be called mountains-and deep kloofs (vallies); in many places presenting almost impenetrable forests, in others luxuriant bush, affording most excellent and desirable shelter to the savage, for himself and his stolen cattle.

The Kaffirs still persisting in their depredations, the governor of the colony had an interview, in the year 1817, with the Kaffir Chief Gaika, and entered into certain agreements and stipulations with him; the principal of which were, that all colonial cattle and horses in their possession should be delivered up, and if cattle stolen from the colony were traced to any Kaffir kraal (or village), that kraal should be held responsible, and either find the cattle, or give an equal number. Another arrangement proposed by the colonial government at this time was to make Gaika responsible for the conduct of the Kaffirs; in fact, to make him King of Kaffraria. On the policy of this arrangement we will not venture an opinion; but it was galling to the feelings of others, as there were many chiefs independent of Gaika, and some who, by birth, were equal, if not superior, to him. Amongst these was the Chief T'Slambie, the greatest enemy the colonists ever had, who even once boasted to Colonel Willshire, that " as long as the Fish river bush was between him and the colony he could not be conquered, and that the English should have no rest." His tribe also was one of the most warlike, and even last year it maintained its character for daring courage.

For some time after this the state of the frontier was much the same, but in Kaffirland animosity was gaining ground, especially between the two last mentioned chiefs: at last it rose to such a height, that preparations were made for war, and they finally met on the Deba Flats, about twenty miles from the site of the present Fort Willshire, and on the ground where Fort White has lately been established.

In this engagement Gaika was totally routed, with a very severe loss, and, flying into the colony, reported his situation to the colonial authorities. As this animosity against Gaika was owing to his adherence to the British Government, it was bound to support him; and, shortly after this, a strong force was sent into Kaffirland, to chastise T'Slambie and his adherents, which captured a great number of cattle; a large portion of which was given to Gaika, as a remuneration for his late sufferings.

Exasperated at their losses, the confederate chiefs burst upon the colony, and in a short time overran the whole country as far as the Sunday river, committing all kinds of excesses; these, however, from the smallness of the population at that time, are not to be compared with those of the same description during the late war. They even, under a popular chief named Mokanna, had the temerity to attack Graham's Town, then in its infancy; from which place they were driven with a loss of 1200 men. Another force was then sent into Kaffirland, to punish these unprovoked aggressions; and, in a short space of time, the chiefs, finding that they had lost almost all their cattle, and seeing that a continuance of the war would lead to their certain destruction, sued for peace. This was granted, and the boundary of the colony was then extended to the Keiskamma river, with the understanding however that the country between it and the Fish river should remain unoccupied, except by

military posts, and thence it derived the appellation of the Neutral Territory.

Such was the state of things, for some years; but the Keiskamma having its banks in many parts covered with bush almost as bad as that of the Fish river, and, owing to its windings, being at one part not more than six miles distant from the latter, it afforded the savages every facility of entering the colony, and driving the cattle stolen therefrom through the Fish river bush, into their own country.

There has lately been a great outcry raised amongst a certain class of people at home, at the manner in which the aborigines of the colonies, and especially those of the Cape of Good Hope, have been treated; and we sincerely deplore the impossibility of placing these mock philanthropists in the same situation as the unfortunate colonists on this frontier. Day after day they observed their flocks decreasing; and if any one was fortunate enough, by the assistance of the military, to recover his property, the state in which he generally found it hardly repaid him for the time and labour expended: as it must be remembered that many of the farmers were twenty miles from the nearest neighbour, and a day or two's ride from the nearest military post.

Such for many years has been the state of the colonists on the frontier of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, having not only the difficulties and privations incident on a settler's life to struggle with, but also to guard against the wily savage. In order to explain the cause of this unceasing hostility on the part of the Kaffirs towards the colonists, at least in as far as their property is concerned, it becomes necessary to describe their manners and customs.

The Kaffirs are a purely pastoral people, never growing more corn (Indian and Kaffir) than what is barely sufficient for their subsistence, which is sown by the women, as the men consider any kind of labour a degradation, their sole avocation being hunting and war. This with sour milk is their whole diet; sweet milk, they say, is only food for children. The milk is prepared by being put into a sack or leather bag, in which it quickly thickens and becomes like sour curds and whey. It is a most nourishing food; and to a person accustomed to flesh, it is surprising what fatigue they undergo upon it. They change their habitations according to the state of the pasturage; but this is a matter of little trouble and perfect indifference to the males, as their huts, which are nothing better than wicker cages in the shape of beehives thatched, are all the work of the women. They are an athletic race, full of enterprise in pursuit of plunder; and indeed the skill with which they used to steal on the widely-scattered farms, and carry off the colonial herds, baffles all ordinary rules of European warfare. With few wants, capable of great exertion without food, almost wholly naked (in war always so), they select a country the most impervious to the troops when driving off their plunder; the deepest rivers are no obstacle, and the thickest forests facilitate rather than impede their progress. Moreover, as their personal and sole wealth consists in the number of their cattle-such being their only means of barter, and as the price for their wives and even the atonement for their crimes is paid in cattle-it can no longer be a matter of surprise that the neighbouring colonists should suffer from their inces

sant depredations, the more especially as their own cattle are inferior to the colonial breed in such a degree as to render three or four for one a fair equivalent.

Amongst the circumstances which led to the war is one which is generally conceived to have been the principal cause, viz., the expulsion of Macoma. Some time after the extension of the colonial boundary to the Keiskamma, the mistaken lenity of the colonial government suffered Macoma, a son of Gaika, to reside in the country about the Nat river, which is within the boundary; but owing to some atrocities committed by him and his people on the Tambookies, who were not only pursued but some even murdered within the colony, the Governor (Sir Lowry Cole) gave orders that he should be deprived of his lands, which we must recollect he only held on sufferance. However, he was not then moved beyond the Keiskamma, but resided near Fort Beaufort until the year 1833*, when the acting Governor (Colonel Wade), upon the representations of the frontier authorities, it is supposed, directed that he should be expelled the colony. Macoma was much exasperated at this treatment, and we much fear that his excited and hostile feelings were inflamed by the injudicious and unguarded language of some of the missionaries; add to this the vacillating system of policy pursued on the frontier, with which the Kaffirs were fully acquainted, as a short time before the war they threatened the patroles, daring the soldiers to fire on them. Thus emboldened by impunity, the savages poured forth into the colony with fire and sword, and commenced a war which has entailed a heavy expense on Government, and has been the source of deep and heartfelt misery to thousands. In the short space of one week the plains of Albany and Somerset, which were, we may say, covered with cattle, were completely stripped. The hapless settler was roused from his sleep at dead of night by the discordant yell of the savage, and in many cases, ere he could make his escape, the flames bursting from the roof presented a dreadful presage of his approaching fate, or if he was fortunate enough to have time for flight, it was to see himself and family reduced to starvation. Many were attacked so suddenly, that they could not save anything-they beheld the enemy advancing on one side, while they were too happy to escape by the other; their oxen were taken, and thereby they were deprived of the means of removing anything.

It is no easy matter to attempt to convey to our readers at home any adequate idea of the state of the colonists at this time, or of the sensation the irruption produced. The whole line from the Winterberg to the sea was attacked at once; and I can compare the state of the public mind to nothing else than to a man who, from constant residence in the neighbourhood of a volcano, either becomes habituated to his danger, and therefore forgetful of it, or, being in ignorance of its proximity, at its unexpected eruption becomes petrified from fear. The energies of

*At this period the colonists were suffering greatly from Kaffir depredations. A private, C. M. R., was tried for his life before Sir J. Wylde, for shooting a Kaffir, when on patrole, in self-defence.

In January and February between 6000 and 7000 individuals were rationed by Government. I may say that 20,000l. was expended in the support of these unfortunates.

the whole population appeared to be paralyzed from the suddenness of the shock; and if we quietly examine into the causes, we shall not be surprised. The isolated state of the frontier farms, the inability of the farmers to unite their strength; the smallness of the military force, which was rendered still less by the numerous detachments, thereby preventing the possibility of having any considerable number of troops available on an emergency; the impossibility of estimating the numbers of the enemy, or the extent of the dire calamity; and lastly, the intelligence every moment assuming a more serious aspect;-all these circumstances connected together, conspired to increase and strengthen the general panic; and, to use the words of an inhabitant of Graham's Town, "Every tongue was occupied with one theme, every feature shaded with gloom, all faces gathered blackness, while rumours of murders and disasters came flying in from every quarter in almost as rapid succession as the messengers of the misfortunes of Job." The Cape.

ANCIENT.

DEFENCE OF HOUGOMONT-MAJOR-GEN. HEPBURN.

MR. EDITOR,-In the July Number of the United Service Journal I perceive an account of the Defence of Hougomont brought forward, as it would seem, by your Correspondent W., in refutation of certain statements made in a "Memoir of the late Major-Gen. Hepburn," published in a former Number of your Journal. I had not the honour of a personal acquaintance with Major-Gen. Hepburn, nor am I in the remotest degree aware from what source the Memoir in question was furnished. Indeed, I was ignorant of its existence until my attention was drawn to it by W.; but having received from the General, in compliance with a request for any information he could afford me respecting the 2nd battalion 3rd Regiment of Guards at the battle of Waterloo, some account of the share which he had in the defence of Hougomont; and having thus, in a manner, become the depositary of his own story, I feel myself called upon, in justice to his memory, and in deference to the feelings of his relatives and friends, not to allow assertions totally at variance with that story to be publicly made, without giving equal publicity to so much of his history of the affair, which I possess on record, in his own handwriting, as may be necessary to refute those

assertions.

I conceive that my best mode of showing the discrepancy between the two narratives, will be to place in juxta-position an extract from each, bearing upon the main points disputed by W., premising that, with respect to the substitutio nof another name for that of the MajorGeneral in the official account, not a single syllable occurs in the communication with which he favoured me.

Extract from .'s account in the United Service Journal.

"The defence was thus successfully conducted on all sides, until about half-past three o'clock, when

Extract from Major-General Hepburn's letter to Lieut. Siborn.

"Several companies of the 3rd Regiment of Guards had been sent down to reinforce the Light In