Boer History1852 in South Africa: Sand River, the Birkenhead, Cathcart, and Berea
Sand River of the 17th of January, Rustenburg of the 16th of March, and the Confirmation — January–June 1852
William Hogge and C. Mostyn Owen had reached Bloemfontein on the 27th of November 1851. They had been sent north because Major Warden had been broken at Viervoet on the 30th of June, because the Sovereignty could not keep peace among the clans along the Caledon, and because disaffected farmers there were looking across the Vaal to Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius. Pretorius wanted British recognition of the farms north of the river. The assistant commissioners wanted those farmers out of the Sovereignty quarrel so that Britain could deal with Moshesh without a second front. That is why a conference was set for the 16th of January at the farm of P. A. Venter, near the junction of Coal Spruit with the Sand river. [3] [4]
Of the Transvaal emigrants, the section that adhered to Commandant Hendrik Potgieter was unrepresented. The other section sent deputies chosen by a council of war and approved at public meetings, not by the volksraad, because party feeling was too bitter for a single government to speak. About 300 Transvaal emigrants accompanied the delegates. 100 disaffected farmers of the Sovereignty mustered in hope of preventing any agreement that left them out. Moshesh sent his principal counsellor with a few attendants to watch. Nearly all the traders in the country were there. The assistant commissioners went with an escort of 5 lancers. On arrival they learned that Adriaan van der Kolff was present. Hogge made it a preliminary that Pretorius should cause him to be arrested. Pretorius replied that he could not, as the man was within the Sovereignty. A Sovereignty farmer furnished Van der Kolff with a fleet horse; 3 lancers pursued; after a few miles he reached a band waiting for him. Moshesh’s delegate, seeing the attempt, returned at once to Thaba Bosigo. The meeting mattered because Britain was about to promise non-interference north of the Vaal, and because a plunderer at the table would have made that promise look like a bargain with a robber. [3] [3]
The secretaries were, on the part of the emigrants, J. H. Visagie, and on the part of the assistant commissioners John Burnet. Pretorius asked that the old district of Winburg be included; the assistant commissioners would not consent. He pressed a general amnesty for those in the Sovereignty who had repudiated the government; that too was refused. He desired to act as mediator with the Basuto; that was not conceded. The line they would recognise was the Vaal, not the Caledon. On the following day, the 17th of January, the document known as the Sand River convention was signed. It contained 9 clauses. In the first the assistant commissioners guaranteed in the fullest manner, on the part of the British government, to the emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal the right to manage their own affairs and to govern themselves according to their own laws, without any interference, and that no encroachment should be made on the territory north of the Vaal. The other clauses provided for arbitration about the Drakensberg boundary, disclaimed British alliances with coloured tribes north of the Vaal, provided that no slavery should be permitted or practised by the emigrant farmers, arranged free trade except in arms and ammunition, gave liberty to purchase ammunition in the British colonies but prohibited trade in war material with the coloured tribes on both sides of the river, provided for extradition, acknowledged marriage certificates north of the Vaal, and gave permission to anyone except criminals and runaway debtors to move from one side of the river to the other. It was signed for the British government by W. S. Hogge and C. Mostyn Owen, and for the Transvaal emigrants by Pretorius, H. S. Lombard, W. F. Joubert, G. J. Kruger, J. N. Grobbelaar, P. E. Scholtz, and 10 other delegates; Burnet and Visagie signed as witnesses. The western boundary was left undefined. That silence mattered later; it did not stop the signing. [3] [3] [4]
On the 16th of March a general meeting of the emigrants took place at Rustenburg, a village recently founded on one of the sources of the Limpopo, about 70 English miles due north of Potchefstroom. On the 11th Commandant-General Hendrik Potgieter had arrived with a considerable following. In the bitterness of party feeling Pretorius and those who had acted with him were accused of usurping power, of making a treaty without legal authority, and of aiming at domination over the whole land. It was feared that there would be civil war. Pretorius reached the village on the 15th. That night some of the most influential burghers entreated the elders to bring about a reconciliation. Before sunrise on the 16th the elders induced the two leaders to meet in Potgieter’s tent. The people waited; there arose a shout of joy when the tent door was opened and Pretorius and Potgieter were seen standing hand in hand with an open bible between them. The volksraad met that morning; the members almost unanimously ratified the convention; its details were made known by word of mouth to the assembled people, the only form of publication in a country without a printing press. On the 13th of May Sir George Cathcart issued from Fort Beaufort a proclamation approving and fully confirming the convention. On the 24th of June Sir John Pakington wrote signifying his approval. About 5,000 families of Dutch-speaking people were then resident in different parts of the country north of the Vaal. The handshake mattered because Sand River was a promise by two British commissioners to one faction; Rustenburg made it a law the other faction would keep. [3]
Somerset’s Cattle of the 11th of January, the Birkenhead of the 26th of February, and Smith’s Farewell of April — January–April 1852
Sir Harry Smith was still governor. He sat at King William’s Town, fifteen months into a war that had begun in the Amatola in December 1850. On the 11th of January the principal column, under Major-General Somerset, returned to King William’s Town with 30,000 head of cattle, besides a few horses and 14,000 goats. The other column left Butterworth on the 14th and brought out 7,000 Mfengu with 15,000 head of cattle which these people had seized from the Gcaleka and were allowed to retain. Smith wrote of 60,000 cattle driven out of Kreli’s country in despatches of the 13th and the 20th. After the evacuation Kreli professed to be anxious for peace. He was informed that if he would pay 1,500 head of cattle as a fine for his destruction of mission and other property and as a mark of good faith, and would cease from sheltering and aiding the Gaika, he would not again be molested. Those terms he declined with disdain. Soon afterwards he took part in a raid into the colony, but was met by Captain Tylden at the head of a large force of burghers and levies and driven back with great loss. Still he continued defiant. Willem Uithaalder seemed ubiquitous; he had his followers organised, assumed the title of general, and sent word that he was prepared to fight or make peace on equal terms. On the 6th of February the governor called upon the farmers of the frontier districts to assemble in commandos and assist in expelling the rebels from their fastnesses; only a small number responded, who in March aided in clearing the Waterkloof. The cattle mattered because the Gaika in the Amatola were still fed from Gcaleka herds east of the Kei, and because a governor who could seize tens of thousands of them had not yet ended the war. [3] [4]
Drafts of the 74th highlanders, the 60th rifles, the 12th lancers, the 2nd, the 6th, the 12th, the 43rd, the 45th and the 91st left Capetown in the steam transport Birkenhead on the 25th of February. She was conveying reinforcements from Simon’s Bay to the seat of war when at 2 o’clock in the morning of the 26th of February, while steaming 8½ knots an hour, she struck suddenly on a sunken rock off Danger Point, 2 or 3 miles off the coast, and tore open a great hole in her bottom. The water rushed in so rapidly that many soldiers were drowned in their hammocks in the main hold. The others rushed on deck, where under the orders of Major Seton of the 74th they drew up in as good order as if they had been on parade. 2 of the quarter boats were got out, in which 7 women and 13 children — all that were on board — with as many men as they could contain, embarked and stood out to sea. The gig was also got out, and 9 men embarked in her, who reached the land safely. 20 minutes after she struck the Birkenhead went to pieces. Part of the hull with the mainmast remained on the rock, and some 40 or 50 men clung to the rigging. The others tried to get to the shore on pieces of wreckage, through a sea infested with sharks. The order on deck mattered because the women and children left in the boats, and because the drafts that were meant to replace Fordyce never reached the Waterkloof. [3] [4]
At 9 o’clock in the morning the two quarter boats fell in with the coasting schooner Lioness, when the people in them were taken on board, and the schooner proceeded to the wreck and rescued the men still in the rigging. 116 souls from the lost transport, most of them nearly naked, were then crowded together in the little craft, which was shortly afterwards taken in tow by the steamship Rhadamanthus and brought into Simon’s Bay. Of those who attempted to get to the shore on pieces of wreckage, 68 reached it alive, though more or less bruised, among them 18 sailors; all the others — 9 officers and 349 soldiers, with 79 of the ship’s crew — perished. The horses were driven overboard; 5 of them reached the shore. Captain Wright of the 91st, with 5 others, clung to wreckage for some 9 hours and landed at noon. The spot was desolate. He met an outspanned waggon about 3 o’clock, was directed to a fisherman’s hut at Stanford’s Cove, and pushed on to the farm of Captain Smail, about 8 miles distant, where a trading store stood. Mr MacKay of Caledon authorised clothing for 40 of the soldiers. 2 more, who had been in the water 38 hours, were found in a very exhausted condition. The survivors reached Simon’s Town on the 1st of March and were accommodated on board the Castor and the Rhadamanthus. [3] [4]
On the 14th of January Earl Grey had recalled Sir Harry Smith, as he was not satisfied with the manner in which the war was being conducted, and thought it might speedily be brought to a close. Lieutenant-General the honourable George Cathcart was appointed to succeed him. He was the son of the first Earl of Cathcart, born in London on the 12th of May 1794. He had entered the army in 1810, served in Germany and France, commanded the 1st Dragoon Guards in Canada, and in 1846, on Wellington’s recommendation, been appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the Tower of London. A commentary on the campaigns of 1813 and 1814 had been published in 1850. Except for that book his name was almost unknown to the general public; the appointment created surprise and questions in both Houses. At the same time Charles Henry Darling was appointed lieutenant-governor, because governors had been kept so long on the eastern frontier that Capetown needed a high officer with authority to carry on the civil government, and Major-General Yorke was named second in command of the troops. Darling and Yorke arrived on the 24th of March. On the 31st of March the new governor arrived and took the oaths of office. Leaving the lieutenant-governor in Capetown, Cathcart embarked in the steamship Styx on the 5th of April and reached King William’s Town by way of East London a little before midnight on the 9th. Smith had, on the 7th, bidden the troops farewell; after a long interview with his successor he left for Capetown. On the 17th of April he embarked in the steam frigate Gladiator to return to England. The whole population of the city and its suburbs assembled to bid godspeed. Lady Smith was in tears; the old general bore himself calmly until he was on board, when he retired to his cabin and broke down. At 6 o’clock in the morning of the 18th the ship steamed out of the bay. The recall mattered because the war that Grey thought might speedily be brought to a close was still in the Waterkloof, and because the man who took the oaths on the 31st of March had to end it. [3] [4]
Cathcart of the 31st of March, the Kei of August, and Siyolo of the 9th of October — April–November 1852
When Cathcart took the oaths, Sandile was still in possession of his old haunts in the Amatola. Maqoma, with 2,000 or 3,000 followers of his own, together with numerous rebel Khoikhoi and a band of Thembu, occupied the Kroome mountains within the colonial boundary; from those fastnesses bands harassed the country even as far as Cradock and Somerset. Siyolo, Stokwe, and Tola, aided also by rebel Khoikhoi and Thembu, held the jungles of the Fish and nearly the whole of Victoria East. Umlanjeni was at the height of his glory, for the crops of maize and millet which had been cut down by the troops early in the season had sprung up again, and he asserted that this was a miracle performed by himself. The troops were worn out by 15 months of harassing guerrilla warfare; the cavalry horses were so thin as to be incapable of performing duty. At the outbreak there had been only 4 regiments in South Africa — the 6th, the 73rd, and the reserve battalions of the 45th and the 91st — the rifle brigade having left for England in June 1850. In May 1851 the 74th had arrived, in August the 2nd and 12th, in September the 60th rifles, in October the 12th lancers, and in December the 43rd. These were followed in March of this year by the first battalion of the rifle brigade, the same that had left the colony 21 months before. The governor had thus 11 British regiments, besides artillerymen, engineers, and the reformed Cape corps. A party of volunteers enrolled in Capetown on military pay, under Stephen B. Lakeman, arrived on the frontier in June and performed good service until the close of hostilities. Grey had thought more troops would end the war. Cathcart had the troops. The question was whether he would hold the ground they cleared. [3]
As much of this force as could be spared from garrison duty was formed into two divisions, one under Yorke for the Amatola, the other under Somerset to blockade the Kroome and drive Maqoma from the Waterkloof. Those arrangements were subsequently altered. Smith had made King William’s Town his centre and worked both ways; Cathcart made Fort Beaufort his headquarters and determined to work forward from that base. He saw that it was useless to drive the enemy out of any stronghold unless it could be permanently held afterwards. Forts such as had been built to stand a siege were expensive — Fort Hare had cost £8,600 — and needed half a regiment. He resolved, as soon as a mountain stronghold was cleared, to build small defensible turrets in commanding positions, with stone walls under which a large party could take shelter, stores kept under a guard of 15 or 20 men, and the country constantly patrolled. A European police was raised in the imperial service; in the course of a few weeks 750 men were enrolled in it at 5 shillings and 6 pence a day, providing themselves with food, clothing, horses, and equipments, ammunition only being supplied by the government; thereafter the frontier districts were kept comparatively free of marauders. The colony being thus protected, on the 1st of July the governor called upon the burghers of the frontier districts to meet at the Imvani on the 6th of August and aid in an invasion of Kreli’s country. He closed the proclamation by stating that if the colonists would not help themselves, the troops would very likely be withdrawn. As many burghers as were required assembled at the time and place appointed, and at their head and aided by some regulars he crossed the Kei, burnt Kreli’s principal kraal, and captured 10,000 head of cattle. This campaign brought the Gcaleka chief to terms, and thereafter he was most anxious for peace. The crossing mattered because Kreli’s herds had fed the Gaika through 1851, and because a governor who threatened to withdraw the troops got the burghers he needed. [3] [4]
During the month of September the Kroome mountains were thoroughly cleared, and forts were erected in such positions that they could not be reoccupied. Maqoma, who had held those fastnesses for 21 months despite the exertions of the troops, now fell back upon the Amatola forests, where he joined the other rebel chiefs. He was followed at once by such a force that within a fortnight those strongholds also were cleared and dotted over with military posts. The power of the insurgents was by these means completely broken. On the 9th of October Siyolo, in whose country Tamacha Post had been established, gave up the contest by surrendering with 40 attendants to Colonel Maclean at Fort Murray. His example was followed by those of the Thembu chiefs who were still living. A reward of £500 and a free pardon was offered to anyone who would apprehend Uithaalder, and £50 for any of his subordinate leaders, dead or alive; the remainder of the Khoikhoi rebels were assured that their lives would be spared if they would surrender at once. Most of them gave themselves up, and were sentenced to short terms of imprisonment. A tract westward of the Indwe, since called the Glen Grey location, was reserved for the Thembu; Nonesi was invited to return with her people and occupy it; J. C. Warner was placed there as the representative of government. The surrender mattered because Siyolo’s jungles had closed the Fish for 21 months, and because a post at Tamacha meant the country would be held, not merely swept. [3]
The pursuit of a few wretched fugitives being all that remained to be done, in November the governor withdrew 2,500 of the troops for an expedition to Basutoland. He accompanied them in person. In October Colonel Mackinnon had resigned the situation of chief commissioner in the province east of the Keiskamma, and had been succeeded by Colonel Maclean, previously commissioner with the Ndlambe clans. A very simple form of government was in force in the province, there being as yet only about 1,200 Europeans, exclusive of the military, resident there. 1,500 Bantu professing Christianity had refused to rebel at the bidding of Umlanjeni, and had taken refuge at King William’s Town, where they remained while the war lasted, without a single charge of any kind being brought against one of them. Formal peace with Kreli, and the location of Sandile, still hung on cattle not yet paid and on chiefs not yet in. The 2,500 withdrawn in November were not sent to finish that paper. They were sent to the Caledon, because Viervoet was still unanswered. [3]
The Drafts of January, Darling of the 25th of April, and Smuts of the 8th of October — Constitution 1852
Letters patent of the 23rd of May 1850 had named an elected legislative council and house of assembly. Earl Grey had told Smith on the 13th of May 1851 not to proceed while the war lasted. The draft ordinances required by those letters patent were nevertheless laid over on the 28th of January in order to give an opportunity to the public throughout the country to express an opinion upon them. The first contained 90 clauses, and provided for a legislative council to consist of the chief justice as president, 8 members elected by the western, and 7 elected by the eastern province. The members were to be over 30 years of age, and to be possessed of unencumbered landed property worth £1,000 or other property worth £2,000. They were to hold their seats for 10 years, except that 8 were to retire 5 years after the first election. 3 members were to form a quorum. The house of assembly was to consist of 46 members elected for 5 years. The voting for that house was to be by word of mouth. The qualification of a member was to be the same as that of an elector for either house, namely occupation for 12 months of property worth £25. The debates and proceedings in both houses were to be in the English language. The governor could dissolve both houses together, or the house of assembly by itself, but not the legislative council by itself. The secretary to government, attorney-general, treasurer, and auditor were to have the right of debate, but not of voting, in both houses. The second draft ordinance merely provided for a reserved civil list. The £25 franchise mattered because it would admit as voters great numbers of coloured people, many of whom were at that moment in open rebellion on the eastern frontier, and because the western party treated it as a pledge already given. [3] [4]
Some unavoidable delay took place, so that it was only on the 11th of February that the draft ordinances came before the council again for the second reading. All the members were present except the governor and Mr Cock, who were on the eastern frontier. Robert Godlonton at once moved that further consideration be deferred till the close of the war. He was opposed to the low franchise, because it would admit as voters great numbers of the coloured people then in rebellion. Captain Arkcoll seconded; all present except the chairman and Messrs Porter and Hope supported it. John Montagu then moved the adjournment of the discussion until the governor’s views could be ascertained, and this was carried, only Porter and Hope voting against it. The governor decided that the ordinances should be proceeded with at once as a government measure, and therefore on the 1st of March they were brought on again. On the 4th of March it was resolved to raise the quorum in the legislative council from 3 to 5, and in the house of assembly from 7 to 12. On the 9th the franchise came on. Hawkins moved, and Moodie seconded, a resolution raising it from occupation for 12 months of a house worth £25 to occupation of a house with a yearly rental of £10, or possession of landed property worth £50, or receipt of a salary or wages yearly of £50 or of £25 with board and lodging. Porter, Field, and Hope advocated the retention of the £25 franchise. On the 10th the resolution was carried by 8 to 3, Messrs Montagu, Rivers, Christian, Moodie, Arkcoll, Hawkins, Godlonton, and Cock voting for it, and Messrs Porter, Field, and Hope against. [3] [4]
On the 20th of March the qualification of a member of the legislative council was raised from unencumbered landed property worth £1,000, or mixed or movable property worth £2,000, to £2,000 and £4,000, the division list being the same as on the franchise. On the 24th of March it was unanimously agreed that the election of the 4 members to represent the city of Capetown in the house of assembly should be similar to that of members for the legislative council, that every voter could distribute his 4 votes as he chose, thus securing the representation of a minority. On the 25th of April the completed documents were forwarded to England by Lieutenant-Governor Darling. In his covering despatch he strongly objected to the raising of the qualifications of voters; he considered that the £25 franchise had been virtually promised, sanctioned by Her Majesty’s ministers, and that no adequate ground had been assigned for breaking a pledge thus solemnly given. The long delay was not to end with the completion of the ordinances. On the 27th of February the ministry of Lord John Russell had retired, and the earl of Derby had succeeded as premier, with Sir John Pakington as secretary of state for the colonies. The new secretary declared that the gracious intention of granting representative institutions ought to be carried into effect at the earliest possible period, but really did nothing to expedite the matter. Darling’s despatch mattered because Capetown now had a lieutenant-governor who would sign what Smith on the frontier would not wait to sign, and because the franchise the council had raised was the franchise London had been told was a pledge. [3]
On the 1st of May Mr Montagu left Capetown for England in ill health, and it was feared by the western party, with whom he was very unpopular, that he was exerting influence in favour of a nominated legislative council. On the 8th of October there was a public meeting in Capetown, with Johannes Joaquim Lodewyk Smuts in the chair, when it was resolved that as the information received by the late mail steamers was highly unsatisfactory, and as there was every reason to believe that Her Majesty’s present advisers contemplated a nominated instead of an elective legislative council, a committee be appointed to prepare an address and petition to the parliament and people of Great Britain. As members of the committee Sir Andries Stockenstrom and Messrs J. J. L. Smuts, John Fairbairn, C. J. Brand, J. H. Wicht, J. de Wet, A. N. Changuion, H. C. Jarvis, J. M. Maynard, and P. J. Denyssen, and Drs C. Fleck and Abercrombie were chosen. This was followed by a general agitation throughout the western districts; meetings were everywhere held, and resolutions carried in favour of the immediate establishment of the constitution of May 1850, with the £25 franchise and the £1,000 qualification for a seat in the legislative council, and that Montagu might not be permitted to return. By the British settlers in the eastern districts great meetings were also held, objecting to the proposed change until the war and the Khoikhoi rebellion should be suppressed, and further objecting to a constitution giving numerical superiority to the western province until provision was made either for the removal of the seat of government to the east, or for a separation of the two provinces. So matters stood on the 28th of December, when the earl of Derby retired from office, and the earl of Aberdeen became prime minister, with the duke of Newcastle as secretary for the colonies. An order in council was not this year’s paper. The petitions were. [3] [4]
Winburg of February, Platberg of the 13th of December, and Berea of the 20th — Sovereignty 1852
The Orange River Sovereignty still sat under a British resident, with too few soldiers to enforce Warden’s line along the Caledon. The assistant commissioners invited Moshesh and Molitsane to meet them at Winburg on the 22nd of January, but both chiefs made excuses. At length Moshesh named as delegates his brother; a meeting was held at Winburg on the 7th of February, and an agreement was written on the 10th, in which the Basuto and Bataung undertook restoration. On the 22nd of February Major Hogge met Moshesh again. To carry out the Winburg agreement to the satisfaction of the assistant commissioners it would have been necessary for Moshesh and Molitsane to give up several thousand head. Still Moshesh continued to profess the strongest desire for peace. In May the district occupied by the Batlokua was overrun by a Basuto army under Moshesh in person; some 50 warriors of Sikonyela’s fell, and the Batlokua chief was compelled to sue for peace. In June Major Hogge died suddenly in Bloemfontein. On the 23rd of July he was succeeded as British resident by Henry Green. Shortly after Cathcart’s assumption, the European inhabitants of the Sovereignty were consulted on the question whether Great Britain held the country with their concurrence; they met on the 21st of June under a manhood suffrage. Pretorius visited Bloemfontein during that sitting, was received with every mark of honour, and at Owen’s request delivered an address counselling moderation. In the evening of Tuesday the 22nd of June a public dinner was given in Bloemfontein in his honour. By an ordinance of the Cape legislative council in February the sum of £9,684, said to have been advanced to the Sovereignty, was remitted. It was now agreed by every one that nothing but physical force would bring the Basuto to terms. The dinner mattered because the man Britain had outlawed after Boomplaats was being honoured in the Sovereignty capital the same month Sand River was confirmed. [3] [3] [3] [4]
In November a splendidly equipped force, consisting of nearly 2,000 infantry and 500 cavalry, with 2 field-guns, marched by way of Burghersdorp to the banks of the Caledon. The governor hoped that the mere presence of such a body would enable him to settle everything without hostilities. In a proclamation before he left the colony he announced that he was not going to make war, but to settle all disputes and establish the blessings of peace. The army crossed the Orange, the river being low, and marched along the Caledon. On the 2nd of December Cathcart sent forward summonses to Moshesh, Molitsane, Sikonyela, Moroko, and Gert Taaibosch, to meet him at Platberg on the 13th, and appointed a commission to examine the cattle stolen and the question of Warden’s boundary. The assistant commissioners Owen and Ebden, and Mr Green, after 6 days, estimated the losses through the Basuto and Bataung at £25,000, and recommended a demand upon Moshesh for 10,000 head of full-grown cattle and 1,500 horses, together with 500 stand of arms as a token of submission, and that Warden’s line should not be disturbed. On the morning of the 13th the army arrived at Platberg and encamped at the Wesleyan mission station, which was found deserted by everyone except the reverend Mr Giddy. Not one of the chiefs was there. Sikonyela sent an excuse that he dared not come, through fear of Moshesh. The Caledon being in flood, 2 of Moshesh’s sons swam over in the evening; the governor declined to admit them to an interview. On the 14th Owen returned with them to Thaba Bosigo, carrying a letter demanding 10,000 head of cattle and 1,000 horses within 3 days. The empty station mattered because a governor who had said he was not going to make war now had no one to treat with except a missionary. [3] [3]
On the 15th Moshesh visited the camp. Among those present were Owen and Ebden, a brother of Lord John Russell acting as aide-de-camp, and the colonels Eyre, Cloete, and Bruce. Messrs Casalis and Dyke accompanied the chief; Casalis acted as interpreter. Cathcart was unwilling to abate his demands. The chief dwelt upon the blessings of peace, stated that he had not power to collect as many cattle as were required in so short a time, and informed the governor in figurative language that an advance into the country would be resisted, as a dog when beaten will show his teeth. All that he obtained was an extension of time by 1 day. On the 18th his son Nehemiah was able to deliver at the camp 3,500 head of cattle. On the 17th Cathcart sent a small supply of ammunition to Sikonyela. Of the cattle brought in by Nehemiah he gave 1,000 head to Moroko, 250 to Carolus Baatje, and 250 to Gert Taaibosch, sending those chiefs with the whole herd to Bloemfontein. On Sunday the 19th, as no more cattle had arrived, orders were issued for cavalry and a brigade of infantry to march to the ford of the Caledon opposite the mission station of Berea. In the evening Moperi, brother of Moshesh, and the reverend Mr Maitin waited upon the governor and entreated him to suspend hostilities a little longer; they left with the impression that their desire might possibly be acceded to, but that night the final orders to advance were issued. The 3,500 mattered because they were not 10,000, and because Cathcart had given part of them to Moshesh’s enemies. [3]
At daybreak on Monday the 20th of December the British forces, leaving the camp protected by a strong guard, crossed the Caledon at the ford which has ever since been known as Cathcart’s drift. Between them and Thaba Bosigo lay the Berea mountain, a long, irregular, table-topped mass of rock with precipitous sides, seen to be covered with thousands of cattle. The troops were formed in 3 divisions, the plan being that one should march over the mountain, and one on each side, so as to secure the herds, and then to meet in front of the great chief’s residence. The cavalry brigade of the 12th lancers and Cape mounted rifles, about 250 strong, under Lieutenant-Colonel Napier, was ordered to march round the northern base, but was tempted by the sight of cattle to ascend the hill. Hardly had the cattle been turned when a force of about 700 Basuto and Bataung horsemen under Molapo and the sons of Molitsane made a sudden charge upon the scattered troops. 27 lancers and 5 riflemen were cut off. Napier collected a little band and kept the main force at a distance until a company of the 74th highlanders came from the camp to his assistance. He reached the camp with a herd of 4,000 head of horned cattle, besides a few horses and some sheep and goats. Only 4 Basuto fell in that engagement. [3] [4]
Another division, under Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre, consisted of 271 men of the 73rd, 102 of the 43rd, 90 of the rifle brigade, 13 artillerymen, 12 Cape mounted riflemen, and 11 of the 12th lancers — in all 499 rank and file — besides a few mounted Mfengu as cattle herds. On the plateau they found some 30,000 head of cattle, of which they took possession, but these immense herds were unmanageable. Molapo’s horsemen suddenly dashed upon them; the foremost were dressed in the uniforms of the lancers whom they had killed a couple of hours earlier, and the soldiers mistook them for friends till they were close by. They cut off 2 or 3 men, and took Captain Faunce of the 73rd prisoner. All the cattle except about 1,500 were abandoned. About 5 o’clock Eyre effected a junction with the third division. His loss was 5 men killed and 1 officer made prisoner; of the Basuto 11 warriors were killed. The remaining division, under Cathcart in person, was rather less than 300 men when it left the camp — a detachment of the 12th lancers, a detachment of Cape mounted riflemen, 2 companies of the 43rd, and some artillerymen with 2 field-pieces — later strengthened by another company of the 43rd from Eyre. At Thaba Bosigo a force of 6,000 horsemen had assembled. Very heavy firing was kept up for more than 2 hours. About half past 4 a thunderstorm burst over Thaba Bosigo; as soon as the sun came out again the dense masses advanced in greater strength, but Eyre’s column made its appearance. As night was falling Cathcart took up a position at an abandoned kraal among rocks. The day’s losses on the English side were 37 killed and 15 wounded; the Basuto loss in warriors was 20 killed and the same number wounded. Captain Faunce was murdered in revenge by relatives of some of the women killed, and his body was afterwards horribly mutilated. The day mattered because a force that had come to collect a fine had fought 6,000 horsemen in front of Thaba Bosigo and had not taken the mountain. [3]
At daybreak on the 21st the general began his march back to the camp on the Caledon. A strong Basuto force marched in a parallel line along the top of the Berea, but did not attempt to molest him. At midnight on the 20th Moshesh sent 2 of his attendants for Casalis; under the missionary’s eye Nehemiah wrote in his father’s name: “Thaba Bosigo, Midnight, 20th December, 1852. Your Excellency, — This day you have fought against my people, and taken much cattle. As the object for which you have come is to have a compensation for boers, I beg you will be satisfied with what you have taken. I entreat peace from you, — you have shown your power, you have chastised, — let it be enough, I pray you; and let me be no longer considered an enemy to the queen. I will try all I can to keep my people in order in the future. Your humble servant, Moshesh.” The messenger followed the retiring general and delivered the letter. Cathcart declared that he was satisfied with the number of cattle captured, that he considered past obligations fulfilled, and that he would send the army away. There was murmuring in the camp; Colonel Eyre begged hard to be allowed to plant an ensign on Thaba Bosigo, or to perish in the attempt; Owen delivered a written protest against the cessation of hostilities. Cathcart, however, proclaimed peace with the Basuto. On the 24th Owen paid a visit to Moshesh; the chief directed Nehemiah and Masupha to accompany him over the battlefield, where the bodies of the slain soldiers were sought for and such as could be found were decently interred. 3 days after the conclusion of peace the camp was broken up. A garrison of 300 men in all was left to protect the Queen’s fort in Bloemfontein. Before the end of the month the army had reached the Orange on its way back to the colony. The letter mattered because it gave Cathcart the language of a conqueror on the night after a battle he had not won, and because 300 men at Bloemfontein were what the Sovereignty kept when the army marched away. [3] [3]
Sekwati of the 25th of August, Kolobeng of the 28th, and Lotlakana of September — North of the Vaal 1852
Sand River had left the emigrant farmers to their own laws. Prudence demanded that danger north of the Vaal should be done away with before it attained larger dimensions. The Bapedi, feeling confidence in their strength, had commenced to rob neighbouring farmers of cattle, so the volksraad instructed Commandant-General Hendrik Potgieter to proceed against them, exact compensation, and disarm them. On the 25th of August the commando reached the foot of the mountain on which Sekwati resided, fortified by rough stone walls across every path. Potgieter had with him the commandants Schoeman and Van Wyk, 6 other officers, and 315 burghers. He invested the stronghold and sent a message requiring Sekwati to surrender his guns. The answer of the chief was short: “Come and take them.” A close inspection showed that the mountain could not be carried by storm. Schoeman was sent out to scour the neighbouring country; during 9 days he was almost constantly skirmishing, and secured 5,000 head of horned cattle, 6,000 sheep and goats, 9 guns, and some ammunition, with a loss of 1 burgher — Stephanus Fouche — killed and 3 wounded. On the third day of the investment Sekwati sent a messenger to ask for peace, but refused to give up his guns. The want of water was already causing much suffering; during the nights parties of women and children were sent out to obtain water. Potgieter, who had set out in delicate health, became so ill as to be unable to direct operations; Schoeman took the chief command. 20 days the blockade lasted; the air was polluted with the stench of thousands of dead cattle. On the twentieth day a heavy storm of rain fell. Ammunition was becoming scarce, the horses were dying, and many of the men were sick. Schoeman therefore retired. The main object — the disarmament of the Bapedi — had not been attained, but Sekwati had been so chastised that it was long before his people troubled the farmers again. The rain mattered because a commando that could not take the mountain could not wait out a chief who would not give up his guns. [3]
Another expedition was that against the Bakwena under Setsheli. In 1845 Dr Livingstone had established a mission with these people and had built a house on the Kolobeng, some 40 miles westward of the location assigned by Potgieter. The Bakwena had been forbidden guns, horses, or waggons. Setsheli, or more properly his missionary in his name, claimed to be perfectly independent and determined that the road to the interior should remain open. The sixth clause of Sand River had prohibited trade in war material with the coloured tribes. The Bakatla chief Moselele had taken refuge with Setsheli; Setsheli promised protection and sent to neighbouring chiefs to join in resistance. The volksraad instructed Pretorius to see that the law was enforced. A commando of over 300 men was placed under Pieter Ernest Scholtz, whose orders were to demand the surrender of Moselele, and if Setsheli would not comply, to attack him. The Barolong chief Montsiwa, who had shortly before at his own request been released from the labour tax and placed upon the footing of a burgher, was called upon to supply a contingent of 20 men; he sent excuses, but no men. The commando mattered because Sand River’s ban on guns was being tested on a chief who kept a missionary and an open road to the interior. [3] [3]
On the afternoon of Saturday the 28th of August the burgher force arrived at Kolobeng. The Bakwena were found to have entrenched themselves and to have obtained the assistance the chief had asked for. Scholtz sent a message in friendly words requiring the surrender of Moselele. Setsheli’s answer was that he would not give him up, that Scholtz must fight if he wanted him. “The boers were in the pot,” he said; “the next day was Sunday, but on Monday he would put on the lid.” On Sunday he sent to the camp to ask for some sugar; the commandant told the messenger that such a boaster needed pepper more than sugar. On Monday morning 2 men were sent to ask him to come to terms; he challenged the commandant to fight, and tauntingly added that if the farmers had not sufficient ammunition he would lend them some. A last message was that the women and children had better be sent out of danger; Setsheli’s reply was that they were his, and that the commandant need not trouble himself about them. The burghers then advanced. It was only after 6 hours’ hard fighting that they obtained possession of the entrenchments and 2 of the ridges. Night was falling, and the Bakwena still held a rocky hill. The burgher loss had been 4 men killed — Jan de Klerk, G. Wolmarans, Smit, and a man of mixed blood — and 5 wounded; Setsheli gave his loss as 89 killed. At dusk the commando returned to the camp. Next morning a patrol of 150 men under Fieldcornet Paul Kruger found that the warriors had fled during the night into the Kalahari; the women, children, and a few cattle were left behind. [3]
On Wednesday the 1st of September Commandant P. Schutte was sent with a patrol to the old kraal of Kolobeng, some 8 or 9 miles distant, where Livingstone resided when at the station. The Bakwena had moved from this place some time before. Upon his return Schutte reported that he had found the missionary’s residence broken open, and his books and other property destroyed. Livingstone was not there; he had gone to Capetown with his family, and after sending his wife and children to England was returning when these occurrences took place. A building used as a workshop was found locked; some of the prisoners informed the commandant that there was ammunition in it; it was opened, and a quantity of tools described as gunmaker’s and blacksmith’s, and some partially finished guns, were found. The whole of the loose property upon the place was then confiscated and removed. The commando retired with 3,000 head of horned cattle, 11 horses, a few goats, 2 waggons, 48 guns, and all the loose property that was of value. Between 200 and 300 women and children, who had been abandoned by the warriors, were taken as prisoners; only a very few were redeemed by their friends; nearly all, after a short captivity, escaped or were permitted to return, and the remainder, being children, were apprenticed. Moselele was not captured; he fled to Gasiyitsiwe, chief of the Bangwaketse. The workshop mattered because Sand River had forbidden the gun trade, and because a locked room with unfinished guns was what the commando published as the reason for taking the station. [3]
When in the neighbourhood of Lotlakana on his return Scholtz sent to Montsiwa, requiring him to come to the camp and account for his refusal to furnish a contingent. The chief sent the missionary Ludorf and 2 of his counsellors to speak for him; the commandant declined to receive the missionary, and directed that Montsiwa must appear in person. That night the Barolong clan held long and anxious counsel. At daybreak on the morning of the 15th of September the Barolong of Montsiwa, said then to be 16,000 or 18,000 in number, began to abandon Lotlakana and flee to the southwest. The burgher force proceeded onward without any demonstration against the place; it was not until the 28th of the month, when the commando was far away, that the huts were set on fire by Montsiwa’s order. Ludorf accompanied the fugitives a short distance, but after a few days abandoned them and retired to Thaba Ntshu. The flight mattered because a chief placed on a burgher footing had refused the commando’s 20 men, and because Lotlakana was empty before Scholtz reached it. [3]
Pine’s Commission of September, Springbokfontein, and Waterboer of the 13th of December — Natal and the Colony 1852
In Natal Benjamin Chilley Campbell Pine still sat. The garrison at this time consisted of the 45th regiment, 617 officers and men, 34 Cape mounted riflemen, 22 artillerymen, and 17 engineers. On the 14th of February Earl Grey wrote to Pine that the system pursued towards the natives ought as soon as possible to be replaced by a better one, and that in his opinion this might best be effected by employing the chiefs as the agents and instruments of British authority. This led to the appointment on the 25th of September of a commission to investigate and report upon the best measures to be adopted with the view to the future government of the natives. A vast amount of evidence was taken, but nothing of any material consequence was effected by it. On the 22nd of November an ordinance for the appointment of assistant resident magistrates was passed, and thereafter the former title, which implied that the Bantu were nearly independent of the Europeans, was not used. On the 12th of October Pine left Natal on a visit to the Cape Colony. Some Europeans were convinced from what they saw that cotton was an article whose production would be remunerative; in this year some very fair samples were produced, though still small to be remunerative. The commission mattered because Grey wanted chiefs as British agents, and because the ordinance of the 22nd of November took away a title that had treated the locations as almost separate governments. [3]
In this year the firm of Philips and King, of Capetown, commenced operations at Springbokfontein, which was for a long time the most valuable mining centre known in Little Namaqualand. Samples submitted to an assayer in Hatton Garden had been certified to contain a percentage of 27.875 pure copper. Soon afterwards a host of prospectors and explorers, bent upon discovering and appropriating copper mines, poured into the district. A perfect mania for forming companies set in, and quickly spread throughout the colony. Parties of labourers were got together and sent by sea to Hondeklip Bay, many of them under the charge of incompetent overseers, some to localities where there was not sufficient ore to meet the expense of removing it, others to places where there was no ore at all. The custom-house returns of this year showed 31 tons of ore sent to England. The opening mattered because Namaqualand had been a grazing and mission fringe, and because 31 tons were enough to start a rush and not enough to pay most of the men who sailed to Hondeklip. [3]
On the 1st of December a lighthouse on the Bird island east of Algoa Bay was opened for use. On the 13th of December Andries Waterboer died, and 10 days later the people of Griquatown elected his son Nicholas as his successor. A request that the newly elected captain might be recognised was not this year’s paper. The light mattered because Algoa Bay was the eastern roadstead of a colony still at war. Waterboer’s death mattered because Griquatown sat on the road between the Cape and the Vaal, and because a captainate that had treated with Britain now passed to a son who had not yet been named in a despatch. [3] [3]