THE STORMING OF SECOCOENPS. 133 



After this we went on a four days' raid to collect the 

 enemy's cattle, and had to travel over the most fearful 

 country that men ever attempted to penetrate on horse- 

 back. We had to lead our horses up and down precipitous 

 defiles by narrow paths, and my horse's hocks were com- 

 pletely skinned by sliding down over rocks and stones. 

 Had we been attacked in some of these passes we must 

 have abandoned our horses or else have been cut to pieces. 



We captured a large number of cattle, and returned to 

 camp completely done up by our exertions. 



All resistance was now over, and the only thing re- 

 maining to be done was to accept the submission of the 

 outlying chiefs and to get out of the country as fast as 

 we could, for the Amaswazi were difficult to manage 

 and wanted to spread themselves over the country to 

 make war on their own account. 



Thus was achieved the conquest of Secocoeni over 

 obstacles that had hitherto been deemed almost insur- 

 mountable. Not a hitch had occurred not an operation 

 had failed of complete success, no order once issued had 

 ever been countermanded. The whole thing went off 

 with as much smoothness as the successive acts of a play 

 that has been running for a hundred nights, and every- 

 thing was concluded on the date predicted by the general. 



It may be that he also learned a thing or two, and 

 that the daybreak storming of Secocoeni's town may 

 have been the object lesson which suggested the arrange- 

 ments for the daybreak storming of the Egyptian lines 

 at Tel el Kebir. 



The campaign was as well planned and conducted as 

 it could possibly have been ; and when the general next 

 takes the field in his country's service may I be there 

 to see and to bear a hand ! 



