CHAP. IX. 
THE WAR OF THE AXE. 
55 
demand was treated with contempt. The young men 
wanted war, and war they would have. 
First a 6 palaver ’ took place at Block Drift mission 
station, afterwards Fort Hare, where the then Lieut.- 
Grovernor and senior military officer on the frontier met 
the Graika chiefs, with a large retinue of their people. 
The Lieut.-Grovernor luckily had a small body of troops 
with him, who were drawn up in line while the nego¬ 
tiations were going on, in the presence of the three 
Graika commissioners. The Kafirs were in number as 
ten to one ; and as they were drawn up facing the troops 
in a great mass, they repeatedly opened out, extending 
their front, so as to outflank the European troops; 
and this was only prevented by judiciously extending 
the rear-rank men right and left. This manoeuvre 
probably saved the small force from being surrounded 
and attacked, as it was afterwards ascertained that the 
Kafirs had fully intended to attempt this treachery. 
The meeting, however, broke up without collision, 
and the troops returned to Victoria Post, a new mi¬ 
litary position which had recently been established 
east of the actual colonial border, on what was formerly 
called the Neutral Territory, between the Kat and 
Keiskama Eivers. 
After some considerable delay the troops were 
ordered to take the field and enter Kafirland, with 
a view to bring the refractory chiefs to order. 
