When the army moves, it takes with it as many deer as are deemed necessary for its support; and when the stronghold is approached, the “tail-bearers” are once more sent forward to give a last notice of the intended attack, repeating the motives which have given occasion to the war. If the enemy declares that at present he is not quite prepared,--that he has not yet collected his fighting men; or that it would be much more convenient if the other party would wait till the blacksmiths had made a few more assagies and sharpened the old ones,--the attacking party is content to squat down and kill and eat their bullocks and smoke their pipes till the enemy notifies his readiness to begin. A wide open place, without bushes and without rocks, is chosen as the field of battle, to avoid all possibility of an ambush, which is considered as wholly degrading. The two armies, raising a loud war cry, approach in two lines till they are within seventy or eighty paces of each other. They now begin throwing their assagies, at the same time endeavouring to turn aside those of the enemy. The king or commander-in-chief, whoever he may be, remains always in the centre of the line, and takes an active part in the fight. Some of the inferior commanders remain near him, the rest remaining at the heads of their divisions. By degrees the two bands approach nearer and nearer to each other, till at length they come hand to hand, when the spears are thrown aside, reliance being placed on the clubs to decide the fortunes of the day. Should night surprise the combatants, hostilities are suspended, the chiefs of either party meeting and endeavouring to bring about a treaty of peace; but should this be found impracticable, the fight commences again in the morning. If one of the armies takes to flight, the commander alone is blamed: everything depends on his personal bravery; and his falling back is the signal for the whole body to do the same. A flying enemy is immediately pursued; and above all things the conquerors seek to possess themselves of their women and children and cattle. If the vanquished party agrees to submit, his submission is immediately accepted, on condition that he acknowledges his conqueror from that time forward as his sovereign, and solemnly promises obedience to him. When this is done, the captured women and children are sent back, as well as part of the cattle taken, it being a household maxim among these people that “we must not let even our enemies die with hunger.” In these Caffre fights, however, the loss of life is never very considerable; the assagie is the principal weapon, and with it the Caffre is a not very certain marksman. To see the dancing and yelling, and the air thick with spears, one would suspect the bloodiest carnage; but it will often happen that after a few hours’ battle, in which say two thousand are engaged, it is a great chance if more than about twenty on each side are slain and about double that number wounded.