pos-
sessed at least one gun, and the expedition also had two small cannons. As
they advanced,
they formed a laager at night by lashing their wagons
together. On 15 December, they laagered in a strong defensive position on
the banks of the Ncome River. The next day, a vast Zulu army-perhaps
ten thousand strong-launched
a series of attacks. The Zulu displayed the
utmost courage in the face of devastating fire from the emigrants' guns and
cannons.
Eventually, they retreated, leaving about three thousand
dead
around the laager. The commando
lost not one member. Blood River, as
Whites call the Ncome battle, was a classic example of the superiority of
controlled fire, by resolute men from a defensive position, over Africans
armed with spears, however numerous and however brave. 46
In response to that decisive defeat, the Zulu kingdom split-a
process
that was typical of Nguni political culture. Dingane's brother, Mpande,
opted for collaboration
with the invader. In 1839 his regiments, accom-
panied by a commando of Afrikaner emigrants, defeated Dingane's forces
and sent the king fleeing northward,
where he was killed by the Swazi.
Mpande then acquired control of the Zulu kingdom in the area north of the
Tugela River.
Following up their victory, most of the emigrants
settled in Natal,