FIGHTING ROCKS AND CAVES.

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of the morning mists above his head, and with the glass we could make out a village, perched upon a terrace half-way up the berg, and from which the cries and screams seemed to proceed. Before his men had time to dismount, a volley was poured into them from the rocks above. Leaving their horses in charge of one mounted man on the plain, the little troop dashed into the rocks, where the cover would shelter them equally with the enemy. From this moment the ringing of shots was incessant, and it soon became evident that more work had fallen to our lot than twelve men, however brave, could do. Our Kafirs, twelve in number, were eager to join in the fray. Leaving instructions for the horses to be caught and saddled, so that, excepting the artillery guard, all might follow, I went across with them. When we reached the base of the hill, which at a distance had appeared level and almost unbroken, an amphitheatre 1200 feet high, crescent-shaped, and with a terrace fortified by low stone walls, springing from rock to rock, revealed itself. The width of this crescent was about 650 yards. Its face presented a wild and singular appearance. It would seem as if some vast eruptive force had flung, from the top of the hill on to its sides, millions of tons of black and rugged rocks and stones, which, piled in wild confusion and irregularity on top of each other up the face of the position, presented innumerable caves and crannies, from which, as well as from the stone walls, taunts, jets of smoke, and bullets were continually issuing.

The main body of the volunteers quickly began to swarm up the right and left hand ridges, everybody potting away, whilst a few of us moved up the centre, firing when necessary, and gliding from rock to rock, so as to be in a position to keep the whole action in view. Several incidents peculiar to Kafir warfare now occurred. The leg of a pot, fired from a gun of gigantic bore, smashed away a huge piece of rock between one Blackburn and myself. This was speedily succeeded by a crashing sound as the body of a Kafir, rifle in hand, rolled over and fell from a high rock in our front, killed by a shot by a young Boer named Blignaut. The enemy, between the pauses of the firing, began to talk and interchange chaff with our men. One speaking in Dutch, recognised a man for whom he had worked in the Diamond

Fields, and calling out to him by name, said, "Baas Tom, why do you Diamond Fields men shoot at us? what do you want? Put out your head and let us have a chance." This was immediately followed by the discharge of two rifles, bringing the conversation to an end. Then they began to threaten our allies Kameel and Windvogel. This drew our attention to the first-named person. With commendable discretion he had taken the white band from his cap, so that the enemy might not recognise him. His figure, however, was conspicuous, slinking with his long gun from rock to rock, high up on the right attack. Being plainly visible to our lowermost men on the left, they missing his badge, and unable to distinguish one Kafir from another at so great a distance, immediately directed their fire towards him. Of course, in the locality he occupied, his companions (our own men) were continually jerking out wreaths of smoke.

The fight had now lasted twenty minutes, the enemy's fire was slackening, and the hill nearly gained-some of our men being already in the villages of the upper terrace -when three shots rang out from the position where the gun lay far off by the river. Seeing nothing was to be gained, and much might be lost, by continuing the fight, and knowing that immediate action must be taken to put a stop to the fire from flank to flank caused by Kameel's dispensing with his head-dress, I recalled the men. They were got out in safety, and a moment after, having gained their horses, the troop rode back to the gun, the shells from which now came screaming over their heads, to the utter discomfiture of a few of the enemy who were prematurely rejoicing at our retirement.

As the troop was forming, Windvogel, with an enormous assegai (javelin), executed with his followers a war-dance, within easy range of, and under fire from, the astounded enemy. He yelled, leaped, threw himself bodily into the air, went through all the motions of savage conflict, gesticulating, threatening, pursuing, stabbing the fallen, and generally celebrating his own exploits. As a final insult, he cut down some stalks of nearly ripe corn and held them up to the enemy; while his little tribe, with measured

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though not monotonous tramp and chant, sang something which translates as follows:

His performance received hearty acclamation in the way of a clapping of muskets and a shower of bullets.

When we returned to the gun the cart had just arrived. It had been attacked in the thorns, hence the recall. After completing arrangements for cooking and eating another breakfast, the whole moved homewards, unmolested save by a few shots, not replied to, from the direction of Schlieckmann's Kloof.

On the succeeding evening a discussion arose amongst us as to whether the Kafirs would now entirely abandon the scene of the day's operations; or whether they would imagine they had won a victory and try to still further secure themselves in the rocks and crannies we had left them. Mr White volunteered to go and burn the village on the terrace before the next sun set. After midnight he departed with twenty men for this purpose. He reached the place unobserved, hid away his horses under a guard, and followed by eighteen of the men, succeeded in reaching the top of the mountain. When the sun was a few hours high, seeing nobody to contend with the mountain being apparently deserted he descended the cliffs and entered the villages and huts for which we had been fighting the previous day. He found them full of corn, provisions, and utensils of all sorts, and with fires still warm, showing traces of recent habitation. As he had no carts or waggons with him, he applied the torch of civilisation to the whole, and then galloped back to breakfast.

This proceeding may seem harsh to persons at a distance, but it was necessary, as it proved to the enemy that we were likely to return again and again to complete our work in places once attacked by us. With our other mysterious and unaccountable dodgings about, such operations, though trivial in themselves, helped much to confuse and bother the unfortunate Secocoeniites. They henceforward made it a rule, as we were told after the peace, never to sleep in a hut, lest they might awake to find it in flames. They consequently suffered great hardships from sleeping behind rocks and in out-of-the-way places in a half-clothed and miserable manner within sight of their comfortable homes, to which they rarely ventured till broad noonday brought them some assurance of safety. All this may seem very unpleasant, but unpleasantness is inseparable from Kafir war.

It is as well here to describe the life led by the volunteers generally. Patrols were continually moving with letters, and as escorts, between the fort and Kruger's Post. Whenever men wanted permission to hunt in the surrounding country it was given to them, and in this way small parties, on whose movements the Kafirs could not possibly calculate,

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were kept continually dodging about in the debateable land. Other fellows went fishing along the banks of the streams; while large parties maintained horse and cattle guards, and protected the house-builders and timber and grass cutters in the more immediate vicinity of the little stronghold. The bush between us and the Steelport River—and in fact everywhere outside a range of a couple of hundred yards-was preserved, and added to the secluded appearance and general picturesqueness of the place. Mere military men would feel inclined to condemn this allowance of cover so close to the walls. A moment's reflection, however, will show its necessity. While the bush stood around us we could always quit the fort and enter on an expedition in any direction without being seen; and as sometimes our duties compelled us to be absent for days on patrols and missions, taking us a considerable distance from the fort, it was frequently left most inadequately manned by fourteen or eighteen men, whose safety on such occasions was due to the fact that the Kafirs were unaware of the absence of the main body.

As early as the 3d December, to give confidence, I had pitched my own tent, and taken up my quarters with most of the officers outside the walls. No more molestation occurring from the enemy, this example was speedily followed by a majority of the corps. They built comfortable stake and reed houses outside, one of them large enough to serve as a ball-room, where, to the music of a good violinist, they frequently danced. Of course there were no ladies, but nearly half the garrison were compelled to shave the upper lip and enact the character. All cooking was carried on thirty yards outside the line of these houses. The angle of the river below the fort afforded a good bathing-place, which the men constantly availed themselves of. The rations were liberal, and good of their kind; and the men, generally speaking, enjoyed a healthy, innocent, and happy life. Of course they had a jollification occasionally. The arrival of a cart or waggon with luxuries or grog for sale or distribution was an event to look forward to. I remember on one occasion the lads had been entirely without liquor for three weeks, the Commissary having gone to Pretoria. The heat was intense; and although it was late in December