CAPE COLONY AND BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA. 



123 



of bearing arms. Every youth on attaining 

 the age of fifteen is drafted into a regiment, 

 and after a year's service permanently posted 

 tn n military kraal, of which there are twelve 

 in the country. There are thirty-three regi- 

 ments in the Zoolooanny, each having its own 

 distinguishing dress and ornaments. The or- 

 i. f uiii/.iition of all is alike. They are divided 

 into right and left wings, each commanded by 

 a wing officer, and subdivided again into eight 

 or ten companies, each of which has a captain 

 11 1 1 1 1 1 h ree subalterns. Of the thirty-three regi- 

 iiu nts, eighteen are composed of married, fif- 

 tn'ii of unmarried men. The former shave 

 tlieir heads, which are then bound round with 

 a band made of the skin of some beast, leopard 

 and otter predominating ; they carry white 

 slut-Ids. The unmarried regiments wear their 

 h;iir naturally and carry black shields. Drill, 

 in our sense of the word, is unknown in the 

 Zooloo army, but they perform a few simple 

 movements with ease and celerity. Their dis- 

 cipline, however, is most severe. When on 

 service, falling out of the ranks is punishable 

 with death, which, indeed, seems to be inflicted 

 for the most trivial offenses. All officers have 

 their proper duties, and the men obey them 

 without hesitation. The system of commissa- 

 riat and transport is simple in the extreme. 

 Three or four days' provisions, consisting of 

 maize or millet, are carried by a number of 

 boys or women, who also bring up mats, am- 

 munition, and blankets, and help to drive a 

 herd of cattle. The Zooloos invariably attack 

 in a crescent formation, enveloping the flanks 

 of their enemy, on whom they pour a cease- 

 less fusillade directly he is surrounded ; when 

 within 200 or 300 yards they, with loud yells, 

 make a rush, and, after having expended their 

 assegais (spears) in the charge, dash in with 

 their short swords. The Zooloo army, until 

 lately, was armed with the usual Caffre wea- 

 pons rifles of divers patterns, Birmingham 

 muskets, and such like. Of late, however, the 

 King, whose power was despotic, insisted on 

 each soldier providing himself with a breech- 

 loading weapon. Thousands of arms in the 

 course of a few months were landed at Dela- 

 goa Bay, and then rapidly passed into the 

 hands of the Zooloos. The Portuguese au- 

 thorities at that port were not powerful enough 

 to stop the traffic. A correspondence on this 

 subject passed between Sir Bartle Frere and 

 the Portuguese Governor, which resulted in 

 the latter official pledging himself to stop the 

 trade, and a gunboat was accordingly dis- 

 patched to Delagoa Bay to protect the inhabi- 

 tants. 



The communications in Zoolooland are of 

 the most primitive description, being merely 

 wagon-tracks leading from the principal fords 

 to the capital. Two, crossing the Tugela op- 

 posite Fort Williamson, run to Ulundi ; a third 

 from Rorke's Drift makes for the same point, 

 and a fourth runs from Utrecht across the Blood 

 River also to the capital. It was by these roads 



that the English troops were advancing Col- 

 onel Pearson, with No. 1 column, by the west- 

 ernmost road ; Lord Chelmsford, with columns 

 Nos. 2 and 8, by that from Rorke's Drift ; and 

 Colonel Evelyn Wood, from Utrecht. The first 

 column crossed the Lower Tugela Drift at Fort 

 Pearson on January 12th. On the 28d they 

 were attacked by the enemy in force at the 

 Abroi River, five miles from Ekowe. The 

 Zooloos were defeated with a loss of 800, 

 while the loss of the British was but small. 

 The same day Colonel Pearson proceeded on 

 his march to Ekowe, which he reached in 

 safety, and where he intrenched himself and 

 formed a permanent post. The third column 

 crossed the Buffalo River at Rorke's Drift also 

 on the 12th, and on the eame day a successful 

 attack was made on Sirayo's place. On the 

 21st the main body of the British, under Lord 

 Chelmsford, having advanced beyond Rorke's 

 Drift on the Tugela River, left a small force, 

 consisting of five companies of the 24th and 

 about 600 natives, in charge of a valuable con- 

 voy, consisting of 102 wagons, 1,400 oxen, two 

 pieces of artillery, 400 shot and shell, 1,200 

 rifles, 250,000 rounds of ammunition, one 

 rocket trough, and 60,000 worth of commis- 

 sariat stores. This convoy guard, under Colo- 

 nel Pulleine, which was left some ten miles 

 beyond Rorke's Drift at a point called Isandula 

 or Isandlana to await the arrival of the column 

 under Colonel Durnford, was attacked by the 

 main body of the Zooloo army, reported to be 

 20,000 strong, who simply overwhelmed the 

 British force by numbers. The attacking body 

 of the Zooloos, consisting of the flower of 

 Cetywayo's army, swarmed like bees around 

 the British position, upon which they advanced 

 under a heavy fire regardless of consequences, 

 and came at once to hand-to-hand fighting with 

 their short assegais. The result was an almost 

 entire destruction of the British force, the to- 

 tal loss being stated at 30 officers and 500 men 

 of the imperial troops and 70 men of the colo- 

 nial troops, and the capture of the whole train 

 together with the colors of the 24th by the 

 Zooloos. They remained in possession of the 

 camp until Lord Chelmsford's return at the 

 close of the day, when they retired with the 

 spoils, having previously destroyed everything 

 they could not carry away. The General made 

 his bivouac that day on the battlefield, and pro- 

 ceeded next morning to Rorke's Drift, at which 

 place a company of the 24th Regiment had re- 

 sisted the attack of a vastly superior body of 

 Zooloos through the entire night, killing 370 of 

 them with the loss of 12 men. The loss of the 

 Zooloos was estimated at 2,000. The battle of 

 Isandlana was regarded as a national calamity in 

 England and the Cape. In order to repair the 

 damages, considerable reinforcements were or- 

 dered to the Cape, comprising the 67th, 68th, 

 91st, and 94th Foot, the 1st Dragoon Guards, 

 the 17th Lancers, two batteries of Royal Ar- 

 tillery, the 80th company of Royal Engineers, 

 the 2d battalion of the 21st Foot, and the 8d 



