S Africa: Couple survive by playing dead

Pietermaritzburg - A Hilton couple were subjected to a brutal three-hour torture session at the hands of five armed robbers, which ended only when they feigned death.

The incident highlights the growing trend of seemingly well-planned, armed gangs terrorising Midlands suburban houses.

The only contact Carlo Cantarelli, 64, had with his partner, Sue Simpson, 58, during the ordeal was the gentle reassurance of their entwined toes.

The men poured boiling water down their backs, smothered their faces with plastic bags, pulled at their skin with pliers and strangled them with ties.

The couple spoke to The Witness on Wednesday from their Howick hospital beds where they are still recovering from first-degree burns, severe bruising and, in Simpson's case, a compressed vertebra.

Pushed panic button

Hearing each other's cries of agony fuelled their belief they were about to be killed.

Simpson said she woke up to her dog barking about 01:00 on Tuesday morning, and went to investigate.

"As I entered the hall, three figures came towards me. I thought I was seeing things, and then I realised and screamed for Carlo.

"He pushed the panic button, but it didn't go off."

It is unclear whether the gang tampered with the alarm system, or whether it was faulty.

A police forensic team told the family that one suspect entered through a bathroom window and let another four into the house, described by a family member as Fort Knox.

Simpson said: "The men pushed me into the cabinet, and dragged Carlo - who had come running from the bedroom - back to the bedroom.

Wanted the safe key

"They tied him face-down on the floor and put me on the bed with the duvet over my head."

Holding guns to the couple's heads, the suspects began what Simpson described as "a long-playing record" of "Where's the money, where's the money"?

"They kept asking about the safe key. I told them where it was.

"They dragged me into the spare room to open it. But, there was only foreign currency in the safe, so they took the firearms."

Cantarelli had two pistols and a rifle, which were stolen by the gang, along with jewellery and a hi-fi system.

Simpson was dragged back to the bedroom, where Cantarelli had been gagged with several pairs of socks in his mouth and bound with ties and scarves around his head.

Poured boiling water on them

Simpson said: "One guy came into the bedroom with a kettle.

"He started pouring boiling water on my head and swirled it over my back," said Simpson, her hand weakly showing the patterns the water made over her body.

"At first, the pain was terrible, but then I just let it be there.

"They boiled the kettle again, then did the same to Carlo. I could just hear Carlo's screams. The whole time they were demanding money."

After finding no more than a few hundred rands, which Cantarelli said was in his bedroom drawers, the gang continued to torture the couple, with one man shoving the barrel of a rifle into Simpson's ear before removing it and bashing it against her chest.

"Blacked out" several times

They were suffocated with plastic bags, causing them both to slip in and out of consciousness.

Cantarelli remembered "blacking out" three times, while Simpson said she had been on "borderline consciousness", terrified at being out of breath.

Once the bags were taken off their heads, pliers from a toolkit where used to "pinch, pull and twist the soft skin" on the couple's bodies.

The gang also threatened the couple, first saying that they would break their legs and burn their house down, and then that they would rape Simpson.

Simpson said the ordeal ended only when the couple played dead, letting their bodies go limp and slowing their breathing down.

Called police

Within 10 minutes, the suspects had fled. Simpson freed herself and used a pair of scissors to free Cantarelli.

They called the police and Cantarelli's son who arrived with paramedics.

No arrests have been made.

Detective inspector Johnson Sindane appealed to anyone with any information to contact him on 033 845 6526 or 082 459 7454.

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/New...

Date Posted: Thursday 24-Jun-2010
Please read the book "The hidden dangers of the Rainbow" by Constance Cumby.

Awake and Concerned
Western Cape
South Africa

Date Posted: Saturday 27-Mar-2010
JoAn - the Kruger Park is the pink faces 2nd home as it nurtures our African longing for wide open space and God's generous playground. Affluent Black Middle Class now also see it as more than "food on the hoof! " You need to be there in all seasons (summer is excruciating with humidity and a merciless sun. (110 F) The landscape changes overnight after the first rain (incredible) and how the animals change behaviour from snoozing to aggression for breeding. The harshness of winter animal carcasses from lack of food.
Africa demands animal and human able to fight and to cope with all it throws at you.
I will give you a SAffers version of "the" Park and its place in our psyche - in the CONTACT US to not usurp precious web space. Greetings.
@ JoAn and patient readers of verbose, differing versions of history, of a complex country with so many tribal differing, entities each wanting their own place in the sun and prepared to kill for it.
I have to send the message to the world that my country is in extreme danger of imploding/exploding.
USA has no concept with the stupid wish list Politicians have for Africa. Its all about Africa's MINING wealth.

I am ridiculed and condemned for my doomsday forecasts. The middle aged and youth focus on technology to the exclusion of commonsense.
A violent rebellious history - confirms my assessment but wish that I am senile. I will gladly do penance and shut my mouthpiece - (keyboard) forever.
Can anyone please prove me wrong and give me peace that the 3 generations I leave behind can continue being Africans ?

The best predictor of the future is the past. Ignore History and you are condemned to repeat the mistakes. South Africa is hellbent to be positive and see the good - as commanded by the ruling party and ignore our bloody history - that is " in their face and ears."
The public lending Library was my formal education and -79+ years of experiencing World events & the horrific consequences; formed my concept of "REALITY" and 'What will happen if........'
Case in point;
ANC racist rhetoric as the mainstream message 2010 with whites blamed for everything collapsing, at media conferences. Elections 2011 and 2012.
(ALWAYS a time of extreme violence for power - already evident as ANC is accused of broken promises.)
Tactic - blame the past and whites - distract population from reality of corruption and enrichment of ANC connected.)
The scenario of "what will happen" is obvious and inevitable for those prepared to stretch their mind.

I am grateful for this forum.

old, female

Date Posted: Thursday 25-Mar-2010
I am just recently reading on the horrors the white farmers are suffering in SA. Sadly,not much mentioned in the papers here of what I call genocide. Every article they show on the internet about how great the ANC or Nelson Mandela is I find it my duty to rebutt them in the comment section. I originally was looking for information on Krueger National Park.
It's probably just a matter of a few years before the country that white men and women worked hard to make the best in Africa comes tumbling down on them.
We see the same thing happening here but on a different scale. Over fifty percent of black men here are in prisons.If you took a hundred black men you would do good to find twenty five even willing to work. The government here gives them mental health disability for pseudo disorders. Give them a few more years and they will be killing each other in growing numbers. This is my rifle, there are many like it, but this one is mine. I must shhot truer than the enemy-I will.

Paul
United States

Date Posted: Friday 26-Mar-2010
@Paul:

Over 50% of black men are in prison?

That's news to me.

Lars Pluss
San Francico CA
USA

Date Posted: Friday 26-Mar-2010
@ Paul this article needs updating.
So here the old windbag is ad nauseum 2010.
WARNING: Not for sensitive readers.

Our houses exceed Fort Knox with alarm systems, high electrified walls and gate. Then we pay a Security Company who has a nerve centre and promises to get to you quickly. Usually they do not come.
Some live in Security Villages with really expensive housing. Only for the wealthy. Security guards are suspect - de Klerk's ex wife was murdered by the complex Security Guard.
Some guards who do arrive share the loot.
The Security industry is a multi-billion business financed by hardworking tax payers.

Gangs up to 15 (all in the early twenties) operate from 1 am to 5 am. They arrive in 3 + Hummers.
Special targets - a house with many guests anytime once identified.
These thugs are merciless savages = clued up to disengage all electric installations. HOW do they know?
Black Outs by Eskom are their time to rejoice.

Their MO is hours of torture and gang rape every female even children. They love to burn with an electric iron. Push objects up the anus and vagina. Force chemicals down a throat. They specialise in electric cords slow and multi-time strangulation. Suffocation when they get bored. Head battering with spades and any heavy objects. Axes are favoured to chop off limbs. Eyes are gouged out and genital mutilation is high on the list.
That is enough for now the list is endless.

If one says you do not have money - they are extra brutal. One young mother was forced to go to the ATM to draw out the full credit limit. The gang that stayed behind with a 9 year girl - was gang raped for sport.
Then the woman had her turn for torture.
They are drugged and insane and gang rape keeps them stimulated. The screams are aphrodisiac.

The elderly who benefited from Apartheid are special targets for prolonged misery of rape and torture.
DEATH IS A BLESSED RELIEF.
The police force does not protect suburbs - the residents pay to have security with cash and their time.
Vigilantism is not a white choice ever as we are too law abiding. T
he black citizens have no qualms for mass attacks with beaten or stoned to death - usually a child rapist.

The YOUTH of SA are surely the most barbaric non-humans in the entire world and these were babes in arms during Apartheid decades.
They are willing to carry out genocide as excitement and wealth come as a reward -
IN THE FULL KNOWLEDGE THAT EVEN IF THEY ARE CAUGHT-
THEY WILL BE OUT ON BAIL TO CONTINUE THE GENOCIDE.
Our judicial and prosecution system has collapsed.
Majority Police are obese illiterate idiots who shame the honest police.
They too rape at will. Females fear the police.

The ANC Youth League President sings and chants KILL THE BOER (Afrikaners) and the rest of the whites.
They comply with great delight.
The ruling Party is complicit and refuses to stop Malema - so he is their TOWN CRIER of KILL !
Proven genocide, not so ?

Citizens are trapped if they are over 40 - do not have skills or capital to start a business. Its expensive to emigrate. The aged are sitting ducks.
The rest are patriotic African whites who love and will die for their country.
Death by cardiac arrest is my choice.

I loathe the youthful thugs.
I love the rest of my black countrymen and I have utmost empathy for the betrayal of their human dignity and rights enshrined in our Constitution.
They are the real victims who suffer poverty, disease and non-human existence in tin shacks. Children go to sleep with empty bellies. This is reality in 2010.

ANC CADRES ?
Come on ! -looting the Treasury is time consuming. Let the people eat cake.
They know life is cheap so they are surrounded by convoys of gun toting hoodlums - bullying citizens.
Malema has his own body guards paid for by the people he orders to be killed at a cost of R3 million pa.
He is a millionaire and can not afford that price.

AFRICAN EQUALITY at its best and if you survive crime you are surely the most blessed human on earth.
Remember - the black citizens suffer daily - whites only threat is the ANC criminals. We can afford to protect ourselves - the black poor cannot !
Black Little girls are rape victims - even babies by their own relatives. An animal would never think of such barbarism so do not call thugs worse than animals !

old, female

Date Posted: Friday 26-Mar-2010
@ JoAn - Google Kruger Park for bookings. I will research and give you background on this World Famous and first ever
Game Park for animals to roam freely. Its an eye opener.
Named after Paul Kruger President of the Boer Republic.

@ Paul - thank you for caring !
I give a long historical and present summation which should explain why my country is killing off its citizens.
It is long and some URLs are repetitive but in fairness - I give different Historians versions.
(Historians differ in numbers but not in battle strategy and tragic consequences.)
Plus my own - as always I am passionate about my people and their future - black and white.

http://www.google.co.za/search?hl=en&source=h...
(Gives a choice of this history)

http://www.encounter.co.za/article/61.html (SYNOPSIS cause and effects of BLOOD RIVER)
According to tradition, the Zulu nation was born in the valley of the Mkhumbane River in Zululand, Natal by Zulu. Shaka, the most famous of all the Zulu kings, was a directdescendant of Zulu. Dingaan, his half-brother, murdered Shaka on September 1828 and became paramount chief of the Zulu's in his place. Before moving back to the ancestral home of the Zulu's, the Mkhumbane Valley, Dingaan killed off all his rivals to consolidate his position.
Here he built a new capital called, uMgungundlovu, which means, "the secret place of the elephant".
In October1837, Piet Retief, Voortrekker Leader at the time, visited Dingaan at the Royal Kraal. Retief was in high spirits at the prospect of negotiating a land deal for his people with Dingaan.
In November 1837, about 1000 Voortrekker wagons started the descent down the Drakensberg from the Orange Free State into Natal.
Dingaan asked Piet Retief for a token of their friendly intentions.
Some of Dingaan's cattle had been stolen by Chief Sekonyela and his tribesmen.
He asked Retief to recover them. Retief and his party of 69 men recovered 700 head of cattle, 63 horses and a few rifles.
The party arrived back at uMgundlovu on 3 February 1838. On the following day, a treaty was signed, whereby Dingaan ceded all the land south of the Thukela River, as far as the Mzimvubu River, in the Transkei, to the Voortrekkers
On 6 February, Retief and his party were treated to a farewell dance by the Zulu impis.
They were told to leave their firearms outside the royal kraal. (REPEATED 2009. We do not learn do we ?)
Suddenly, when the dancing had reached a frenzied climax, Dingaan leapt to his feet and shouted "bambani laba bathakathi!" ("Kill the wizards!")
The men were totally overpowered and dragged away to a hill called kwaMatiwane, named after a chief who had been killed there.
Retief and his men were savagely butchered to death.
The general opinion as to the reason why they were killed is because for some obscure reason, they withheld some of the cattle recovered from Chief Sekonyela.
(Some could have died ? Eaten by wild animals ? )
(Is this REASON ENOUGH to butcher them after their charitable deed ?)
During the Battle of Blood River on December 1838, the assasination of Retief and his men was avenged. The victorious Voortrekkers finally arrived at uMgundgundlovu on 20 th December, 1838. The Zulu capital was deserted and ablaze with fire. They found the skeletal remains of Retief and his party. A memorial to mark the spot where they were buried was later built. The huts in the original "city" have been rebuilt on their foundations, and restored.
On a hill overlooking uMgundgundlovu, in 1838, the Revd Francis Owen tried to negotiate the establishment of a permanent mission station.
Also from this hill, he was witness to the cruel slaying of Retief and his men on that fateful day. "

MY reasons why South Africa is a divided and very angry nation at the brink of civil strife and anarchy.
Most of the battles in SAfrica were between Black and Black tribes, and British and Black tribes.
The "TREK" north was to get away from British domination to own their patch of land without regulations.
The following section is my account of the BOERS history
cause and effect for Apartheid, Black & White paranoia and inbred distrust of each other..
The ongoing battle of White (moderate) Afrikaners, BOERE (Conservative Afrikaner Farmers) and Black Tribes.
The Voortrekkers had small skirmishes mainly over cattle theft from farms. Indigenous tribes were nomadic pastoralists.
Until 16/12/1838 when they became GATVOL at the treachery - - - - -(also the current psyche.)

The Afrikaner Boer (Farmers) had the psyche of USA Plymouth Brethren.
Devout in religion and the freedom to express it and live it - Boere(farmers) were Calvinist and the Bible their constant companion and guide for living.
The Voortrekkers did not hate the indigenous people - that was directed at the Brits who never left them in peace until the Boer War.
(THAT antagonism is still operative).
Treachery and Betrayal of an Afrikaner and you incur the wrath and revenge of a formidable character.
They tamed and developed the pristine landscape to produce food. They killed the wild animals or be eaten alive. Survival of the strongest.
The genes and psyche of four centuries of survival - kill or be killed - is bred into the psyche of the Afrikaner Nation and Boere. They are willing to die for their values and are fearlessly prepared to do what it takes to survive.
The 1838 BATTLE has left a deep seated distrust between Afrikaners and Black Tribes even today.
The English (European) settlers have a shorter but equally bloody history with both Afrikaner and Black.
We are a PARANOID; multi-cultural; nation and only our rich and bloody history can explain it.
US taming of the West is mild in comparison to our savagery.

The CAUSE AND EFFECT of virulent racism. (TREACHERY/BETRAYAL) reverberates in the heart of the 2010 Afrikaner.
RETIEF - BLOOD RIVER - is being spoken of openly and freely. (This is ominous.)
Today these people face the same treachery and betrayal of Piet Retief by Dingaan and the wound is still raw. The Day of The Covenant is Reconciliation day.
The VOORTREKKER MONUMENT erected in honour of the dead is ignored and has to be maintained by the Afrikaners. They grief intensifies with isolation.
1994 -
Once again they gave up their domination (freely) to the black citizens who are - since that date - killing them in revenge. 3000+ and counting daily.
This does not account for home killings under guise of "crime." WHY TORTURE VICTIMS for hours ?
The whites are a nation under siege and no other country acknowledges it - "we deserve it for Apartheid legacy."

Once again 2009 - they took ZUMA's (Zulu) hand in reconciliation to build a united nation. He called them the true African White People (English have one foot in Europe! That hit a raw nerve !) )
Whites surrendered their arms in trust.
Treachery is visible in WHITE GENOCIDE called "crime."
The black ancestral psyche has and always will fear the BOERE and will never attack them openly.
They can only wage war by STEALTH.
Will there be another Blood River ? NO.
The young Afrikaners genes are too diluted as they become 'detribalised' in urban living. The Bible, fierce psyche is tempered. They have grown timid in their guilt complex and trampled to psyche of shame.
HOWEVER - never underestimate the WHITE population English or Afrikaner. They are both GATVOL ! (That word is ominous - means The Line is Drawn Here! DO not dare to cross it. )
They do not know how to lay down and accept defeat.
An Octogenarian is telling the world that the future will not be pretty.
I hope this specific blog will remain as a record of why South Africa will implode.
Racism is being encouraged and practiced by the ruling party. The black psyche is volatile and easily impressionable. ANC is stoking anarchy and self-defeat. No African country has flourished after the white settlers left.
The ruins of their buildings and decay are testament.

"In the ultimate of ironies, on that very day, in 1838 - the British had run up the Union Jack in Durban.
The Voortrekkers' greatest enemy had arrived. "
GOLD was their reason. The Boere only wanted to farm and live their own lifestyle.
British had the lust to dominate !
Only the might of the British EMPIRE could conquer them by arson of farms and concentration camps for women and children. Their underbelly !
That anger still burns and so Afrikaners prefer Australia and New Zealand for emigration. No rooineks.

I give a direct paste from URL's obtained from GOOGLE.
http://www.wheretostay.co.za/information/topi...
Battle of Blood River (Tourist Site)
On 6 February 1838, Voortrekker Leader Piet Retief and his party of 69 men were unexpectedly butchered to death while feasting with the Zulus at Dingane's uMgungundlovu homestead.
They were celebrating the signing of a treaty granting them land to settle.
(1994 - The Mandela Treaty and Operation "VULA" by Paukl Trewhela - (google it) began the genocide.)
The Battle of Blood River which took place on 16 December 1838, served as an opportunity for the remaining Voortrekkers to avenge their death.
Several more attacks on the Voortrekkers took place after Retief's murder at mGungundlovu. There were attacks at Weenen, (Place of Tears) Bloukrans and Moordplaas,(murder farm) where hundreds of men, women and children were killed.
The Voortrekkers and British launched a number of retaliatory expeditions against the Zulus, which all proved to be fruitless. The Voortrekkers became very despondent until a charismatic man from Graaff Reinet, called Andries Pretorius, assumed the leadership of the group.
(his name honours PRETORIA and the renaming battle rages in court.)
A short time later plans for a decisive attack on Dingaan were finalised. Andries Pretorius' commando, which later became known as the Wenkommando ("Victorious commando') was made up of about 470 men.
They crossed the Buffalo River near present day Dundee and reached a tributary on Saturday 15 December 1838. The tributary has since been known as the Blood River.
Boer scouts reported seeing a large Zulu force of about 12 500 warriors advancing, and Pretorius carefully selected the best strategic position to form his laager. (Pics on Goggle)
The laager was formed between a deep pool in the river and a donga, which joined the river on the opposite side. The wagons were securely tied together, gates were provided and cannons were placed in the only two openings. The Zulus fought with shields and assegais.
To be able to use their assegais effectively they had to get as close as possible to the enemy. The Voortrekkers had far superior weapons; muzzle loading rifles, flintlock muskets and cannons. At dusk, the Zulu impis (warriors) were clearly visible, having gathered on the opposite bank of the river. (A fearsome sight,)
Two hours before dawn everybody was ready.
The Voortrekkers once more recited the Covenant and made their vow with God, which stated that if God granted the Voortrekkers victory, they would for ever observe the day as a Sabbath, (Now renamed.) and build a church as a memorial for future generations.
( VOORTEKKER MONUMENT in PRETORIA.)
The assault was launched at dawn the following day. The dense fog covering the ground had completely cleared at daybreak, and the first attack was driven back successfully. The following attack by the Zulus could not be beaten back until it had almost reached the wagons. When the Zulus, who had again withdrawn to about 500 yards, hesitated to launch a third attack,
Pretorius sent some men to draw them out. (Typifies the fearless character)
The final attack lasted almost an hour.
When the force of the attack began to weaken, Pretorius sent out a few hundred of his men, mounted on horses. Finally, the Zulus fled and Pretorius' Wenkommando gave chase for hours.
Towards midday, when the pursuit was called off, more than 3 000 corpses were counted around the laager.
The water in the river had turned red with blood.
With only three Voortrekkers wounded, including Pretorius, the Boers had suffered no deaths, and a solemn thanksgiving service was held.
Today the area is home to the Blood River - Heritage sight, and displays a number of monuments which commemorate the battle. The first monument is an ox-wagon sculptured out of grey granite by south African sculptor Coert Steynberg. Steynberg was asked to design a monument in 1928, and the jaw-bone wagon design, to be constructed from raw granite, was generally accepted. The monument was completed in 1939 but could only be unveiled in 1947 because of the Second World War. The wagon was initially placed over the stone cairn that was erected in the middle of the laager, and was later moved to its current position in 1971 when the wagon laager was erected.
The wagon serves as a symbol for the home, fortress and church of the Voortrekkers.
The pyramid shaped beacon which was erected during the Voortrekker Centenary in 1938 is a "Covenant Renewal Beacon". A short distance as of the beacon are a few wagon tracks stamped in cement with the date 1938. These are the tracks of the "Johanna van der Merwe" Centenary commemoration wagon, which took part in the symbolic ox wagon trek of that year. North of the beacon the wheel tracks of the "FAK Natalia" wagon that took part in the 150-year commemoration trek in 1988, are also stamped in cement.
The stone cairn is the earliest memorial on the site.
It was erected on 16 December 1866 when between 40 and 50 wagons gathered to commemorate the 1838 battle of Blood River.
Each of the people present placed a stone roughly in the middle of where the initial laager had been, erecting a stone cairn as a memorial. Some of the Voortrekkers and also a Zulu warrior who took part in the battle were present. The words of the covenant as made by the Voortrekkers with God, are depicted on two commemorative plaques in both English and Afrikaans on either side of the mound.
The wagon laager at the site was erected as a replica of the original laager and was not intended to be a monument. This wagon laager was erected and unveiled on 16 December 1971, on the site of the original laager of 1838.
This reconstruction of a wagon laager is thought to be the only of its kind in the world.
The wagons which were constructed from wrought iron, and coated with bronze, stand on concrete foundations. Each wagon is identical and is based on the "Johanna van der Merwe" centenary commemoration wagon. The wagons in the laager without tents were used as ammunition wagons. At the monument wattle wood was used to reconstruct the palisade barriers that were used to keep the Zulu warriors out. Replica lanterns, fastened to long whip handles were placed at each wagon. The lights can be switched on on request so that overnight visitors may have a preview of what the Voortrekkers experienced on the evening before the battle.
Andries Pretorius brought this ship's cannon with him from the Cape, and it is mounted on a light undercarriage with two wheels. The cannon was placed in an easterly direction facing across the river. When loaded with shrapnel, pieces of pot iron and stones, it could fire a distance of at least 3 000 meters.
According to certain historians there were only two cannons at the battle of Blood River, however according to others there were at least three. The northern entrance of the laager served as a portal through which the Voortrekker force could go out and follow the Zulu forces. The homemade cannon known as "Grietjie" was placed here. Today the cannon stands mounted on an undercarriage of plough wheels in the cellar museum of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. A second replica of the cannon "Grietjie" stands on the spot where the big cannon stood during the battle.
It is not known what this cannon looked like.

http://www.encounter.co.za/article/15.html
The Battle That Turned The River Into Blood
(Pic) The Voortrekker (Front Trekkers) laager of 57 wagons reconstructed in bronze to commemorate the Battle of Blood River
In Natal, on 6 February 1838, Piet Retief, Voortrekker Leader, and his party of 69 men were unexpectedly butchered to death while feasting with the Zulus. (They left their weapons outside)
They were celebrating the signing of a treaty ceding land to the Voortrekkers.
The Battle of Blood River on 16 December 1838 was to avenge their death.
There were several more attacks on the Voortrekkers after Retief's murder at mGgundgundlovu (Dingaan, the Zulu chief's capital).
There was one at Weenen, Bloukrans and Moordplaas (Murder Farm). Hundreds of men, women and children were killed. The Voortrekkers and British launched a number of punitive expeditions against the Zulus, but these were all inconclusive.
The Voortrekkers became very despondent. Then a charismatic man from Graaff Reinet, called Andries Pretorius, appeared on the scene and took over the leadership.
Soon plans were finalised for a decisive attack on Dingaan.
Andries Pretorius' commando, later known as the Winkommando ("Victorious commando') was made up of some 470 men. They crossed the Buffalo River (near present-day Dundee) and reached a tributary on Saturday 15 December 1838. The tributary has since been known as the Blood River.
Scouts reported seeing a large Zulu impi of about 12 500 men advancing. Pretorius carefully selected the best strategic position to form his laager: between a deep pool in the river and a donga, which joined the river on the opposite side. The wagons were securely tied together, gates were provided and cannons were placed in the only two openings.
The Zulus fought with shields and assegaais. To be able to use their assegaais effectively they had to get as close as possible to the enemy. The Voortrekkers had far superior weapons; muzzle-loaders, flint-lock muskets and cannons. At dusk, the Zulu impis were clearly visible, massed on the opposite bank of the river.
Two hours before dawn everybody was ready. The Voortrekkers once more recited the Covenant and made their vow with God; that if God granted the Voortrekkers victory, they would for ever observe the day as a Sabbath and build a church as a memorial for future generations.
The assault came at dawn the following day. The dense fog that covered the ground completely cleared at daybreak. The first attack was repulsed successfully. The second one could not be beaten back until it had almost reached the wagons. When the Zulus, who had again withdrawn to about 500 yd, hesitated to launch a third attack, Pretorius sent some men to draw them out.
The final attack lasted almost an hour. When the force of the attack began to weaken, Pretorius sent out a few hundred horsemen. Finally, the Zulus were put to flight and the Winkommando pursued them for hours.
Towards midday, when the pursuit was called off, more than 3 000 corpses was counted around the laager. The water in the river had turned red with blood. Only three Voortrekkers were wounded, including Pretorius himself, and none were killed.A solemn thanksgiving service was held.
The memorial church was built in Pietermaritsburg two years later.
Two monuments on the site commemorate the battle. The first is an ox-wagon sculptured out of grey granite by Coert Steynberg. Nearby is the laager reconstructed as on that day with 57 full-size replicas of ox-wagons cast in bronze. Since 1995 the name of the holiday on 16 December has been changed from the Day of the Covenant to the Day of Reconciliation.
Blood River is regarded as one of the great battles ever fought in South Africa.
December 16th 1838
Pretorius received reports that the Zulu army was on its way to meet him and he chose a strongpoint with a deep 'donga' (erosion channel/arroyo) 14ft deep, on the one side and the Ncome river, into which the donga flowed, on the other. The river was high but could be forded in two places. On the remaining two sides was open plain that could be easily enfiladed. The position was very strong.
Pretorius sent out a patrol to entice the 15,000 strong Zulu army to attack but they retired, hoping to lure Pretorius into an ambush. Pretorius declined and the Zulus then had to attack.
The Zulu Army Makes a Great Mistake
Dingane`s vastly experienced induna (commander) Ndlela planned to follow the Boer horsemen, cross the river and attack them that night but the distance was longer than he had anticipated and the regiments kept getting lost in the mist. Although many of the Zulus had reached the laager during the night, dawn came and saw most of the Zulu army still trying to cross the Ncome river.
This mistake on the morning of Sunday December 16th 1838 -
might be considered to be the critical turning point in the whole of the Great Trek.
The Zulu army could have laid siege to the laager, or have waited until the remaining two thirds crossed the Ncome river. Instead, the warriors who had crossed attacked impulsively, being cut down, charge after charge.
The Course of the Battle
Carnage in the donga In the laager was a herd of cattle that, because of the smoke and the din of the guns, threatened to stampede through the laager into the donga. Men were dispatched to that side and out of the laager the few yards to the donga where the Zulus were packed solidly. Every one was shot dead.
The Zulus now attacked with even greater ferocity and were crossing the Ncome river in numbers. Moreover, the ammunition was running low so Pretorius chanced sending out men on horseback. Two charges brought little result but a third, of 300 horsemen split the Zulu army and it started to falter.
The Boer horsemen were able to pick off the Zulu warriors lining the banks of the river that ran red with their blood and was henceforth called Blood River.
A late charge by the Zulu crack corps was to no avail as they became entangled with the retreating warriors.
The Zulu Army is Routed
An estimated three thousand Zulu warriors were killed on the veld, in the donga and in the river. Not a single Boer was killed. Despite incredible bravery, the Zulus were no match against a strong defensive position.
The parallel with the previous events on the highveld is strong - each encounter starting with a massacre and ending in revenge. ""

Dear Tannie,
We were fortunate to spend a long day in Kruger Park. INDEED it is a lovely place to visit. It is a beautiful example in LIVING COLOR, of all that is good in Africa. The DIVERsity of the wildlife there is nothing short of amazing and boggles the mind. The professional hunters are so very well schooled in EVERY detail that might be of interest to a visitor. Every tree, every bush, every animal, every bird, has a nproper name and sometimes a more familiar name. OH, we LOVED it as my husband and I grew up in rural settngs among animals and we hunted for meat as well as raised it. TRULY, you are IN THE ZOO and I love to watch for the expression in the eyes of the people I tell that to. Thank you for mentioning Kruger Park just one of the jewels that was created by man to glorify the creator and preserve some of His gifts for His children to enjoy:-)
JAN, just turn your head, I know these are long posts, UT we are following the DOTS and taking others on a journey:-)

You mention the Battle f Blood River, and when Jan and his mother took us to the Memorial Bulding in Pretoria, I purchased several of the children's coloring books they had on sale and a set of the post cards that show the beautiful tapestries which tell of that wonderful bit of history where your people showed not only courage, but their belief in their God and that they HONOR their promises to Him. I wanted those coloring books as they also told the story of the battle and I could use them to share that story with children here. I have always felt it is important to show people how many things they have in common so that they can relate, with FEELING, as I believe that THOUGHTS follow FEELIGS. The MIND may forget, but the BODY REMEMBERS!
JoAn

old female

Date Posted: Thursday 25-Mar-2010
Paul, my name is JoAn, I live in OR. and have been a volunteer here at AC for nearly ten years. Welcome to southern Africa. If you care to write to me you can send a message to my attention to the Get in touch with us. Only a few can access there and all are trust worthy. Thanks for your comments.

I am just recently reading on the horrors the white farmers are suffering in SA. Sadly,not much mentioned in the papers here of what I call genocide. Every article they show on the internet about how great the ANC or Nelson Mandela is I find it my duty to rebutt them in the comment section. I originally was looking for information on Krueger National Park.
It's probably just a matter of a few years before the country that white men and women worked hard to make the best in Africa comes tumbling down on them.
We see the same thing happening here but on a different scale. Over fifty percent of black men here are in prisons.If you took a hundred black men you would do good to find twenty five even willing to work. The government here gives them mental health disability for pseudo disorders. Give them a few more years and they will be killing each other in growing numbers. This is my rifle, there are many like it, but this one is mine. I must shoot truer than the enemy-I will.

Paul
United States

Date Posted: Thursday 05-Feb-2009
Life is not long at all.,death comes quickly they who do evil,and dont change will pay forever.And if the evil is done to an outside source other than them selves it is done to God and that means Bad News!!!!!!

jabo vosta
covington
usa

Date Posted: Sunday 21-Sep-2008
These people are so dirty and stinky. Scum. They should be boiled to death...slowly.

Tyrone

Date Posted: Thursday 17-Apr-2008
To Sam from USA - Crime in SA most certainly has a colour. If you are from SA you would know this. We do not hear or read stories of "a gang of white men attacking, raping and torturing people"

Crime in SA is Black criminals against White, Black, Coloured and Indian. These Black criminals have no value for life and will rape and kill you for a cell phone and R50.

My whole family has been affected by crime in some way - hijacking, robberies, attacking....the list goes on.

I agree with all those who have immigrated, there is no future for white South Africans in SA anymore. I have immigrated and urge all others to do the same.

There is more to life than big houses & big gardens.
***********************************************

*Date Posted: Thursday 27-Sep-2007
Racism is very bad. Bad for white and bad for black. A crime is a crime and it doens't have color.

Sam
Washington DC
USA*

Michelle

Date Posted: Wednesday 28-Nov-2007
I WORKED IN JOBURG FOR 6 MONTHS AND SURVIVED UNSCATHED. i ACTUALLY HAD NO BAD EXPERIENCES OF BLACK PEOPLE BUT I KNOW FROM MY EXPERIENCES IN IRELAND THAT A LOT MORE COULD BE DONE TO COMBAT CRIME. LIKE NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH SCHEMES, ACTION GROUPS, VIGILANTE GROUPS IF NECESSARY AND PUNISHMENT BEATINGS AND SHOOTINGS AS AN EXTREME BUT EFFECTIVE MEASURE. IN NORTHERN IRELAND IN CATHOLIC AREAS WHERE THE IRA WERE ACTIVE THERE WAS ALMOST ZERO CRIME BECAUSE THE CRIMINALS WOULD BE BEATEN, KNEECAPPED OR SHOT DEAD FOR PERSISTANT CRIMINALITY. FROM THE IRA HAS STOOD DOWN, CRIME HAS ROCKEDED. AND THE BLACK PEOPLE SHOLD TAKE THIS ON BOARD TOO BECAUSE THEY COULD BE THE NEXT VICTIMS.

THOMAS
BELFAST
N. IRELAND

Date Posted: Thursday 04-Oct-2007
I am sad that the poor lady died. It should have been the monsters who did it. All the white people overseas who turn their heads away: be warned you are next! It is a typical "inside job". Do NOT trust the person who works for you. Rather do your own work even if you can't cope doing everything. You can be alive in a dirty house rather than to be dead in a "clean" one. Most of the time they do a lousy job anyway. More than 16 years I'm doing my own work and I don't fear that somebody will know if I have a safe in my house etc.

catherine
Johannesburg
South Africa

Date Posted: Thursday 04-Oct-2007
I am sad that the poor lady died. It should have been the monsters who did it. All the white people overseas who turn their heads away: be warned you are next! It is a typical "inside job". Do NOT trust the person who works for you. Rather do your own work even if you can't cope doing everything. You can be alive in a dirty house rather than to be dead in a "clean" one. Most of the time they do a lousy job anyway. More than 16 years I'm doing my own work and I don't fear that somebody will know if I have a safe in my house etc.

catherine
Johannesburg
South Africa

Date Posted: Thursday 27-Sep-2007
Thank you Sam. Racism IS very bad. From all sides. Bye bye.

adrianastuijt@knid.nl
Dokkum
the Netherlands

Date Posted: Thursday 27-Sep-2007
Racism is very bad. Bad for white and bad for black. A crime is a crime and it doens't have color.

Sam
Washington DC
USA

Date Posted: Tuesday 24-Jul-2007
Dear Julia

It is so sad to hear that, I understand where you are coming from I am from SA and because of those reasons we left and yes I guess they will do it again without being caught. It is just when you turn to God in those circumstances he will vindicate and it was not God that did it or even allowed it to happen so how can you say where was God and that He did not help , it was all the work of Satan himself and people who is so into witchcraft and evil things ,they did it, not God. It was all about themselves.It is always so funny that non believers always seem to blame God for everything even though they do not believe in Him. I do not know where you stand or if you believe or not? In this case it is about that family, and what they went through was horrific, and I believe that God will help the rest of that family and everyone that is close to them through this ordeal and that they will come out strong !! My prayers are still with them and for the people who did that I feel very sorry for they might get away with it now but I do not want to be them when God will judge them.
God bless
Glaudie

glaudie
blenheim
new zealand

Date Posted: Thursday 19-Jul-2007
dear Glaudie,
Just a comment on your email, did you know that the pour lady died about 3 weeks following her attack.She gave up and did not have the strength to pull through.
I do not think god helped her at all, instead the rotten 5 men are still out there and most proberly done it over and over again.Why because the police do not give a dam about the whites over there. Just them and the Goverment because they get paid well by them to turn a blind eye.

Julia
Perth
Australia

Date Posted: Tuesday 17-Jul-2007
Oh my heart goes out to you, I can only imagine what you went through. May God bless you for enduring that and may you get stronger and stronger, my prayers are with you and your family and I hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive those people for doing such a horrible things to you, when you forgive you do it for yousrelf so that you will be free, Believe me God will deal with those people He is the Judge of all and they will be severely judged!!!!God bless you and and our thoughts are with you.
Glaudie and family
New Zealand

glaudie
blenheim
new zealand

Date Posted: Monday 16-Jul-2007
I urge white South Africans to consider migrating to Australia. Your country has sold you out. Ours is starting to sell us out. Together we can make a difference.

Brett
Melbourne
Australia

Date Posted: Wednesday 11-Jul-2007
How dare they think they can get away with what they did.
In time there will be no more work offered to the black people for what they are doing to the white people.
Then who will be laughing.
What idiots they are, if it was not for the white people helping there country with work and incoming monies.
They would have nothing because their goverment will always rip them off.
What a lovely place to live in.
They will suffer greatly when we no longer help them.
Julia
from the great country.

Julia Vasey
Perth
Australia

Date Posted: Monday 11-Jun-2007
This is a perfect example of why you do not lock your guns in a safe. Now, instead of shooting these pieces of garbage dead, they left themselves vulnerable to torture and also armed these feces with more weapons so that the next victims have zero chance of survival. Keep your guns where they will benefit you- especially if you live in a land where the savages have been allowed to take over. Believe me, it is here now also, and I sleep with my guns at my side.

Fred Vazquez
Oates, SC
United States

Date Posted: Saturday 09-Jun-2007
Black people hate white people. They think they are rich and that they are allowed to do to them what they want. It is now much worse than apartheid. At least we were safe. We can't help it if they were carrying on like monsters in the townships. They brought it now into all the cities. Can't we just have peace and live in harmony? Get tough on all the criminals.

catherine
Johannesburg
South Africa

Date Posted: Sunday 03-Jun-2007
I see one person said this crazed gang were acting like animals, I beg to differ. Animals do not behave in this manner. These, in my opiniion, were savages - monsters -inhuman. If they are ever caught, they will possibly get a slap on the hand.

G Cross
Johannesburg
South Africa

Date Posted: Saturday 02-Jun-2007
The couple were very brave and lucky to be alive, God was smiling at them, to give them a second chance, whereas for the those heartless ' animals'...what goes around comes aroud!

Eleanor Mckenzie
Suva
Fiji

Date Posted: Thursday 31-May-2007
I wonder, ***IF*** these people ever get caught, who will have the most "rights" ?

Them or their victims ? ! ?

Dirk Beukes
Dublin
Ireland