Ernest Grandier brought before Cetewayo One of the strangest incidents of the Zulu War was the adventure of Ernest Grandier , a native of Bordeaux enlisted in the Irregular Cavalry . Captured after the battle at the Zlobane Hill , he was lashed to a pole , without clothes and exposed to a burning sun by day and to biting cold by night . In the mornings the Zulus beat him with their sticks to restore circulation .