by a board of officers, and received three months' hard labour, to be discharged with ignominy for being drunk on duty. He greeted us with " Hullo, sergeant ! " and with a grin to me, " Hullo, corporal ! " He informed us that he had got his ticket and was off to Natal to get a ship, and that he would stick to the sea in future and not try soldiering again. He also told us that our troop had left Fort Donald, and was now stationed at Kokstad, and that we were having a bad time of it with the blank Lancer-drill instructors and regimental sergeant-major, and that I had been read out in orders, shortly after I left for Natal, as promoted to corporal. After telling me to watch the blank sergeant-major, he continued his journey.
IN SOUTH AFRICA 97
On our arrival in Kokstad we rode up to the main guard at the magazine and handed over our prisoner, and then made inquiries as to the whereabouts of our troop. We were directed to it by a sentry, who was a striking contrast to the last one I had seen at the same place. This man was marching up and down at the regulation pace, his carbine at the support, the brass fittings on his white helmet glittering, and spurs burnished up to the highest degree. I seemed to see visions of trouble ahead for some of our old hands who had remained in the troop, and thought with what pride some of them had remarked to me only six months before, that they had not. blacked their belts for three years, and didn't intend to, and if I started cleaning my boots and belts and they got into trouble for not doing the same, then I should know about it.
We arrived at our camp, which had been pitched on the veldt above the magazine, and about a quarter of a mile away from the depot troop, who had huts built for them below the magazine ; we were out of sight of them, for which we often had cause to be thankful. The troop had left Fort Donald about a fortnight before, and, as we had been informed on the road, had evidently had a bad time of it. The whole troop seemed on the jump, and I was not long in finding out the reason. I was told by our acting sergeant-major that I was a corporal, and to look sharp and get the stripes up before the regimental saw me, or else there would be no need for me to put them up, as I would be made a prisoner by him at once.
Our old sergeant-major had taken his discharge some three months before, and the next senior sergeant was made acting. 7
98 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
Sergeant Trippler, so named from his peculiar gait re- sembling the " tripple," or walk, of a Dutchman, told me that I was in charge of a certain tent, and responsible for the good conduct of the occupants. He would have proceeded to give me my whole routine of duties if I hadn't suggested that my horse wanted off-saddling, when he let me go, telling me to come to his tent afterwards and he would give me the chevrons he had drawn for me out of the quartermaster's store.
I went to the tent which I had been told off to, and a couple of smart good-looking youngsters jumped out, and, taking my horse, off-saddled it, and one of them led it off to the troop, while the other brought my saddle inside, and asked where I intended sleeping. I chose the middle, facing the door, and my saddle was placed there pending my getting the remainder of my kit, which had been placed in troop store on my departure for Natal.
I then went and interviewed Sergeant Trippler, who gave me my kit from the troop store, and two sets of corporal's stripes. He proceeded to impress the various duties of a corporal upon me, and warned me of the pitfalls and traps that awaited me from the staff of the depot troop, who, as I could gather from him, had been amusing them- selves at his expense. There was no doubt that he was in mortal dread of the " regimental," and imagined that he had been appointed to that position for the sole purpose of pulverising No. 3 Troop, and Sergeant Trippler in particular. If any N.C.O. of the troop did anything he thought right, the regimental said it was wrong, and if he did anything wrong he was made a prisoner on the spot. All this was not very reassuring, but I had not known Sergeant Trippler for nine months for nothing. I knew him to be a nagging
IN SOUTH AFRICA 99
incompeteut sort of man, trying to justify his appointment as sergeant-major in order to have it confirmed ; always interfering with the N.C.O.'s in the performance of their duties, giving contradictory orders, and allowing the blame to rest upon the unfortunate man who had listened to him, if they should be wrong, as they invariably were.
In appearance he was not at all the type usually associated with the sergeant-major of a troop. He was very short, with bandy legs, a large head with sandy hair, a high-pitched voice, round shoulders, and when in uniform looked all helmet and top-boots. His incessant nagging manner of addressing the men, such as, " Now then, that 'ere man " — " What are yer doin' of ? " was enough to drive any man to an act of in- subordination, and I thought it quite probable that the regimental had also taken his measure, and that Trippler's fears for himself might be justified.
There were seven men in the tent besides myself, so we were not crowded. I found that there was one old hand and six of the recruits who had joined us at Fort Donald prior to my leaving for Natal. They were a very nice lot of young fellows, all about my own age, and seemed determined to keep in my good books. During my short stay with them, they never gave me the slightest trouble, and did all in their power to make the tent the show one of the troop.
The old hand laid hands on my cloth and serge jackets and sewed my stripes on for me. It was none too soon, for whilst enjoying what I considered a well-earned rest, the strident voice of Sergeant Trippler was heard at the door of my tent. " Now then, corporal, there ain't so many on yer that yer can sleep in the day ! Git down to the depot and take the orders — which 'as been soundin' for the last 'arf-hour."
ioo TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
I replied that it was the call for orderly sergeant he had heard, and that I was not aware that I was on duty, as I had only returned two hours before from a journey. He informed me that there were only four corporals, two were on guard, and the third one, who was the orderly corporal, he had sent on a message to the quartermaster's store, so I must go, and as soon as possible, and take my notebook, for although I knew it was the Orderly N.C.O.'s call, he knew better, and it was for orders. So I let him have his way, and dressed myself in overalls, jacket, and forage cap, and proceeded towards the depot troop lines, to face the dreaded regimental.
I remember these incidents vividly, and have written them for the purpose of showing the great change that had taken place in the regiment since I was last in Kokstad, a few months before — also that an N.C.O. who had hitherto been considered smart at his work as a Policeman, was utterly unfit to hold the same position in the regiment that it had now become, and was even a great handicap to his juniors, who, but for his ignorant interference, would have been able to acquire the necessary knowledge in a much easier manner.
On reaching the depot lines I was struck with the number of new faces, nearly all N.C.O.'s who were bustling about the square; and the squads of men undergoing carbine and foot drill at the hands of instructors, who apparently knew their business, was a revelation to me. I had determined, however, that although I might look young I was not going to be con- sidered a fool, so I inquired of a sergeant I met the where- abouts of the regimental. He replied sharply, " In his hut, the first on the right." So to the hut I went.
I went to the door, which was open, and saw a man lying
IN SOUTH AFRICA 101
on his bed smoking, who catching sight of me shouted out, with a slight Irish accent —
" Hullo — what's your name ? What do you want ? Come in." I went inside the hut, told him my name, and said I wanted the regimental sergeant-major and had been sent for orders. He got up into a sitting position, swung his legs on to the floor, and looked hard at me, saying —
"You belong to No. 3," with an accent on the "you." " Haven't seen you before. Where have you been ? " I told him I had arrived that morning with Sergeant Jack from Natal, and had brought a deserter back with us. He then asked why I was going on duty so soon, and where the orderly corporal was, as he had ordered the call to be sounded for all orderlies half an hour before. He then told me to tell Sergeant Trippler to report himself to him at once, and that I could go back to camp and take it easy for a day, and he would see more of me. He thought I would do, and hoped I would get on. I walked back to my camp as quickly as possible, rather pleased with my first interview with the RS.M. as he was called by the depot men, and quite realising the reason of Sergeant Trippler's dislike to him.
The Regimental, or Regimental Sergeant-Major Lowther, to give him his full rank and name, was a man then of about thirty years of age and of splendid physique, about five feet ten in height. He was forty-eight inches round the chest and well built, and perhaps the most powerful man I have come across in my service. He had been a gentleman ranker in the R.H.A. and afterwards in the 17th Lancers, from which regi- ment he had been transferred to the C.M.R. with eleven others. Six had remained with the right wing, and the remainder came on to the left wing. Lowther, which was his service name,
102 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS1 SOLDIERING
being the senior corporal, had been promoted regimental sergeant-major straight off, and the others were drill-sergeants for the present. With the exception of Lowther, who after- wards got his commission in the regiment, and one other who succeeded him as regimental sergeant-major, and afterwards obtained a commission in the B.S.A. Police in Matabeleland and is now a colonel in that part of South Africa, the others turned out badly, and were all reduced to the ranks in a very short time, and took their discharges.
Sergeant Trippler turned green when I informed him that he was to report himself at once to the regimental, but as I told him I did not know the reason, he took himself oft", after several inquiries as to what had been said to me, and I returned to my hut. I did not hear for some time what took place, and then I was told that he had been well slated for sending the orderly corporal out of camp when it was his duty to remain there, and also for putting me on duty. It was a very humble individual who came to my tent and told me I would not be required for duty till the following evening, when I was to be in charge of the camp guard.
That evening, after stables, I spent visiting some of my old friends in No. 1 Troop, and found, much to my sorrow, that Paddy Faulkner had taken his discharge and was somewhere in East Griqualand, that over half the old hands had left and been replaced by recruits, and that the troop was under orders for the Basuto border and expected to start shortly. This was news, as I had heard nothing of the dissatisfaction which was supposed to exist amongst the Basutos, till that evening. I returned to our camp and sought out Sergeant Jack, who told me that an Act had recently been passed in Parliament at Cape Town, called the Disarmament Act, under which all the natives
IN SOUTH AFRICA 103
in the territories of the Cape Colony were bound to hand in to the Magistrates of their district any firearms in their posses- sion by a certain date, and that it was reported that the Basutos had refused to comply with the Act, and that it looked as if trouble were pending. He also confirmed the news that No. 1 would shortly go to Palmietfontein to reinforce No. 4 Troop, till further developments. This caused some excite- ment in camp, every man being anxious to go on active service.
The men were being kept incessantly at mounted drills, and the recruits at riding school every morning and dis- mounted drills during the day, the duties on the N.C.O.'s being very severe. Colonel Carrington was very strict on N.C.O.'s and men, reducing the former to the ranks for anything approaching neglect of duty, and punishing the men severely for slight crimes. Captain Shervinton kept our troop up to the mark in every detail, and was particularly keen on trying to make the N.C.O.'s smart and conversant with their duties, a rather hard task with some of them. All had managed to keep their stripes on their arms up till now, in spite of the eagle eye of the regimental, who never lost an opportunity of showing us up, when any mistakes occurred on the numerous parades.
No. 1 Troop marched away very early one morning for Palmietfontein, and we were left alone on the station, with a captain of the depot recruits, and an opportunity soon arose, of which the regimental took advantage, to settle Sergeant Trippler's aspirations to the rank of sergeant-major. One morning towards the end of stables, I, as troop orderly corporal, gave the customary order : " Men for riding school file off and saddle up," and the men who had not been dismissed
104 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
from that drill led their horses away to their tents to saddle them up and dress themselves.
Shortly after the stable parade had been dismissed, when the trumpeter was about to sound the fall-in for the ride, a voice was heard from the direction of the depot lines, shouting out, " Look alive, No. 3 — ride." That was enough for Sergeant Trippler, who immediately came fussing up, with a " Now then, why ain't that 'ere ride ready ? " I replied that it was not time, and he ordered me to fall them in.
Fall in sounded at the usual time, and the men paraded, when it was my duty to call the roll, inspect the men, and report correct or otherwise to the acting sergeant-major, who in his turn inspected the men, and then gave the order for the orderly corporal to march them off. Before I had finished calling the roll, the voice again called out, " Look sharp, No. 3." This put the finishing touch to Sergeant Trippler, who came up to me, saying, " Now then, corporal — why the 'ell don't you march them off ? " I replied that the men had not been in- spected, and that we were before the usual time. He then said, " March 'em off, I tell you — or I'll make you a prisoner." I replied, "Very good, sergeant," and marched the men off. On arrival at the depot ground, I found we were too early, the depot men were just falling in ; but as the drill instructors were standing about, I went up to the one who usually drilled our ride and reported No. 3 ride all present, and then returned to our camp, stopping on the way at the hut of an old sergeant who was drinking coffee.
He invited me to join him, and, having some time to spare before my next duty, I stayed talking with him a short while and then went on to camp. As I was nearing my tent, one of my brother corporals came up to me and said, " Give me
IN SOUTH AFRICA 105
your gun sling, old chap," meaning the gun sling I wore over my shoulder as a sign I was on duty. I asked him what was the matter, and he replied, " Oh, you are on the peg — I don't know what for," so I gave him my sling and duty roll, and he took over my duties.
I returned to my tent wondering what I had left un- done, and with inward misgivings as to the result of my interview at 10 a.m. with Colonel Carrington. Judging by the wholesale reductions that had taken place in other troops, he was not likely to make any exception in my favour.
Orderly room at length sounded with the officers' call, and I saw my captain and one of the subalterns walking towards the building, about 100 yards from our camp, where Colonel Carrington and the adjutant had their offices. I fell in on our parade ground in front of the tents, and a corporal took up his position on my right as escort. I then found that I was not the only representative of No. 3 Troop to interview the colonel, for Acting Sergeant-Major Trippler appeared coming from his tent with a sergeant on his right, and I noticed that he too, like myself, was minus his spurs.
We were both marched off to the orderly room, halted, and stood at ease outside. The regimental sergeant-major, with two or three orderly sergeants, came up — the former looking both escort and prisoners up and down, as if trying to see whether he could not put another charge against us for being improperly dressed. Apparently he detected nothing, for he walked on to the adjutant's office and left us standing for some time the centre of all observers, who were no doubt congratulating themselves on not being in our places.
The regimental returned to the doorway and shouted, in
106 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SOLDIERING
a very loud voice, "Sergeant Trippler, cap oil' — escort and prisoner, quick march."
In a few minutes I heard " Right about turn — quick march," and looking towards the door I saw my late fellow-prisoner emerging from the orderly room with his stripes in his hand — they had been cut off' by the regimental.
This was not encouraging, but I had no time given me to wonder what we had done.
" Corporal — cap off," made me drop my cap in front of me on the ground, and step behind my escort. " Quick march." On entering the room, "Halt — front form," brought me up in front of a desk at which was seated Colonel Carrington, who looked hard at me and then at the crime sheet in front of him. " Corporal charged with parading a dirty ride," he snapped out ; " what have you got to say ? " I told him I had obeyed orders when I marched the ride off.
The colonel did not seem to listen to what I said, but dipped his pen in the ink, looked up at my captain who was standing at his side, and said, " What sort of a non-commissioned officer is this ? " " The best duty N.C.O. in my troop, sir," answered my captain. Colonel Carrington gave a hard look at me again, and said, " Admonished."
" Right about turn ! " was shouted in my ear, and out I went with my stripes intact. I picked up my cap, and was walking away when my captain called to me. I returned and saluted, when he said, " Don't let this morning's business worry you. Keep on in the way you are going, and if any more of these damned old Policemen interfere with you in your duty, come straight to me — I will settle them."
That evening, after stables, regimental orders were read out, and amongst them appeared : No. — Sergeant Trippler
IN SOUTH AFRICA 107
reduced from 2nd class sergeant to 1st class private ; No. ■ —
3rd class Sergeant promoted to 2nd class sergeant, vice
Trippler reduced ; No. — Corporal promoted to 3rd class
sergeant, vice Sergeant promoted ; and a 1st class private
was promoted to be corporal in my place.
That evening I spent in the sergeants' mess, where I was welcomed by Sergeant Jack and the sergeants of the troop, while my jacket was sent off to the regimental tailor to be braided and have proper chevrons put on the arms. My brief career as a corporai