“It so happened that the other Caffre chiefs formed a powerful confederacy against Gaika, who, trusting to the support of the English, had treated them with great arrogance.  They fought and conquered him, carrying off, as usual, his cattle.  As this was a war between the Caffres, and confined to their own land, we certainly had no business to interfere; but the colonial government thought otherwise, and an expedition was prepared.

“The Caffres sent forward messengers declaring their wish to remain at peace with the English, but refusing to submit to Gaika, who was only a secondary chief, and whom they had conquered.  No regard was paid to this remonstrance; the English troops were sent forward, the Caffres attacked in their hamlets, slaughtered or driven into the woods, 23,000 head of cattle taken from them, of which 9,000 were given to Gaika, and the rest distributed to the Dutch boors, or sold to defray part of the expenses of the expedition.

“Deprived of their means of subsistence by the capture of their cattle, the Caffres were rendered furious reckless, and no sooner had the expedition returned, than they commenced hostilities.  They poured into the frontier districts, captured several detached military forts, drove the Dutch boors from the Zurweld, or neutral territory, and killed a great many of our soldiers and of the Dutch boors.  All the country was overrun as far as the vicinity of Algoa Bay, and nothing could at first check their progress.”

“Why, it really does not appear that the colonial government, when in our hands, was more considerate than when it was held by the Dutch,” replied Alexander.

“Not much, I fear,” said Mr. Fairburn.

“The councils of the Caffre chiefs were at that time much influenced by a most remarkable personage of the name of Mokanna.  In the colony he was usually known by the sobriquet of ‘Links,’ or the left-handed.  He was not a chief, but had by his superior intellect obtained great power.  He gave himself out to be a prophet, and certainly showed quite as much skill as ever did Mahommed or any other false prophet.  He had often visited Cape Town, and had made himself master of all that he could acquire of European knowledge.

“This man, by his influence, his superior eloquence, and his pretended revelations from heaven, was now looked up to by the whole Caffre nation; and he promised the chiefs, if they would implicitly obey his orders, he would lead them to victory, and that he would drive the English into the ocean.  He resolved upon the bold measure of making an attack upon Graham’s Town, and marched an army of between nine and ten thousand men to the forest bordering on the Great Fish River.

“According to the custom of the Caffres, who never use surprise or ambush on great occasions, they sent a message to the commandant of Graham’s Town, stating that they would breakfast with him the next morning.  The commandant, who had supposed the message to be a mere bravado, was very ill prepared when on the following morning he perceived, to his great astonishment, the whole force of the Caffres on the heights above the town.