pears
bloodless, consumptive, and sickly in comparison. The hard work that an
_umfazi_, or wife, has to perform very soon spoils her girlish figure
and appearance, and she then becomes a haggard, wrinkled, repulsive old
witch. The coolness of all these women is often surprising. A skirmish
with the Kaffirs and our troops might take place on one day, and on the
next the women belonging to the Kaffir men engaged would come into the
camp and offer wood or milk for sale, calling to us to "_tenga_" (buy).
I suspect that these women are often sent in merely as spies.

There is a great mistake prevalent in the minds of most English people,
and that is, their habit of underrating the Kaffir as a foe. He is
looked upon as a naked savage, armed only with a spear, and hardly worth
powder and shot. But in reality the Kaffirs are a formidable race, and,
from their skill in many arts in which we are deficient, are much to be
dreaded. Nearly every frontier Kaffir is now provided with a gun,
thanks to the English traders, and very many have horses. The Kaffirs,
being also particularly active and always in excellent training, make
splendid light infantry. I believe it was Napoleon who remarked that
legs won as many battles as arms: should this be true, the Kaffirs
certainly have a great advantage over us, as they can go three miles at
least to our two.

Although indifferent marksmen, they are not inferior to the average of
our private soldiers, and they are fast improving. Their training from
childhood consists in a course of assagy-throwing and a cunning way of
approaching and surprising an enemy. As they are in such cases
destitute of clothes, they move through the thorny bush with great ease,
and are in such light marching order that their impediments are nothing
in comparison with those of our soldiers, heavily burdened and tightly
strapped. A Kaffir is also seasoned by hardship from childhood, and
keeps fat and sleek on the roots and berries which he picks up,
occasionally eked out with scraps of meat; while Englishmen rapidly lose
their form and flesh by living on the tough old ox that is killed and
immediately served out to them as rations.

The individual courage of the frontier Kaffirs is undeniable, and they
have given many proofs of it. One case I may mention, which will show
the great risk which they will run for their favourite stake, cattle.
It was related to me by an eye-witness.

During the time that ther