The Matabele Campaign 6

	The Matabele Campaign 6

Then I made my way back to my patrol, but, finding that the enemy did not come along, we guessed that they must have seen us and were hiding themselves somewhere, and accordingly we spread ourselves out and proceeded along their route for some distance, examining the grass and bush as we went; but we failed to find them. (_P.S._--One of our scouts in searching the bush actually came across them, but, being cut off by them, hid himself in the neighbouring koppie till nightfall, when he made his way back to camp and told us how the four Matabele were stalking us when we thought that we were stalking them.) Eventually we came out on to the plain by a different path than that which we used on entering, and got back to the main body about noon, having been out eleven hours. The main body had now moved its camp to within a couple of miles of the mountains, preparatory to attacking this end of the Matopos. The old lady whom we had brought into camp, whose name is Umzava, is a charming old thing, and after a good feed of meat is very communicative. This afternoon I went for a short ride into the hills with De Moleyns and Pyke; we got three shots at rebel scouts who were watching our camp from the neighbouring heights, and we saw a good number on the hills farther off; so they are evidently on the look-out for us. Umzava, over a tin of meat this evening, confirms our idea that there are five impis collected in the position within the hills near us. Many of the rebels would like to give in, but their chiefs will not let them. They are all much disheartened by the rapid successive blows that they have had in the Matopos, especially as they had looked upon these mountains as impregnable strongholds. The defeat of Babyan especially had been a very severe blow; a large number of their best men had been killed here, including five chiefs; and Huntwani, their leading induna, had been severely wounded in the leg. The rebels are pretty well off for meat, food, and ammunition, but are getting tired of war, as it prevents the sowing of next year's crop, and they are beginning to lose faith in the M'limo, who had promised that all the whites should die of rinderpest, instead of which the whites seem to be increasing every day in numbers. _5th August._--The column paraded in the dark at half-past four in the morning, and moved off silently, without lighting fires or pipes, as we were close under the heights occupied by the enemy's look-outs. It fell to me to act as guide, since I knew something of the country to be traversed and the point where the enemy were posted. It meant passing through the two outer ranges of hills and through a wooded pass into a semicircular valley or amphitheatre, two sides of which were occupied by the rebel impis. At sunrise we arrived in the pass leading into this valley, where we were completely sheltered from view by the bush. The back of the valley was formed by a single high ridge of smooth granite, and from it five offshoots ran down into the valley like fingers from the ridge of knuckles. At the tip of each of these fingers rose rocky peaks among the bush and jungle of the lower valley; these peaks and the fingers themselves form the strongholds of the individual impis. It was evident that if we could get our guns into the commanding position afforded by the knuckles, they would be able to bring an effective fire to bear on each of the strongholds in turn, and thus prepare the way for our storming them from the valley. Our force consisted of the M.R.F., some of the police, Coope's Scouts, Robertson's and Colenbrander's Cape Boys, two mountain guns, the Maxims, Hotchkiss, and rocket tubes, with friendly natives to carry them. [Illustration: THE BATTLE OF AUGUST 5TH The sketch above will explain the nature of the operation which led to Colonel Plumer's victory on August 5th--probably the most serious and important engagement which has been fought throughout the campaign in Matabeleland. Five allied impis of Matabele were attacked and completely routed. The position of Colonel Plumer's main body at 7.30 a. m. is shown right in the foreground. At six o'clock the infantry, together with two screw guns, was detached under the chief command of Captain Beresford, with orders to advance to the right for the purpose of making a detour and shelling the valley preparatory to the general advance. While this force was moving forward, and as the guns were being taken over a small isolated koppie, the Matabele, who had carefully concealed themselves, made a sudden and determined dash upon them. It was then that Lieutenant Hervey was mortally wounded, several other officers and men being hit at the same time. The enemy were eventually beaten off, but Beresford was unable to advance until supports had been sent to him. At eleven o'clock Major Kershaw stormed the range of hills to the left, and here, while gallantly leading his men, he was shot dead. A cross marks the spot where he fell. Robertson's attack was made at twelve o'clock, and at one o'clock the Matabele were in full retreat. The enemy's total force was estimated at 4000 men and their losses at from 200 to 300. Our force numbered 760, of which we lost six killed and fifteen wounded.] Colonel Plumer, who was commanding the force, now ordered the guns, with a strong escort of one hundred and thirty men under Captain the Hon. J. Beresford, 7th Hussars, to endeavour to gain a position on the ridge, moving up that shoulder of it which might be termed the thumb. With Beresford I sent two of my boys as guides and scouts, and I told Beresford to keep a good look-out in going out, as he might find Inyanda's impi on the right of his path, while the remaining four were away to his left. At 7.30 this party moved off to our right front. The main body meantime were to remain concealed where they were until the guns got into position for shelling the strongholds, upon which it would move forward and attack them in succession. While we were waiting, I climbed up on to a neighbouring koppie to have a look round with my telescope. On almost every hill I could see natives, and on one hill in particular which overlooked the path where I had been scouting yesterday, and by which they evidently expected us to arrive, were collected a large number of their scouts. It was great fun watching them through the glass, as they seemed so close to one, and were entirely unconscious of one's presence. One or two kept an anxious look-out to the eastward (we were due west of them), while the remainder in a hidden position were having their breakfast. Presently the glint of the arms of Beresford's party attracted their attention, and their consternation was almost ludicrous to watch; on all the other koppies one could see that the alarm had spread, and without noise or shouting the rebels were stealthily collecting together under arms. Beresford had been gone for nearly an hour, when presently we heard him open fire; there was a rattle of a few shots, quickly followed by a roar of volleys and rapid sustained fire; this, echoing back from the hills around, developed into a continuous roar, which was added to by the roll of the Maxims and the booming of the bigger guns. This was a sound we had not expected to hear, as we thought there could not have been any very serious attack so early in the day in such an outlying portion of the field, but we had not reckoned upon the rapidity in which the enemy would move this day. So soon as we recognised that serious fighting was on hand, Colonel Plumer sent Captain Coope with a patrol to see how Beresford was getting on. Coope worked his way round, and later on reappeared with the information that Beresford in the course of his march had been suddenly attacked by the enemy converging on him from three sides at once; he had formed his small party into a square on a convenient plateau, and there for over an hour remained hotly engaged, the enemy rushing up to within a few yards under the good protection afforded by the boulders and bush. It was a stiff and plucky fight on both sides. The enemy, rushing on in great numbers, seemed confident of overwhelming the little force opposed to them; but the whites were ready for them, and opened a steady, destructive fire on them, which checked them time after time. Some natives having effected a lodgment in some rocks commanding the position, Lieutenant Hervey was ordered to dislodge them with a few of his men, and it was while dashing forward to do so that his sergeant-major was shot dead, and he himself fell mortally wounded through the body. His place was at once gallantly taken by Mr. Weston Jarvis, who had sauntered out with a gun to look at the fun, but proved himself a cool and able leader in a tight place. At one moment, seeing a volley from the enemy was imminent, the order was given by one of the officers to his men to take cover. The men in charge of the Maxim by mistake took this order as applying to them and left the Maxim, in order to take cover as directed; in an instant the rebels saw their chance, and made a rush to get the gun. Llewellyn, the officer in charge, saw their move, and jumped forward himself and alone to counteract it. It was a race for the gun; Llewellyn was there first, and, jumping on to the saddle, turned its stream of fire on to the natives, who were within a few yards of him, and they turned and fled, falling to the fire. The native muleteers behaved very pluckily, taking their carbines and assisting in the defence; the friendly natives who had been employed in carrying the Maxims and Hotchkiss showed very little heart; they crept in and took cover under the back of the mules, excepting one or two, who, when the enemy were close up, got away and joined their ranks. The guns were excellently served, firing case into the enemy at 50 yards; both the officers in charge of the guns--Lieutenant M'Culloch, R.A., and Lieutenant Fraser, West Riding Regiment--were wounded, but both continued to work with the battery. [Illustration: AFTER THE FIGHT Scene of Beresford's fight in the action of 5th August, with the 1-pounder Hotchkiss (on the left), a rocket trough, and 7-pounder (on the right), still in position. The gully in front of the guns is that in which the enemy concentrated for their attacks. They lost heavily when, on account of a flank attack by our main body, they had to retire over the rise beyond. The bald rock mountain at the back (much reduced from its proper proportion by the camera-lens) is where we (Coope's Scouts) got to eventually and had our "duel." The trees in the foreground were all ripped and torn by bullets.] At one time a war rocket was fired, partly as a signal and partly to obtain a moral effect, and it certainly succeeded in the latter respect, for after its unearthly bang a dead silence seemed to come over the scene, both sides ceased firing as if by common consent, and then the weird notes were heard of Sikombo's war-horn reverberating through the mountains with a sound like that of a steam siren, calling up reinforcements for the fight. But meantime, hearing what was going on there, Plumer ordered an immediate advance of his main body. Coope's Scouts were to lead the way, supported by the two corps of Cape Boys, backed up by the M.R.F. As we came out into the valley from our position, we could see the enemy collected in front of Beresford; they were not then actively attacking him, but they were evidently ready and awaiting further reinforcements, but our appearance soon changed their plans. Retreating hastily from the immediate neighbourhood of Beresford's position, under fire of his Maxims, they retired on to the next ridge (or fore-finger) to him, many of them getting into position at the koppie at the end of it. This ridge we at once attacked; pressing on with Coope's Scouts, we were at the foot of the ridge almost as soon as the enemy were on to the upper part of it, and here the fun began. Dismounting and leaving our horses under cover of the rocks, we commenced to clamber up the hill, firing whenever we got a chance. They were firing back at us, but, as a rule, well over our heads; we were in much greater danger from our friends behind. The Cape Boys, who were supporting us, came swarming across the open at the double, every man firing as he ran; men 100 yards in rear as gaily as those who were leading the rush, none of them stopping to take much aim. However, the moral effect on the enemy was all that could be desired. He had not settled himself into position on this ridge before he found the swarm of whites and Cape Boys assailing it, and it required very little pressure to make him quit and take up a better position with the supporting impi on the next ridge. But those of the enemy who had succeeded in getting into the koppie at the end of the first ridge were evidently determined to hold their own there, and they opened an unpleasantly accurate fire upon us from this coign of advantage. During a pause for breath in the course of the rush, I was talking to Schroeder, the war correspondent, when a fellow had a crack at us from the koppie and cut up the sand between our feet; we then adjourned our conversation to the lee-side of a big rock. [Illustration: THE DEATH OF KERSHAW Shot while leading his squadron to the attack of some caves.] Kershaw's squadron was now called up to assault this koppie, while I was recalled to take Coope's Scouts round by Beresford's position, and, if possible, to work round the flank and rear of the enemy, to observe and report what was going on in that direction. I gathered my party and rode off accordingly, and a parting salute from the defenders of the koppie whistled harmlessly over our heads as we went. It was shortly afterwards, in carrying out the storming of this koppie, that poor Kershaw was shot with two bullets through him at the entrance of the main cave, and his sergeant was shot through the head at the spot where I had been talking to Schroeder, probably by the same man who had fired at us. On passing through Beresford's party, I only stopped a few moments to hear his report and to say a word to the wounded, and then rode on, after a handshake with one or two friends. The curious look in the eyes of some of these men who had been near to death haunted one for some time after. After leaving him, for about half a mile we began the ascent of the ridge, and a very nasty place it was. It was a single narrow track going diagonally up the face of the cliff, very steep and rocky, so that we had to go in single file, leading our horses. We were completely at the mercy of any enemy who liked to come and fire down upon us from above, or who liked to cut in on the path after we had passed up it. In order to prevent this as far as possible, and also to guide supporting parties on to our track, we left one or two men at points along the path. Finally, on nearing the top, we halted and concealed our horses in the bush. Coope went on ahead as leading scout, and had a look over the crest, and returned to say that the enemy in long strings were retreating across the ridge about half a mile beyond, and that if we could get a few men up to assist us,--we did not number more than half a dozen at this point,--we should have a grand chance at them. He also said that there were some goats close by, and he thought he had heard men's voices. I then went up with him to have a look, and could see the enemy getting away as he described. To get up here we had quitted the path for the last 40 yards, and had climbed on to some rocks overlooking it; and now, when Coope went back to bring up the men, I came in for a little fun on my own account. The bleating of goats was continuous close by, and then I saw the reason: two goats had been tied up, twenty yards apart from each other, in order to make them bleat. Close by, behind a rock, were seated eight niggers, evidently lying in ambush waiting for us to come up the path, following the attractive sound of the goats' voices, and here was I in a position where they did not expect me! Suddenly one of them saw me, and they took the alarm and dived down to the other side of the rock, but one with a gun stood for a moment looking for me, and gave me a very good chance; he did not join the others behind the rock, but dropped where he was. They then opened fire on me, but I was in long grass, and merely had to lie down to be quite safe, shifting my position a few yards each time before I returned their shots. I was very quickly joined by half a dozen men, and we had quite a little duel with this piquet of the enemy; but it had the bad effect of bringing more of them upon the scene, and although they had not the pluck to come out and drive us back, they effectively barred us from getting any farther forward. However, from where we were, on the summit of the ridge we had a splendid bird's-eye view of the whole of the battlefield, and a good view also of those parties of the enemy who were already in retreat. Too good a view, in fact; it was like a bad dream to see this beautiful opportunity for a pursuit, and yet to find oneself tied by the leg from want of men. [Illustration: CAPE BOYS BARING THEIR FEET FOR THE ATTACK The rocks were so smooth and steep that the Cape Boys took off their boots to get a better foothold.] I now began to signal down to Plumer, telling him the state of affairs up here, and asking for more men to come and join in the pursuit, but the reply came back that every man was now employed in making a final attack on the koppies in the valley below; and from where we stood we had a beautiful view of what was going on. The Cape Boys had worked their way round to the enemy's right as far as the third and fourth ridges, and did some pretty hard fighting as they went. In one place they found the rocks so steep that they had to take off their boots in order to obtain sufficient foothold, and at one point a counter attack on the part of the enemy in overwhelming numbers pressed them back for a bit. Robertson, Serjeant, and Hubert Howard led this attack, the latter getting wounded in the foot. The M.R.F. and the police attacked the central portion of the enemy's position with great steadiness and determination, and drove him out of one position after another, until at last the enemy seemed to give up all hope of continuing the struggle, and strings and parties of them could be seen making off over the hills in all directions, followed wherever they made a good target by the fire of the Maxims and the 7-pounders. Had we had more men where I was, we could have carried out a most effective pursuit; but, after all, the smashing they got was sufficient in itself, and after a time the firing died down, and we could hear the trumpet sounding the recall. Making my way down to Plumer in response to a signal from him, I found him on the knoll where Beresford's party had been attacked. Although naturally satisfied with the result of the day's work, Plumer was evidently affected by the loss of his friend and right-hand man, Kershaw. We now found that out of our force of seven hundred, five had been killed and fifteen wounded, and among the latter was Lieutenant Hervey, for whom there is little hope. The enemy's force was estimated at from four to five thousand men, and of these we killed between two and three hundred. To our great surprise, we found that it was already three o'clock; the day had flown by very quickly. We then reformed the column for marching back to camp, the wounded being taken on stretchers carried by Cape Boys; and I was placed in command of a strong party to act as a rearguard to prevent any attacks from the enemy when moving through the defiles. As we moved slowly away, burning everything inflammable as we went, in the way of huts or long grass, we could see small parties of the enemy going about the field picking up the dead and wounded, and at one point one of our parties engaged in the same work was fired upon by some of the enemy in a koppie, and the rearguard went to their assistance; we found they were bringing out the body of Sergeant M'Loskie laid across the saddle of a spare horse. [Illustration: IN THE MIDST OF LIFE The above shows the mule battery moving off from Beresford's position after the fight of 5th August. The grave is that of one of the men who had just before been killed in the action--but previous to leaving we took down the cross again, as it could only show the enemy's stragglers where a white man was buried, and they were always anxious to exhume bodies for the purpose of making fetish-medicines from them. (It will be seen that the mule beyond the grave has a carbine strapped on to its pack-saddle; this had carelessly been left loaded and at full-cock, consequently, when passing the next bush, a twig caught the trigger and fired the carbine--the bullet hitting the grave. Many a man has nearly been shot by an ass, but I claim to have been nearly shot by a mule.)] [Illustration: BRINGING AWAY THE DEAD After the action at Sikombo's, 5th August.] Just as we were leaving the hills, a fairly large party of the enemy appeared, following us up and jeering at us. Our boys shouted back at them, and discovered that they were part of Umlugulu's impi, who had been detached early in the morning to a distant point in another direction where they had expected our attack to come from, and they only arrived on the scene now, to find it was all over. We gave them a parting long-range volley, which effectually stopped them from following us any farther, and just as darkness was coming on, we got out on to the open beyond the mountains. It was long after dark before we got back into camp. And it was then a curious contrast to see the men being cheered into camp by those who had been left as camp guards, as they marched in singing "The Man who broke the Bank at Monte Carlo," while here and there between the flickering camp fires the heavy stretchers could be seen slipping quietly past to the hospital. The following was our roll of casualties in this fight. It is curious what a large proportion of them are officers and non-commissioned officers. Seven officers, eight non-commissioned officers, and three troopers. _Killed_, 5. Major F. Kershaw, 2nd Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment. Sergeant Oswald M'Loskie,-- Sergeant William Gibb,-- Sergeant Innes Kerr (all of the Matabeleland Relief Force), and Battalion Sergeant-Major Alexander Winstree, Matabele Mounted Police. [Illustration: THE OPERATING TENT The night after the action was a busy one for the doctors. The bad wounds inflicted by the enemy's curious guns and missiles necessitating very numerous surgical operations. Luckily, the medical staff organised by Dr. Strong, assisted as it was by two skilful surgeons of the Red Cross Society, Messrs. Sutcliffe and Redpath, was quite equal to the occasion.] _Wounded_, 15. Sergeant-Major W. M. Josephs, M.R.F., slightly. Sergeant Arthur E. Brabant, M.R.F., slightly. Trooper W. M. Currie, M.R.F., severely. Troop Sergeant-Major Rawlings Dumeresque, M.R.F. Trooper Alfred John Evelyn Holmes, M.R.F., severely. Trooper Thomas Gordon, M.M.P. Captain Windley, B.F.F. Lieutenant the Hon. Hubert Howard, of Robertson's Cape Boys. Lieutenant Robert H. M'Culloch, Royal Artillery. Lieutenant Norman Warden Fraser, 2nd Battalion Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment. Captain Charles H. Fowler, M.R.F. Corporal Richard Turnbull, M.R.F., and two Cape Boys, slightly. Lieutenant H. J. Hervey, M.R.F., dangerously (since dead). CHAPTER IX THE FINAL OPERATIONS IN THE MATOPOS _6th August to 10th August_ Patrol to the Back of Umlugulu's Stronghold--We toy with the Enemy--Capture their Cattle--Reconnaissance in the Matopos--Night March--Do not speak to the Man at the Wheel--Delays in a Night March--The Penalty of Non-Alertness in a Piquet--Mnyakavula's Stronghold--More of Umlugulu's Cattle captured--Duels with the Enemy--Enemy serenade us in Camp--A chilly Night--Hints to young Leaders. _6th August._--It is a sad shock to sit in one's little mess of half a dozen comrades once more, and to find two of them are missing from the meal. Poor Kershaw and Hervey! Now and then one is on the point of calling to the usual sleeping-place of one or other of them to bid him come and eat, when suddenly the grim, cold recollection strikes you--"He is yonder--dead." Poor Hervey took his mortal wound as though it were but a cut finger, yet knowing that he was fast passing away. Now and then he sent for those he knew to come and see him and to say good-bye. He was perfectly possessed and cheery to the last, and happily without much pain. Poor chap, this was his first fight. He had been the paymaster to the forces, and had asked me to get him some appointment in the field. When he joined us in camp, I could not for the moment find a billet for him, till it occurred to me that there was a small company of men who had come up from Kimberley without an officer. They were so deficient in belts and bayonet scabbards that they always went with bayonets "fixed," and had thus gained for themselves the nickname of "The Forlorn Hope." On suggesting "The Forlorn Hope" to Hervey, he was delighted, and it was at their head he so gallantly met his death. His death is to me like the snatching away of a pleasing book half read. And Kershaw was the very type of a cool, brave, energetic officer. His loss to our little force is irreparable. Colonel Plumer sent me to-day in command of a patrol of a hundred mounted men, to go round by a new way to the back of the position occupied by Umlugulu; to burn kraals, etc.; to ascertain whether the rebels were still there, and if so, to show them that we were none the worse for yesterday's fight. As soon as we got round the end of this mountain, we found numerous tracks of people going in there, fresh that morning, and we could see smoke rising from several parts of the stronghold; and presently the appearance of scouts on various points of the ridge showed us that the rebels were still there. At one point I climbed a small mountain to have a look round, while the men dismounted, and rested their horses at the bottom. A few minutes after I had started to go up, De Moleyns followed me. I did not know till afterwards that we formed quite a little procession. First I came; then came one Matabele, followed by a second, assisting him,--they were stalking me from rock to rock; after the Matabele came De Moleyns, similarly stalking them. Near the top I suddenly changed my course, and came back unexpectedly on the flank of the two Matabele, who thereupon took to their heels in another direction. From my look-out place I could see a gorge leading into the mountains at the back of Umlugulu's stronghold; I accordingly mounted the men, and proceeded warily, under cover of the bush, to this valley. On arriving near the entrance of it, two or three of us dismounted, and climbed to the top of a small koppie which commanded a view of the stronghold. Here we could see a good number of Matabele collecting on the heights as well as on the lower slopes. Taking a few mounted men, we made a show of entering the valley, whereupon those of the enemy who were on the heights proceeded to show themselves conspicuously, evidently hoping to draw us on to attack them, while those in the bottom of the valley took cover and concealed themselves in the bush to form an ambuscade, to catch us on the one path which we should have to follow. So we played with them for a bit. Suddenly De Moleyns, who had been scouting farther along the range, came galloping in, to tell us that a herd of cattle were being driven in from the plains towards the mountain at racing pace. Leaving one troop to keep the attention of the enemy engaged in the valley, I made a dash with the remainder of the squadron to intercept the cattle. Such a yelling from the women on the hill-tops, and counter-yelling from the men in charge of the cattle! For some little time we could not see the cattle, owing to the thickness of the bush, and fearing lest it might only be a ruse to draw us on, I kept part of the squadron back as a reserve; but this yelling of the ladies persuaded me that they were really alarmed for their cattle, and when a bit of open ground showed us that it was a good herd of mixed cattle and sheep, I saw that no trap was intended, and that we really were on the track of their meat supply. In a few minutes more, after an exciting race, our leading troop succeeded in heading the cattle, just as they were entering a small hidden gorge in the mountain, and we brought them triumphantly away. Then, withdrawing the remainder of my force, which had continued to toy with the enemy in the main valley, we made our way home. This loss of their cattle had evidently violently enraged the rebels, and they ran along the heights parallel to our march, calling us all sorts of names and yelling dire threats. This practice of shouting defiance and insult is very common with the Kaffirs; but their wit is not, as a rule, of a brilliant order, and we can generally produce something better on our side, which effectually silences the enemy. One remark which never fails to make them squirm, and which we therefore generally reserve for a telling "last word," is the following pertinent question:--"Why are your crops not sown yet? Are your prospects of a harvest very gaudy, now that you are living shut up among the rocks like 'dassies' (rock-rabbits), and dare not show your faces in the fields?" To-day, again, the enemy recognised me individually, and saluted me with threats, yelling my name, "Impeesa," with savage intensity. As we should have to traverse a somewhat dangerous path before we could arrive at our camp,--the same pass, in fact, in which Brand had been attacked, and so nearly done for,--I sent on a message to Plumer, asking for a few men to be sent there to cover our passage through it. Meantime, as we went along, we destroyed seven of the enemy's kraals, and added to the picture by burning much of the long grass _en route_. Although the enemy gathered in some numbers about the pass, having seen that we were reinforced, they did not venture to attack us, and we got back into camp all safely with our loot shortly after dark. The cattle formed a very welcome addition to our commissariat. _8th August._--I was sent to find a good road by which the column could gain a commanding central position among the strongholds of the enemy. I had with me Captain Coope and several of his scouts. We made our way by various tracks and gorges to a koppie near to where Captain Beresford had his fight on the 5th. From the top of this koppie we were able to see the line of country the column would have to take; and from it I could see the spot where the enemy's piquet had laid their trap for us in the fight of the 5th. Through my glasses I could see that the piquet was still posted there, and that among their number was a Cape Boy dressed in European clothes. While watching them, I noticed ten Matabele sneaking down towards the foot of our koppie from another direction, and we did all we could to entice them to come at us; but they were too suspicious, and gave no chance to our hidden escort of capturing them. So, having seen for ourselves all that we wanted, and having taken the necessary bearings, we made our way back to camp. That night reveille was whispered at 11.30. It was a curious time for reveille, and utterly puzzled our cook; we had supped at seven, and it was not time for morning coffee; however, Rose (Rose was not a clean white-capped and aproned maid, but a horny-handed pioneer) was equal to the occasion, and hatched us out some bovril in a pile of embers (for no fires were allowed). Taking with us two days' rations, we moved off silently, on foot for the most part, only the scouts taking their horses, and these, for the present, were led in rear of the column. So silent was our departure that my two native trackers did not awake to accompany us, and I presently found that the task of guiding fell on my shoulders alone, which is all very well for a bit, but becomes tiring when carried on for some hours; the strain of constant attention is very great, and the want of trustworthy assistance to confer with at doubtful points becomes much felt. I was finding my way chiefly by the stars, and, during the first part of the march, by our old spoor. But now and again men would come up to advise me, with the comforting assurance that we were going wrong, and would endeavour to put me on the right line,--one, indeed, had his advice prevailed, would have taken us directly into a camp of the enemy. Nothing is more distracting than such interruption, and nothing is more calculated to make one really lose one's bearings. The maxim, "Do not speak to the man at the wheel," should ever be borne in mind, and acted up to, by those with a column who think they know better than the guide. If they think that he is going wrong, they should hold their tongues, but should also note every mark by which they may find their way back on to the right line, should he eventually have to confess himself lost. But no interference with him should be allowed by word or move. This applies equally by day as by night. Over and over again I have found myself confused or harassed by amateur scouts and guides crowding on to one, and sometimes even going ahead, talking and joking, not the least recognising the state of mind of the man responsible for the direction of the column. However, we got along all right, over villainous ground; but the way was not hard to find, because I had merely to follow our own spoor of the morning, and this I did by feeling it through my thin-soled shoes, rather than by finding it with my eyes, for which the night was very dark. The column came along in the following order: first, Coope's troop of scouts, then a squadron of the armed police, the corps of Cape Boys, the screw-guns on mules, four squadrons of Plumer's corps, followed by the led horses of the scouts and the rearguard. The pace, as is always the case in a night march, was exceedingly slow; every small stream, or ridge of rocks, or piece of tangled bush caused long delays, and the head of the column had continually to halt, or to move at a very slow pace, in order to enable the rear to close up. In Ashanti, where, similarly, we had to move in long strings in single file, I have found it necessary to halt the head of the column for as much as an hour after getting over a fallen tree with a small brook alongside, so long did it take the column to get over the obstacle in the dark and to close up to its proper distance again. Similarly, in this case we came to a small rocky pass, of less than fifty yards, which delayed us for an hour. Much of the delay was caused by horses losing their footing and getting down among the rocks; the battery mules, wonderful beasts that they are, came over without a mishap, but the horses seemed perfectly helpless in the dark, and eventually got so far behind that they lost touch with the column. The officer in charge of them, finding himself hopelessly detached, made all snug for the night, and eventually got back to camp in the early dawn. Luckily, my orderly, Parsons, who had charge of my horse, and consequently of my two days' food, managed to keep touch with the column, as did also the leaders of four or five other horses. The difficulties of keeping up connection were increased by our having to maintain absolute silence, and not showing lights of any description. Close above our path we could see the smouldering watch-fires of the enemy, and it speaks well for the order of the force that it passed so near to them without arousing their suspicion. At length, after struggling on through thorny bush and over broken, hilly ground for six hours, we found ourselves, an hour before dawn, at the foot of the ridge which commands this part of the Matopos. Here we rested a while, hoping that the horses might rejoin us. I was but lightly equipped for this night march,--a flannel shirt and breeches well-ventilated by wear and tear; as long as we were moving, I was all the better for it, but when it came to lying about in the chill of the early morning, I began to feel the cold, and as I lay in the long grass, I wrapped it round me to form a kind of blanket. As the dawn came on, we proceeded to ascend the ridge by the narrow path along the face of the cliff, which my party had taken in the fight of the 5th. We approached the top with all precaution, and surrounded the spot where we expected to find the Cape Boy and his piquet, but to our regret we found they were not there; this evidently was their post by day, whereas their night quarters were somewhere farther back. And shortly afterwards we found them. There was a lively ten minutes between them and our Cape Boys among the rocks, and just as we were about to send reinforcements, our boys returned jubilant, having driven out the Matabele, killing four and getting one of their number wounded,--the bullet having struck his bandolier and glanced through his arm. From our position on the top of the ridge we had a splendid view of jumbled mountain-tops and rocky, bush-grown gorges stretching in every direction,--a brutal country for military operations, but a splendid one from a rebel's point of view. The ridge itself forms a kind of backbone or watershed through the mountains, and is passable throughout its length for troops and mule-guns. Passing round the scene of the fight of the 5th, we came to the mountain which formed Mnyakavula's stronghold, a place covered with huts among the bush and boulders, and evidently full of caves. It was practically deserted, but still one or two niggers were to be seen about, so we fired a few shells into it to show there was no ill-feeling, and then sent some Cape Boys to examine it and to destroy the kraal. In going over it we found innumerable fresh blood-stains about the rocks, showing where wounded men had been brought in, and in two of the caves we found a number of dead bodies,--all showing how heavily the garrison of even this one small stronghold had suffered on the 5th. Here we halted for breakfast, each of us boiling our own "billy," but having to share our eatables to a certain extent with those unfortunates whose horses had been lost during the night. Then we pushed on again towards Umlugulu's stronghold, the same which we had reconnoitred from the rear the day before yesterday. Here we hoped to find some enemy, because this impi was one which took no real part in the fight of the 5th, and had therefore not been broken up by us. As we approached the place, we could see numbers of men gathering both on the right and on the left of our mountain; dogs were barking to the left, and women yelling. The guns were quickly unlimbered, and were soon sending their shells crashing into the gullies of the opposite mountain. A futile fire was returned, the distance was too great, and presently the enemy could be seen creeping away by twos and threes to safer and more distant retreats. Once more my telescope did me a good turn. I saw a very suspicious-looking stone deep down in the canyon below us. I aimed the glass for it, and my heart jumped when I saw it was what I had hoped for, a cow looking out of a hole in the rocks. I could then see that there were others in the cave behind it, and, sending down a party of Cape Boys, they soon were in possession of a herd of thirty head. [Illustration: SHELLING THE ENEMY OUT OF THE MATOPOS The artillery gun is called by English-speaking natives "the By-and-by," because after it has been fired there is a pause, and "by and by" the shell arrives at its target. The 7-pounder mountain gun has proved most useful from its portability and accuracy.] Then I went on with three others to find a fresh position for the guns, and to reconnoitre a neighbouring valley. We found a place for the guns, and sat there admiring the view, while De Moleyns went off about two hundred yards from us to find a way down between the rocks into the valley. We saw him coming back towards us, and just as he got within fifty yards, there was a yell, two shots, and De Moleyns, hatless, came galloping in like mad. Some half a dozen Matabele were stalking up to us among the rocks; he had come unexpectedly among them, and they had missed him at about ten yards. We banged away at where we saw their smoke, and they replied, but very soon their firing ceased, and we saw them streaking away over the next hill. We then went to have a look at this valley, and while studying the far side with our glasses, we saw a number of Matabele creeping down to lie for us among the rocks. A very pretty sight they were, lithe and active, bounding down from rock to rock, their dark skins shining in the setting sun and showing off their white war-ornaments. But we did not admire for very long, for, noting that they seemed to gather in one particular spot among the rocks, we put a few well-directed shots into it at 900 yards, and they quickly scuttled out again and went back the way they came, one dropping in his tracks to a shot from Coope. After this we stood up boldly on a rock to admire the view at leisure, till suddenly there was a ragged volley and the "phit-phit" of bullets overhead; these came from some niggers we could not see, but we fired back at the koppie which we suspected, and then gracefully retired to a less exposed position. We took a circuit round and burnt a hut or two, and then went down to the water in a bog about four hundred yards from the camp; here we watered and grazed our horses, bathed ourselves, filled up our billies, and cut a lot of grass to make our beds with on the hard rock platform that was to form our bivouac for the night. Suddenly our peaceful operations were interrupted by first one shot and then another fired up at the camp. These shots were soon followed by a more regular rattle of musketry, then came volleys in which the jolly Maxims joined, and finally the solid bang of the 7-pounders swelled the chorus. We were missing all the fun; we soon got mounted, gathered up our grass and our billies, and made our way up to the camp. What I call a camp is hardly what the ordinary mind would picture: there are, of course, no tents or other such luxuries; the force is merely formed in an extended square with guns and Maxims at each of the corners, and where each man happens to stand in the ranks, there is his place to cook his food, to eat, and to spread his blanket for the night. The spot we were camped on was a huge, open, flat rock, closely approached on three sides by broken rocks and bush, and in this broken ground a small but daring party of the enemy had crept up and were endeavouring to exact satisfaction for the loss of their cattle. It was curious to see how calmly the men in the square took it all; only that side of the square on which the enemy appeared bothered themselves to notice him, the other three sides went on with their cooking and suppers just as if the bullets whizzing over their heads were swallows flying through the air at sunset. After five or ten minutes the enemy retired and the firing died away. Half an hour later, just after dark, it suddenly broke out again; the enemy had crept up once more within fifty yards, and were firing at our fires. They seemed to become accustomed to the fire of the Maxims, but when we let them have it with the 7-pounder, loaded with case, at fifty yards, they did not like it, and when the Cape Boys made a sortie round their flank, they fled for good, leaving four dead on the ground; but as they went, they found time to shout "good-night" to us, telling us to sleep well, since that night would be our last--they "would have our livers fried for breakfast in the morning." [Illustration: A COMFORTABLE CORNER ON AN UNCOMFORTABLE EVENING When the enemy opened fire on our camp in the evening, it was very refreshing to see how quietly the men took it. Only those belonging to the face of the square that was being fired at took any practical notice of it. The remainder went on cooking and eating as if nothing were  happening.]