The Gaikas and their allies now rushed into the Colony, and commenced to drive off the cattle and burn the buildings and cornstacks. As Sir Peregrine Maitland wrote: The military posts were of no more use to prevent an invasion of the Colony than the piers of a bridge to prevent the rush of a swollen torrent through its arches.' The state of demoralisation into which the military were thrown was abject; the moral of civilised forces seems to be utterly destroyed. by a retreat in face of a barbarous enemy. By this series of unparalleled misadventures on the part of the military, the whole of Lower Albany and the districts bordering upon it had become exposed to a foe utterly contemptible in the field or when met by men of courage, but ruinous as fire or any destructive element when left to its own course. The Kaffirs drove off the cattle from the pastures close to the military posts and taunted the soldiers with challenges to come out.' Inspired by their unlooked-for success the whole of Kaffirland rose against the Colony, which now looked to the colonists to protect their country, and to the courage which men fighting for life, family, and country might be expected to bring with them to the scene of action. On the 22nd of April, Sir Peregrine Maitland, who had assumed command in chief, proclaimed the whole Colony under martial law and called out the entire burgher force. The demand became imperative on the part of the public that a man of capacity, of courage, and of large experience, and who enjoyed the confidence of the people and deserved it, should be at the head of the whole burgher force of the Colony; and it was equally imperative that he should not be checked, interfered with, nor compelled to co-operate, without his consent, ‘with any of the mob of field officers now on the frontier.' The choice for this position fell by unanimous consent upon Sir Andries Stockenstrom. The whole of the dangers and ' Theal, History of South Africa, vol. 1834–54, p. 264. miseries which had been brought upon the Colony were attributed, and truly, to the incapacity of certain persons, and to the misconduct and cowardice of others, and this was to be the remedy. If the Commander-in-Chief were prevented by military etiquette from placing the troops under the command of Sir Andries Stockenstrom, it was suggested that he might make him his counsel both for the plan and execution of the campaign. As the leading journal of Cape Town said: Of them all Stockenstrom alone knows the enemy, he alone knows the frontier colonists, he alone knows the country. There is no man who, in all these respects, can be named along with him without incurring ridicule-that is, no man of his rank. There are many others who will make their appearance from all ranks as soon as they feel that he is at the helm, fit to work under him or with him, or to succeed him should he fall. But at this moment, this man's head and his heart alone can give direction and vigour to the forces of the colony. These are strong propositions, but let the public here and elsewhere, and the Colonial Government and her Majesty's Government reflect on what has taken place since the 11th of April. In districts of the community abandoned to a savage foe without defence or support, a British force 1,500 strong, flying before a mob of savages with the loss of their baggage and with scarcely the loss of a man, troops of dragoons retiring before naked barbarians without receiving a shot, such things repeated over and over again down to the 21st of the present month, without one gleam of conduct or courage on the part of her Majesty's arms with the exception of the Hottentot corps, one of whom at Fort Peddie, in defiance of orders and example, turned round on his enemy and brought down his man.1 Sir Andries was accordingly appointed CommandantGeneral, subject only to the Governor.2 When Mr. Molteno arrived on the frontier, Block Drift, to which the forces had retired after the disastrous defeat at Burns-hill, was the only position held by white men in the 1 Commercial Advertiser, 30th May, 1846. 2 Theal's History of South Africa, 1834-54, p. 269. The importance of the words in italics will appear at a later stage of this narrative. 6 Kosa country, for every mission station and trading post had been destroyed. The Beaufort Burghers had made good speed in traversing the 400 miles which separated their homes from the frontier. The men,' says Sir Andries Stockenstrom, 'of the Eastern frontier and Graaff Reinet were soon joined by those of Beaufort West under Messrs. Du Toit and Molteno, and formed together as fine and brave a body of soldiers as this or any other country has ever seen.' Further on he describes his commandants as 'men as honourable, as well informed on the political state of Kaffirland and the Colony, and the predicament in which the Governor was placed, as any five men he would have picked out of his whole army-all having deep interests at stake. .. These five men were Commandants Joubert, Du Toit, Groepe, Pringle, and Molteno.' 2 Being encamped at Fort Beaufort, they made a reconnaissance to Block Drift, Mr. Molteno accompanying them. Here they found the troops in a state of great demoralisation. The bravest and noblest troops in the world were, through their mismanagement, to use the softest term, driven before naked savages like rats before a pack of terriers from Burns-hill to Block Drift, leaving their ammunition waggons in the hands of the enemy, to be recovered by a few poor Hottentots under Andries Botha.'3 The 91st, under Colonel Campbell, were in a state of siege. As we have already seen, the natives taunted the soldiers to come out. Their water had been cut off, and when the burghers, ninety-eight in number, arrived, they found these troops in momentary expectation of being attacked by the Kaffirs, a gun being placed at each of the entrances to the enclosure. As soon as they had communicated with the commander, and learned the desperate state of affairs to which the regulars were reduced, they went out and off-saddled at the river, and turned the water into the camp again. The look 1 Autobiography of Sir Andries Stockenstrom, vol. ii. p. 218. VOL. I. D out on the fort now reported that he could see a force of Kaffirs driving cattle from the Colony before them towards Kaffirland. The burghers immediately determined to attack them. The military would render them no aid, so dividing their small force into two or three parties, they moved out and dashed upon the Kaffirs, who, taken by surprise, fled, leaving the cattle in the hands of the burghers. The latter were now some ten miles away from the fort, evening was drawing in, and their position would be somewhat critical if the Kaffirs, recognising their small numbers, were to close upon them. Still they determined not to lose the cattle, but to make the attempt to drive them to Block Drift, a task of no ordinary difficulty for so slight a force at such an hour. A small rear-guard was left to protect them from the attack of the Kaffirs who, perceiving their scanty numbers, had now returned. Colonel Campbell at last sent out a force of about 100 men to assist them through the drift of the river; and on their return to the fort they were received with ringing cheers; as well they might be, for they succeeded in bringing back 5,000 head of cattle and sheep. Their return was wel comed not only because of its brilliant success, but for the substantial relief it brought to the famished soldiers, who were all on short allowance, the fort having been blockaded for a month previous to their arrival. It was now decided to bring forward the remainder of the burghers who had been left behind at Fort Beaufort, and a question arose as to how the message should be sent. It was exactly the kind of work which suited Mr. Molteno's character and temperament; he at once volunteered to take a despatch from Colonel Campbell, and his horse being fatigued with the operations of the day, Colonel Campbell gave him his own, which was an excellent one, together with an escort of two troopers of the Cape Mounted Rifles. As soon as it was dark they started and accomplished the ride successfully, and the remainder of the burghers was brought up. At the time of this relief of Block Drift the garrison was composed of between 300 and 400 men under Colonel Campbell's command. Mr. Molteno, in his capacity as commandant, accompanied Sir Andries Stockenstrom throughout the operations which he carried on against the Kaffirs. After a period of considerable inaction, and after various demonstrations' at which the Kaffirs laughed, and at which the burghers became discontented and dispirited, while their horses were daily becoming thinner owing to the drought and want of pasturage, a combined movement was at length decided upon. On the 29th of July Sir Andries Stockenstrom led a division of the burghers of Somerset, Cradock, Graaff Reinet, Colesberg, and Beaufort, with a contingent of Hottentots, from the Kat River into the Amatola fastnesses and jungles, which, it was considered by the military authorities, madness to think of entering with less than 10,000 men, This force was to co-operate with a contingent under Colonel Hare, consisting of regular troops with some Fingo and Hottentot levies. Sir Andries had never believed in the dangers of this great fastness if attacked in a proper and determined manner. It had been hoped that after their Burns-hill victory over the military the Kaffirs would have made a stand in their stronghold, but a simultaneous rush of 1,000 burghers and a five minutes' fight, which left thirty Kaffirs dead on the fringe of the forest, convinced the latter that the fastness to which they had looked for safety so long was useless, and after another short stand on a rock-bound and forest-flanked height, they avoided the troops. The burghers encamped for the night in the midst of this stronghold in order if possible to tempt them to attack, but without result. It subsequently appeared that the Kaffirs had no intention of exposing themselves to a loss of life when they |