Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1873 to 1884, Volume 1 (1919).djvu/109

1878] The Ninth Kaffir War. 89 who were on the frontier, of which an account will presently be given, and on the 15th of January Colonel Griffith was appointed by the ministers commandant- general of the colonial forces, and without any reference to General Cunynghame, who was still at Ibeka, prepara- tions were made for dealing promptly with the rebels. Already Commandant (later Sir John) Frost had been directed with a strong body of volunteers and Fingos to operate in the Gaika location in conjunction with another column of Fingos under Commandant Eorke. On the 14th Commandant Frost marched from Toise's river with three hundred and ninety-seven burgher volunteers and two hundred and fifty Fingos to Mgwali mission station, skirmishing with rebels on the way and capturing some cattle, but losing one man killed, Jan Grobbelaar by name. At Mgwali a junction was effected with Commandant Rorke's division, and the next day the march was continued to Lugilo mission station. At the Kabusi there was some sharp fighting, and over a hundred Kaffirs were killed, but elsewhere the location seemed to have been almost abandoned by men, who, it was supposed, were with the Galekas beyond the Kei. On the 18th the Kabusi was crossed, and operations were continued until the 21st, which resulted in the capture of two thousand seven hundred and fifty head of horned cattle and over five thousand six hundred sheep and goats. At the same time that Commandant Frost was engaged in the above mentioned dut}^ a military force under Lieutenant-Colonel W. Lambert, of the eighty-eighth regiment, was engaged in scouring the Tshetshaba valley, south of Komgha, where, as afterwards ascertained, the rebels were keeping most of their cattle. This large valley, which opens upon the Kei, was an ideal retreat for Kaffirs, as it contained many ridges extremely diffi- cult of access and thickly wooded gorges in which men and animals could remain concealed. The expedition