CHAP. XI. 
THE PASSAGE OF THE FISH EIYER. 
79 
right of the advance. It was in such a position that they 
could not be outflanked or dislodged from it. Lieu¬ 
tenant Armstrong and myself dashed forward to support 
the advance-guard, with a troop of the Cape Mounted 
Rifles, followed by Major Gibson with a squadron of 
the 7th Dragoon Guards. Each party in succession 
had to fight its way through the rocky position held by 
the Kafirs. I was as near losing my life on this occasion 
as I ever was. After joining the advance-guard we 
were advancing, when a volley was fired by some Kafirs 
holding a second rocky ledge to the right, which 
knocked over several men and horses. I was carrying 
my double-barrelled gun at the advance, or rather with 
the butt of it on my left thigh. One ball, amongst 
others fired from the bush on the right, grazed my 
forehead and struck the right-hand barrel of my 
gun, entirely denting-in the metal. I felt the shock 
in my hand, and on looking down I saw my left 
thumb bleeding profusely. Many of the Kafir bullets 
were made of zinc, or pewter, stripped from the 
farmers’ houses, and were of so hard a nature that 
when they struck anything they would break and fly 
in all directions. It thus happened that my hand 
became lacerated from the ball, which had struck the 
gun on a level with my head, and the splinters flew 
down and cut my thumb. 
These Kafirs became so daring that they were 
