We took advantage of our stay here to ride over in a party to the scene of the engagement mentioned, which took place on the 29th December, in attempting to open a communication with the Governor, then blockaded in Fort Cox; when out of a band of only 230 men, after a hand-to-hand fight, two gallant officers, Lieutenants Melvin and Gordon, 91st regiment, and twenty-one privates, were killed, and many wounded. The ground, a thorny valley, still bore marks of the struggle: rags of uniform, and old forage-caps, with bones of Kaffirs, lay scattered about; while from the grave of the soldiers, bones were protruding, scratched up by jackalls and hyænas, which we carefully buried again in the best way we could. About thirty Kaffir and Hottentot prisoners were confined in the fort, who sat, for the greatest part of the day, sunning themselves outside the cells, hand-cuffed, and chained two and two. The Hottentots, who had been taken at the capture of Fort Armstrong, and were awaiting their trial by court-martial as rebels, looked sulky, and scowled with a vindictive and villanous expression. The Kaffirs, on the contrary, laughed and chatted with us, through an interpreter, displaying the most magnificent teeth,--a feature common, also, to the Fingoes, and of which both are not a little proud. A fine young Fingoe was pointed out to us among the Levies, who, having had a front tooth accidentally knocked out, got it replaced by an artificial one, for which he willingly paid five-and-twenty shillings. The resemblance between these two races is such as to make it difficult, except to those who have lived long among them, to tell one from the other. In complexion they are identical, speak the same language; both alike are tall and well made: their women, well proportioned and exceedingly graceful in carriage; to which may be added the similarity of national dress--viz., a kaross of the skins of wild beasts, a bull's hide, or a loose blanket, with earrings and necklaces of tiger's teeth, shells, or seeds; while anklets and armlets of black and white beads, tastefully worked, are worn by the women, with smooth, brightly polished brass rings reaching from the wrist to the elbow, gradually increasing in size. The Hottentots differ in every respect from both, being very short and slightly made, lean, and with ugly yellow monkey-looking faces, very prominent cheek bones, small turned-up snub noses, and little twinkling cunning eyes, and invariably wearing European garments, though in modesty the naked Fingoe and Kaffir immeasurably surpass them.