DEFENCE OF EKOWE. 
457 
fectly secure. Every means of procuring cover had been taken; traverses 
were constructed at intervals along the parapet, the guns placed on plat¬ 
forms, and protected by blinded batteries. As the weary days wore on, 
trous-de-loups , wire entanglements, caponiers in the ditch, and finally a 
drawbridge made their appearance. What we felt sorely was the want 
of medicine. We searched through the kits of the mounted men who 
had retired with Major Barrow and discovered a fair supply of “Eno's 
fruit salt,” and “ Cockle's pills,” also some private stores, which were 
afterwards sold by auction. It may be interesting to mention that 
some of these articles fetched the following prices :—Bottle of pickles, 
25s.; curry powder, 23s.; Worcester sauce, 25s. (per bottle) ; tin of 
lobster, 18s.; box of sardines, 12s.; and a ham, £7 10s.! Tobacco 
fetched 20s. per lb. 
I recollect talking to a group of officers in the fort some few days 
after this sale about the reported surrender of Oham , brother of King 
Cetewayo. We were standing outside the wagon of the officer who 
had purchased the ham for £7 10s. He was amongst us in a moment, 
and said “ What is that about another ham ? Quite ready to give 
another £7 10s.” He was ever afterwards called Old Ham ! ” 
Although there was a fair supply of gun ammunition, yet we discovered 
that the quantity of case shot was not sufficient, as this projectile 
would be most necessary in case of attack. Fortunately the idea struck 
me that one of Morton’s jam pots might be made into a projectile 
of this description. It exactly fitted the bore. This important intelli¬ 
gence was conveyed to General Pearson, who issued orders for all the 
jam tins in camp to be left at the residence (under a wagon) of the 
0.0.R.A. Needless to say, the order was readily complied with, for I 
discovered the outside of my “ chateau ” littered with every conceivable 
description of tin, from those which contained butter (in shape like a 
forage cap) to the most diminutive potted meat tin. Having selected 
those required, we constructed, with the assistance of a tin-smith of the 
“ Buffs,” 25 excellent rounds of case shot. One of these articles may 
be seen in the It.A. Institution. We tested three rounds against 
dummies, and found they acted admirably. 
On 7th February we received in a despatch an account of the disaster 
at Isandhlwana, which cast a gloom over the fort, for among the names 
down as killed we found many old and valued friends—many of them 
our companions in arms in the late Kaffir war. In this despatch Lord 
Chelmsford said : “ Should like to see Naval Brigade garrisoning forts 
of Lower Tugela ; you and your staff should be there also. Endeavour 
to arrange for the holding of an entrenchment requiring a smaller 
garrison. Your best field officers should remain in command. Bring 
back only what baggage is absolutely necessary—sick and wounded in 
empty wagons.” At a council of war at once summoned it was 
unanimously agreed that it would be impossible to carry out Lord 
Chelmsford's wishes. In the first place we knew that a force of about 
15,000 Zulus lay between us and the Tugela. How then could half 
our garrison, encumbered with wagons and with sick and wounded, hope 
to cope with such numbers. Again, we could not attempt to break 
