Crossing the Buffalo

by Adrian Greaves

  By 1814 the border was becoming more of an imperial than a Boer problem. Having temporarily seized the Cape in 1806, the British had acquired the Cape Colony for the sum of £6,000,000 and they now sought to resolve the border disputes through the construction of a series of well-defended military fortifications, known as blockhouses, strategically sited along the border. The plan failed and the fifth Frontier War, now termed ‘savage warfare’ by the troops, broke out in 1818. In 1819 the settlement of Grahamstown, complete with its British garrison commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Willshire, was surrounded by some 10,000 angry Xhosa warriors. The Xhosa were beaten off during a two-hour battle that left over 1,000 dead and dying warriors compared with British losses of three killed and a handful wounded. The British solution to the growing border problem was to ‘clear’ a vast area of land between the Great Fish and Keiskamma rivers and declare the area neutral territory, which they then filled with land-hungry British settlers who had accepted the home government’s generous offer of free land. Such an offer resulted in large-scale emigration from Britain whose working classes were still suffering from widespread agricultural depression following the long war with France. The local Xhosa increasingly resisted European settlement with cross-border raids against the new settlers which resulted in the sixth Frontier War of 1834-5; this was another brutal conflict which left nearly 1,500 Xhosa and 100 colonial fatalities. One noted casualty was Chief Hintsa who surrendered to the British commander; his tribe was given an impossible ransom for his release so he stole a horse and tried to escape.

  He was pulled off his horse, shot through the back and through the leg. Desperately he scrambled down the riverbank and collapsed into the watercourse. A scout named George Southey, coming up fast behind him, blew off the top of his head. Then some soldiers cut off his ears as keepsakes to show around the military camps. Others tried to dig out his teeth with bayonets.5

  Again, no resolution was found and following the murder of a British escort to a Xhosa prisoner who had stolen an axe, the seventh Frontier War, ‘the war of the axe’, was undertaken throughout 1846. This war ebbed and flowed until the now desperate Khoikhoi, Xhosa and Thembu joined forces in 1850 for the eighth Frontier War. The war was fought over land that was again stricken by drought and in the midst of the starvation and death, a girl gave birth to a two-headed baby. Although the baby died within days, the birth was seen as a sign to continue the war, which lasted for two years and only ended with the battle of Fort Armstrong. The war’s end resulted in an even stronger line of defence for the Boers, now fully supported by the British. In 1857 the Xhosa were further decimated when a young girl, Nongqawuse, prophesied that the whites would be driven from their land if the Xhosa slaughtered all their cattle and burned their crops. The Gcaleka chief, Sarhili, ordered his people to fulfil the prophecy; the resultant famine killed thousands of Xhosa while others fled towards the Cape. The famine was used by the British to move waiting German settlers into the region and the whole area was brought under British control.

  Meanwhile Dutch influence had long since failed at the Cape which, in 1806, had finally and permanently been annexed by Britain; this coincided with a new British colonial policy of self-finance through taxation, a form of revenue that was alien to both the Dutch traders and the isolated Boer farmers. Even while the Cape Border Wars were raging, new circumstances involving taxation and legislative controls were gradually evolving that would seriously undermine relationships between the British and the Boers, the two dominant European groups at the Cape.

  In 1807 slavery was abolished internationally but this and taxation had little immediate effect on the Boers, due both to their isolation and to the distances between their farms and the British administrators. The new Cape legal system relied on the Black Circuit, a system of travelling courts established by the British in an attempt to establish a fair system of justice for all, though the Boers recognized it as being biased against them in favour of natives generally. Matters deteriorated for the Boers when the anti-slavery missionaries recognized the potential of using the system to bring Boer farmers to trial for keeping slaves; one enthusiastic missionary laid twenty different complaints in just six months. This zealousness frequently led to accused Boer farmers having to leave their families and farms unprotected and at the mercy of marauders while they travelled hundreds of miles to answer charges that were frequently of a political or malicious nature.

  In 1815 an incident occurred which was to create eternal animosity between Boer and Briton. Two brothers, Frederick and Johannes Bezuidenhout, lived roughly as farmers near Slagters Nek, nearly 100 miles to the north of Port Elizabeth. Frederick kept a Hottentot slave named ‘Boy’ whom he regularly thrashed. Encouraged by a missionary, Boy made a number of formal complaints to the authorities, alleging illegal rough treatment. Bezuidenhout refused to communicate with the authorities, and in order to get him to answer the allegations the Landdrost (magistrate) eventually issued a summons for his arrest. The summons went unanswered and Bezuidenhout was found guilty in his absence. A British military detachment of one bailiff escorted by two officers, a sergeant, two corporals and a troop of Hottentot soldiers were dispatched to arrest him. An exchange of fire took place and Bezuidenhout was shot dead. The deceased’s brother, Johannes, together with a few other like-minded Boers, commenced a feeble insurrection that attracted a disproportionately severe military response. In a brief skirmish, Johannes Bezuidenhout was killed and a number of his fellow conspirators were arrested. They were duly tried and convicted; the five ringleaders received the death sentence, to die on the public gallows at the appropriately named Slagters Nek or Slaughterer’s Pass.

  The date of execution was fixed for 9 March 1815 and sentence was ordered to be carried out in the presence of the local Boer population under the supervision of the two local Landdrosts, Cuyler and Stockenstrom. When the gallows lever was pulled, four of the five ropes broke simultaneously, dropping four of the accused in a breathless heap. There was much wailing and consternation followed by a delay while fresh rope was sought; during this time the four huddled with their distraught families and friends while others fervently implored for their release on the logical grounds that the broken ropes were an obvious Act of God. The British were not swayed by the argument and persisted with the execution until the hapless four were finally dispatched; one, the 29-year-old Theunis de Klerk, endured four attempts before the rope finally held him. A priest appointed by the authorities to oversee the executions commented that the British would forever regret that day.

  After Slagters Nek, revolt fanned through the Boer population and secret meetings went on late into many a night across the veld. The Boers were a hardy new race; they called themselves Afrikaners and they fiercely resented any interference with their way of life, and most of all politically motivated executions. They owed allegiance only to God, themselves and to Africa (hence the name Afrikaners). They were fully aware that the whole of Africa lay to the east and the north; surely it was possible, many asked, to move there and live in peace? Being devoutly religious, they fervently prayed for a solution and, inevitably, the solution stared them in the face. Because they had sought help through prayer, the obvious answer took on a religious significance and many Boers came to believe the trek was ordered by God. The final indignity to be endured, which precipitated the trek, came in 1834 with yet more British legislation, including the Act of Emancipation, which gave equality to all regardless of their race, colour, creed or station in life. As prodigious users of slaves, found this too much and some of the wealthier Boers responded by threatening to sell their farms and head for the uncharted African interior.

  Without doubt, the most influential Voortrekker was the aristocratic Piet Retief who was highly respected by Boers and British alike. Although a failed businessman, he was also a wily politician, a wealthy farmer and a field commandant. His eventual approval of the trek was the spark that ignited the fire of mass disaffection among the Boers. His mind was pr
obably made up with the passing of the 1834 Act of Emancipation, which finally abolished slavery; compensation was offered but payment had to be made in London. No Boer could afford this undertaking and the loss of their slave workforce would have destroyed many Boer businesses and farms. To gain a few months’ grace, the Boers designated their slaves as ‘apprentices’ while they busily prepared for the trek; curiously, the undertaking did not have the blessing of the United Dutch Reform Church.

  The purpose of the Great Trek, once under way, was to discover new land where they could establish their own Boer law-abiding state and live totally independent of British rule. It was their overwhelming frustration that led to this extraordinary and carefully considered emigration of nearly 12,000 Boers, probably a fifth of their people, together with a similar number of servants and apprentices. The trek took place over several years and many parties perished at the hands of, firstly, the northern Matabele and then, as they progressed further east and north, the Bantu. Two other large parties perished when they attempted to cross the Kalahari desert; they were never seen again and no trace of their wagons has ever been found. Several influential families initiated the trek and became known as the Voortrekkers or trek leaders. Many names are well known to students of South African history, people such as the Tregardts, who were of Swedish origin, and the Van Rensburgs, who were slaughtered by the Matabele as they entered unknown territory to the north. As the treks progressed three men came to the fore: Maritz, Uys and Retief. Maritz and Uys pressed on, seeking their promised land to the north, while Retief pondered the possibility of his promised land being somewhere east of the Drakensberg mountains.

  When Retief left his farm and set off with twenty-five families, their wagons, servants and herds, the news spread rapidly and others rushed to join the Retief column. At the Orange river over 300 trekkers and their entourages joined Retief while others followed the trails left by his wagons. Piet Retief wrote bitterly in his diary of British oppression, which he believed was deliberately biased in favour of non-whites, and added:

  We leave this fruitful land of our birth in which we have suffered enormous losses and continual vexation and are about to enter a strange and dangerous territory. We go relying on merciful God whom we shall fear and humbly endeavour to obey.6

  On 17 April 1837 his group joined a larger column under the leadership of Gert Maritz. At a trekker meeting, Retief was elected overall leader giving him a command of nearly 5,000 trekkers with over 1,000 wagons and huge herds of cattle and sheep. Retief made strict rules and gave orders to control the multitude, which included instructions that the local clans were not to be molested, native servants were to be properly treated and game was only to be shot for the pot. Order was maintained by a system of field commandants and offenders were punished with fines. His policy towards the native chiefs through whose territory they passed was one of friendship and, while reports from trekkers to the north indicated hostile Matabele, his advance scouts were reporting most favourably on the lands east of the Drakensberg mountains and towards the Indian Ocean, the land of the Zulus.

  Retief knew the reputation of the inhabitants there, a little-understood warrior nation, but he was confident that he could negotiate land rights for his people. Accordingly he made plans to cross the Drakensberg mountains to negotiate for settlement land with the Zulu leader, King Dingane. Retief and fifteen Boers travelled to meet the king and by early October 1837 they had crossed the Drakensberg and headed towards the small white settlement on the coast of the Indian Ocean, later to be called Durban. Towards the end of October they arrived to a most cordial welcome from the hundred or so English settlers who were fully aware that a Boer settlement inland would afford them added security against any marauding Zulus. To smooth his route to King Dingane, Retief sent him a warm and friendly letter in which he expressed his wish to discuss the possibility of a peaceful and profitable Boer settlement in the vicinity of the Drakensberg mountains. Retief knew that an English missionary, Francis Owen, lived at the king’s amakhanda and could translate his letter to King Dingane.

  Once they had crossed the Drakensberg mountains, the well-watered grasslands through which Retief and his party travelled appeared ideal for their settlement, being totally devoid of human population. What was unknown to the unsuspecting Boers was the reason for the depopulation, namely the umfecane, and the subsequent slaughter of surrounding tribes by King Shaka when he had expanded his empire some fifteen years pre-viously.7 Little was known of King Dingane except that he was overweight and that he exercised autocratic control over the Zulu people. Although Dingane had killed his famous half-brother Shaka and was known to murder any opponent out of hand, Dingane’s reputation may not have unduly perturbed the well-armed Boers but, with all events considered, perhaps more caution should have been used. Dingane was also fully aware that Retief’s equally well-armed fellow trekkers to the north were being successfully harassed by the Matabele, with whom the Zulus had been in indecisive conflict in 1830. King Dingane’s reply to Retief was nevertheless friendly; he even returned some sheep that had previously been stolen from the trekkers and with Thomas Halstead, a fellow Boer linguist, as his interpreter, Retief set off in anticipation of a successful outcome.

  On about 5 November 1837 the party approached King Dingane’s amakhanda at Mgungundhlovu, near modern-day Ulundi. Retief must have been impressed; the amakhanda consisted of a fortification containing over 2,000 huts, each capable of housing twenty people, and with another 300 larger huts for the king’s personal use, his wives and his senior indunas. He was even more impressed by the eight days of celebration, feasting, dancing and displays which went on endlessly and which must have exhausted and frustrated the Boers. Missionary Owen was present throughout and it is due to his meticulous diary, discovered only in 1922 at the Missionary Hall in London, that we now accurately know of the horrendous events that unfurled.

  At the end of the eighth day, King Dingane informed Retief that he would be granted permission to settle where he requested – subject to Retief first recovering cattle that had been stolen from the king by a rival chief, Sikonyela. Retief accepted the arrangement and returned to his settlers who, without his permission, had begun to stake their claims towards the Tugela river. Other trekkers, encouraged by the promising news, were enthusiastically following across the Drakensberg mountains in the anticipation of bountiful grazing. Retief gathered seventy of his best fighting men to undertake the mission against Sikonyela and immediately following the celebration of Christmas, Retief’s expedition set out for Sikonyela’s homestead, leaving the main party in the care of the youths and elderly Boers, though without instructions for the remaining families to laager or to prepare defensive positions.

  Within the week they arrived and, on the pretext of presenting Sikonyela with a bracelet, snapped the chief into handcuffs and held him prisoner while the stolen cattle were collected. Sikonyela was then released and Retief headed back towards King Dingane’s amakhanda in optimistic mood and with the recovered cattle. Prior to Retief’s return to Mgungundhlovu on 3 February 1838, Missionary Owen had observed an unusually large number of young warriors arriving at the amakhanda; he also recorded in his diary hearing rumours that the king was annoyed at reports from his spies that Retief had permitted Chief Sikonyela to live. Retief immediately returned the stolen cattle to an apparently appreciative King Dingane whereupon the celebratory feasting recommenced. For several days Retief and his men were obliged to watch the ritual entertainment held in their honour until, on 6 February, following an impressive display of horsemanship and firearms salvoes by the Boers, Retief was finally called before the king. In the presence of the senior indunas King Dingane allegedly gave verbal permission for the Boer settlement; everything promised by the king was written down by the Boer scribe, Jan Bantjes, who then translated it back into Zulu for the benefit of the assembled indunas. According to Boer legend King Dingane and the three most senior indunas then signed the document before Retief plac
ed it in his leather pouch for safety.8

  As Retief was about to depart he and his men were invited to one final feast. Not wishing to appear discourteous or impatient, Retief reluctantly agreed. The Zulu indunas respectfully reminded Retief that it was impolite for anyone to enter the king’s amakhanda with firearms and Retief readily agreed; all their firearms were stacked outside the enclosure next to their horses. The feast commenced and hundreds of young warriors began their series of dances. Suddenly King Dingane rose to his feet and a chilling silence descended on the multitude. He called out, ‘Babulaleni abathakathi (Kill the wizards!) and before the unsuspecting Boers realized what fate held for them, they were seized and bound hand and foot with leather thongs. They were then dragged several hundred yards to the hill of execution, deliberately sited by the amakhanda main gate to remind residents and visitors of the king’s power. Missionary Owen was watching the whole event through his telescope just as a warrior arrived at his house with a reassuring message from the king to the effect that Owen and his family need have no fear for their lives.

  At the hill of execution each Boer in turn had his arms and legs broken with knobkerries before being untied and then clubbed to death. Retief was made to watch the orgy of torture and death, including that of his 12-year-old son, before he too was executed. The bodies were then thrown over the cliff for disposal by wild animals and the resident flock of vultures. Owen wrote in his diary that he fainted from the shock, as did his wife.

  Also murdered were the thirty or so native servants who accompanied Retief’s party; only one escaped, named Lomana, who was guarding the Boers’ horses outside the King’s amakhanda. He escaped the slaughter and lived to tell the tale until he died near Weenen in 1909. Rumours still exist that a number of Boer women were with the party and that they too were murdered. There is no evidence that this was the case though Owen’s diary records that those slain included a number of Boer boy riders, ‘some under the age of 11’. King Dingane decreed that no Boer, woman or child, should survive on his land. Owen’s next diary entry reveals that, ‘within two hours, a large impi was gathered and almost immediately departed the king’s homestead’.