LITMIR.BIZ

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the weather, and from lying on damp ground, in small bell tents; added to which, our very lives were drilled out by brigade field-days, from three and four o'clock in the morning, until seven and eight o'clock at night. At this period the Caffres were committing the most terrific murders and robberies amongst the Dutch boers up the country. To stop these devastations, a rifle company was formed from the several corps of the 8th Dragoons, and the 22nd, 34th, 65th, 81st, and 91st regiments, and placed under the command of Captain Effingham Lindsay, one of the bravest soldiers in his majesty's army. We were dressed in green, and our pieces were browned to prevent their being seen in the woods where the Caffres congregated. About three months after the formation of the company, we were sent up the country, in conjunction with the light company of the 91st regiment and a corps of Hottentots. We embarked on board the Diamond frigate, and reached Algoa Bay in fourteen days, having experienced bad weather.[7] From thence we marched to Graaf-Reynett, about five or six hundred miles in the interior, and fifteen hundred miles from Cape Town, and took up our quarters in a Dutch church. The road from Algoa Bay to Graaf-Reynett is hill and dale, and infested with lions, tigers, hyenas, wolves, and elephants; and we frequently saw eight or ten a-day, at a place called Rovee Bank, a day's march on this side of the great pass. One day I went out shooting wild ducks here with another person. We came to a pool of water, surrounded with very high grass—some of it ten feet high—which abounded with wild ducks and geese. I took aim and fired, and had just time to see, that at least one bird had fallen a victim to number four, when I heard a most tremendous roar, and the whole pool was in a moment in a state of commotion. I was in the act of plunging into the water after my butchered duck, when, imagine my astonishment and alarm, on seeing an enormous white elephant rush out from the high grass, roaring loudly, and striking the grass aside with his trunk. Neither myself nor my companion had ever seen one before, and we had now no inclination for a second peep; so, leaving the ducks to their fate, we took to our heels, and never stopped till we arrived safe in camp.

      At every farmer's house on our line of march, we found sad vestiges of murder and desolation. Whole families had been wantonly massacred by this wild and misguided race of people, whose devastations it was now our duty to check, and whose ignorance is so extraordinary, that I am persuaded they are insensible that murder is a crime. Beautiful farmhouses were to be still seen smoking; the families either murdered, or run away to seek refuge elsewhere. Not a living creature was to be seen, unless, perchance, a poor dog might be discovered howling over the dead body of his master; or some wounded horse or ox, groaning with the stab of a spear or other mutilation. The savage Caffre exults in these appalling sights; gaping wounds, and the pangs of the dying, are to his dark and infatuated mind the very acme of enjoyment. This barbarous race, when they have succeeded in any of their murderous exploits, appear to be so excited to ecstasy, that they will jump about in a sort of frenzy, hurling their spears in all directions, and in the most reckless manner, either at man or beast. They are quite insensible to the value of money, which they would accept on account of its glitter only; while a more shining gilt button would be prized by them as of inestimable value. In short, they seem scarcely to possess a rational idea beyond what may tend to the gratification of the appetite; and I have myself seen them with women's gowns, petticoats, shawls, &c., tied round their legs, and between their toes, and in this manner they would run wildly into the woods, shouting in exultation. These people had got information that we were their avowed enemies, and come to destroy them and take from them their enormous herds of cattle; they were, therefore, driven far into the interior of almost inaccessible parts of the country, where we could not follow them. Some few stragglers were left in the neighbourhood, to watch our movements, with whom we had some slight skirmishes; but, from the extreme intricacy of the woods, we could do but little with them.

      The Caffres may unquestionably be considered as a formidable enemy. They are inured to war and plunder, and most of them are such famous marksmen with their darts, that they will make sure of their aim at sixty or eighty paces' distance. When you fire upon them they will throw themselves flat upon their faces, and thus avoid the ball; and, even if you hit them, it is doubtful whether the ball would take effect, the skins worn by them being considered to be ball-proof. Added to this, as they reside in woods, in the most inaccessible parts of which they take refuge on being hard pressed by their enemies, an offensive warfare against them is inconceivably arduous.

      Before they deliver the darts with which they are armed, they run sideways; the left shoulder projected forward, and the right considerably lowered, with the right hand extended behind them, the dart lying flat in the palm of the hand, the point near the right eye. When discharged from the grasp, it flies with such velocity that you can scarcely see it, and when in the air it looks like a shuttlecock violently struck. They carry, slung on their backs, about a dozen of these weapons, with which single men have been known to kill lions and tigers.

      From this harassing warfare, travelling through almost impenetrable woods, over tremendous hills, and through rivers, we were soon in a terribly ragged condition. Our shoes we managed to replace from the raw hides of buffaloes, in the following manner: the foot was placed on the hide, which was then cut to the shape of the sole, and fastened to the foot by thongs made of the same material, sewed to the sole instead of upper-leathers. In two or three days this dried, and formed to the shape of the foot, and was sure to be a fit. When we had remained at this station about two years, it was truly laughable to see the metamorphosis of the once white regimental trousers. Here and there pieces had been sewn in to patch up holes, and, these pieces being of materials of other texture as well as other colours, we looked, at a distance, like spotted leopards. During these two years I had sprung up some six inches, outgrowing, of course, both my jacket and trousers; and, when I was in full case for parade, my figure must have been exceedingly ludicrous. My jacket was literally a strait jacket; for, from its extreme tightness, I could scarcely raise my hand to my head. My pantaloons or trousers had been, during the whole period, continually rising in the world, and now they would scarcely condescend to protect my protruding knees. I was but a novice at the needle, so that the patches I put on were either too small or too large. In this predicament I had to march nearly fifteen hundred miles through Africa. The rest of the men were but little better off; and we might well have been compared to Falstaff's ragged recruits, with whom he swore he would not march through Coventry.

      Having continued on this duty for upwards of two years, to very little purpose, the Cape of Good Hope was ordered, by the British Government, in 1801, to be given up to the Dutch. To remove the rifle company, and the light company of the 91st Foot, a small vessel was dispatched from Cape Town to Algoa Bay, for their conveyance to the capital, preparatory to embarking for India. I was dispatched over land with a Dutch boer's family, then about to leave the station for Cape Town. The whole of the officers' baggage was committed to my care, which was a very serious charge and responsibility, through such a wild and desolate country. On this trip I had to pass along the margin of the country inhabited by the Caffres; and, although the Dutch family with whom I travelled had muskets and four waggons, these sojourners in the woods and hills neither feared them nor their guns. After laying in a good stock of powder and shot, we commenced our march in regular battle array. I was mounted on a horse, with my rifle slung over my back, always loaded, and a pistol in my holster-pipe; on each side rode the Dutchman's two sons; after us, four Hottentots, armed with muskets; then the old boss (the master); and, following him, the four waggons, containing the families and property of all. The rear-guard consisted of two head servants (Hottentots) armed, on bullocks; then four on foot, with their families, many of the women carrying two children. Thus we would accomplish twenty miles a day over the most enormous hills; and, if we could not reach a farmhouse by the setting sun, which was the time we generally halted, we selected the most open spot we could find for our encampment, forming a square with the four waggons, keeping our cattle inside, where they were fed. Six men out of the twelve kept watch the whole night, and were relieved every four hours, in which duty I always took a part. In fact, we were so often disturbed, either by the Caffres, or some beast of prey prowling about our little fortified encampment, that we might be said to be always watching. The Caffre possesses a great deal of cunning and craft. Their system of attack is this: under the garb of night, when all is still save the roaring lion, the hungry tiger, or the screeching owl, they will crawl on their hands and knees, imitating the cries of any animal of the woods, or any bird of the air. At the

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