Part 22 (1/2)

”After the Griquas had commenced the attack, the Bechuana army came up and assisted with their poisoned arrohich they plied the ene out, put the whole of the Bechuanas to flight

”After a co their ae the whole body

They did so, and the Mantatees gave way, and fled in a westerly direction; but they were intercepted by the Griquas, and another charge being made, the whole was pell-mell and confusion

”Mr M says that the scene which now presented itself was most awful, and the state of suspensecountry around was covered arriors--Griquas, Mantatees, and Bechuanas, all in motion--so that it was impossible to say ere enemies and ere friends Clouds of dust rose fro; and to their screa of the oxen, the shouts of the yet unvanquished warriors, the groans of the dying, and the wails of women and of children At last the enemy retreated to the tohich they set in flames, to add to the horror of the scene

”Then another desperate struggle ensued, the Mantatees atte town; but not succeeding, they fled precipitately Strange to say, the Mantatee forces were divided into two parts, and during the tied the one, the other re such confidence in the former that they did not come to their assistance

”When the toas set on fire, both arether to the northward, in a body of not less than 40,000 warriors

As soon as the Mantatees retreated, the Bechuanas cohter Women and children were butchered without mercy; but as for the wounded Mantatees, it appeared as if nothing would make them yield

There weresurrounded by fifty Bechuanas, but as long as life reht

”Mr M says that he saw ainst numbers, with ten or twelve arrows and spears pierced in his body Struggling with death, the e their weapons, and fall dead, their revengeful and hostile spirit only ceasing when life was extinct”

”And yet these same people permitted their own country to be taken from them by the Zoolus”

”Yes, it was so; but want and necessity had turned theht of going back and recovering their own country They would have been a match for the Zoolus Is that the end of their history, Swinton?”

”No, not quite But perhaps you are tired?”

”Oh, no Pray go on”

”The Mantatees, although defeated by the Griquas, soon recovered their courage, and intelligence came that they were about to make a descent upon Kuruman, where thebeen infore themselves upon the Bechuanas, whom they considered but as the dust under their feet

”On this information, Mr M wrote to Waterboer, who co his immediate return; but Waterboer replied that an i down upon the Griquas by the Val or Yellow River, and that they were forced to re Mr M to retreat with his family to the Griqua town, and put theer remain, the mission station was abandoned, and the missionaries, with their wives and families, retreated to Griqua town They had not, however, been long at Griqua town before news arrived that both the bodies of Mantatees had altered their routes

One portion of them went eastward, toward the country from which they had been driven by the Zoolus, and another, it appears, took possession of the country near the sources of the Orange River, where for many years they carried on a predatory warfare with the tribes in that district At last a portion of them were incorporated, and settled down on that part which is non as the Mantatee new country; the remainder made an irruption into the eastern Caffre country, where they were known as the Ficani”

”And what became of them?”

”They defeated one or two of the Caffre chiefs, and the Caffres iranted, and a large arainst the invaders They were found located--for they had built a town--near the sources of the Umtata River The Caffres joined with all their forces, and the Ficani were surprised A horrid slaughter took place; reve rockets were poured upon the unfortunate wretches, ere hemmed in on all sides by the Caffres, and the unfortunate Ficani may be said to have been exterminated, for the Caffres spared neither man, woman nor child Such is the history of the Mantatees; their destruction was horrible, but perhaps unavoidable”

”Very true,” observed Alexander; ”I can not help thinking that desolating contests like these are per Providence as chastiseracious end; for, surely it was better that they should er till famine put an end to their misery This is certain, that they must have been destroyed, or others destroyed to reat sacrifice of life was to be incurred War, dreadful as it is in detail, appears to be one of the necessary evils of human existence, and a means by which we do not increase so rapidly as to devour each other

”I don't knohether you have ue and cholera are almost necessary in the countries where they break out; and it is very remarkable that the latter disease never made its appearance in Europe (at least not for centuries, I may say) until after peace had been established, and the increase of population was so rapid

”During the many years that Europe was devastated and the population thinned by e had no cholera, and but little of one or two other epidemics which have since been very fatal What I mean to infer is, that the hand of Providence uinary wars and the desolating ravages of disease, which are in themselves afflictive visitations, and probably chastisements for national sins,the miseries which result from an undue increase of population”

”You ht, Alexander,” observed Swinton; ”the ways of Heaven are inscrutably mysterious, and e offer up prayers for the removal of whatthat which in the endI could not help re in your narrative, Swinton,”

observed the Major, ”which is the position of the htly over, but it ”