The Cape and the Kaffirs: A Diary of Five Years' Residence in KaffirlandWard, Mrs.
History
The Cape and the Kaffirs: A Diary of Five Years' Residence in Kaffirland
Ward, Mrs.
South Africa -- History -- Frontier Wars, 1811-1878
One of the last anecdotes recorded of him, though trifling, is one of
the many proofs of his kind nature. When about to leave Fort Beaufort
for the field, and engaged in giving over the command of the Northern
District to Captain Ward, 91st Regiment, his attention was diverted from
the arrangements for defence to a little child who passed him by,
looking up smilingly in his face. Bastions, forts, bridges,
picquet-houses, etc, faded from the mind of the single-hearted soldier;
the child's smile was returned, and the kind eyes followed her
retreating footsteps till she passed out of sight. The attention of the
officer engaged with Colonel Hare was more particularly recalled to this
little incident, by his Commander returning gravely and officially to
the solemn charge he was handing over, namely, the defence of a large
garrison town, with scarcely any garrison to protect it. It may be
added that Mrs Hare was one of the inhabitants left to the mercy of the
invaders, who, however, never came beyond the outskirts of the place;
and Colonel Hare was pleased to express himself highly satisfied with
the arrangements made by Captain Ward. Neither cattle nor horses were
lost in the immediate neighbourhood of Fort Beaufort, during the period
of that officer's command, nor did the enemy venture to fulfil their
threat of invasion.
The registration system is dying a natural death; at least, such an
inference may be drawn from the order lately given to officers, not to
inquire for their tickets of Kaffirs who may be found driving cattle.
Many months ago, a party of the 27th Regiment, suspecting that some
cattle found in a kraal was stolen, demanded the necessary credentials,
when a Kaffir coolly offered as such, a leaf from a soldier's pocket
ledger, picked up, perhaps, after the burning of the waggons at Burn's
Hill.
The immediate border of the Colony was subject to the usual
depredations; the Chiefs making the old excuse, that they "are sitting
still, but that they cannot control their people."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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