After the rebels, who were commanded by Bambata in person, assisted by his chief induna and Cakijana, had been beaten off, the action having lasted five to ten minutes, the wounded were placed in the carriage (promptly given up by the ladies), and the column moved on. An advanced guard was dispensed with. The men were all dismounted and made to march in single file with fixed bayonets on each side of the road, horses and vehicle inside. Three of the dead were, at short intervals, picked up in the road and put into the carriage. For a mile or two there was occasional firing into the bush to keep off the enemy, who, it was supposed, might be following. They shouted obscene epithets at the police from a distance. The camp was not reached till about midnight. As a matter of fact, the rebels, afraid of being hit, did not follow, notwithstanding that one man was heard to shout out from a hill "_Bapakati!_" (They are hemmed in!) As far as could be seen, in addition to assegais, shields and knobsticks, the enemy had about a dozen guns. The ladies, after giving up the carriage, walked most of the way back to camp, a distance of about six miles. Reviewing the two foregoing incidents, it is, in the first place, difficult to understand why the first expedition took place in the way it did. In view of Bambata's attitude, firstly, on the 22nd February, in connection with the poll tax; secondly, his refusal to attend at headquarters when summoned, and quitting Natal for Zululand; and, thirdly, his arresting Magwababa, who had just been formally appointed as his acting successor, it seems as if the occasion was one which required far stronger action than that which was taken. In arresting Magwababa, Bambata did not do so out of personal spite, although the relations between the two had for long been strained, but because, supported by Dinuzulu, he was determined, if possible, to bring about a general rebellion. When the Chief Commissioner arrived on the scene, he knew Bambata and his men were under arms; he knew that, after the attack on the Magistrate's party, Bambata did not pursue, otherwise one or more of the fugitives must have been killed. Moreover, there was no good ground for suspecting an attack on the Keate's drift station. As it was, the European residents referred to in the wire on which Mansel acted were perfectly safe where they were, especially as Bambata had, at the most, no more than 150 to 200 men, while the station was protected by about twenty rifles.[141]