BOER FIGHTING QUALITIES

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 162, 11 July 1899, Page 2

BOER FIGHTING QUALITIES

SOME GREAT VICTORIES

AGAINST TREMENDOUS ODDS

CONFLICTS WITH THE BRITISH,

South' Africa has been the scene of many blood-stained * battles ■ since the days when Bartholomew Dias first brought it under- the notice of, the people of Europe, and some of those in which the Boers have taken part have been remarkable. The only compulsory subject in the Boer curriculum is straight shooting. The necessary qualifications to make the burghers expert rifle shots—a true eye and a steady hand— arc partly inherited and partly due to the frequent practice which their method of life entails. Wild animals and wilder men at times threaten the settlers on ! the veldt, while the question of break- '. \ fast or on breakfast frequently de- j pends on the result of a rifle shot. As j the Boer has no desire to lose his | : life, and docs not wish to starve, he ' soon learns how .to avoid both by, shooting straight. This one qualifi- ! ; cation has stood him in good stead, as lis very emphatically shown by the' history of the Transvaal. From its \ .'settlement up to the present time wars! : against whites or blacks have been ! frequently recurrent and the good ; shooting of the Boers has enabled ! them "to triumph against tremendous odds at times in a marvellous manner. ' I. This is shown by the following description of several of the principal en-, jgagements in which the. Boers have j •triumphed:.— j ■ THE FIGHT IN WINBURG. In IS3C the Great Trek- started from Cape Colony northwards. Thousands of Dutch and colonial settlers sought for a land where British rule did not | obtain and their aim was to cross the Orange River and be free. North of ithc Orange the emigrants regarded themselves as beyond English authorlily for over and over again it had i been officially announced that Great Britain would not enlarge her posj sessions in South Africa. One of these trekking parties was j ! commanded by a man of considerable lability, Hendrik Potgieter. While, this band of emigrants was encamped Jon the banks of the Vet River, Potjgieter, accompanied by several others, jwent out to inspect the country be- ] vond the Vaal. On . returning, they .found that the camp had,been visited Iby Matabele warriors, and all those iin it had been massacred. Potgieter jsoon collected a band, determined to iavenq-c the cruel murder of their felj low-men, their wives, and children. The punitive expedition consisted of 107 farmers and 40 half-breeds, with a few blacks to look after the horses. They rode straight to the nearest military kraal of Moselekat.se, the Matabele chief. Moselekatse himself was absent, but hundreds of bis black warriors rushed forward with assegai and shield to meet the approaching 'Boers. Volleys of slugs, however, met the advancing blacks, and withered them up. In a few minutes they were flying for the. mountains, leaving 400 dead on the field. But the bitterness of the farmers was not yet appeased. Till sundown they hunted the. flying Matabele, .shooting and killing wherever opportunity offered. Then they gathered again set fire to the kraal and drove off 7000 head of Moselekatse's -cattle. "In commemoration of the victory, Potgieter named the place Winburg, and a town has now grown on the spot. BREAKING THE MATABELE POWER. The Matabele failed to profit by the lesson of Winburg, and continued to harass the Boers—stealing their cattle, and murdering any lonely camp they could surprise. This rendered necessary a second avenging expedition. It consisted of 135 farmers under Hendrik Potgieter and Pieter Uys. Moselekatse was found on the. Marikive. He had with him 12,000 warriors, all splendidly trained, and as brave as any troops that ever lived. But the advantage, of the farmers with their guns and horses was so great that the 135 did not hesitate to attack a force which was to theirs as 9.0 to 1. For nine days the fightcontinued. The Matabele tried to reach their opponents, but their efforts were in vain. The farmers were more than once nearly surrounded, but their plans were so perfect that they were never quite entrapped. They had only dried meat to live upon, and their restingplace was the bare ground. Only the hardiest men and horses could have carried on aggressive ■ operations •so long. The loss to the Matabele was so great that at the end of nine days Moselekatse gave up the contest, and sought only to escape. With his people and cattle he fled to the country beyond the Limpopo. The farmers were too weary to follow, and contented themselves with seizing six or seven thousand head of cattle, with which they returned to Winburg. Potgieter issued a proclamation claiming that the whole of the country of the Matabele' (now the Transvaal, and part of the Orange Free State) was forfeited to the emigrants by right of conquest. WHAT DINGAN'S DAY COMMEMORATES. In 1838, Dingan, the powerful and bloodthirsty Zulu chief, treacherously murdered a number of Boers, and then sent his warriors out on the veldt to attack the lagers and massacre, men, women, and children. At Weenen horrible atrocities were committed. Babes had their brains dashed out against waggon wheels, women were ripped up with Zulu spears, and boys and girls had their necks twisted by the black savages. In the morning it was found that 41 white men, 56 women, and 185 children and 250 colt oured- servants had perished in the dreadful massacre. Potgieter and Uys, with 347 men,, made an attack on Dingan's forces, but fell into an amj buscade, and were driven off with ' severe loss. Seventeen Englishmen, with about 1500 blacks, had agreed to also attack the Zulus, and they fought I one of the most desperate contests that has ever been fought on that bloodstained soil. Four of the Englishmen and five hundred Natal blacks only escaped from the fight, but they left oyer three thousand dead Zulus on the field. Andries Pretorius soon afterwards joined the. emigrants, and was elected commandant. He quickly assembled a force of 464 men and marched . towards Umkungunaloru, Dingan's kraal. The march of this small army has been likened to that of Cromwell's Ironsides. There was no song and no jest in camp, bnt prayers and psalms were poured forth at every halting place. They made a

vow that if God would give them vie- i tory over the cruel heathen, they would build a church, and set. apart a thanksgiving day in every year to commemorate it. Ths church in Pietermaritzbufg, the capital of Natal, and the annual celebration of Dingan's day bear witness that they have kept their pledge. On Sunday, 16-th December, 1838, Dingan with 12,000 spears attacked the gallant little band. For full two hours the warriors sOught to force their way into the lager of waggons, notwithstanding the terrible havoc among them created by the fire from the farmers' guns and 1 several small pieces of artillery. Din- : gan's troops at length quailed before the fearful shower of shot which dealt death with such unerring accuracy, then broke ahd fled. Over three thousand black warriors left their bones to bleach, on the field, aud a stream which flowed near was so discoloured with gore that, it has ever since been called the Blood River. THE CAPTIVE OF MAJUBA. Fighting against, the various tribes of blacks which surround the Transvaal has continued intermittently up to the present, and at. times the British and the Boers have been irt conflict. In 1842 Commandant Pretorious laid siege to' the town of "Natal, but Captain Smith maintained possession until re-inforcements arrived, and drove the Boers back beyond the Drakensburg. .When the Transvaal was declared a British possession in 1877 discontent among the Boer farmers was again aroused. This increased till .1880, when they determined to throw off the oppressive yoke. In the fighting which followed severe disasters befell British arms. Colonel Anstruther, with 264 men, was ! obliged to surrender to Commandant Jouberf, after a brief fight, and Sir George Col ley, in attempting-, with a strong body of men, to force Langs Nek, was beaten back with heavy loss. Tlte crowning disaster to the British arms was yet to come. On 26th February, 1881, C-encra! Colley, with COO soldiers, climbed.to the top of Majuba Hill. From this point he hoped to command the Boor camp in the Nek below. Genera] Joubert recognised that the English commander had gained a strategic advantage. At oner 150 of his men volunteered to take the hill, and actually made their way up. in face ol" the superior force above, the bullets passing over them as if they were charmed. At noon, Nicolaas Smit, with 70 or 80 fanners. scrambled over the crest of the hill. The soldiers, seized with panic, fled down the other side, leaving 9:2 killed, 134 wounded, and (59 prisoners, as against one. man killed and five wounded on the Boer side. General Colley was among the slain. Sir Evelyn' Wood soon afterwards had command of a strong force,, and was preparing to avenge Majuba, when peace was proclaimed.