KAFFIR TELEGRAPHY.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR:1 SIR,—As bearing on the letter of Mr. D. Blackburn which appeared in the Spectator of December 13th, the follow- ing incident may interest your readers. About twenty hours before men, riding as fast as horses could carry them, brought the news of the disaster at Isandhlwana to Pretoria, an old Hottentot, my washerwoman, informed me of what had happened as an item of interesting news while delivering the clean clothes. She said that Cetewayo had gained a great victory, and that the rooi-baatjes (redcoats) lay upon the field of battle "like winter leaves beneath a tree." I remember I was so impressed with her manner that I went down to the Govern.' ment offices to repeat to my. superiors what she had said. It I recollect right, she stated that the defeat had taken place on, the previous day (January 22nd, 1879), but my late friend Sir. Melmoth (then Mr.) Osborn pointed out to me that it was im- possible that such tidings could have travelled two hundred miles or so in about twelve hours. Nevertheless, it proved perfectly correct. As to the method of its conveyance I hazard no opinion. The theory that intelligence is conveyed with extraordinary rapidity among the Bantu peoples by men calling it from height to height would, however, appear to be falsified by the fact that in this instance it must have come across the great plain of the high veld.—I am, Sir, &c., Ditchingham House, Norfolk. H. RIDER HAGGARD.
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