On reaching the spot where the troops were to encamp, on the other side of King William's Town, through which they had passed--finding it ransacked by the Kaffirs--they were unpleasantly surprised by the return of twenty empty waggons, which had left them two days before for the Fish River mouth, with an escort of one hundred Burghers, who had fired away all their ammunition and retired, having one man wounded, and losing six oxen. The Kaffirs informed them, as they set fire to one of the rear waggons, that "unless we made peace with them, they would stop all our convoys." Colonel Johnstone, 27th Regiment, who had left Graham's Town on the 8th of July, for the Fish River mouth, where he was relieved by the second division of the 90th, joined the General's Camp on the 26th of the same month, bringing with him some welcome and long-looked-for supplies. While thus encamped, a Kaffir woman, pretending to be the sister of the Chief, Umhala, made her way to the Governor to sue for peace, asserting that Umhala was "sitting still." Many such messages had been sent, but were quite unworthy of obtaining a hearing. The Kaffirs having driven their booty across the Kei, were of course anxious for peace, and Sandilla had the cool impudence to send four ambassadresses to the Lieutenant-Governor at Fort Beaufort, to ask "why we had made war upon him," and to request permission to "plant his corn!" After the affair at Fort Peddie, Stock, an I'Slambie chief, sent messengers to complain of _our attacks on him_, when he, too, was "sitting still," and only wished to be allowed to "watch his father Eno's grave!" Very pathetic indeed! Stock _was_ no doubt "sitting still" beside "his father's grave," but his people were at work, plundering, burning, murdering, torturing and mutilating the troops and colonists, _while_ he "sat still," and _approved_. He should have _protected_ that sacred spot, and kept the neighbourhood of Fort Peddie clear of marauders. When his father died, after the commencement of the war, he was buried decently; the military at Fort Peddie witnessing the funeral, and receiving the promises of fidelity which Stock offered. But, in spite of these promises, in spite of the Kaffir law that "no tribe shall engage in war for twelve moons after the death of its chief," Stock's people were among the _first_ who made their ruthless way through the helpless Colony with brand and assegai!