Nov. 18th.—Between ten and eleven in the forenoon, parade and drill having been got over as usual in the early morning, the camp, in shirt sleeves, was hushed in its first siesta; we were all lying, like so many cucumbers under frames, in our sultry tents, which, in spite of wet blankets and "raised walls," were but a degree more bearable than the scorching summer sun outside, when distant shots were suddenly heard, and an alarm was given of an attack on the cattle out grazing at the foot of the hills, about a mile from the sentries. In an instant all were astir, a party of Cape Corps were in the saddle, and followed by a yelling posse of naked Fingoes on bare-backed horses, thundered past us as we stood outside the lines, telescope in hand.

A body of Kaffirs, who must have descended from the mountains before daylight, had concealed themselves in a deep sluit, or empty watercourse, running through the best pasturage, and waiting until the cattle had got between them and the hills, rushed out, and, after an ineffectual resistance from the outlying picquet of Levies, two of whom were wounded, had gone off at full gallop with the whole, which we now saw them driving in three separate herds up the grassy sides of the mountain; the ascent, however, was fortunately so steep that our horsemen had reached its foot before the Kaffirs were half way up; a very pretty skirmish took place through the bushes, and the slope was soon thickly dotted with puffs of blue smoke. The cattle were recaptured and brought in, with the exception of some dozen which had escaped into the bush. The trembling herdsmen got a reprimand, and a warning to keep nearer home in future. Many of the Hottentot women in camp seemed by no means pleased at the issue of the chase, and in fact, whenever they dared express it, their sympathies were evidently on the side of the enemy.

The merry Fingoes who had borne the most conspicuous part in this little affair, as a matter of course, made it an excuse for a jollification, and after sunset their camp, some few hundred yards from ours, resounded with loud shrieks and laughter, and their quaint and striking choruses, with the thumping obligato accompaniment, rose above every other sound in the evening air. It was a constant amusement to us to visit these happy good-natured fellows when in standing camp, and see their mode of life, which is exactly like that of the Kaffir in times of peace; their extraordinary habits and customs are most interesting. On this occasion, finding a blanketed group sitting apart in a circle smoking the dagha before described, I squatted down at their invitation, cross-legged, in the ring, and receiving the rude cow-horn pipe in my turn, took a pull at its capacious mouth, coughing violently at the suffocating fumes, as indeed they all did more or less, and after tasting the nasty decoction of bark which followed round in a calabash, took the politely-proffered spitting-tube of my next neighbour, signally failing, however, in the orthodox whistle, to the unbounded delight of the Fingoes, whose hearty ringing laughter was most contagious.

In this way they sat and passed the time until their grand banquet was ready, which we saw preparing on the fire in the shape of a large three-legged iron pot full of tripe and offal, from which issued a reeking steam of most unsavoury odour. Others with long festoons of unwashed intestines in their hands roasted them bit by bit on the glowing embers, and holding the frizzling end between their teeth cut it off with their sharp assegais so closely as to make one quake for the safety of their protuberant lips; after helping himself, the envied owner would do a few inches more for his neighbour, sticking it into his open mouth for him burning hot, and sever it in like manner.

The fondness of the Fingo for animal food is extraordinary, and when in the field he will do almost anything to obtain it; the daily ration is a mere trifle to him, serving only to whet his appetite, and in spite of the consequent severe self-punishment of being two days without, he cannot resist devouring the whole issue of "three days' rations" at one glorious meal. Marrow bones, however, are his especial weakness, and it is quite a picture to watch him roasting them in the hot wood ashes, affectionately turning them over, his happy face all beaming with oil and smiles, and then breaking the unctuous luxuries between two smooth stones, which, as well as the bones, are licked perfectly clean, and after a minute and repeated inspection reluctantly thrown away with a sigh of regret.

Notwithstanding this propensity for flesh, the Fingo, like the Kaffir, seldom touches it in time of peace, but keeps his cattle to look at and admire, living entirely on pumpkins, maize, Kaffir-corn, roots, and milk. The greater part of the latter is obtained from goats, of which they frequently possess very large flocks; it is never used except sour, a small quantity being always retained in the milking vessels to turn the new milk. It is most excellent; and in spite of the black, dirty looking grass baskets in which they keep it, we never could resist the cool refreshing draught. They believe that if the milk of a cow or goat is drunk in its natural state, the animal will at once cease to give any more.

As to religion, the notions of a people whose language does not contain a single word to express a Deity, may naturally be supposed to be very vague. The general belief with regard to the Creation, at least of those who think about it at all, is, that from a large cave (Uhlanga)[15] in the far East, where the very finest specimens of every production of the world grow of their own accord, all that moves on the face of the earth originally proceeded. Cattle first, and then man; the different animals, birds, fishes, &c., being subsequently turned loose for their joint use and amusement. Through some unaccountable mistake, however, one fine day, the cattle not being sufficiently wide-awake, allowed themselves to be circumvented and taken prisoners by the men, and have ever since been kept in subjection, ranking merely as second in the scale of beings.

Since the arrival of the white man in the country, these people have learned something of the existence of an invisible God under the title of Utixo[15] (an obsolete Hottentot word, meaning "my arm" or "safeguard"), though, as it is invariably used like the Italian "Felicita," or "Viva," after sneezing, it is very doubtful what idea they connect with it.

Superstition enters largely into their customs; they not only believe in spirits, and resort to the mummery and incantations of "witch doctors" to avert their evil influence, and wear charms to protect them from sickness, misfortunes, or violent deaths, but lest they should injure the prospects of their husbands or male relations, the women are prohibited from ever mentioning their names or cognomens, which are always verbs or nouns, with fanciful prefixes or terminations, one woman making use of a word which another of a different family dare not utter, and for which she has always to substitute one widely differing from that in use among the men. For instance, a woman whose husband's name is a compound or derivation of Umoya (air), instead of the forbidden word uses Umklengetwa; in like manner for Inkwenkwe (a boy), Ixagi; for Ipupa (a dream) Itongo, and so on.

This singular custom (called "uku'hlonipa") greatly increases the difficulty of learning this very complicated language, for as all Kaffir proper names are thus formed, and every man has from three to eight wives, or more, each with their own extensive circle of male kinsmen, and a woman must not use a word which contains the sound even of any of their names, its construction becomes doubly involved. The peculiar clicks, also, are another impediment to be overcome by the learner. The letters c, q, and x, represent three different sounds (such as a driver uses to encourage his horses), denominated respectively "dental," "palatal," and "lateral" clicks, which, when repeated in a double or treble click in the same word, as "ukunycabagcazela," to tremble; "uquqoqo," the windpipe, "Ukuququkaquka," changeableness, all uttered by the Kaffir with the greatest clearness and fluency, add to the striking sound of his beautiful language, every syllable of which ends with a vowel, and is spoken with a most musical intonation, dwelling generally on the penultimate vowel in a very remarkable manner. In its construction it is entirely a language of ever-varying prefixes, by which verbs, nouns, and pronouns, are conjugated, declined, and combined. Each of the twelve declensions of nouns has its own set of prefixes, which, also, by a singular and harmonious rule, govern the sound of the prefixes of the verb, or other words in the sentence connected with it, and which are thus assimilated into what is termed the euphonic concord, the third person of the pronoun, for instance, having 144 different prefixes to be used in combination with different words. On the proper use of these, no easy matter, the correct speaking of the language entirely depends, and in the study of it the European experiences the greatest conceivable trouble with the least satisfactory results to be found in the acquisition of any language under the sun, as any one who attempts it will soon confess. The similarity between the Kaffir and Fingo languages is so exact, they may be called one, there being no greater difference than there is between Highland and Lowland Scotch, if indeed as much.

The Fingoes are, in reality, only one of the three sections of the original Kaffir race, having been driven from their position on the north-eastern boundary of Kaffirland by the other tribes, who made incessant war upon them, in which many thousands were killed; the rest, having unluckily taken refuge in the territory of Hintza, a Kaffir chief, were enslaved by him, and kept in the most barbarous servitude. Sir Benjamin D'Urban, however, set them free in 1835, and assigned them a territory within the country lying between the Kei, Klip-Plat and Keiskamma Rivers, and they have, in consequence, ever since remained our faithful and active allies.

The Kaffirs are, undoubtedly, one of the finest races of savages in existence, and of a physical type very different from, and superior to all other South African races. Their customs and institutions also are, in many cases, so peculiar and remarkable, exhibiting strong traces of similarity to the wandering tribes of Arabia, that they have naturally led to the supposition of a distinct origin, and there is certainly much to confirm the belief that they are descendants of Ishmaelite tribes, who have wandered down the east coast by the Red Sea. In their divisions and sub-divisions into tribes and families, their system is patriarchal; their wealth, like that of the Arabs and other nomadic tribes of the east, consists almost entirely of flocks and herds, and in their abhorrence of pork they are as cordial as the most devout Mussulman or Jew. Polygamy is common, and what is most remarkable, circumcision is regularly performed by the Kaffirs, and about the age of fourteen, which has a singular correspondence with the recorded fact that Ishmael himself was in his fourteenth year when circumcised with Abraham. It is however, with them, a mere custom, and not a religious rite. They say they do it because their fathers did it before them. After the operation has been performed, the youths cover their bodies with white clay, and live apart for some days in huts built at a distance from the village. Many other traits, of Eastern origin, might be adduced, such as kissing the feet; shaving the head; either as a sign of grief, or while under a vow; the use of skins as bottles, for milk, &c. and of goads; in driving cattle, which, however follow the chief herdsman, who leads them from one pasture to another, calling them generally by name; the piling up stones before going out on an expedition; and offering burnt sacrifices on the commencement of a war, which, with many others, are the more conclusive as combined evidence in confirmation of the theory, as they are confined to the Kaffir race alone in South Africa. Polygamy is only restricted by the bovine riches of the men. A chief, or a wealthy individual, has generally seven or eight wives at least (all living amicably together), whom he has purchased from his various fathers-in-law, for certain numbers of oxen, in proportion to the rank and attractions of the ladies. This is left to the heads of the tribe to settle, and to ensure a fair valuation, the bride in prospect, "in native beauty clad," is made to walk round a ring of influential old gentlemen appraisers, seated on the ground, before each of whom she stops a few minutes; when, having been criticised by the circle, she retires, and a consultation is held to fix the number of cattle her charms are worth, the decision being final and without appeal either for father or suitor. The Kaffir women are universally well made, their symmetry being displayed to the greatest advantage by the most lofty and easy carriage; their teeth are brilliantly white, and moreover they preserve a degree of modesty far above the depraved Hottentots, though the latter boast the superior refinement of clothing.

It may be interesting, by the way, to state how their children are trained to that duplicity and cunning so much prized among them. As soon almost as they can run they are initiated into petty acts of theft; papas and mammas descanting together on the cleverness and proficiency of their respective children, will each back their own to steal something from the other's hut before sundown; the most successful competitor being warmly applauded. That they should succeed at all, when the owner of the hut to be plundered is, of course, on the look out, seems marvellous, but I was assured by a respectable Boer, that he had seen the children accomplish feats of this kind, bringing off articles of bulk and value, notwithstanding the whole family on whom the depredation was to be committed were on their guard. Lying also is another native accomplishment held in high esteem, and as diligently cultivated; with what success the celebrity of some of their first chiefs and counsellors in this form of diplomacy, bears ample witness.

The only covering worn by the Kaffir is the well-known kaross, which supplies the place of our own plaid; it consists of different skins; that of the tiger, is a distinctive mark of chieftainship, and not allowed to be worn by any other class; among the lower ranks a coarse blanket is now generally substituted. The married women sometimes wear a very small forked apron of leather, adorned with beads, over their breasts, and the wives of royalty have the privilege of a peculiar head-dress of fur, one of which, in my possession, taken from the Royal Gaika Kraal, on the Amatolas, is like a large loose fez, with the fur outside, turned up and ornamented with small beads, and on each side long broad "ribbons" of fur tipped with tiger skin. In necklaces, armlets, &c., they show great taste and ingenuity, and some of them are very interesting; here again the tiger's teeth are appropriated to aristocratic use; one, which was cut from the neck of a dying chief, and presented to me at the time, consists of alternate bunches of teeth and large white beads, on a cluster of strings of small black ones. Another is composed entirely of the lower joints of human finger bones strung through the knuckles, to the number of twenty-seven.

Both races, as is also usual with the Arabs, tattoo their chests and arms in a kind of serrated pattern; and the women, in addition, use a kind of red clay mixed with fat to smear their bodies and paint their faces, also daubing and moulding their crisp hair with it into clay ringlets, which have a very singular appearance. Sometimes they sprinkle their hair, after smearing it with fat, with glittering particles of mica, great quantities of which are left after heavy rains in the ruts and gullies of the roads. The men stick through their ears a straw, a porcupine's quill, or ostrich feather; and both Kaffirs and Fingoes use a strap or belt round their naked waist, called "lambele," which they tighten when hungry and unable to procure food.

Although, as stated above, their flocks and herds constitute their chief wealth, and cattle hold the highest place in their estimation, being supposed to have been created superior to man at first, and none but the grown up males are allowed the honour of milking them, or even entering the kraal, &c.; yet, in time of peace they never touch flesh, unless it be game, living almost entirely on milk, fruit, and vegetables, with berries, leaves, and roots, of various kinds; the principal of these are the Indian corn or mealies, Amazimba or Kaffir corn (a species of Sorghum), and the root of the NoË Boom tree,[16] very like a coarse stringy turnip.

Game they often kill with the knob-keerie, a short club, two or three feet long, generally made out of an olive stock, with a part of the heavy root attached, or shaped out of rhinoceros' horn, which they throw with wonderful force and accuracy, and can knock down a man as well as kill a hare or buck, at twenty or thirty yards, with the greatest certainty.

Their other and most formidable weapon is the assegai, of which each one in war-time carries a bundle of seven, loosely tied together by a thong or rheim of hide attached to a long "charm stick." One of these is large and heavy, for stabbing, with a broad blade or iron head a foot or eighteen inches long, and a shaft much shorter and stouter than the rest, which are used for throwing. They hurl them with incredible force; and, as I have myself seen, can send them clean through a man's body. We often used to put up a cap or other small article on a bush when in camp, for our friends the Fingoes, to try their skill at: they made excellent practice at thirty or forty yards, and could cast them with sufficient force to annoy a body of men at nearly double that distance, though their aim at a single individual would be, of course, uncertain.

With these effective weapons, serving both as bayonet and javelin in the hands of an athletic, sagacious, and undaunted race, who are trained from infancy to their use; combined with the musket, which they quickly learned to handle with considerable precision; and the adoption of just as much of military tactics and system (acquired from the Cape Corps and Kaffir Police deserters), as improved without hampering their skirmishing mode of bush-fighting; added to a marvellous concert and unity in their movements, the Kaffirs were a most formidable foe even to the flower of the British troops, who had to encounter and storm them in their own natural fortresses, rendered almost inaccessible by the dense bush of impenetrable thorns, &c.; too succulent to be burnt, yet affording to the crawling native, the opportunity of lurking in unexpected ambuscade at every point.

Such fearful odds against so comparative a handful of troops, not to mention the excessive hardships, privations, and vicissitudes of climate, render it less a matter of surprise that complete success was for a time delayed, than that it was ever ultimately achieved.

KAFFIR.