In case it should be
7out of your power to grant me
8more than a minute or two
9in the interview to which you kindly
10invited me when I had
11the honour to be introduced to you
12in the House of Commons I now
13beg leave to lay before you
14in writing a subject to which
15I most earnestly beg your
16attention as it seriously affects
17the pros-perity of English commerce
18and the honour of the English
19name -
About half of our
{the} Frontier
22of the Cape Colony is occupied
23by Independant tribes named
24Griquas & Bechuanas - who
25have not only faithfully observed
26the treaties made by the
{f}
27former Colonial Governments
28during the last 30 years
29but have never been
30even accused of cattle
31stealing or the progress
32of or annoyance to the
0002
1the Colonists English - SeveralMany hundreds
2thousands of these people have
3become Christians through the
4teaching of English missionaries
5and have engaged in commerce -
6so assiduously that about
7£5000 of worth of ivory and
830 000 skins of small
9animals are annually sent to
10the Colonial markets
Their feeling of con
13-findence in the English sense
14of justice may be judged
15of by the fact that when
16the Transvaal Boers
17attacked the town of Sechele
18a chief living 10° degrees
19of Latitude from Cape
20Town and contrary to
21the express provision in
22an Article of the treaty which
23these Boers had entered
24into with Sir George
25Cathcart kidnapped about
26200 of Sechele's children
27whom I offered to identify
28as members of Mrs Livingstone
29school, This chief travelled
30through these ten degrees
31one thousand miles in
32order [ ] to beg the English
33Queen to have the article
34against slavery enforced
0003
12
2and his children restored to the
3parents
When Sir George Cathcart
6
[gave] the Rebels Boers their
7indepdendance he also passed
8a Powder Ordinance by
9which ammunition to any
10amount may be sent into
11into the Transvaal Territory
12while not an ounce can
13be is allowed to enter the
14country of the Griquas &
15Bechuanas - This I beg you
16to observe has no reference
17to the Caffres on our Eastern
18Frontiers - It refers entirely
19to the West, and as there
20is not a
{t}he smallest doubt
21that these Transvaal Boers
22continue in the open violation
23of the treaty to enslave the
24natives the enforcement
25of the provisions of the
26Powder Ordinance against
27those who have always
28been our Friends amounts
29to unintentional but direct
30aid to Slavery
So long as the Boers
33retained the name of British
34subjects the practice of
35buying & selling native
I. 3 1
Introduction
My own inclination would
5lead me to say as little as possible
6about myself, but several
7friends in whose judgement
8I have confidence have suggested
9that as the reader likes to
10know something about the
11author, a short account
12of my origin and early life
13would lend additional
14interest to this book - Such
15is my excuse for the
16following egotism, and if an
17apology be necessary for
18giving my genealogy I find
19it in the fact that it is
20not very long and contains
21only one event of which
22I have reason to be proud -
My great grandfather fell
24at the battle of Culloden fighting
25for our old line of kings
26
[and my] ˄ My grandfather was a
27small farmer in Ulva, where
28my father was born, ˄ It is one
29of that cluster of the Hebrides
30thus described by Walter Scott
31"And Ulva dark and Colonsay"
32And all the group of islets gay
33"That gaurd famed Staffa round"
My grandfather who was
35
36 Lord of the Isles - canto IV.
0005
12
{4}
2intimately aquainted with all the
3traditionary tales which that
4great poet has since made
5use of in the "Tales of a grandfather"
6and other works, long before their
7publication, I remember listening
8to ˄ him with delight as a boy for his
9memory was stored with a
10never ending stock of stories
11many of which were wonder
12-fully like those I have since
13heard while sitting by the
14African evening fires
15While my grandmother sung
16gaelic songs some of which,
17as she believed, had been
18composed by captive islanders
19while languishing hopelessly
20among the Turks
My grandfather could give
22particulars of the lives of our
23ancestors for six generations
24of the family before him
25and the only point of the tradition
26I feel proud of is this - one of
27these poor hardy islanders
28was reknowned in the district
29for great wisdom and prudence
30and when on his death-bed, it is
31related that he called all his
32children around him and said,
33"Now in my lifetime I have searched
34most carefully through all the traditions
35I could find of our family, and
36I never could discover that there
37was a thei
{ie}f among our forefathers
0006
15
2^ since made use of in the Ta
{in}teresting "Tales
3of a grandfather" and other works -
4l
{L}ong before their publication, I
5remember listening with delight as
6a boy to the never ending stock of
7stories with which his memory
8was stored - (wonderfully like these
9tales were to what I have ˄ since often
10heard while
{en} sitting by the African
11
[evening] fires) - ; while my grandmother
12sung songs in gaelic some of
13which, she believed, had been
14composed by languishing captive
15islanders captives among the
16Turks - To my grandfather I look
17as an authority for the authority
{enticity}
18of the tradition for the sake of which
19principally I refer to the genealogy
20at all - His father fell fighting
21at Culloden on the side of the Pretender
22He had thus been guilty of treason
23which had it only been successful
24 would have been loyalty of the first
25water - He was recognized while
26still alive on the battle field by
27a person of the same clan who
28had fouught on the opposite side
29He had a handful of gold and
30had placed the hand to the
31wound from which his heart's
32blood welled out in order to
33glue the coin together and enable
34him should his life be spared
35to hide to conceal it from the
36observation of the plunderers
Hecker history of
5Epidemics of Middle ages
If therefore any of you or any of your children should
2take to dishonest ways it will not be because it runs
3in our blood, it does not belong to you, (3
{6}
4I leave this word with you. Be
5honest - "
[If therefore in
6the following
7pages I fall into
8any errors
9I hope they
10will be dealt ˄ with
11as honest mistakes
12and not as
13indicating that
14I have forgotten
15our ancient
16motto - ]
This ˄ wasevent took place at a time
17when the Highlanders
[according to
18Macaulay]
were much
19like the Cape Caffres
{Kaffirs} and any
20one ˄ it was said, could escape punishment
21for theft by presenting a share
22 of the plunder to his chieftain.
23
[My ancestors] They were Roman Catholics and
24long afterwards they were made
25Protestants by the laird coming
26round with a man having a
27yellow staff - The new religion
28went long afterwards perhaps
29it does so still by the name of
30"the religion of the yellow stick - "
˅ My grandfather finding
32his farm in Ulva unable insufficient to
33support a numerous family
34removed to Blantyre works,
35a large cotton manufactury on the
36beautiful c
{C}lyde above Glasgow
37and his sons having had the
38best educations the Hebrides
39afforded, were gladly recieved
40as clerks by the proprietors,
41Monteith & Co. My grandfather
42highly esteemed for his unflinching
43honesty was employed in the
44conveyance of large sums of
45money from Glasgow to
46the works and in old age was
47according to the custom of that
48company pensioned off so as
0009
1(4
{7}
2to spend his declining years in
3ease and comfort
My uncles all entered H.M.'s service
5during the last war either as
6soldiers or sailors but my
7 father the best of the lot remained
8at home, and too conscientious
9ever to become rich as a small
10tea dealer, by his kindliness of
11manner and winning ways
12made the heartstrings of his
13children twine around him as
14firmly as if he had possessed
15every worldy advantage to bestow -
16He ˄
[During the
17the last twenty
18years of his
19life he held
20the office of
21deacon of
22an Independent
23church in
24Hamilton and]
deserves my lasting
25gratitude and homage for
26presenting me from infancy
27with a continuously consistent pious
28example such as ˄ that an episode of which is beautifully
29and truthfully portrayed
30in Burn's "cottar's saturday
31night - " He died in February last
32in peaceful hope of that mercy
33which we all expect through the
34death of our Lord and Saviour
35when I was on my way below
36Zumbo, expecting no greater
37pleasure in this country than
38sitting by our cottage fire
39and telling him my travels -
40I revere his memory -
My earliest recollection
42of my mother was that so often
43seen among the Scottish poor
0010
1(5
{8}
2of anxious striving to make ends
3meet, and aboutat the age of ten
4I was put into the factory in order
5
[as a "piecer"] ^ to aid by my earnings to lessen
6her anxiety - With a part of my
7first weeks wages I purchased
8"Ruddiman's rudiments of Latin"
9and pursued the study of that
10language for many years
11afterwards with unabated
12ardour at an evening school
13It
{which} met between the hours ^ of eight & ten
14The dictionary part of my pursuits labours
15were
{was} followed up till twelve ˄
16
[o'clock] or later, if my mother did not
17interfere by jumping up and
18snatching my books out of my
19hands I had to be back in
20the factory by six, and continue
21my work with intervals for
22breakfast and dinner till eight
23oclock again - I read in this
24way many of the classical authors
25and knew Virgil and Horace
26better at sixteen than I do now -
27Our schoolmaster (supported in
28part by the company) was
29kind and ˄ so moderate in his
30charges that all who wished for
31education might have obtained
32it - Many availed themselves
33of the privelege and ˄some of my schoolfellows
34now rank in positions far
35above what they appeared ever
0011
1(6
{9}
2likely to come to in the village
3school - If such a system were
4established in England it would
5prove a never ending blessing
6to the poor.
In reading I devoured
[9a]
[6*]
9everything I could lay my hands
10on except novels - Scientific
11works and books of travels
12were my especial delight
13though my father believing
14that these with many of his
15time who ought to have known
16better, that these were iniminical
0012
1(7
{10}
2to religion, would have preferred
3to have seen me at the "Cloud of
4Witnesses or "Boston's fourfold
5state - "Ou
{Our} difference of opinion
6reached the point of open [ ]
7rebellion and myhis last application
8of the rod on ˄ my being desiredrefusal to
9peruse "Wilberforce's practical
10christianity." The
{is} dislike to
11dry doctrinal reading ˄ & to religious
[reading of every sort] continued
12for years ˄ afterwards but having lighted
13on those admirable works
14of Dr Thomas Dick - "The philosophy
15of religion." and "The philosophy
16of a future state" I was glad
17to find my own ideas that
18religion and science are
19not hostile but friendly to each
20other ˄
[fully proved and
21enforced - ]
and In the glow of love
22which Christianity inspires I
23
[soon] resolved to devote my life to
24the alleviation of human
25misery - Turning this idea over
26in my mind I felt that to be
27a pioneer for Christianity missionaries
28in China would prove of
29essential benefit to that immense
30empire & therefore set myself
31to get a medical education in
32order to fit myself for that
33enterprise
In botany I had the guidance
35of a book on the plants of
36Lanarkshire by "Patrick" which
0013
1(8
{11}
2
[in] recognizing the plants pointed out
3in my first medical book that
4extraodinary old work
{Author} on
5astrological medicine - "Culpeper's
6Herbal" Limited as my time
7was I found opportunities to
8scour the whole countryside
9"collecting simples" - Deep and
10and anxious were my studies
11on the still deeper and more
12perplexing profundities of
13astrology amd I believe I
14got as far into that abyss
15of phantasies as my author
16said he dared ˄ revealto lead me - It
17seemed perilous ground to
18tread farther ˄ on for the dark hint
19seemed to my youthful mind
20to loom towards "selling soul
21and body to the devil" as the
22price of the unfathomable
23knowledge of the stars -
{.} These
24excursions often in company
25with ˄ brothers, one now in Canada and
26the other a clergyman in the
27United States, gratified an
{the}
28intense love of nature I possessed
29and opened up many a new
30idea and though we generally
31returned mostso unmercifully
32hungry and fatigued that the
33embryo parson shed tears;
34yet we discovered so many
35to us new and interesting
0014
112 (9
2things that he was always as
3eager to join ^ us next time as he was
4the last - On one of these exploring
5tours we entered a limestone
6quarry- long before geology was
7so popular as it is now.
8It is impossible to describe the
9delight and wonder with which
10I began to collect the shells
11of the carboniferous limestone
12which crops out in high
13Blantyre and Cambuslang .
14and The quarrymen seeing
15a little boy ^ so engaged looked with that
16pitying eye which the benevolent
17assume when viewing the
18insane .
{-} I addressed ^ him with
19"However did these shells come
20into these rocks"? "When God
21made the rocks he made the
22shells in them" was the damping
23reply - What a deal of trouble
24geologists might have saved
25themselves by adopting the
26Turco philosophy of this scotch
27-man
In my reading I could by
29placing my book on a portion
30of the spinning jenny, catch sentence
31after sentence as I passed at my
32work, I thus kept up a pretty
33constent study undisturbed by
34the roar of the machinerys To
35this part of my education I owe
0015
113 (10
2I owe my present ability of completely
3abstracting my mind from
4surrounding noises, so as to
5read and write with perfect
6comfort amidst the play of
7children or near the dancing and
8songs of savages - The toil of
9cottonspinning to which I was
10promoted in my 19th year was
11excessively severe on a slim
12loose jointed lad, but it was
13well paid and it enabled me
14to support myself at the medical
15
[and Greek]
[^] classes in Glasgow in winter
16
[as also the
17Divinity lectures
18of Dr Wardlaw]
by while working with my hands
19in summer , - I never recieved
20a farthing of aid from any one
21and would have accomplished
22my project of going to China
23as a medical missionary
24in the course of time ^ by my own efforts but some
25of my friends advised my
26joining the London Missionary
27Society on account of its
28perfectly unsectarian character.
29It "sends neither Episcopacy
30nor Presbyterianism nor
31Independancy, but the gospel
32of Christ to the heathen" This
33exactly agreed with my ideas of
34what a missionary society
35ought to do - but it was not
36without a pang I offered myself
37for I felt as if I should now
0016
114 (11
2become in a measure dependant
3on others - And I would not
4have been much put about
5though I had been rejected -
6Looking back now on that
7life of toil I cannot but feel
8thankful that it formed such
9a material part of my early
10education, and were it
11possible I should like to begin
12life ^ over again in the same lowly
13style and pass through the
14same hardy training - Our
15American cousins call the factory
16life one of white slavery - i - e.
17when they wish to descend to
18that poor logic which always
19shrivels up before the common
20sense proverb "two blacks dont
21make a white" - Known in
22Africa by the phrase "one fault
23cannot wipe out another" -
24I passed through every grade
25of factory labour from
26the lowest to the highest and
27the warmest sympathies of
28my heart are
{being} with the English
29poor and Scottish poor I
30would denounce their any oppression
31
[of them
{in them}
32if it existed]
no matter by whom ^ practised - it is
33
[It is] ^ therefore with the fullest
34conviction of truthfulness
35I declare that anything like
36 American slavery does not exist
37in English cotton factories
0017
115 (12
2I consider it in the highest
3degree unfair to speak of those
4as slaves whose blood boils
5at the thought of oppression -
6and who glory in being the
7sons of the Covenanters
8and of them men who bled
9at Bannockburn - Though
10we are the victims of great
11social evils arising from
12overpopulation - Those evils
13are not to be mentioned
14in the same breath with that
15slavery which is indissolubly
16connected with the idea of
17
[outlawry &] bloodhounds - There is no one
18
[here] ^ so degraded as not to be able
19to claim his pay and though
20that rate is often far too low
21no Englishman can be guilty
22of the prime element of
23slavery viz- the shabbiness
24of expecting services from an
25inferior class without pay-
26-ment. This meaness does not
27exist on English soil -
The perfect freedom of
29speech we enjoy in Britain
30and the fact that the man
31who exposes domestic evils
32in the most startling terms
33instead of being in jeopardy
34for speaking out is lauded
35on all sides - leads strangers
0018
116 (13
2to the concluson that where
3evils are most exposed they
4most exist - My humble
5belief tha is that in England
6we have more true liberty with
7and the greatest amount of
8happiness for the greatest
9possible number of any
10country in the world -
[The poorest] We ^ poor among us could stroll ^ at pleasure over the
12ancient domains of Bothwell
13and other spots hallowed by the
14venerable associations
[ of which even
15our school
16books made
17us well
18aware]
and
19few of us could view th
{such}
20memorials of historythe past without
21feeling that these carefully
22kept monuments were
23
[our] their own - The masses
24
[of the working] ^ of the people ^ have read history
25and are no revolutionary
26levellers - We
{They} rejoice in
27the memories of "Wallace and
28Bruce and 'a' the lave" they
29
[who are] still ^ the much lovedrevered as the former champions
30of our freedom - and while
31foreigners imagine we want
32spirit to overturn our
33
[capitalists] and aristocracy we are content
34to respect our laws - till
35
[we can] we change them and hate
36
[those] stupid revolutions which
37might sweep away time honoured
38institutions dear alike to rich & (poor
39If slavery were attempted on
{to}
[be imposed on
40^ thesesuch people]
41no human power could restrain their vengeance
0019
117 (14
2Having finished the medical
3curriculum and presented
4a thesis on a subject which
5required the use of the stethescope
6for its diagnosis, I unwittingly
7procured for myself an
8examination rather more
9severe and prolonged than
10usual among examining
11bodies - The reason was
12a difference of opinion ^ existed as
13to whether this instrument
14could do what I asserted
15However I was admitted
16a licentiate of Faculty of
17Physicians and Surgeons
18but though qualified for
19my original plan the
20opium was then raging
21and it was deemed inexpedient
22for me to proceed to China
23I had previously pursued
24theological studies both in
25Glasgow and in England
26so I went to Africa to
27spend the following sixteen
28years of my life as a
29medical man and missionary
The general instructions
31I recieved from the Directors
32of the Missionary Society
33led me as soon as I reached
34Kuruman or Lattakoo then
35their farthest inland station
0020
118 (15
2from the Cape to turn my
3attention to the North Without
4waiting longer at Kuruman
5than was necessary to recruit
6the oxen now pretty well
7tired by the long journey
8from Algoa I proceeded
9in company with another
10missionary to the Bakuena
11country and found Sechele
12with his tribe located at
13Shokuan - I had a very different
14object in view than running
15in three hundred miles and
16back again as this journey
17proved to be - Accordingly
18after again resting three months
19at Kuruman which is a sort
20of head station in the country I
21returned to a spot about 15 miles
22south of Shokuan called Lepelole
23and (now Litubaruba) and in
24order to obtain an accurate
25knowledge of the language, cut myself
26off from European society for
27about six months at once and
28gained by the ordeal an insight into
29the habits, ways of thinking laws
30and language
[of that section
31of the Bechuanas
32called Bakuena]
which have proved
33of incalculable advantage in my
34intercourse with them ever
35since
19 (16
2 In my nextthis second journey to a spot about
320 miles south of Shokuan called
4
[to the place called] Lepelole from a cavern of that
5name, I began preparations
6for a settlement by marking
7a canal to irrigate gardens
8from a stream then flowing
9copiously - When preparations
10were well advanced we went
11Northwards to visit the Bakaa
12and Bamangwato and the
13Makalaka living between 22° & 23
14
[south Lat-] This part
{The Bakaa mountains} had been
15visited before by a trader who
16with his people all perished
17from fever - In going round
18the Northern part of these Basaltic
19hills near Letloche I was only
20ten days distant from the
21lower part of the Zouga which
22passed by the same name as
23Lake Ngami, and I might then
24(in 1842) have discovered that
25Lake had discovery alone been
26my object - Most part of this
27journey beyond Shokuan was
28performed on foot , in consequence
29of my waggon oxen having
30become sick - diseased, ill - ? Hearing my
31companions discussing my
32appearance & abilities on the
33supposition that I did not
34understand their speech - "He
35is not strong - He is quite slim"
0022
120 (17
2and only appears stout, because
3he puts himself into those bags ,
{^} (trousers) He
4will soon knock up - " my
5highland blood rose and made
6me despise the fatigue of keeping
7them all at the top of their speed
8for days together and untill I
9heard them expressing proper
10opinions of my pedestrian powers
Returning to Kuruman
12in order to bring my luggage to
13our proposed settlement I was
14followed by the news that my
15friendly tribe of Bakuen had
16been driven from Lepelole by
17
[the Barolongs] another tribe and my prospects
18blasted - One of those periodical
19outbreaks of war which seem
20to have occurred from time
21immemorial for the sake of cattle
22had burst forth in the land and
23so changed the relations of the tribes
24
[to each other] I was obliged to set out anew
25to look for a proper locality for
26a settlement -
In going North again a comet
28blazed on our right exciting
29the wonder of every tribe we
30visited - That of 1816 had been
31followed by an irruption of the
32Matibele the most cruel enemies
33they ever knew and this might
34portend something as bad, or
35it might be only the death of
36some great chief - On the
0023
121 (18
2subject of comets I ^ then knew as
3little as
[more than] they did themselves but
4I had ^ that confidence in a kind over
5ruling Providence which makes
6such a difference between us
7and both the ancient and modern
8heathen - As some of the
9Bamangwato people had
10accompanied me to Kuruman
11I was obliged to restore them
12and their goods of
{to} their chief
13Sekomi This made a journey
14from Shokuan to that chief
15^ again necessary and I for the first
16time performed a distance of
17some hundred miles on oxback
Returning ^ towards Kuruman again I selected the beautiful
19valley of Mabotsa
[Lat deg
{Lat 25° 14' South
20Long 26° 30'(?)}]
to form a
21missionary station and thither
22I remained with another missionary
23in 1843. Here occured
{happened} an episode
24concerning which I have
25frequently been questioned in
26England and which but for
27the importunities of my friends
28I meant to keep in store to tell
29my children when in my dotage
30The Bakhatla of the village
31Mabotsa were much troubled
32by lions which leaped into
33the cattle pens ^ by night and destroyed
34their cows - They even attacked
35the herds in open day - this was
36so unusual the people believed
0024
122 (19
2that they were bewitched "given
3
[as they said] "into the power of the lions" - by
4a neighbouring tribe - They went
5once to attack the animals but
6being rather a cowardly people
7compared to Bechuanas in
8general on such occasions,
9they returned without killing
10anyone - If one in a partytroop of
11lions is killed it is well
12known the others take the
13hint and leave that part
14of the country - ˄ So the next time
15the herds were attacked I went
16with the people in order to
17encourage them to rid themselves
18of the annoyance by destroying
19one of the number - We found
20the lions on a small hill of
21about a quarter of a mile
22in length and covered with trees
23A circle of men was formed
24round it and they gradually
25closed up, ascending pretty close
{near}
26to each other - I being down below
27- of what? on the plain with a native ^ teacherschoolmaster ^
28a most excellent man, called
29Mebalwe, saw one of the lions
30sitting on a piece of rock within
31the now closed circle of men -
32Mebalwe fired at it before I could
33and the ball struck the rock on
34which the animal was sitting
35He bit at the spot struck as a
36dog does at a stick or stone
0025
123 (20
2thrown at him - The circle opened
3and allowed him to escape - The
4men were afraid perhaps on
5account of their belief in
6witchcraft - Re=forming the
7circle we saw other two lions
8in it but the men allowed them
9to burst through too
{also}. If they
10had acted according to the
11custom of the country they
12would have speared them
13in their attempt to get out -
14Seeing it in vain to get them
15to kill one of the lions we bent
16our footsteps towards the village
17and in going round the end of
18the hill I saw one of the beasts
19sitting on a piece of rock as
20before but this time he had a little
21bush in front - Being about
2230 yards off I took a good aim
23at his body, through the bush
24and fired two both barrels into
25it - The men then called out
26"he is shot" "he is shot - " Others cried
27he has been shot by Matlatleanother too
28Let us go to him." I did not see
29any one else shoot at him, so
30I said "stop a little till I load again"
31and when in the act of ramming
32down the bullets I heard a shout,
33starting round I saw himthe lion just
34in the act of springing upon
35me - I was upon a little height
0026
124 (21
2he caught my shoulder in the
3act of the spring and we both
4came down to the plain ground
5below together - He shook me
6as a terrier dog does a rat,
7I turned round ^ to relieve mysef of the weight as he had one
8paw on the back of my head
9and saw him
{his} eyes directed
10to Mebalwe who was trying
11to shoot him at a distance
12of 10 or 15 yards - His gun
13missed being a flint one
14missed fire in both barrels
15the lion left me and bit his
16thigh - Another man whose life
17I had saved ˄ before after he had been
18tossed by a buffalo attempted
19to spear the lion when he was
20biting Mebalwe - He left Mebalwe
21caught this man by the shoulder
22and then his woundsbullets took
23effect for he fell down dead
24The whole was done quickly
25and must have been his
26paroxysm of dying rage - In
27order to take out the charm from
28him the Bakatla on the following
29day made a huge bonfire
30over the carcase which was
31declared to be that of the largest
32lion they had ever seen - Besides
33craunching the bone he left eleven
34teeth wounds of the upper part
35of my arm - A wound from
0027
125 (22
2this animals tooth resembles a
3gunshot wound - There is a
4great deal of sloughing and
5discharge - and pains are
6felt in the part periodically
7ever afterwards - Having on
8a tartan jacket on the occasion
9I believe that wiped off any
10virus from the teeth that
11pierced the flesh for my two
12companions have both suffered
13from the peculiar pains while
14I have escaped with only the
15inconvenience of a false
16joint in my limb - The man
17whose shoulder was wounded
18actually shewed me his wound
19burst forth afresh on the
20same month of the following
21year - This curious point deserves
22the attention of enquirers -
26 (23
2The different Bechuana tribes
3are named after certain animals
4shewing probably that in former
5times they were addicted to
6animal worship like the ancient
7Egyptians - The Bakatla = they
8of the monkey - Bakuena = they
9of the alligator Batlaping = they
10of the fish - each tribe having
11a superstitious dread of the animal
12
[by] which they areit is called - They also
13use the word "bina" to dance
14in reference to these custom
15so that when you wish to ascertain
16what they are you say "what do you
17dance" as if that had been a
18part of the worship of old - They
19never eat this animal using the
20term "ila" hate or dread in reference
21to killing it and we find traces
22of many ancient tribes in the
23country in individual Batau
24They of the lion - Banoga they of the
25serpent though no such
26tribes now exist - The use of the
27personal pronoun they - Ba - Ma
28Wa - Va - or ova, Am. Ki &c. prevails
29very extensively in the names of
30 tribes in Africa - I attached
31myself to the tribe called Bakuena
32or Bakwains the chief of which
33is called Sechele ˄ was then living
34˄ with his tribe at a place called
{named} Chonuane
35I was from the first struck
0029
127 (24
2by his intelligence and the marked
3manner in which he
{we} both
4felt drawn to each other rather
5than to others - and as this remarkable
6man has not only embraced
7Christianity but expounds its
8doctrines to his people I shall
{let me}
9offer a brief sketch of his
10carreer
His great grandfather
12Mochoasele was a great traveller
13and the first that ever told of
14the existence of white men - In his
15father's life time two white travellers
16whom I suppose to have been
17Mr Cowan and Dr Donovan
18passed through the country and
19passing down the Limpopo
20were all cut off by fever
21The Rain makers fearing their
22waggons might drive away
23the rain ordered them to be
24thrown into the river - This is the
25true account of the end of that
26expedition - They were not killed
27by the Bangwaketse as reported for
28they passed the Bakwain, all well.
29The Bakuena were then rich in
30cattle and as one of the many
31evidences of the dessiccation of
32the country streams are pointed out
33where thousands and thousands of
34cattle drank in which water never
35now flows and where a single herd
36could not find fluid for its support
II. 25 28
2When Sechele was still a boy his father
3was murdered by his own people for
4making free with the wives of his
5rich underchiefs, The children being
6spared, their friends invited Sebituane
7then in those parts to reinstate them in
8the chieftainship - Sebituane surrounded
9their town of the Bakwena by night &
10just as it began to dawn his herald
11proclaimed in a loud voice that he
12had come to revenge the death of
13Mochoasele - the pain this was
14followed by a beating ^ loudly on their shields
15of Sebituane's people all round the
16town - The panic was tremendous
17and the rush like that of a theatre on
18fire while the Makololo used their
19javelins on the terrified males as they
20
[with a dexterity they] alone can employ - Sebituane had
21given orders to his men to spare
22the sons of the chief and one of
23them to
{m}eeting Sechele put him in
24ward by giving him such a crack
25with a club on the head as to
26render him insensible, The usurper
27was put to death and Sechele reinstated
28in his chieftainship felt ^ much attached
29to Sebituane - The influence here
30noticed it will ^ yet be seen led me
31at last into the new well watered
32country to which this same Sebituane
33had preceded me - by many years -
Sechele married the daughters of
35three of his underchiefs who had
36on account of their bloodrelationship
0031
126 29
2stood by him in his adversity - This is
3one of the modes adopted for cementing
4the allegiance of a tribe - the Government
5is patriarchal, each man being
6by virtue of paternity chief of his
7own children - They build their
8huts around his and the greater
9the number of children the more
10his importance increases - Hence
11children are esteemed one of the
12greatest blessings and are always
13treated kindly - Near the centre of
14each circle ^ of huts there is a spot called
15a "Kotla" with a fire place in
16which they work, eat or sit and
17gossip over the news of the day
18A poor man attaches himself to the
19Kotla of a rich one and is considered
20a child of the latter - An underchief
21has a number of these circles
22around his and the collection
23of Kotlas around the great one
24in the middle of the town whole
25or that of the chief constitutes the
26town - The circle of huts immediately
27around the Kotla of the chief is
28composed of the wives huts of his
29wives and those of his blood
30relations - He attaches the underchiefs
31to himself and government by
32marrying as Sechele did their
33daughters or inducing his brothers
34to do so. They are fond of the
35relationship to great families
0032
127 30
2If you meet a party of strangers and
3the headman's relationship to some
4uncle of a certain chief is not at once
5proclaimed by his attendants you
6may hear him whispering "tell
7him who I am - " This usually
8involves a counting on the fingers
9
[of] a part of his genealogical tree ending
[
10by the important
11fact that the
12head of the party
13is half cousin
14to some well
15known ruler]
Sechele was thus firmly seated
17in his chieftainship when I made
18his acquaintance, On the first
19occasion in which I ever
20attempted to hold a public religious
21service he remarked that it was
22their custom when any new
23subject was brought before them
24to put questions on it - and he
25begged me to allow him to do the same
26in this case, On expressing my
27entire willingness to answer
28him - He enquired if my forefathers
29knew of a future judgment, I replied
30in the affirmative and began to
31describe the scene of the "great white
32throne and him who shall sit on
33it from whose face the heaven
34and earth shall flee away - " &c.
35He said "You startle me - these words
36make all my bones to shake
37I have no more strength in me - "
38but my forefathers were living
39at the same time yours were
40and how is it they did not
41send word about these terrible
42things sooner? They all passed
0033
28 31
1away into darkness without knowing whither
2they were going - " I got out of the difficulty by
3explaining the geographical barriers in the
4North and the gradual spread of knowledge
5from the South to which we first had access
6by means of ships, and expressed my belief
7that as Christ had said it so the whole world
8would yet be enlightened, Pointing to the great
9Kalahari desert he said, you never can
10cross that country to the tribes beyond, it is utterly
11impossible even for us black men except in
12certain seasons when more than the usual
13supply of rain falls and an extraordinary
14growth of water melons follows - Even we
15who know the country would certainly perish
16without them - Re-asserting my belief in the
17words of Christ we parted and
18it will be seen farther on that
19Sechele himself assisted in
20crossing that Desert which had
21proved an insurmountable barrier
22to so many adventurers
As soon as he had an opportunity
24of learning he set himsef to read
25with such close application was
26that from being comparatively
27thin the effect of having been
28fond of the chase that he became
29quite corpulent, Mr Oswel gave
30gave him his first lesson
31
[at figures]
[^] and he acquired the alphabet
32on the first day of my residence
33
[at Chonuane] with him - He was by no means
34
[an ordinary] a fair specimen of the people
0034
129 32
2for I never went into the town
3but was pressed to hear him read
4some chapters of the bible
[Isaiah was a
5great favourite
6and he used
7the same phrase
8nearly as our
9Professor of
10Greek at Glasgow
11Sir D. K. Sandford
12used respecting
13the apostle Paul
14when reading the
{his}
15Acts. speeches
16in the Acts - "
17"He was a fine"
18fellow that Paul"
19"He was a fine
20man that Isaiah
21He knew how
22to speak"]
and
23he invariably made an offer
24of something to eat on every
25occasion of visiting him -
26Seeing me anxious that his people
27should believe the words of Christ
28he said once "Do you imagine
29these people will ever believe
30by merely talking to them - I can
31do nothing but by thrashing them
32and if you like I shall call
33my headmen and with our
34"litupa" (whips of Rhinoceros hide) we
35shall soon make them all
36believe together - " The idea of using
37entreaty to subjects whose opinion
38on no other subject he would ask
39and persuasion to become Christians
40which they ought if he ordered them
41only to be too happy to adoptembrace was
{were}
42especially surprising - During
43the space of two and a half years
44he continued to profess to his people
45the
{his} full conviction of the truth of
46Christianity - and in all discussions
47on the subject he took that side
48acting at the same time in an
49upright manner in all his
50relations - He felt the difficulties
51of his situation long before
52I did and often said, "O
53I wish you had come to this
54country before I became
0035
130 33
2in the meshes of our customs"
3In fact he could not get rid of his
4superfluous wives without
5appearing to be ungrateful to
6their parents too
{who} had done
7so much for him in his
8adversity -
In the hoping that others
10would be induced to join him
11in his attachment to Christianity
12he asked me to begin with him
13family worship with him in
14his house. I did so and by &
15by was surprised to hear him
16conduct the prayer in his
17own simple and beautiful
18style for he was quite a
19master of his own vernacular
20We were suffering from the
21effects of a drought which
22will be described and none
23except his family whom
24he ordered to attend came near
25his meeting - "In former times"
26said he "When a chief was
27fond of hunting, all his people
28got dogs and became fond
29of hunting too: If fond of
30dancing or music all shewed
31a liking to these amusements
32too. If he loved beer they all
33rejoiced in strong drink - But
34in this case it is different,
35I love the word of God and not
36one of my brethren will join me"
0036
131 34
2One reason why we had no
3volunteer hypocrites was the
4hunger ^ from drought which was associated
5in their minds with the presence
6of Christian instruction and I
7believe hypocrisy is not
8prone to taking the line which
9
[seems to] ensure- empty stomachs
He continued to make
12a consistent profession
13for about three years and
14percieving at last some of
15the difficulties of his case
16as also feeling compassion
17for the poor women who
18were by far the best of our
19scholars, I had no desire
20that he should be in any
21hurry to make a full profession
22by baptism - His principal
23wife too, was the
{ab}out the
24most unlikely subject in
25the tribe ever to become
26anything else than an out & out
27greasy disciple of the old school.
28She has become greatly
29altered, I hear, for the better
30since but again and again
31'has
{v}e' I seen Sechele send her
32out of church to put her gown
33on and away she went with
34her lips shot out the very
35picture of unutterable disgust at
36his newfangled notions
32 35
2When he at last applied for baptism,
3I simply asked him how he
4having the bible in his hand
5and able to read it, thought he
6ought to act - He went home
7gave each of his superfluous
8wives new clothing and all
9his own goods which they
10had been accustomed to
11keep in their huts for him,
12and sent them to their parents
13with an intimation that he
14had no fault to find with
15them, but that in parting with
16them he wished to follow
17the will of God - On the day
18in which he and his children
19were baptized great numbers
20came to see the ceremony
21Some thought from a stupid
22calumny circulated by enemies
23to Christianity in the south that
24they would be made to drink
25an infusion of "dead's men's
26brains" and were astonished
27to find it water only - Seeing
28several of the old men actually
29in tears during the service
30I asked them afterwards the cause
31of their weeping - they were crying
32"to see," as the Scotch remark over
33a case of suicide, to see their
34father so far left to himself"
35They seemed to think I had
36thrown the glamour over him
37and he had become mine
0038
133 36
2Here commenced an opposition
3
[of] to
{which} we knew nothing
4previously; for all the friends
5of these castaway wives
6became our enemies - . The
7attendance on school & church
8diminished to very few besides
9the chief's ^ and own family - They
10treated us still with re[ ]spectful
11(13 kindness, but to Sechele himself
12said things (which he often
13remarked) had they ventured
14
[in former times] to annuntiate, would have cost
15them their lives - It was
16trying to see our labours so
17little appreciated at last ;
18but we had sown the good
19seed and have no doubt but
20it will yet spring forth though
21we may not live to see it -
What is the
5 name of the
6 people
Chap. 34 37
Leaving this sketch of the chief we
4now proceed to give an equally rapid
5sketch of our dealing with this people of
[the Bakuena
6or Bakwains]
7A small piece of land sufficient for a
8a garden was purchased
[When we first
9went to live
10with them]
11though that was scarcely necessary
12in a country when the idea
13of buying land was quite new.
14It was expected that a request
15
[for a] suitable spot would have been
16made and occupation follow,
17as in the case of any other
18member of the tribe - But on
19explaining that we wished
20to avoid any cause of dispute
21when land had become more
22valuable or when a foolish
23chief began to reign and
24we had erected buildings
25of value he might wish to
26claim the whole. About £5
27of goods were given and
28the stipulation made that
29a similar garden should be
30given to any other missionary
31at any other place to which
32which the tribe might remove
33The particulars of the sale
34sounded as strangely as
35in the ears of the tribe as did
36the
[a certain Roman] Emperor's tax
[in the ears of
37his son and]
on wine in
38those of the ancient Romans -
39the coin in either case emitted
40no bad efluvium
III. 35 38
2In our relations with this
3people we were simply strangers
4exercising no authority or
5control whatever - Our
6influence depended entirely
7on persuasion, and having
8taught them by kind conversation
9as well as by public instruction
10I expected them to do what their
11own sense of right and wrong
12dictated - We never wished
13them to do right ^ merely because it
14would be pleasing to us
15nor thought ourselves to
16blame when they did wrong -
17although we were quite aware
18of the absurd colonial idea
19to that effect we believed that
20we saw that our teaching did
21good to the general mind of
22the people
[I am certain
23of five cases
24in which by
25good influence
26on public opinion
27war was
28prevented - ]
and where in
29individual cases we failed
30they were no worse than they
31were before we came - , In general
32they are slow like our African
33people hereafter to be described
34in coming to a decision on
35religious matters, but in
36matters affecting their worldly
37affairs they are keenly alive
38to their own interests - They
39might be called stupid in matters
40which have not come under
41the sphere of their observation
0042
136 39
2but in all matters which have
3they shew more intelligence than
4is to be met with in our own
5peasantry - They are remarkably
6accurate in their knowledge
7of cattle, sheep and frogs goats -
8Knowl
{in}g exactly the kind of
9pasturage suited to each, and
10they select with great judgement
11the kinds of soil best suited
12to different kinds of grain
13They are adepts in knowledge
14of the habits of wild animals
The place where we first
16settled with the Bakwena is called
17Chonuane, and it happened to
18be visited ^ during the first year of our
19residence there by one of those
20periodical droughts which occur
21in even the most favoured
22districts of Africa
37 40
2there - Now the belief in rain making
3is one of the most deeply rooted
4articles of faith in this country -
5The chief Sechele being himself a
6noted rain doctor believed in it
7
[implicitly implicitly,] utterly - and he has often assured me
8that he found it more difficult
9to give up his faith in that, in than in
10anything else require by Christianity -
11I pointed out the only feasible
12way of watering the gardens to be
13to select some good never
14failing river - make a canal
15and irrigate their lands - This
16suggestion was immediately adopted
17and soon the whole tribe was
18on the move to Kolobeng about
1940 miles distant - The experiment
20succeeded admirably during the first
21year - The Bakwains made the canal
22and dam in exchange for my
23labour in assisting to build a
24square house for their chief - They
25also built their own school under
26my superintendance - Our own house
27at Kolobeng was the third which
28I had reared with my own hands
29but I had then become a jack of all
30trades - A native smith taught me
31 iron to weld and having improved by
32scraps of information in that line
33and in capentering and gardening
34and as my wife could make
35candles soap and clothes we
0044
138 41
2came nearly up to what may be
3considered an
{the} essential part of an
4Central African missionary's
5qualifications accomplishments viz. the husband
6to being a jack of all trades without
7and the wife a maid of all work
8within - But in our second
9year no rain again - In the third
10the same extraordinary drought
11followed - Indeed not ten inches
12of water fell during these two years
13and the Kolobeng ran dry, so many
14fish being killed the hyaenas of
15the whole country collected to
16the feast and were unable to
17finish the putrid masses - A
18large old alligator which had never
19been known by any depredations
20was among the victims - The
21fourth year was equally unpromising
22unpropitious - Too little rain
23to bring the grain to maturity, Nothing
24could be more tantalising , We
25
[dug] digged down in the bed of the river
26deeper and deeper as the water
27receded, striving to get a little to
28keep the fruit trees alive for
29better times, but in vain, needles
30lying out of doors for months
31did not rust, and a mixture
32of sulphuric acid and water
33used in a galvanic battery
34parted with all its water to the
35air instead of imbibing more
0045
1(39 42
2as it would have done in England -
3The leaves of indiginous trees
4were all drooping, soft, & shrivelled
5though not dead - And those of
6the Mimosae were closed at midday
7as they are when going to sleep -
8In the midst of this dreary
9drought it was wonderful to see
10these wonderful tiny creatures the
11ants running about with their
12accustomed vivacity - I put the bulb
13of ^ a thermometer 3 inches under the soil
14and found itthe mercury to stand at 132˚ - 134˚
15and if certain kinds of beetles were
16placed on the surface they ran
17about a few seconds & expired -
18but this broiling heat only augmented
19the activity of the long legged black
20ant - They never tire - Their organs
21of motion seem endowed with the
22same power as is ascribed by
23Physiologists to the ^ muscles of the human heart
24by which that part of the frame
25never becomes fatigued and
26which may be imparted to all
27our bodily organs in that higher
28state to which we fondly hope to
29rise - Where do they get their
30moisture - ? Our house was built
31on a hard ferruginous conglomerate
32in order to be out of their way
33^ of the white ant but they came in spite of
34the precaution and not only
35were they in this sultry weather
0046
140 43
2able individually to moisten soil
3to the consistency of plaster for
4the formation of galleries towards
5any vegetable matter they might
6wish to devour, but when their
7inner chambers were laid open
8they were these were also surprising
9-ly moist humid - Yet there was
10no dew and the house being
11placed on a rock they could
12have no subterranean passage
13to the bed of the river about 300
14yards distant below the hill
Rain however would not
16fall - The Bakwains believed that
17I had bound Sechele with some
18sort of magic spell - And I recieved
19deputations in the evening from
20of the old counsellors entreating me
21to allow him to make ^ only a few showers
22"the corn will die if you refuse, and
23we shall become scattered" - "Only
24let him this once and we shall
25come to the school and ^ sing & pray as
26long as you like
{please}" It was in
27vain to protest that I wished Sechele
28to act just according to his own
29ideas of what was right as he found
30the law laid down in the Bible -
31And it was distressing to appear
32hardhard hearted to them - The clouds
33
34When we come to Angola I shall describe
35an insect there which distills several
36pints of water every night
0047
141 44
2often collected beautifully over us, and
3Rolling thunder seemed to portend
4refreshing showers, but next morning
5the sun would rise in a cloudless
6sky - Indeed these were more frequent
7by far than days of sunshine are in
8London -
9But how could they be so stupid
10as to suppose that only one could
11make rain? Why there is first of
12all the right out human feeling
13
on which the knowing ones at home
14work when they explain the rationale
15
15JM
of the operation of ^ Morrison's vegetable pills -
16It may be termed "the every man
17his own doctor" feeling" - The natives
18like to do something - It is irksome
19to sit and wait so helplessly as is
20implied in the idea of God giving
21the rain from Heaven - It is
22more comfortable to help themselves
23and they can do so by such a
24variety of materia medica preparations preparations - If
25Charcoal made of burned bats
26^ inspissated urine of the mountain coney ^ Hyrax capensis (which
27by the way is used by old Dutch
28ladies in the form of pills as a
29good antispasmodic under the
30name of "klipsweit" = stone sweat)
31The internal parts of different animals
32as Jackalls livers Lion's and
33baboons hearts and heavy calculi
34from the bowels of old cows
35serpents skins & vertebrae - And
36
37
0048
142 45
2every kind of tuber, bulb, root,
3and plant to be found in the
4country - You Disbelieve
{ing} their efficacy
5in charming the clouds to pour
6out their refreshing treasures
7and knowing that civility is
8useful everywhere ^ you kindly state
9you think you
{they} are mistaken,
10as to their power, the rain
11doctor selects a bulb -
{,} pounds it
12and administers a cold infusion
13to a sheep which in five minutes
14afterwards expires in convulsions -
15Part of the same bulb is converted
16into smoke which ascends
17to the sky, rain follows in
18a day or two - The case is clear
19Were we as much harassed by
20droughts, the logic would be
21irresistible in England in 1857 -
22The same looseness of reasoning
23Have we aught else in support of
24 JM the powers of the Homoeopathic
25globule? A powerful medicine
26capable of appreciable effects is
27manipulated into a decimal
28fraction of moonshine ^ & post quod the cure
29follows - The inference is irresistible
30and why should not the discovers
31share in the persecution which
32Jenner, and Harvey &c. endured
33They certainly deserve it seeing
34opposition is the only point
35of similarity between our friends
36and these
{ose} illustrious men -
43 46
2 As the Bakwains believed that there
3must be some connection with the
4between the presence of "God's word"
5in their town and these successive
6and distressing droughts, they
7looked with no good will at
8the church-bell - but ^ still they invariably
9treated us with kindness and
10respect - I am not aware of
11ever having had an enemy
12in the tribe - The only cause of
13dislike was in the gospel -
14expressed by a very influential
15and sensible man the uncle
16of Sechele - "We like you as well
17as if you had been born among
18us, you are the only white man
19we can become familiar with" (thoaela)
20but we wish you to give up that
21everlasting preaching and praying
22We cannot become accustomed
23to that at all" "You see we never
24get rain while those tribes who
25never pray as we do get abundance"
26This was a fact, and we often
27saw it raining on the hills 10 miles
28off while it would not look at us
29"even with one eye" - If the Prince
30of the power of the Air had
31no hand in schorching us up
32I fear I often felt uncharitably
33towards his majesty -
As for the Rain makers they
35carried the sympathies of the
0050
144 47
2people along with them and not
3without reason - With the following arguments
4there were all acquainted -
[and in order
5to understand
6their force we
7must place
8ourselves in
9their position
10& believe as they
11and homoaepathics
12do that all
13medicines act
14by a mysterious
15charm - The
16term for cure
17may be trans
18lated "charm"
19Alay
{h}a - ]
20Medical Doctor Hail friend!
21How ^ very many medicines you have
22about you this morning - Why
23you have ^ every medicine in the country
24about you this
Rain doctor - Very true my friend
26and I ought for the whole country
27needs the rain which I am making
28M. D. So you really believe that
29you can command the clouds
30I think that can be done by God
31alone
R. D. We both believe the very
33same thing - It is God that makes
34the rain but I pray to him
35by means of these medicines
36and of course the rain is mine -
37It was I who made it for the
38Bakwains for many years
39when they were at Shokuane ,
40Through my wisdom their
41women become fat and shining
42Ask them they will tell you the
43same as I do -
M. D. But we are distinctly
45told in the parting words of our
46saviour that we can pray to
47God acceptably in his name
48alone and not by means
49of medicines
R. D. Truly, but God told us
51differently - He made black
0051
145 48
2men first - and did not love us
3as he did the white men - He
4made you beautiful - and gave you
5clothing and guns and horses
6and gunpowder and waggons
7and many other things about
8which we know nothing
9But to^ward us he had no heart
10He gave us nothing except the
11assegai and cattle, ^ and rain making and did
12not give us hearts like yours
13We never love each other
[other tribes put
14medicines about
15our country to
16prevent the rain
17so that we may
18be dispersed by
19hunger and
20augment their
21power - We
22must dissolve
23their charms by
24our medicines]
- But
25he
{God} has given us one little thing
26which you know nothing
27of - He has given us the
28knowledge of certain medicines
29by which we can make rain
30We do not despise those things
31which you possess though
32we are ignorant of them,
33We dont understand your book
34yet we dont despise it You
35ought not to despise our
36little knowledge though you
37are ignorant of it
M. D. But
{I dont} despise
39what I am ignorant of I only
40think you are mistaken in
41saying you have medicines which
42can influence the rain at all -
R. D. Thats just the way
44people dospeak when they talk on a subjec
45of which they have no knowledge
46When we first opened our eyes
47we found our forefathers -
0052
146 49
2making rain - and we follow
3in their footsteps - You who
4send to Kuruman for corn
5and irrigate your garden
6may do without rain, we
7cannot manage in that way -
8If we had no rain the cattle
9would have no pastures, the
10cows give no milk - our
11children become lean and
12die - Our wives run away
13to other tribes who do make
14rain, and have corn, and
15the whole tribe become dispersed
16and lost - Our fire would go out -
M. D. I quite agree with you
18as to the value of the rain, but
19you cant charm the clouds by
20medicines - You wait till you
21see the clouds come then use
22your medicines and take the
23credit which belongs to God only -
R. D. I use my medicines
25and you employ yours, we are
26both doctors, and doctors are
27not deceivers, you give a patient
28medicine, sometimes God is pleased
29to heal him by means of your
30medicine sometimes not - he
31dies - When he is cured you take
32the credit of what God does - I do
33the same - Sometimes God grants
34us rain sometimes not - In each
35case we take the credit of the cure -
0053
147 50
2When a patient dies you dont
3give up trust in your medicine
4neither do I when rain fails,
5If you wish me to leave off
6my medicines why continue
7yours?
M. D. I wish you would
9try and God would give us
10rain without your medicines
R. D.
[Mahalama
12-kapa,a,a-]
Well I always thought
13white men were wise till this
14morning - Who ever thought of
15making trial of [ ] starvation
16Is death pleasant then?
M. D. Could you make rain on
18one spot and not on another
R. D. I wouldnt think of trying
20I like to see the whole country
21green and all the people glad,
22the women clapping their hands
23and giving me their ornaments
24for thankfulness - and lullibooing for joy
M. D. I think you decieve
26both thems and your-self -
R. D. Well there is a pair
28of us - - (meaning both are rogues
29exit M. D. mentally writing Cont. Med.)
30The above is only a specimen
31of their way of reasoning in
32which when the language is
33well understood they are seenpercieved to
34be remarkably acute - These arguments
35are generally known and I
36never succeeded in convincing
0054
148 51
2a single individual of their fallacy
3though I tried them in every
4way I could think of - Their faith
5in medicines as charms is
6unbounded - The general effect
7of argument is to produce the
8impression that you do not
9feel anxious for rain at all
10and it is very undesirable to allow
11the idea to spread that you do not
12feel a generous interest in their
13welfare - An angry opponent
14of rainmaking in a tribe
15would be like a Greek merchant
16in England during the Russian war -
[ The Conduct] The appearance of the people
18during this long continued drought
19was remarkably good - The women
20parted with most of their ornaments
21to purchase corn from more
22fortunate tribes - The children
23scoured the country in search
24of the numerous bulbs and
25roots which can sustain life,
26and the men engaged in
27hunting - Very large numbers
28of the large game - buffaloes, zebras
29giraffes, tsessebes, kamas, gnus
30pallas, Rhinoceroses &c. congregated
31at some fountains near Kolobeng
32and ^ the trap called hopos were
{was} constructed in
33the lands ajacent adjacent for their destruction
34The Hopo consists of two hedges
35in the form of the letter V V. very
0055
149 52
2high and thick near the angle at
3the bottom and at the extremity
4of that same angle a deep pit
5is formed six or eight feet deep
6and about ten in breadth & length
7The Trees are laid accross the edge
8over which the animals are
9expected to leap and attempt to
10escape so as to form an over
11lapping ledge which they cannot
12possibly climb - As the hedges
13are frequently a mile long and
14about as much apart at their
15extremities tribe making a circle
16extending three or four miles
17round the country ajacent to the
18opening and gradually closing
19up are almost sure to enclose
20a large body of game - Driving
21it up with shouts to the narrow
22part of the hopo men secreted
23there through throw their javelins into
24the affrighted herds and on they
25rush into the pit till that is full
26of a living mass - Some escape
27by rushing over the others as
28a Smithfield market dog does
29over the sheep ^
{s} s backs It is a frightful scene
30The men wild with excitement spear
31the lovely animals with mad delight
32Others borne down by the weight
33of their dead & dying companions
34every now and then make the
35whole mass heave in their smothering
0056
150 53
2agonies - No one but a born butcher
3could look on that scene without
4feeling sick at heart - The Bakuena
5often killed between sixty and
6seventy head of large game at
7the different Hopos in a single
8week and as every one both rich
9and poor partook of the prey, the
10>meat counteracted the bad effects
11of an exclusively vegetable diet -
12When the poor who had no salt
13were forced to live exclusively on
14roots they were often troubled by
15with indigestion - Such cases
16we had frequent opportunities of
17seeing at other times for the district
18being destitute of salt the rich alone
19could afford to buy it - The native
20doctors aware of the cause of
21the malady usually prescribed
22some of ingredient with their
23medicines - The doctors themselves
24had none so the poor resorted to
25us for aid, We took the hint and
26henceforth cured the disease by
27giving a teaspoonful of salt minus
28the medicines other remedies -
29Either milk or meat had the same
30effect though not so rapidly as
31the salt - Long afterwards when
32I was myself deprived of salt
33for four months at two distinct
34periods I felt no desire for
35that condiment, but I was
0057
151 54
2plagued by very great longing
3for these articles of food
4This continued as long as
5I was confined to an exclusively
6vegetable diet - And when
7I procured a meal of flesh
8though boiled in perfectly fresh
9rain water it tasted as
10pleasantly saltish as if slightly
11impregnated with the condiment
12Both milk and meat removed
13 (Turnover)
14
entirely the excessive longing and
3dreaming about roasted ribs of
4fat oxen and by bowls of cool
5thick milk gurgling forth from
6the greasy big bellied calabashes
7and I could understand the
8thankfulness of poor Bakwain
9women (in an
{the} interesting condition)
10to Mrs L. for a little milk or meat -
Had there been no other adverse
12influences at work the general
13uncertainty though ^ not absolute want
14of food - and the necessity for
15frequent absence - for ^ the purpose of either hunting
16or collecting roots and fruits, proved
17a serious barrier to progress in
18educationknowledge, our own education
19was carried on at the comfortable
20breakfast and dinner tables and
21by the cosy fire, as well as in the
22church and school room - ^
[Few English
23would be decorous
24at Church on over
25empty stomachs
26no
{any} more then
{an}
27^ they are on over full
28ones - ]
29Ragged schools would have been
30a failures had the teachers not
31wisely provided food for the
32body as well as food for the
33mind - And not only must we shew
34a friendly interest in their bodily
35comforts as a christian duty, but
36we can no more hope for healthy
37feelings among the poor either
38at home or abroad without
39feeding ^ them into them than we can
40hope to see an ordinary working
41bee fed into a queen mother
42by the ordinary food of the hive
63 56
2 Sending the gospel to the heathen
3must if this reasoning view be
4correct, include much more than
5the usually picture of a missionary
6implies; ^ viz. a man going about with a
7bible under his arm - The promotion
8
8Reflections
8for the
8last Chapter
8
8of the work
of of
{c}ommerce ought to be specially
9attended to as this more speedily
10than aught else demolishes that
11feeling of isolation which heathenism
12engenders, and makes the natives
13of the worldtribes feel themselves
14mutually dependant ^ on and mutually
15beneficial to each other - Those
16laws which ^ still prevent the freest
17
[commercial] ^ intercourse intercourse among
18the civilized, seem to be nothing
19else but the remains of our own
20heathenism - My own experience
21makes me intensely desirous
22to promote the preparation of the
23raw materials of European
24manufactures in Africa for
25by that means we will
{shall}
26not only put a stop to the slave
27trade but introduce the negro
28family into the body corporate
29of nations no one ^ member portion
30of which can suffering without
31the others suffering with it - Success
32in this in both Eastern and
33Western Africa would lead in
34the course of time to a much
35larger diffusion of the blessings
36civilization & Christianity
0060
164 57
2than efforts more purely spiritual
3and educational - These however
4if would be extremely desirable
5to carry on at the same time
6The English character should never
7be exhibited except in connection
8with Christianity -
Another adverse influence
10with which the mission had to
11contend was the vicinity of the
12Boers of the Cashan mountains
13otherwise named "Magaliesberg" -
14These are not to be confounded
15with the Cape Colonists who sometimes
16pass by the name - The word simply
17means "farmers" and is not
18synonymous with our word
19Boor, Indeed takingto them generally
20there term is inappropriate for
21they are a sober, religious, industrious
22and most hospitable ^ body of peasantry -
23Those who however have fled
24from English law on various
25pretexts, and have been joined
26by English deserters and every
27other variety of bad character in
28their distant localities are un-
29-fortunately of ^ a very different peoplestamp
30The great objection many of them
31had ^
[and do still have] to English law wasis that it makes
32no distinction between black &
33white - , They felt aggrieved by their
34supposed losses in the emancipation
35of their Hottentot slaves, and
0061
165 58
2determined to erect themselves into
3a republic in which they might
4pursue without molestation the
5"proper treatment of the blacks - "
6without It is almost needless to
7add that the "proper system" has
8always contained ^ in it the essential
9element of slavery viz. compulsory
10
[unpaid] labour without payment -
11One section of this body under
12Mr Hendrick Potgeiter came in
13as far as the Cashan mountains
14whence a Caffre chief named
15Mosilikatze had been expelled
16by the well known ^ Caffre Dingaan, and
17a glad welcome was given them
18by the Bechuana tribes who had just
19escaped the hard sway of that cruel
20chieftain - They came with the
21prestige of white men and deliverers,
22but the Bechuanas soon found
23that as they express it, "that Mosilikatze
24was cruel to his enemies but
{and} kind to those
25he conquered, but the Boers destroy
26their enemies and make slaves
27of their friends" - The tribes who still
28retain the semblance of independence
29are forced to performed all the labour
3021 of the fields - as manuring the land,
31weeding, reaping, building - making
32dams, and canals and at the
33same time to support themselves -
34I have myself been an eyewitness
35of Boers coming to a village according
0062
166 59
2to their usual custom and demanding
3twenty or thirty women to weed gardens,
4and have seen the
{ose} women proceed
5to the scene of unrequited toil carrying
6their ^ own food on their heads - and
7their children on their backs and
8instruments of labour on their shoulders
9and so far from any wish to conceal
10the meaness of employing unpaid
11labour ^ Every one from Mr Potgeiter and
12Mr Gert Kruger ^ the commandants downwards they
13lauded theirhis own humanity &
14justice in making such a fine
15
[equitable ^] regulation - ^ "We make "the people work for
16us in consideration of allowing
17them to live in our country" I
18can appeal to the Commandant
19Kru
{ie}ger if the foregoing is not a
20fair and impartial statement
21of his own and ^ his people's views -
22I am sensible of no mental bias
23towards or against these boers
24and during the manyseveral journies
25I made to the poor enslaved tribes
26never avoided the whites but
27tried to cure & to administer remedies to the
28sick without money and without
29price - It is due to them to state that
30I was invariably treated by them
31with respect, but it is most
32unfortunate that they should have
33been left by their own church for
34so many years to deteriorate
35and become so
{as} much degraded
36as the blacks whom the unfortunate
37prejudice against colour leads them to
38 detest
67 60
2 This new species of slavery they have
3adopted serves to supply the lack of
4field labour only - The demand
5for domestic servants must be met
6by forays on tribes which have
7good supplies of cattle - The Portuguese
8can quote instances in which
9blacks become so degraded by love
10of strong drinks as actually to
11sell themselves - but never in
12anyone case within the memory
13of man has a Bechuana chief
14sold his people or a Bechuana
15man his child - Hence the necessity
16for a foray to seize children and
17those individuals Boers who would
18not engage in it for the sake of
19slaves seldom can resist the
20
[twofold] plea of a well told story of an
21intended ^ uprising of the devoted
22tribe, and handsome pay in
23the division of the captured cattle -
24
[besides - ] It is difficult for a person in
25a civilised country to concieve
26
[that] if any body of men possessing
27the common attributes of
28humanity, (and these boers are
29by no means destitute of the
30finer feelings of our nature), with
31one accord ^ would setting out & after
32loading their own wives and
33children with kisses, & ^ and proceeding
34to shoot down in cold blood
35men of a different colour, it is
36 true,
0064
168 61
2but possessed of domestic feelings
3and longings equal to their own - I It
4was long before I could give
5credit to the tales of bloodshed
6told me
{by} native witnesses, and had
7I found no other testimony I should
8probably ^ have continued to this day
9sceptical as to their authenticity -
10but when I found these Boers
11themselves; some bewailing and
12denouncing; others glorying in
13the ^ bloody scenes in which they had
14been themselves the actors I was
15compelled to admit the validity
16of the testimony and try to
17account for the ^ cruel anomaly -
18They are all traditionally religious
19having tracing their descent to
20some of the best men the world
21ever saw - Hence they claim to
22themselves the title of "Christians" &
23all the coloured race are "black
24property" "or creatures" - They being
25the chosen people of God
26the heathen are given to them
27for an inheritance, and they
28as & were the Jews, are the rod
29of Divine vengeance on the
30Heathen - Living in the midst of
31a much larger population than
32themselves and at fountains
33removed at distances of many
34miles from each other they
35feel somewhat in the same position
36
[as do] that the Americans in the Southern states
0065
169 62
2and when they recieve reports from
3the disaffected or envious ^ natives against
4any tribe it the case assumes all the
5proportions of regular insurrection
6Severe measures then appear
7to the most mildly disposed among
8them as imperatively called for -
9And however bloody the massacre
10that follows no qualms of
11conscience followensue It was iswas a dire
12necessity for the sake of peace
13Indeed the late Mr Hendrick Potgeiter
14
[most devoutly] believed himself to be the great
15peace maker of the country -
But how is it the natives
17being so vastly superior in numbers
18to the Boers do not rise and
19annihilate them? The people
20among whom they live are Bechuanas
21not Caffres, though no one would
22ever learn that distinction from
23a Boer, and history does not
24contain one single instance
25in which even the Bechuanas
26
[even] who possess firearms have
27attacked either the Boers or English
28If there is such an instance
29I am certain it is not generally
30known either beyond or in the
31Cape Colony - They have defended
32themselves when attacked as in
33the cases of the ambush of Sechele
34but never have engaged in
35offensive war with Europeans
36nor have they ever been guilty of
0066
170 63
2We have a very different tale to tell
3of the Caffres and the difference
4has always been so patent to these
5border boers that ever since
6"those magnificent savages"
[ Union Service
7Gazette so styles them]
obtained
8possession of firearms not
9one of them ever attempted to
10settle in Caffreland or even
11face them as an enemy in the
12field - The Boers have generally
13manifested a marked antipathy
14to anything but "long shot" warfare
15and sidling away in their
16emigg
{r}ations towards the more
17effeminate Bechuanas, left
18their quarrels with the caffres
19to be settled by the English
20and the wars to be paid for
21by English gold -
The Bakwains at Kolobeng
23had the spectacle of various
24tribes enslaved before their eyes
25the Bakatla, the Batlokua, the
26Bahukeng, the Bamosetla
27Two other tribes of Bakwain were
28all groaning under the oppression
29of unrequiting labour - This would
30not have been felt such an evil,
31but the young men of those tribes
32anxious to obtain cattle - the only
33means of rising to respectability
34on
{among} their own people were in
35the habit of sallying forth like our
36Irish and Highland shearers to
0067
171 64
2procure work in the Cape Colony -
3There labouring three or four years
4in building stone-dykes and dams
5for the Dutch Farmers, they were
6well content [ ] if at the end of that
7time they could return at the end of
8that time with three
{as} many cows,
9After presenting one to their chief - they
10ranked as respectable men ^ in the tribe ever
11afterwards - These volunteers were
12highly esteemed among the Dutch under
13the name Mantatees - They were paid
14at the rate of one shilling a day and
15a large loaf of bread between
16six of them - Numbers of them who
17had seen me about 1200 miles
18inland from the Cape recognized
19me with ^ the loud laughter of joy
20when I was passing them at their
21work in the Roggefelt & Bokkefelt
22within a few days of Cape town
23I w
{sh}ould ap
{be} borne out in my
24statement ^ as literally true by elders in
25the Dutch Church to whom they
26were working, that the system
27was thoroughly satisfactory to both
28parties, and I cannot believe
29that there as a Boer ^ either in the Cashan
30
[or Magaliesberg ^] country who would deny that a
31law was made to deprive these
32labourers of their hardly earned
33cattle for the very cogent reason
34that "if they wanted to work let
35them work for us their masters"
36I can never cease to be most
0068
172 65
2unfeignedly thankful that I was
3not born in a land of slaves
4No one can understand the effect of
5the unutterable meaness of the slave
6system on the minds of those who,
7but for the strange obliquity which
8prevents them from feeling the
9degradation of not being gentleman
10enough to pay for services
11rendered, would be equal in
12virtue to ourselves - Repudiation
13becomes as natural to them as
14"paying one's way" is to the rest of
15mankind -
Whenever a missionary lives
17traders are sure to come - They are
18mutually dependant and each
19aids in the work of the other
20but all experience shews that the
21two employments cannot be
22combined in the same person -
23Such a combination would not be
24morally wrong for nothing would
25be more fair ^ and apostolical too than that the man
26who devotes his life to the welfare of
27a people should desire the temporal
28advantages from upright tradingcommerce
29which traders who aim exclusively
30at their own enrichment modestly
31imagine ought to be left to them -
32But though it would be right for
33missionaries to trade the present
34system renders it inexpedient
35to spend theany time in so doing - No one
0069
173 66
2with whom I ever came in contact
3traded, and while the traders whom
4theywe introduced into the country
5waxed rich the missionaries
6have invariably remained poor
7and died so - The Jesuits were
8wiser in their generation than we -
9Theirs were large influential
10communities proceeding on
11the system of turning the
12abilities of every brother into
13that channel in which he was
14most likely to excel - One fond of
15Naturally history was allowed
16to pursue his bent - - Another of
{fond}
17
[of] literature found leizure to pursue
18his studies, and he who of
{was}
19great in barter was sent in
20searches of ivory and gold dust
21
[;] so that while in the course of
22performing the religious acts
23of his mission to distant tribes
24he found the means of
25aiding effectually the bretheren
26whom he had left at home -
27We protestants with the comfortable
28conviction of superiority have
29send
{t} out agents missionaries on
{with}
30a bare subsistence only, and are
31unsparing in our laudations
32of those ^ some whom our niggardliness
33made to live as did the ^ returning Prodigal
34son in the middle of his career
35for not being worldy minded
0070
174 67
2which is about as wise as praising
3an ugly woman for not being
4vain of her beauty -
English traders sold those articles
6which the Boers most dread - viz
7arms and ammunition - And
8when the number of guns amounted
9to five so much alarm was
10excited among our neighbours
11that an expedition of several
12hundred Boers was seriously
13planned to come and deprive
14the Bakwains of their guns -
15Knowing that the latter would
16rather have fled to the Kalahari
17Desert than deliver up their
18weapons and become slaves
19I proceeded to the Commandant
20Mr Gert Krieger and representing
21the evils which any such
22expedition would do prevailed
23upon him to defer it - But
24that point being granted the Boer
25wished to gain another which
26was that I should beact as a spy over
27the Bakwains - I explained the
28impossibility of my complying
29with his wish even though
30my principles as an Englishman
31were not in the way, by referring
32to an instance in which
33Sechele had gone with his
34whole force to punish an
35underchief without my knowledge
0071
175 68
2 Kāke an underchief rebelled and
3was led on in his rebellion by
4a
{his} fathers in law who had
5 explain been regicide in the case of
6Sechele's father - Several of
7those who remained faithful
8were maltreated by Kake
9while passing to the Desert in
10search of skins - We had just
11come to live with the Bakwains
12when this happened and Sechele
13consulted me - I advised mild
14measures but his messengers
15were taunted with the words - "He
16only pretends to wish to follow
17the advice of the teacher - he is
{Sechele}
18is a coward - let him come"
19The next time the offence was
20repeated Sechele told me he
21was going to hunt elephants
22and as I knew the system
23of espionage which prevails
24among all the tribes I never
25made any enquiries on any
26subject that would convey
27the opinion that I distrusted
28them - I gave credit to his
29statement - He asked the loan
30of a black metal pot to cook
31with as theirs of pottery are
32brittle, I gave it and a handful
33of salt and desired him to
34send back two tidtbits - the proboscis
35and fore foot of the Elephant
0072
176 69
2and knew nothing more until
3we saw the Bakwains carrying
4home their wounded, and heard
5some of the women uttering the
6loud wail of sorrow for the
7dead and others pealing forth
8the clear scream of victory -
9It was clear that they had
1025 attacked and driven away the
11rebel - Mentioning this to the
12Commandant in proof of
13the impossibility of granting
14his request, I had soon an
15example of how quickly a story
16can grow among idle people
17Knowing that I used a sextant
18The five guns were within one
19month magnified multiplied into into five
20
[a tale of] ^ five hundred, and the cooking pot
21where? now in a museum
[at Cape town] was
22magnified into a cannon -
23"I had myself confessed to the
24loan" - Where the five hundred
25guns came ^ from it was easy to
26divine, for knowing that
27I used a sextant my connection
28with Government was a
29thing of course - And as I must
30know all Her Majesty's counci
{se}ls
31I was questioned on the
32subject of the ^ indistinct rumours
33which had reached them of Lord
34Rosse's telescope - "What right has
35your Govt to get up that large
36
[glass at the Cape] to look after us behind the Cashan"
37
0073
177 70
2 mountains" - ? Many of them
3visited us afterwards some for
4medical advice and others to
5trade in those very articles which
6their own laws and policy
7forbid - When I happened to
8light stumble upon one of the
9latter in the town with his
10muskets & powder displayed
11he would begin an apology
12on the ground that he was a
13poor man &c which I always
14cut short by frankly saying
15I had nothing to do with either
16the Boers or their laws - Many
17attempts were made during
18these visits to elicit the truth
19about the guns & cannon - And
20ignorant of the system of
21espionage which prevails
22expected eager enquiries were
23made among those who could
24jabber a little Dutch - It is
25noticeable that the system of
26espionage is as well developed
27among the savage tribes as
28in Austria or Russia - It is
29a proof of barbarism - Every
30man in a tribe feels himself
31bound to tell the chief every thing
32that comes to his knowledge
33and when questioned either give
34answers which exhibit the
35utmost stupidity or such as he
36knows will be agreeable to
0074
178 71
2to his chief - I believe that in this
3way have arisen tales of inability
4to count ten or even smaller
5numbers - As Mr Burchel was
6led to believe this of the Bechuanas
7
[about the very] at a time when Sechele's father
8counted out one thousand head
9of cattle as a beginning of the
10stock of his young son In the
11present case Sechele knowing
12every question put to his people
13asked me how they ought to
14answer - My reply was "tell
15the truth" Every one ^ then declared
16that they had no cannon
17
[existed there] and our friends judging the
18answer by what they themselves
19would have in the circumstances
20have said, were confirmed in
21the opinion that the Bakwains
22actually possessed artillery - This
23was so far beneficial as
24fear prevented any foray
25in our direction for eight
26years - During that time no
27winter passed without one
28or two tribes being plundered
29of both cattle and children
30The plan pursued is the following
31One or two friendly tribes
32are forced to accompany them
33a party of mounted boers and
34these expeditions can be
35got up only in the winter when
36horses can be used -
0075
179 72
2 and when they reach the tribe to be
3attacked the friendly natives are
4ranged in front to form as they
5say a shield - The boers then
6cooly fire over their heads till
7the devoted people flee and
8leave cattle wives and children
9to the captors - This was done in
10nine cases during my residence
11in the Interior and on no
12occasion was a drop of Boer's
13blood shed - Well, news of
14these deeds spread quickly among
15the Bakwains and letters were
16repeatedly sent to Sechele ordering
17to come and surrender himself
18as their vassal - and stop English
19traders from coming into the
20country with firearms for sale
21But the discovery of Lake
22Ngami hereafter to be described
23made the traders come in fivefold
24
[greater] numbers and Sechele replied
25"I was made an independent
26chief ^
[^ & placed here] by God and not by you
27I was never conquered by
28Mosilikatze as those tribes whom
29you rule over - And the English
30are my friends and I gave
{get} me
31everything I wish from them -
32I cannot hinder them from
33going where they like" Those who
34are old enough to remember
35the threatened invasion of our
36own island many understand
0076
180 73
2the effect which the constant danger
3of a Boerish invasion had on
4the minds of the Bakwains, but
5no others can appreciate concieve
6how worrying were the messages
7and threats from the endless
8self constituted authorities of the
9Magaliesberg burghers - and
10when that was combined
11with the death produced by the
12drought, we could not wonder
13over though felt sorry for
14their indisposition to recieve
15instruction -
The myth of the black pot assumed
17serious proportions - I attempted
18to benefit the tribes among the Boers
19of Magaliesberg by placing native
20teachers at different points - "You
21must teach the blacks" said Mr
22Hendrick Potgeiter the thoog command
23ant - "that they are not equal
24to us" - Other Boers said I "might
25as well teach the Baboons on
26the rocks as the Africans" but
27declined to declined the test which
28I proposed as to whether they
29or my attendants could read
30best - Two clergymen came on
31a baptising tour so supposing
32these good men would assist
33me in overcoming the repugnance
34of their flock to the blacks being
35instructed I called on them -
36but my visit ended in a
0077
181 74
2 "rusé" by the Boerish commandant
3whereby I was led by professions
4of the greatest friendship to
5retire to Kolonbeng and a letter
6passed me by an other way
7to the other missionaries in
8the South demanding my
9instant recal "for lending a
10cannon to their enemies" And the
11Colonial Government was
12gravely informed by my clerical
13friends that the story was
14true - and I came to be looked
15upon as a most suspicious
16character
These notices of the Boers are
18not intended to produce a sneer
19at their ignorance but to excite
20the compassion of their friends
21They are perpetually talking about
22their laws but practically theirs
23is only the law of the strongest
24The Bakwains could never
25understand the changes which
26took places in their commandants
27"Why one can never know
28who is the chief among the
29Boers - They ^ have this king and are like the Bushmen
30and must be the Bushmen
31of the English" The idea that
32every tribe of men could be so
33senseless as not to have a
34hereditary chief was so absurd
35to those natives that in order
0078
182 75
2not to appear equally stupid I was
3obliged to tell that we were so
4anxious to preserve the royal
5blood we had made a little girl
6our chief - This seemed to them
7a most convincing proof of our
8sound sense - We shall yet see
9the confidence my account of
10our q
{Q}ueen inspired farther on -
The Boers at last encouraged
12by the accession of Mr Pretorius
13determined at last to put a
14stop to English traders going past
15Kolobeng by dispersing the
16tribe of Bakwains and
17expelling all missionaries - Sir
18George Cathcart proclaimed
19their independence - probably the
20best thing that could have been
21done in the circumstances of
22the case - The policy, however
23of H. M. commissioner Owen
24acting byunder the authority of that
25noble hearted man was very
26questionable - These commissioners
27anxious to conciliate the Dutch
28Colonists often make monstrous
29mistakes by taking forming
30an opinion of their character
31through English Colonial channels
32A late Governor for instance
33had the idea that the Dutch farmers
34
[of the Cape]
[^] are ferociously blood thirsty
35and when sorely pressed in Caffre war
0079
183 76
2actually called upon them to "exterminate
3the Caffres in their own way - Not
4a man responded to the Proclamation
5In point of humanity the English
6border A treaty was entered
7into by our commissioner andwith
8these Boers and articles for
9the free passage of Englishmen
10to the country beyond and
11also foranother that no slavery should
12be allowed in the independant
13territory were duly inserted as
14expressive of the views of H. M.
15Government at home - What
16about the missionaries enquired
17the Boers - "You may do as
18you please with them", is the
19reported answer - It is difficult
20to believe that any Englishman
21in that responsible position
22could so far forget himself
23and though the sentence uttered
24perhaps in joke led immediately
25to the destruction of three mission
26stations, it is probable that
27designing men may have
28circulated and caused the
29the general belief as to its accuracy,
30it is impossible to avoid
31a lingering suspicion seeing
32this gentleman had been witness
33of a Governor tearing a treaty
34containing the Queens scope
35manual & in the presence
36of thousands of Caffres scatter
0080
184 77
2 the fragments to the winds - The
3Boers 400 in number were
4sent by the late Mr Pretorius to
5attack the Bakwains in 1852
6and boasting that the English
7had given up all the blacks
8into their power and had agreed
9to aid them in their subjugation
10by preventing all supplied &
11ammunition from coming
12into the Bechuana country
13assaulted the Bakwains and
14besides killing a considerable
15number carried off two hundred
16of our school children into slavery
17The natives under Sechele defended
18themselves till the approach of
19night obliged
{enabled} them to flee to the mountains
20and having in that defence
21killed a number of the Boersenemy &c -
22the very first ever slain in the
23country I recieved the credit of
24having taught my tribe to kill
25Boers! My house which had
26stood perfectly secure for years
27in the protection of the natives
28was plundered in revenge - English
29gentlemen who had come in the
30footsteps of Mr Cumming to hunt
31in the country beyond had also
32deposited large quantities of
33stores for the return journeys
34and upwards of 80 head of cattle
35as relays were robbed of all, and
0081
185 78
2when they came to Kolobeng found
3the skeletons of the guardians strewed
4all over the place - The Books
5of a good library - my solace in
6our solitude were not taken
7away but handfuls of the leaves
8torn out and both scattered
9over the place - My stock of
10medicines were smashed but
{and}
11all over our furniture and clothing
12carried off and sold at public
13auction to pay the expenses of
14 the foray - I do not mention
15these things by way of making
16a pitiful wail over my losses
17to excite commiseration for
18though I do feel sorry for the
19loss of lexicons and dictionaries &c which had
20 the companions of my boyhood
21yet after all the plundering only
22set me entirely free for my
23expedition in the North - and I have
24never since had a moments
25concern for anything I left behind
26The Boers would shut up the
27Interior because on consulting the
28ancient map in their old bibles they
29see that Canaan & Cashan are
30not far apart - They being God's
31own people can therefore claim
32right up to Jerusalem - and keep
33out all intruders - I resolved to
34open up
{the} country country and we
35shall see who has been most
36successful in resolution - I or they
to follow III IV? 86 [ ] 52 136 79
The following memorandums are appended
3 Having married Mary the eldest
4daughter of Revd Robert Moffat
5in the hope that of Kuruman in ^ January 1845 a short sketch
6of African Housekeeping may
7
[perhaps] prove interesting to the Reader - The entire absence
8of shops leads us to make everything
9we need from the raw materials
10You want bricks to build a house and
11must forthwith proceed to the field
12cut down a tree - and saw thatit into planks
13to make the brick moulds - The materials
14for doors and windows too are
15standing in the forest, and if you
16want to be respected by the natives a
17a decent house of decent dimensions
18costing an immense amount of
19manual labour must be built - The
20people cannot assist you much for
21though most willing to labour for
22wages the Bechuanas have a curious
23inability to make or put things square
24In our the case of three large houses, every
25brick and stick had to be put rightsquare by
26my own
right hands Having seen that
27
[got] the meal is ground and erected an
28oven the wife is ready proceeds to make it into
29bread - An extemporaneouse oven is
30often made by scooping out a large
31hole in an anthill and using a slab of
32stone for a door - Another ^ plan which might
33be used by the Australians to produce
34something better than their "dampers" is
35to make a good fire on a level piece
3629 of ground and when the ground is
0083
153 80
2thoroughly heated - place the dough
3in a small short handled frying
4pan or simply on the hot ashes,
5Invert any sort of metal pot
6over it, draw the ashes around
7and then make a small fire
8on the top - Dough made with
9a little from a former
10baking and allowed to stand
11an hour or two in the sun
12will by this process make
13excellent bread
We made our own butter -
15a jar serving as a churn - - and our
16own candles by means of moulds
17 and soap from the ashes of the
18plant Salsola - or from
19wood ashes which in Africa
20contain so little of the alkaline
21matter that the boiling of successive
22leys has to be continued for a
23month or six weeks before the
24
[fat is saponified] and there is not ^ much hardship in
25being pretty muchalmost entirely dependant
26on ourselves - There is something
27of the feeling which must
28have animated ^ Alexander Selkirk
29on seeing comfortsconveniences springing up
30before ^ him from one's
{his} own ingenuity,
31And married life is all the
32sweeter when one sees so many
33comforts emanati
{e}ng directly
34from the thrifty striving
35housewife's hands
54 81
2To some it may appear quite
3a romantic mode of life,
4It is one of active benevolence
5such as the good may enjoy
6at home - Take a single
7day as a sample of the
8whole We rose early because
9however hot the day may
10
[have] been the evening, night and
11morning ^ at Kolobeng were deliciously
12refreshing - cool, is not the
13idea where you have neither
14an increase of cold nor heat
15to desire, and where you
16can sit out till midnight
17with no fear of coughs
18andor Rheumatism - After
19family worship and breakfast
20between six & seven we go went
21
[to keep]
[^] to school for all who wish
22
[would]
[^] attend, both men women &
23children being invited - School being over
24at 11 oclock we hav
{d}e some
25manual labour as smiths
26or carpenters or gardeners or
27whatever may be needed for
28ourselves or ^ for the people - If
29for the latter they worked
30for us in the garden or other
31employment - Skilled labour
32
[is
{was}] then
{thus} exchanged for the unskilled
33Dinner
[and an hour's
34rest]
over at one
{two} Mrs L to teach the wife
35
[attended] in ^ her infant school which
36the young who were left entirely
0085
182 55
2
[entirely] to their own caprice by their parents
3liked amazingly and generally
4mustered a hundred strong -
5Or she varied that with a
6sewing school having classes
7of girls to learn that the art - this
8was equally well relished too -
9Manual labour, occupied all the
10day before dinner in domestic
11matters for everything operation must
12be superintended - And both
13husband & wife find manual
14labour again necessary till
15the sun declines - The husband
16then goes went into the town to
17converse with any one
18willing to do so - Sometimes
19on general subjects at
20other times on those of religion
21as the subjectconversation may [ ]take
22
[took ^] that turn - As soon as the
23milking ^ of the cows iswas over and it has
{d}
24becomes dark we have
{d} a
25public meeting religious service
26during three nights of the week
27and one of instruction on
28secular subjects with aids
{ed}
29by pictures & specimens -
30These services are diversified
31by attendance^ing upon and prescribing
32
[for] to the sick - giving food
33and otherwise assisting the
34poor and wretched - We try to
35gain their affections by
0086
183 140 (56
2by attending to the wants of the body -
3The smallest acts of friendship
4
[an obliging] a civil word and civil look,
5are, as St Francis Xavier,
6thought no despicable part
7of the missionary armour
8Here if anywhere love begets
9love -
When at Kolobeng we
{during}
11
[the droughts
12we were entirely
13dependant on
14Kuruman for
15supplies of corn
16Once we were
17reduced to living
18on bran which
19to convert into
20fine meal we had
21groundto grind it three
22times over - We
23were more in
24want of flesh
25which seems
26to be more a
27necessary of
28life there than
29vegetarians
30would imagine - ]
31never ^ wasted food though
32Being alone we could not divide
33the butcher meat ^ of an slaughtered animal with a prospect
34of getting a share in return
35with any regularity - Sechele
36had by right of chieftainship
37the breast of every animal
38slaughtered either at home
39or abroad and he most
40obligingly sent us a liberal
41share during the whole
42period of our sojourn -
43But these supplies were
44so necessarily so irregular ^ that we
45were sometimes fain to
46accept a dish of locusts -
47These are quite a blessing
48in the country - So much
49so ^ that the rain - doctors some-
50times promise to bring them
51by their incantations - They
52
[The Locusts] are strongly vegetable in taste
53and that ^
[the flavour] varies with the
54plants on which they feed
55There is a physiological reason
0087
184 141 (57
2why locusts and honey should
3be eaten together - Those with
4wings seldom do any harm
5Some are roasted and pounded
6into meal which eaten with
7a little salt is palatable - It
8will keep thus for months;
9Boiled they are disagreeable
10but when roasted, though
11I would avoid both if
12possible, I should much
13prefer locusts to shrimps
In travelling we sometimes
15suffered considerably from
16
[scarcity] want of meat though not
17from absolute want - This
18was felt more especially by
19the children,
{;} and the natives
20in order to shew kindness
21
[^ their sympathy] often gave ^ them a large kind
22of caterpillar which they
23seemed to relish ,
{-} They
{se} insects
24could not be unwholesome,
25for they natives devoured them
26in large quantities themselves
Another article of which
28our children partook with
29eagerness was a very large
30frog - called "Matlametlo"
31footnote The Pyxicephalus adspersus
32of Dr Smith - Length of head
33 note& body 5½ inches - fore legs 3
34hindlegs 6 inches - Width of
35head posteriorly 3 or body 4½
36 inches
85 58
2
3
4
5
These enormous frogs which when
7cooked look like chickens are supposed
8by the natives to fall down from
9thunder clouds because after
10a heavy thunder shower the pools
11which are filled and retain
12water a few days become instantly
13alive with these loud croaking
14pugnacious game - This phenomenon
15takes place in the driest parts of the
16desert and in parts where to an ordinary
17observer there is not a sign of life -
18Having been once benighted in a part
19district of the Kalahari where there
20was no prospect of getting water
21for our cattle for a day or two
22I was surprised to hear in the fine
23still evening the croaking of frogs
24(the most dolorous musicians
25can hear in those croaks [ ] tones
26no [ ] sympathy with those
27merry systems [ ] in Africa)
28Walking out untill I was certain that
29the musicians were between me & our
30fire I found that they could be merry
31
[on] with nothing else but a prospect of
32rain - From the Bushmen I afterwards
33learned that the Matlametlo makes a
34hole at the root of certain bushes
0089
186 (59
2and there enscounces himself
3during the months of drought -
4As he seldom emerges a
5large variety of spider takes
6advantage of the hole and
7makes hisits web accross the
8orifice - He is thus furnished
9with a window & screen gratis
10and no on but a Bushman
11would think of searching
12beneath the web for a frog -
13They completely eluded my
14search on the occasion
15referred to, and as they rush
16forth into the hollows filled
17by the thunder showers when
18
[the rain] that is actually falling and
19the Bechuanas are cowering
20under cover their skin garments
21the sudden chorus struck
22
[simultaneously] ^ up from all sides seems
23to indicate a fall from
24the clouds -
The presence of these Matlametlo
26in the desert was rather a
27disappointment for I had been
28accustomed been to regard the
29song as always emitted by them
30when Tantalus like they were
31chin deep in water - Their
32music was always the
33most pleasant that met
34the ear in the thirsty desert
35and I could fully appreciate
0090
187 (60 144
2the sympathy of Aesop, himself
3an African, in his fable
4of the "Boys & the Frogs."
It is remarkable that attempts
7have not been made to any
8extent to domesticate any
9of the noble and useful creatures
10of Africa in England - The
11Eland which is the most
12magnificent of all antelopes
13would grace the parks
14of our nobility more than
15deer - This , from the excellence
16of its flesh would be appropriate
17to our own country and
18as I have there is also a
19splendid esculent frog nearly
20as large as a chicken it
21will tend no doubt tend
22to perpetuate the alliance if
23we make a gift of that
24to France
The Scavenger beetle
26is one of the most useful
27of all insects - as it effectually
28answers the object indicated
29by the name - Where they
30abound as at Kuruman
31the villages are sweet
32and clean for no sooner
33is
{are} animal excreta
34dropt than attracted by
35the scent the scavengers
0091
188 (61
2are heard coming booming
3up the wind They roll
4off the droppings of cattle
5at once in to pieces
6often as large as cricke
7billiard balls and
8when they reach a place
9proper by its softness
10for the deposit of their
11young they dig the
12soil out from beneath
13till they have quite
14covered the mass - Then
15deposit their eggs within
16and as the larvae grow
17they eat devour the inside
18of the ball before coming
19above ground to begin
20the world for themselves
21They look with their gigantic
22balls like Atlas with
23the world on his back
24only they go backwards
25and with their heads
26down push with the hind legs
27as if a boy should roll
28a snow ball with his
29legs while standing as we
30say on his head - As we
31recommend the Eland to
32John Bull, the gigantic
33frog to France we can
34confidently recommend this
35for the dirty Italian towns
36and our own sanitory
37 commissioners
V. 86 89
2Coultart =====
In trying to benefit the tribes living
4under the Boers of the Cashan
5mountains I performed twice
6a journey of about 230
{300} 300 miles
7to the Eastward of Kolobong - Sechele
8had become so obnoxious to the
9Boers that though anxious to
10accompany me in my journey
11he dared not trust himself
12among them -
[This did not arise
13from the crime of
14cattle stealing for a
15charge of that whichthat crime,
16is so common among
17the Caffres, was never
18madecharged against his
19tribe or indeed against
20any Bechuana tribe
21The crime isIt is in fact unknown
22in the country except
23induring actual warfare.
24His independaence
25& love of the English
26were his only faults ]
On my last
27journey there of about 200 miles
28he on parting with me at the
29
[River] Marikwe he gave me two
30servants "to be" as he said
31"his arms to serve me - " and
32expressed regret that he could
33not come himself - Suppose we
34went North, would you come?
35He commencedthen ^ and gave
36me the story of Sebituane saving
37his life and expatiated
38on the far famed generosity of
39that really great man - The
{i}s
40was the first time I had
41thought of crossing the Desert
42to Lake Ngami - The conduct
43of the Boers in sending a letter
44
[designed to produceprocure
45my removal out
46of the country]
and their well known
47settled policy - became as
{which} I have
48already relateddescribed, became
49more fully developed on
50this than on any former
51occasion - When I spoke
0093
187 90
2to Mr Hendrick Potgeiter of the danger of
3hindering the gospel of Christ among
4these poor savages he became
5excessivelygreatly excited
[and called on one
6of his followers
7to answer me, He
8threatened to
9attack any tribe
10that might recieve
11a native teacher
12but yet he]
yet promised
13to use his influence to prevent those
14under him from throwing obstacles
15in our way - I could however
16percieve plainly that nothing more
17could be done in that direction
18so I commenced getting all
19the information I could about
20the Desert with the intention
21toof crossing it if possible: Sekomi
22the chief of the Bamangwato
23
[was acquainted with] had a pathroute which he kept
24carefully to himself because
25the Lake country abounded
26in Ivory and he drew large
27quantities of itthence periodically
28at but small cost to himself -
29Sechele who valued highly
30everything European and
31was always quite wide
32
[fully alive] awake to his own interest
33was naturally anxious to get
34a share of that inviting field -
35He was most anxious to
36visit Sebituane too, partly
37perhaps from a wish to
38shew off his new acquirements
39but chiefly I believe from
40having very exalted ideas
41of the benefits he would
42derive from the liberality of
43that renowned chieftain
0094
188 91
2In age ^ and family Sechele is the elder ^ and superior of
3Sekomi, andfor when the original
4tribe broke up
[into Bamangwato
5Bangwaketse &
6Bakuena]
The Bakuena
7returned the hereditary chieftainship
8So their chief Sechele possesses
9certain advantages over Sekomi
10the chief of the Bamangwato -
11 33 Coult. If the two were travelling
[or hunting] together
12Sechele would take by
13right the heads of the game
14shot by Sekomi - There are
15
[several] ^ vestiges ^ besides of very ancient partitions
16
[and lordships] ^ of tribes -
[The elder brother of
17Sechele's father became
18blind and he gave
19over the chieftainship
20to Sechele's father - The
21descendants of this
22man pay no tribute
23to Sechele and when
24the ^ latter addresses the head
25of the family he
26calls him Kosi
27or chief - though
28Sechele in every other respect is
29the ruler. ]
The other tribes for
30
[instance ^] wontwill not begin to eat the early
31pumpkins of a new crop
32untill they hear that the
33Bahurutse have "bitten it - " and
34there is a public ceremony
35on the occasion - the son of
36the chief being the first to taste
37of the new harvest - Sechele
38by my advice sent men to
39Sekomi asking leave ^ for me to
40pass along his path for me
41accompanying the request
42with the present of an ox -
43Sekomi's mother who
44possesses great influence
45over him refused because
46she had not been acknowledged
47This produced a fresh message
48and the most honourable
49man ^ in the Bakwena tribe next to Sechele was
50sent with an ox ^ each for both
51himself Sekomi & his mother
52This too was met by refusal It
0095
1It was said "the Matibele the mortal enemies of
2the Bechuanas are in the Ddirection of the
3Lake and should they kill him we shall
4w
{i}ncur great blame among all the
5white men"
89 92
2The exact position of the Lake
3had all along ^ for half a century at least been correctly
4pointed out
[by the natives
5who had visited it
6when rains were
7more copious in
8the Desert - ]
and many attempts
9had been made to reach it by
10passing through
the desert
11in the direction indicated,
12but it was found impossible
13even for Griquas who having
14some Bushman blood in
15them may be supposed more
16capable of enduring thirst than
17Europeans - It was clear then
18that our only chance of success
19was by going round instead
20of through the Desert - The best
21time for the attempt would have
22been about the end of the rainy
23season in March or April
24for then we should have been
25likely to meet with pools of rain
26water which always dry up
27during ourthe rainless winter -
28But having communicated
29my intention to an African
30traveller Colonel Steele then Aid-de
31camp to the Marquis of Tweedale
32at Madras he made it known
33to ourtwo other two gentlemen friends whom
{se} we
34
[friendship we] had made byduring their African travel viz.
35Captain Vardon and Mr
36Oswel - All of these gentlemen
37were so enamoured with African
38hunting and African huntingdiscovery
39that I am sure the two former
40envied the latter his fortune
0097
190 5- 93
2in being able to leave India to undertake
3afresh the pleasures & pains of
4desert life, I believe Mr O. came
5
[from his high position] at a very considerable pecuniary
6sacrifice, and with no other
7end in view but to extend
8the boundaries of geographical
9knowledge - When he Before I
10knew of his coming which he
11 did by the overland passage
12I had arranged that the payment
13for guides furnished by Sechele
14should be the loan of my
15waggon to bring out whatever
16ivory he might obtain from
17the chief at the Lake - And I
18adhered to the bargain though
19when at last Mr Oswel did
20come (bringing Mr Murray with him)
21he undertook to defray the
22entire expenses of ^ the guides, and
23as he had already generously
24presented a good new waggon
25to my little boy - though that
26which I actually took to the Lake
27
[to perform Secheles work] ^ was ruined by the workjourney yet
28it is plain that the whole of
29the expenses of the discovery
30of Lake Ngami were borne
31by the purse of this gentleman -
Sechele himself would have
33come but fearing that the much
34talked of assault of the Boers
35might take place during our
36absence and blame be attached
0098
191 94
2to me for taking him away, I
3dissuaded him against it by
4saying that he knew Mr Oswel
5"was
{would} be as determined as himself
6to get through the Desert - " Their objects
7were totally different however -
Wilkes While waiting at Kolobong for
9the company of Mr Oswel I may
10give some noticesaccount ^ of the great
11Kalahari desert that the reader
12may understand exactlyin some degree the
13nature of the difficulties we had
14to encounter -
The space betweenfrom the Orange
16River in the South - Lat 29 - to
17Lake Ngami in the North, and
18from about 24˚ East Long
19
[to near] to the West coast has been
20called a Desert simply because
21it contains no surrounding water
22and very little ^ water in wells - It
23is by no means destitute of
24vegetation and inhabitants
25for it is covered with grass
26and a great variety of
27creeping plants - Besides
28grass we havethere are large patches
29of bushes and even trees
30Prodigious herds of It is
31remarkably flat but intersectedc
32in different parts by the
33beds of ancient rivers, and
34prodigious herds of certain
35antelopes which require little
36or no water roam over
0099
192 95
2the tackless plains - The inhabitants
3Bushmen and Bakalahari
4prey on the game and on
5the countless numbers of
6
[a] small Rodentiaea and small
7species of the feline race which
8subsist on these - In general
9the soil is light coloured
10silicious silica
{soft} sand - nearly
11pure silica - The beds of the
12ancient river havecontain much alluvial
13soil in their bottoms and
14as that is baked hard by
15the burning sand, rain-
16water stands in pools in
17some of these for somemanyseveral
18months annually - in the year
The quantity of grass which
20grows on this remarkable
21region is astonishing to
22gentlemen even ^ to those who are
23familiar with India - It usually
24grows in tufts with bare
25spaces between - or the latter
26are occupied by creeping
27plants which having
28their roots buried far
29beneath the soil feel little
30the effects of the scorching
31sun - The number of these
32which have tuberous roots
33is very great andas their structure if it were
34
[is] intended to supply nutriment
35and moisture when during
36the long droughts they can
0100
193 96
2be obtained nowhere else - Here
3we have ^ an examples of a plant
4not generally tuber bearing
5becoming so in circumstances
6where that appendage is
7necessary to act as a
8reservoir for preserving its
9life - In Angola I shall refer to
10a species of grape bearing
11vine which is so furnished
12in and for the same purpose
13that at present noticed is
14one of the cucurbitaceae which
15bears a small scarlet coloured
16eatable cucumber - Another
17plant named "Leroshua" is a
18blessing to the inhabitants
19of the desert - We see a
20small plant with linear
21leaves and stalk not thicker
22than a crows quill & on digging down
23a foot or 18 inches and you
24
[there are] we come to a tuber often as large
25as ^ the head of a young childs head - When
26the rind is removed, we find
27it to be a mass of cellular tissue
28each filled with fluid much
29like a pleasant sappy turnip
30and it is, from its depth
31beneath the soil, generally
32deliciously cool and
33refreshing - Another kind
34named mokuri is seen in
35other parts of the country
36where long continued hot
0101
194 97
2
[^] heat parches the soil - The plant
3is a herbaceous creeper and
4deposits a number of tubers
5some as large as a mans
6head at spots in a circle
7a yard or if it
{m}ore horizontally
8from the stem - The natives
9percussstrike the ground on the
10circumference of the
11circle with stones till by
12hearing a different sound
13they know the water bearing
14tuber to be beneath - They
15then dig down a foot or
16so and find it -
Robinson But Both the most surprising
18plant of the desert is the
19bitter water melon - In
20years when more than the
21the usual quantity of rain
22falls, prodigious tracts
23of the country are literally
24covered with them - these melons This
25was the case annually
26when the fall of rain was
27greater
[than it is now] and the Bakuena
28sent trading parties every
29year to the Lake - It has
30happened again as the cycle
31of 10½ or eleven years occurred,
32which for the last three
33such periods has come
34round with an extraordinary
35wet season - Then animals
0102
195 98 10
2of every sort and name,
3including man, rejoice in
4the rich supply - The Elephant
5true Lord of the Forest revels
6in them and so doesdo the different
7species of Rhinocros - although
8so diverse in their naturally
9choice of pasture -
The different kinds of
12antelopes feed on them
13with equal avidity and
14lions hyaenas jackalls
15and mice all seem to
16know and appreciate the
17common blessing -
96 99
2The human inhabitants ^ of this tract of Country consist
3of Bushmen and Bakalahari - The
4former probably the aboriginales of
5the Southern position of the continent
6the latter the remnants of the first
7emigration of Bechuanas - The
8Bushmen live in the desert from
9choice, the Bakalahari from
10compulsion, & both possessing an
11
[intense] insatiable love of liberty - The
12Bushmen are the only real nomades
13in the country - they never
14cultivate the soul nor rear any
15domestic animal save wretched
16dogs - They are so intimately
17acquainted with the habits of
18the game that they follow them
19in their migrations and prey
20upon them from place to
21place & ^ thus provi
{e}ng as naturalcompletely
22a check upon ^ their inordinate increase
23as the other carnivori are - Their
24
[The] chief subsistence ^ of the Bushmen is the meat of
25game but that is eked out by
26what the women collect of
27roots and beans and fruits of
28the desert - Those who live oninhabit
29the hot sandy plains of the desert
30possess generally thin wiry forms
31capable of ^ undergoing great exertion and
32
[of] enduring severe privations - Many
33are of low though not dwarfish -
34stature - The specimens brought
0104
197 100
2to Europe have been selected on
{like}
3
[costermonger's dogs] ^ on account of their extreme ugliness
4
[Consequently, English] and their ideas of the whole ^ tribe are
5formed in the same way as
6if the ugliest specimens of the
7English were exhibited in
8AmericaAfrica as characteristic of
9the ^ entire British nation - t
{T}hat they are like
10baboons is in some degree trutha parallel truth
11
[just as] with that these and other
12simiae ^ are in some things are
13frightfully human -
The Bakalahari are traditionally
28
[reported to be ^] the oldest of the Bechuana tribes
29and they possessed enormous
30herds of the large horned cattle
31mentioned by Bruce beforeuntil
32they were despoiled of them and
33driven into the desert by a fresh
34migration of the their own nation
0105
198 101 13
2Living ever since on the same
3plains with the Bushmen subject
4to the same climatical influences ^ of climate
5enduring the same thirst and
6subsisting on the same food
7for centuries they seem to
8supply a standing proof that
9( this - I do
9not quite catch
9the meaning)
locality does not aloneis not always sufficient of itself to account
10for difference in races - The
11Bakalahari retain in undying
12vigour the Bechauana love for
13agriculture and domestic animals
14They hoe their gardens annually
15though often all they can ai
{hope}
16for is the
{a} supply of melons &
17pumpkins, and they carefully
18rear small herds of goats
19though I have seen them lift
20water for them out of small
21wells with a bit of ostrich egg
22shell or by spoonfuls -
23They generally attach themselves
24to influential men in the
25different Bechuana tribes living
26a adjacent to their desert home
27in order to obtain supplies of
28spears, knives tobacco and
29dogs in lieu
{exc}hange for the skins
30of the animals they may kill -
31These are small carnivorae
{i} of
32the feline species - Two species
33of Jackall - the dark and
34the golden Jackall - the former
35 Motlose is the warmest fur
36the country yields - the latter
0106
199 102
2or phukuye is very handsome
3when made into the skin mantle
4called Kaross - Then follows
5next in value the tsipa a
6small ocelot - The Tuane or
7Lynx - The wild cat, the spotted
8cat - and other small animals
9Great numbers of Puti and
10puruhuru skins are got too
11besides ^ those of Lion's leopards &
12panthers & hyaenas - During the
13time I was in the Bechuana
14country between 20 000 and
1530 000 skins were made
16up into Karosses - part of
17them were worn by the
18inhabitants and part sold
19to the traders - the latter I believe
20often find their way to
21China - The Bakwains brought
22tobacco from the Eastern tribes
23then purchased skins with it
24from the Bakalahari - tanned
25
[them and sewed
26them into Karosses
27then went south
28to purchase
29heifer calves
30with them - Cows
31being the highest
32form of riches
33known, as I have
34often noticed
35when they asked
36"if Victoria had
37many cows"]
The compact they enter into is
38mutually beneficial but injustice
39and wrong are often perpetrated
40by one tribe going among the
41Bakalahari of another and
42compelling them to deliver up
43the skins which they may be
44keeping for their friends - They
45are a third race and in bodily
46development often resemble
47the Australl
{i}ans - They have thin
48legs and arms and large
0107
1100 103 15
2protruding abdomens caused
3by the coarse indigestible food
4they eat - Their children's eyes
5lack lustre, I never saw them
6 at play - A few Bechuana may
7go into a village and domineer
8over the whole with impunity
9but when these same adventurers
10meet the Bushmen they are fain
11to change their manners to fawning
12sycophancy - They know ^ that if
13the request for tobacco is
14refused these free sons of the
15desert may settle the point
16whether it is possessed or
17not by a poisoned arrow -
18Carp The dread of visits from Bechuanas
19of strange tribes causes the
20Bakalahari to choose their
21residences far from water -
22and they not infrequently
23hide their supplies by filling
24the pits with sand and
25making a fire over the
26spot - When they wish to
27draw water for use the
28women come with twenty or
29thirty of their water vessels in
30a a bag on
{or} net on their
31backs - And these ^ water vessels consist
32of ostrich egg shells with a
33hole in the end of each such
34as would admit ones finger
35
[The women] They tie a bunch of grass to
0108
1101 104
2one end of a reed about two
3feet long - dig a hole as deep
4as the arm will reach and
5insert the reed - then ram down
6the wet sand firmly - Applying
7the f
{m}outh to the free end
8of the reed they form a
9vacuum in the grass - the
10water collects and in a
11short time reaches the mouth -
12An egg shell is placed along
13side the reed below the
14mouth of the sucker - A straw
15guides the water into the
16hole of the vessel as she
17draws mouthful after
18mouthful from below - Her
19whole stock of water has
{is} thus
20passed through her mouth
21as ^ through a pump and when
22taken home is carefully
23buried - I have come into
24villages where had we acted
25a domineering part and
26rum^maged every hut, I should
27have found nothing,
28but by sitting down quietly
29and waiting with patience
30they ^ villages were allowedled to form
31a favourable opinion of us
32and a woman would
33bring out a shellful of the
34precious fluid from I know
35not where -
0109
1102 105 17
2These ^ so called Desert - it may be observed -
3is by no mean a useless
4tract of country, Besides
5supporting multitudes of
6both small and large animals
7to
{it} sends something to the
8market of the world and
9has proved a refuge to
10many a fugitive tribe - to
11The Balahari first and to
12the other Bechuanas in their
13turn as theytheir lands ^ were overrunrun
14by the bodytribe of true C
{K}affirs
15called Matibele - The Bakuena
16and Bangwaketze and
17Bamangwato all fled
18thither and the Matibele who
19came from the well watered
20East perished by hundreds
21in their attempts to follow
22them - One of the chiefs more
23wily than the rest sent false
24guides to lead them where
25for hundreds of miles
26not a drop of water could
27be found and they perished
28in consequence - Many
29Bakuena perished too
30Their old men who could have
31told us ancient stories perished
32in these flights - An intelligent
33mannative related to me how the
34 omit Bushmen effectually baulked
35a party of his tribe who
{i}ch
0110
1103 106 18
2lighted on their village l in a
3state of burning thirst - Believing
4as he said that no thing human
5could subsist without water
6they were coolly told by these
7 omit Bushmen that they did -
8Expecting to find ˄ find him out
9they resolved to watch them
10night and day - They per-
11-severed for some days
12 but at last seeing them
13preparing to soften some
14skins - Now ^ they thought the water
15must come forth, It did -
16
16decent -
but to their horror ^ they saw
17it course
{stream} from the Kidney
18up & up started the Bakwain ^ exclaiming
19"Yak, Yak! these are not
20men let us go - " probably
21theythe Bushmen had been subsisting
22 on a store hidden under
23ground which had eluded
24their vigilance of their visitors.
Such This was the Desert
26which we were ^ now preparing
27to cross - -- A region formerly
28of terror to the Bechuana
29from the multitudenumbers of
30serpents ^ which infested it and which feedfed on
31the multitudes of different
32kinds of mice - and from
33the intense thirst which
34theythese people often endured wherewhen
35their water vessels ^
[were insufficient for] and
36the distances to be travelled
0111
104 107
1over before reaching the
2 wells were not commensurate
3Wilkes Just before the arrival of
4my companions a party
5of the people of the Lake
[came to Kolobeng
6stating that -
7they were s]
8^ sent
{sent} by Lechulathebe the
9chief to ask, that ^ me [ ]
10
[I should visit] I should ^ to visit their
{at} country -
11They brought such flaming
12accounts of the quantities
13of ivory to be found there
14 - (cattle pens made of Elephant
15tusks of enormous size &c)
16that the guides of the Bakwains
17were about as eager to succeed
18in reaching the Lake as
19any one could desire
[This was fortunate
20as we knew the
21way they had
22come was
23impossible for
24waggons]
- Messersrs
25Oswel and Murray came
26inat the end of May and we
27all made a fair start for
28unknown region on
29the first of June 1849 -
30Proceeding Northwards
[and passed
{ing}
31through a
32range of tree
33covered hills
34to Shokuan -
35formerly the
36residence of
37the Bakwains]
to Shokuan
38w
{W}e soon after entered on the high
39road to the Bamangwato
40which lies generally in the
41bed of an ancient river
42or wadey which formerly
43must have flowed N-W S -
44The a^djacent country has
{is}
45perfectly flat but covered
46with open forest, & bush
47with abundance of grass
48The trees generally are a kind
49of acacia called Monato
0112
1105 108 20
2which appears a little to the
3south of this ˄ region and is common
4as far as Angola - Nato is
5the name of a large caterpillar
6which feeds by night on its
7
[the] leaves ˄ of these trees and comes down
8by day to bury itself at the
9root in the sand in order
10to escape the piercing rays
11of the sun - The people
12 dig for it there are are found
13of it roasted, fromon account of its
14pleasant vegetable taste -
15T t
{T}he soil is sandy and ^ there are a
16
[here & there] few indications appear
17
[that] of the partsat spots which now
18contain ˄ afford no water whatever
19having hadthere were formerly wells and
20cattle stations - Boatlanama
21our next station is a lovely
22spot in the otherwise dry
23region - The wells from
24which we had to lift out
25the water for our cattle
26are deep but contain plenty
27of that necessary fluid -
28A few villages of Bakalahari
29are locatedwere found near and great
30numbers of pallahs - springbuks
31guinea fowls and ˄ small monkeys
32Lopepe came next - I
33mention it because it isaffords
34another proof of the dessication
35of the country - the first
0113
1106 109
2time I passed it Lopepe was
3a large pool with a stream
4flowing out of it to the South
5Now it iswas with difficulty onewe
6cancould get ourhis cattle watered
7by digging down a in the
8bottom of a well - --
9At Mashaue ^ - where we found a never
10failing supply of fine water
11in a sandstone ^ rocky hollow --
12we left the road to the Bamang
13wato hills and struck away
14to the North into the desert
15Having watered the cattle at
16a foun
{well} called Lebotani
17about N - W of the Bamangwato
18we next proceeded to a
19real Kalahari fountain
20
[called] viz - Serotli - The country
21around is covered with
22bushes and tress of a kind
23of Leguminosaea covered
24with lilac flowers - The
25soil is soft white sand
26very trying to the strength of
27the oxen as the wheels
28sink into it over the felloes
29and drag heavily - there
30you come upon a few
31hollows like those made
32by the buffalo and Rhinoceros
33when they roll themselves
34in the mud - In one of t
{corner}
35of one of these there appeared
0114
1107 110
2water which had we not
3 driven them away would
4 have been quickly lapped
5up by our dogs - And yet
6this was all the apparent
7supply for some 70 or 80 oxen,
820 horses, and an equal
9number of men - Our guide
10Ramotobi, who had spent
11his youth in the desert,
12declared that though appearances
13were against us, there was
14plenty of water - We had
15our misgivings, for the
16spades were soon produced
17but our guides, despising
18such new-fangled thingsaids
19began to scrape out the
20
[good ^] sand in ^ good earnest with
21their hands. - This was the
22only water we had any
23promise of for the next
2470 miles; i - e - ^ that is, for a journey
25of three days with the waggons
26all hands at work or
27rather by ^ the aid of both spades &
28fingers we got two of
29these holes cleared out,
30so as to beform pits ofabout ^ 6 feet
31deep and about as much
32broad. - Our guides were
33especially anxiousearnest in
34their injunctions ^ to us not to
35break through thea hard
0115
1108 111
2stratum of sand at the
3bottom, because they knew,
4if it were broken through,
5the "water would go away".
6They are quite correct, for
7thus this
{e} water seems to
8lie on this flooring of
9incipient sandstone; and
10as ^
[the value of the
11advice]
was proved by ^ this case of an
12Englishman whose wits
13were none of the brightest,
14& who, disregardeding it , ^ & dug through
15it ^
[the sand stratum] in the wells at Mohotluani:
16the water ^ immediately flowed away
17downwards, and the well
18
[well] became useless. - When
19we came to this stratum
20we found the water flowed
21in on all sides first by
22
[where] the soft sand came into
23contact with it, - and, allowing
24it to stand collect,ing we had
25enough for the horses that
26evening. - But ^
[as there was not
27sufficient for ^]
the oxen,
28having to want we sent
29them back to Lobotani,
30where, after ^ thirsting four full
31days
[(96 hours),] thirsting they got a good
32supply. - The horses were
33kept by us as necessary to
34
[enable us to ^] procure
gamegame for ^ food for our
35numerous party, and next
36morning we found the
37water had flowed faster
0116
1109 112 24
2as it invariably does in these
3reservoirs as its finds it
4passages widened
{ing} by the flow
5Large quantities of the
6sand come into the well
7with the water, and in the
8course of a few days the
9supply which may be
10equal to the wants of a
11few men only, becomes
12 sense -
12 one or two -
sufficient for oxen tooas well -
13
[In] These sucking places the
14Bakalahari get their supplies
15and as they are generally
16in the hollows of ancient
17river beds, they are
18probably the deposit from
19 say collecting rains gravitating there:
20In some cases they may
21be the actual fountains,
22which, though formerly they
23
[supplying] supplied the river's flow,
24now no longer run above
25the surface -
Carp Here though the water was
27perfectly inaccessible to
28Elands large numbers
29of these fine animals fed
30around us; and when
31killed they were not only
32in good condition but
33on opening their stomachs
34they actually contained
35considerable quantities
36of water -
VI. 110 113 25
2I examined carefully the whole
3alimentary canal in order to
4see if there were any peculiarity
5which might account for
6the fact that it ^ this animal can subsist
7for months together without
8drink - Some animals , such
9as the Düiker (Cephalopus mergens)
10
[or Puti (of the Bechuanas) - ]
11The steinbuk (Tragulus Rupestris)
12or Puruhuru - )
13The Gemsbuck (or
{O}ryx Capensis)
14or Kukama -
15The Porcupine are all able to
16cor subsist without water, for many
17Springbuck &c &c
18^
[months at
19a time]
by living on bulbs and
20tubers containing moisture -
21They have sharp ^ pointed hoofs well
22adapted for digging, and there
23is little difficulty in comprehending
24their mode of subsistence -
25Some animals too
[ on the other hand] are never
26seen but in the vicinity of
27water - The ^ presence of the Rhinoceros - of the
28The Buffalo & gnu -
[Catoblepas gnu] of the Giraffe
29the Zebra and Pallah
[(Antilope melampus] are is
30always a certain indications
31of water being within a circledistance
32of 7 or 8 miles - But one
33may see hundreds of Elands ^
34
[(Bosephalus oreas)] Gemsbuck,
35The Tolo or Khoodoos (Strepsiceros
36capensis) Also and springboks (gazella Euch-
37 -ore
0118
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11argoceros Equina Taheksi
12 Roan
0119
1111 114
2and ostriches without being warranted
3thereby to in infering the existencepresence of
4water within thirty or forty
5miles - Indeed the sleek fat
6condition of the Eland would
7in such circumstance would
8not remove the apprehension
941 of perishing from thirst from
10the mind of even a native
[I believe however
11that these animals
12can do so only when
13there is some moisture
14in the vegetation on
15which they feed
16for in one year
17of unusual drought
18we saw herds of
19Elands & flocks
20of ostriches crowded
{ing}
21to the Zouga from
22the Desert and very
23many of the latter
24were killed in
25pitfalls on the
26banks - With
27some sap in the
28pasturage they
29seldom need a sip - ]
30But should he
{one} see the "spoor"
31of a Rhinoceros or buffalo
32or Zebra he would at once
33follow ^ it up under the impressionwell assured
34that before he had gone many
35miles he would ^ certainly reach water
In the evening of our
37second day at Serotli a
38hyaena
[[ ]
{by appearing
39suddenly among}
40the grass]
succeeded in raising
41a panic among our cattle
42This ^ false attack is the plan which this
43cowardly animal always
44adopts - His courage resembles
45closely that of a turkey cock - He
46will bite if an animal is
47running away & if the animal
48stands so does he - Seventeen
49of our animalsdraught oxen ran away
50and in their flight went right
51into the hands of Sekomi whom
52from ^ his being unfriendly to our
53success we had no particular
54wish to see - Cattle stealing
55such as in the circumstances
56might have occurred in Caffraria
57is here unknown - So
0120
1112 115
2Sekhomi sent back our oxen
3and a message strongly dis-
4-suading me against attempting
5the desert - Where are you going? "You will be killed
6by the sun and thirst and then
7all the white men will blame
8me for not saving you - " This
9was backed by a private message
10from his mother - "Why do
11you pass me? I always made
12the people collect to hear that
13word you have got - What
14guilt have I that you pass
15without looking at me" -
16We replied by assuring the messengers
17that white men would
18attribute our deaths to our
19own stupidity & "hard headedness"
20(tlogo, e thata) as we did not
21intend to allow our companions
22and guides to return till they
23had put us into our graves"
24We sent a handsome present
25to Sekomi and a promise ^ that if
26he allowed the Bakalahari
27to keep the wells open for
28us we shwould repeat the gift ^
29
[on our return] After using upexhausting all their eloquence
30in fruitless attempts to persuade
31us to return - "Who is taking
32them" said the underchief who
33headed the party of ^ Sekomi's messengers
34Looking round he saidexclaimed with
35a face expressive of the most
0121
1113 116
2unfeigned disgust - "It is Ra-
3-Motobi"! He belonged to Sekomi
4but had fled to Sechele and
5as fugitives in this country are
6always well recieved and
7may even afterwards visit
8the tribe from which they have
9escaped Ramotobi was in
10no danger though doing that which
11he knew to be directly opposed
12to the interests of his own chief
13and tribe -
Coultait All around Serotli the country
15is perfectly flat & composed
16of soft white sand - There is
17a peculiar glare of wh
{br}ight sun
18-light from a cloudless sky
19over the whole scene - And
20one clump of trees and bushes
21with open spaces between,
22looks so exactly like another
23that if you leave the wells
24and walk a quarter of a
25mile in any direction it is
26difficult to return - Oswel &
27Murray went out on one
28occasion to get an Eland
29and were accompanied by
30one of the Bakalahari - The
31perfect sameness of the country
32made even this ^ son sun of the desert
33lose his way . , and ^
[^ A most puzzling
34conversation forthwith
35ensued between them
36& their guide.]
one of the
37most common words of the
38people beingis "Kia itumela" - I
39thank you, or I am pleased,
0122
1114 117
2
[and] the gentlemen were both quite
3familiar with it
[and ^ with the word "metse"
4= water]
But there is
5a similar word ^
[^ very similar in
6sound - ]
"Kia timela"
7I am wandering ,
{;} and its perfect is
8"Ki timetse" I have wandered -
9They The party had been wandered
{ing} about perfectly
10lost till the sun went down -
11and ^ through their mistaking the verb "wander" for
12"to be pleased" and "water" The colloquy
13went on at intervals during the
14whole bitterly cold night in
15somewhat the following style
16Where are the waggons?
Supp
{Real} answer - I dont know
18I have wandered I never
19wandered before - I am quite
20lost -
Supposed answer I dont know
22I want water I am glad, I
23am quite pleased, I am
24thankfuly
{s} to you -
Take us to the water
{ggons}
26and you will get plenty
27of water
Real answer (Looking
29vacantly around) How did
30I wander? perhaps the well
31is there perhaps not I dont
32know I am wandered -
Supposed response - something
34about thanks - he says he is
35please and mentions water
36again - The vacant stare
37trying to remember is thought
0123
1115 118 30
2to indicate mental imbecility
3"Well Livingston has played
4us a pretty trick giving us
5in charge of an idiot - Catch
6me trusting him again - What
7can this fellow mean by his
8thanks and talk about water
9O you born fool take us to
10the waggons and you will
11get both meat and water -
12Wouldn't a thrashing bring him
13to his senses again - ? No No
14for then he will run away
15and we shall be worse off
16than we are now" The hunters
17regained the waggons next
18day by their own sagacity which
19becomes ^ wonderfully quickened by life
20in the desert - and we enjoyed
21a hearty laugh in
{on} the explanation
22of their midnight colloquies -
23Frequent mistakes of that this
24kind occur - A man may tell
25his interpreter to say he is a
26member of the ^ family of the chief of the white
27men - "Yes, you speak like a chief"
28
[is the reply ^ ] meaning, that a chief may talk
29nonsense without any one
30daring to contradict him -
31They probably have ascertained
32from that same interpreter
33that this of the white chief's relative h
{is}
34very poor having scarcely
35anything in his waggon
116 119
2I sometime felt annoyed at
3the low estimation in which
4some of my hunting friends
5were held - for believing
6that the chase is eminently con-
7ducive to the formation of a
8
[brave &] noble character, and that the
9contest with wild beasts is well
10adapted for fostering that coolness
11on emergencies and active presence
12of mind which we all admire
13I was naturally anxious to
14havethat a high estimate of my
15countrymen ^ should be formed in the
16native mind - "The
{Have} these hunters
17who come so far and work so
18hard no meat at home?" Why
19these men are rich and could
20slaughter oxen every day of
21their lives" - And yet they
22come here and endure so much
23thirst for the sake of this dry
24meat - none of which is equal
25to beef - ? Yes, it is for the sake
26of play besides - (the idea of sport not
27being in the language) This pro-
28duces a laugh as much as
29to say "Ah you know better" or
30"your friends are fools" - When
31they can get a man to kill
32large quantities of game for
33them - whatever he may think
34they pride themselves in having
35adroitly turned the folly of an
0125
1117 120
2itinerant butcher to good account
Robinson The water ^ having at last flowed
5into the wells we had dug in
6sufficient quantity to allow
7a good drink to all our
8cattle & we departed from Serotli
9in the afternoon but as the
10sun even in winter as it now
11was is always very powerful
12by day the waggons ^ were dragged
13
[but slowly] heavily through the deep ^ heavy sand
14
[& we made] no more than six miles before
15sunset - We could only travel
16in the mornings and evenings
17as a single day in the hot sun
18and heavy sand would have
19knocked up the oxen - Next
20day we past
{sed} Pepacheu - (white
21tufa) a hollow lined with tufa
22in which water sometimes
23stands but it was now dry
24and at night our trocheamer
25shewed ^ that we had made but
26two
{25} miles from Serotli Ra-
27motobi was angry at the
28slowness of our progress
29and told us that the ^ next water being
30three days in front if we
31travelled so slowly we should
32never get there at all - Our
{The}
33utmost utmost endeavours
34of the servants , by cracking their of
35whips - screaming & beating
0126
1118 121
2got only nineteen miles out of the
3poor beasts - We had thus
4got ^ proceeded 44 miles away from
5Serotli and the oxen were being
{were} were
6more exhausted by the soft soft
7nature of the country than
8if they had travelled double the
9distance ^ at at
{over} a hard countryroad
10containing water; we had still
11as far as we could judge
12still 30 miles more of the same
13dry work before us them - The
14grass was
{b}ecomes so dry as
15to crumble to powder in the
16hands at this season - So the oxen they
17
[poor beasts] stood wearily chewing without
18taking a single fresh mouthful
19and lowing painfully at the
20smell of water in our
21vessels in the waggons -
22We were all determined to
23succeed, so endeavoured to
24save the horses by sending
25them forward with the guide
26as a means of making
27a desperate effort in case
28the oxen should fail - Murray
29went forward with them
30horses while Oswel and I
31remained in order to bring the
32waggons ^ on
[on their trail] As far as the cattle
33could drag them intending and then to send
34them oxen forward too - The horses
35walked quickly away from
0127
1119 122 34
2away from us and when
3on the morning of the third day
4we imagined the steeds must
5be near the water they were
6
[just] alongside the waggons - The
7guide ^ had come across the fresh
8footprints of some Bushmen
[who had gone
9in an opposite
10direction to that
11we wished him
12to go]
13and turning
{ed} aside to follow
14these
{m} found an antelope had
15^ been ensnared in one of their Bushmen pitfalls
16Murray ^ who had followed Ramotobi
17most trustingly along the
18Bushmen spoor, though
19that led
[them both
20away from
21the water
22we were in
23search of]
away back to Serotli,
24viewed the operation of
25obscure slaughtering ^ skinning & cutting up the düiker and
26
[˄ antelope then] after a hard day's toil found
27himself close upon the waggons
28The knowledge of this trackless
29waste of scrub through which
30we were now passing, still
31retained by Ramotobi seemed
32to me admirable - I could only
33see To me one clump of bushes &
34trees ^ seemed exactly like another but
35as we walked together this
36morning he remarked "when
37we come to that hollow we
38shall light upon the highway
39of Sekhomi" - and there beyond
40that again lies the river
41Mokoko which though we
42passed along ^ it I could not
43percieve to be, a river bed at all
0128
1120 123 35
2After breakfast some ^ of the men who had
3gone forward on a little path
4with some footprints of water
5loving animals upon it returned
6with the joyful tidings of water
7"metse" water, exhibiting the
8mud on their knees in con-
9firmation of the news being
10true - It does ones heart good
11to see the thirsty oxen rush into
12a pool of delicious rain water
13as this ^ was was named Mathuluani
14was - They rush inIn they dash untill the
15water is deep enough to rise nearly
16level with the
{eir} throat and then
17they stand drawing slowly in the
18long refreshing mouthfuls
19untill their formerly collapsed sides
20distend as if they would burst -
21So much do they imbibe ˄ that a
22sudden jerk when ^ they come out on the
23bank ^ bank ^ again makes some ^ of the water run out
24again ^ from their mouths - but as they have been
25days without food too
26they very soon commence
27to graze and of grass there
28is always abundance every-
29where - This pool was called
30Mathuluani; and thankful we
31were to have obtained so welcome
32a supply of water.
121 124
After giving the cattle a rest at this spot
3by this Providential supply of
4water we proceeded down
5the dry ^ bed of the river bed Mokoko - The
6name refers to the water bearing
7stratum before alluded to and
8in this ancient bed it bears
9enough of water to admit of
10of ^
[permanent] wells in several parts of
11it - We had now the assurance
12from Ramotobi that we should
13suffer no more from thirst
14Twice we found rain water
15in the Mokoko before we
16reached Mokokonyani where
17the water, generally below ground ˄ elsewhere
18comes to the surface in a bed
19of tufa - The adjacent country
20is all covered with low thorny
21scrub with grass and here and
22there clumps of the "wait a bit thorn"
23or acacia tortuosa - At Lotlakani
24(a little reed)
[another spring] 3 miles farther down,
25We met with the first Palmyra trees
26
[They were] twenty six in number which
27we had seen in Africa - The
28ancient Mokoko must have
29been joined by other rivers below
30this for it becomes very
31broad and then spread out
32into a large lake of which
33
[the lake] that we were now in search
34of formed but a very small
35part - We observed that whe˄rever
0130
1122 125
2an anteater had made his hole
3shells were thrown out with
4the earth which are identical
5with those now alive in the
6Lake -
When we left the Mokoko
8Ramotobi seemed for the first
9time to be at a loss as to which
10direction to traveltake - He had passed
11only once away to the West of
12the Mokoko the scenes of his
13boyhood - But Mr Oswel while
14riding in front of the waggons
15happened to spy a Bushwoman
16running away in a bent
17position in order to escape
18observation - Thinking it to be
19a lion he galloped ^ up to her - She
20thought herself captured and
21began to deliver up her poor
22
[little] property consisting of a few
23traps made of cords - But when
24I explained that we only
25wanted water and would
26pay her if she led us to it she
27consented to conduct us to a
28spring - It was then late in the
29afternoon but she walked
30briskly before our horses
31for eight miles and shewed
32us the water of Nchokotsa -
33After leading us to the water she
34wished to go away home if
35indeed such she had ^ any, (she had
36fled from a party of her
0131
1123 126
2countrymen and was now living
3far from all other & water
4with her husband) but as it was
5now dark we wished her to
6remain - ^ as she Believing
{ed} herself still
7a captive, we thought she might
8slip away by night, so in
9order that she mightshould not go away
10with the impression that we
11were dishonest - we gave her
12a piece of meat and a good
13large bunch of beads, at the
14sight of the latter she burst
15into a merry laugh and
16remained without suspicion
Carp At Nchokotsa we came
18upon the first of a great
19number of salt pans
20covered with an efflorescence
21of lime & nitrate of soda ? A thick belt of
22Mopane trees hides this ^ salt pan - which
23is of 20 miles in circumference -
24entirely from the view of a
25person coming from the
26Eastern side south East and
27at the time the pan burst upon
28our view the setting sun was
29casting a bl
{e}autiful blue haze
30over the white incrustations
31making the whole look exactly
32like a Lake - Oswel threw his
33hat up in the air at the sight
34and shouted out a huzza which
35made the poor Bushwoman
36and Bakwains think him mad -
0132
1124 127
2I was a little behind him and was
3as completely decieved by it as he
4but as we had agreed to allow
5each other to seebehold
[the Lake] it at the same
6instant I felt a little chagrin
7that he had unintentionally
8got the first glance - We had
9no idea that the long looked
10for Lake was still more then
11300 miles distant - The ^ One reason
12
[of our mistake] was ^ that the river Zouuga was often
13spoken of by the same name
14as the Lake viz - Noka ea Botletli
Looking to the West ^ & Nor West from
16Nchokotsa we could see columns
17of black smoke exactly like
18those from a steam engine
19rising to the clouds and were
20assured that these ^ arose came
{from} the
21 reeds of the Noka ea Botletli on
22fire - The mirage on these
23salinas was marvellous - It
24is never I believe seen in
25perfection except over these saline
26incrustations - Here not a
27particle of imagination was
28necessary for realising the
29exact picture of large
30collections of water - The waves
31danced along above and the
32shadows of the trees were
33vividly reflected beneath the
34surface in such an admirable
35manner that the loose cattle
0133
1 125 128 40
2whose thirst has not been slaked
3sufficiently by the very brackish
4water of Nchokotsa - with the
5horses, dogs and even the
6Hotentots ran off towards the
7deceitful pools - A herd of Zebras
8
[in the mirage ^] looked so exactly like Elephants
9that Oswel began to saddle a horse
10in order to hunt them - but a
11
[sort of ^] break in the haze dispelled the
12illusion - ^
[on the 4th July] We went forward
13on horseback towards what
14we supposed to be the Lake
15and again and again did
16we seem to see it but at
17last we came to the veritable
18
[water of the] Zouga and found it to be
19a river running to the N. N
{E}.
20A village of Bakurutse ^ lay
21on the opposite bank
[These live
22among Batletli
23a tribe having
24a click in their
25language and
26who were found
27by Sebituane to
28possess large
29herds of the
30great horned
31cattle - They seem
32allied to the
33Hottentot family - ]
Mr O
34in trying to cross the river got
35his horse nearly bogged in
36the swampy bank - Two Bakwains
37and I managed to get over
38by wading beside a fishing weir
39The people were friendly and
40informed us that this water
41came out of the Ngami - This
42news th
{gl}addened all our hearts
43for we now felt certain of
44reaching our goal - We might
45they said be a moon in the
46way but we had the river
47Zouga at our feet and by
0134
1126 129
2and by following it we should
3at last reach the broad water -
Wilkes Next day when we were
5quite disposed to be friendly
6with every one, two of the
7Bamangwato, who had
8been sent on before us
9by Sekomi to drive away
10all the Bushmen and
11Bakalahari from our path,
12came and sat down by our
13fire - We had seen their footsteps
14fresh in the way, and they had
15watched our slow movements
16forward, and wondered to
17see how we, without any
18bushmen, found our way
19to the waters - This was the
20first time they had seen
21Ramotobi - "You have reached
22the river now", said they;
23and we, quite disposed to laugh
24as having won the game, felt
25no ill will to any one - They
26felt no enmity to us, but
27after friendly conversation with
28us proceeded to fulfill to the
29last the instructions of their
30chief = (.) Ascending the Zouga
31in our front, they circulated
32the report that our objects
33were to plunder all the tribes
34living on the river and Lake;
35But when ^ they had got half way up the
0135
1127 130
2river, the principal man
3sickened of fever, turned
4back some distance, and died
5His death had some effect
6for the villagers connected
7it with the injury he was
8attempting to do to us - They
9all saw through Sekomi's
10reasons for wishing us to
11fail in our attempt; and
12though they cam armed to
13us at first, kind & fair
14treatment soon produced
15perfect confidence
When we had gone up the
17bank of this beautiful river
18about 96 miles from the point
19where we first struck it, and
20understood that we were still
21a considerable distance from
22the Ngami, all the waggons
23and oxen were lefthere except Mr
24Oswel's, which was the smallest
25and one team, - in the hope that
26they rest would be recruited for
27the home journey, while we
28made a push for the Lake -
29The Bechuana chief of the lake
30region, who had sent men to
31Sechele, now sent order to
32all the people on the river to
33assist us, and we were
34recieved by the Bakoba, whose
35language ^ clearly shews they bear
0136
1128 131
2an affinity to the tribes in the
3North - (.) They call themselves
4Bayeiye, i-e- men; but the
5Bechuanas use the term Bakoba,
6which contains somewhat of
7the idea of slaves. - They have
8never been known to fight,
9and indeed have a tradition
10that their forefathers in their
11first essays at war made
12their bows of the Palma Christi;
13and when these broke, they
14gave up fighting altogether. - They
15have invariably submitted
16to the rule of every horde which
17has overrun the countries
18adjacent to the rivers on
19which they specially love to
20dwell. - They are thus the Quakers
21of the body politic in Africa -
Robinson A ( Long ^ time after ^ the period of our visit this the
23chief of the Lake, thinking to
24make soldiers of them, took
25the trouble to furnish them
26with shields. - "Ah! we never
27had these before; that is the
28reason we have always
29succumbed. - Now we will
30fight - " But a marauding
31party came from the Makololo,
32 and our ^ "Friends" scouried at once
33away down the Zouga, - never
34
[daring to] once looking behind them
35till they reached the end of it
36where we first saw it - )
129 132
2The canoes of these inland
3sailors are truly primitive craft:
4They are hollowed out of the
5trunks of single trees by means
6of iron adzes; and if the tree
7has a bend, so has the canoe(.)
8I liked the frank and manly
9bearing of these inland sailors,
10and instead of sitting in the
11waggon preferred a seat
12in ^ one of the canoes. - I found
13they regarded their rude vessels
14as the Arab does his camel(.)
15They have always a fires in
16
[them] each, and prefer sleeping in
17them while on a journey to
18spending the night on shore(.)
19"On land you have lions," - say
20they; - "serpents, hyaenas, and
21your enemies; but in your
22canoe behind a bank of
23reed nothing can harm you - "
24Their submissive disposition
25leads to their villages being frequently
26visited by hungry strangers (-) We
27had a pot on the fire o
{i}n the
28canoe by the way, and when
29we drew near the villages
30devoured the contents (-) When
31fully satisfied ourselves, I found
32we could all look upon
33any intruders with perfect
34complacency, and shew the
35pot in proof of having devoured
36the last morsel -
130 45 133
2While ascending in this way
3this beautifully wood ^ ed river,
4we came to a large riverstream
5flowing into it - : This was the
6
[River ^] Tamunak'le(.) I enquired
7whence it came(.) "O, from a
8country full of river - so
9many no one can tell their
10number, and full of large
11trees -" This was the first con-
12firmation of statements I had
13heard from the Bakwains, of
{who}
14had been with Sebituane, that
15the country beyond was not
16"a
{the} large sandy plateau" of
17the philosophers - The prospect
18of a highway into the capable of
19being traversed by boats
20to an entirely unexplored
21and very populous region
22grew from that time forward
23greater and greater in my
24bosommind - So when we actually
25came to the Lake, ^ itthe idea occupied
26such a large portion of my
27mental vision that discovery
28seemed of but little importance(:)
29I find I wrote when the emotions
30caused by the magnificent
31prospects of the new country
32were first awaked in my
33
[breast] bosom, that they "might subject
34me to the charge of enthusiasm,
35a charge by
{w}hich I wished
36I deserved, as nothing ^ good or great"
0139
1131 134
2"had ever been accomplished
3in the world without it."
Daintree & Co. Twelve days after our
5departure from the waggons
6 at Ngabisane we came to
7the North East end of Lake
8Ngami and on the 1st August
91849 we went down together
10to the broad part and for
11the first time this fine looking
12sheet of water was beheld
13by Europeans Eyes - The direction
14of the Lake seemed to be N. N - E -
15and S - S - W - ^ by compass The Southern portion
16is said to bend a little round
17to the West, & to recieve the Teoughe
18from the North at its N - W
19extremity - We could detect no
20horizon where we stood looking
21S - S - W - We could form no
22idea of its extent except from
23nativethe reports ^ of the natives and as they
24professed to go round it in
25three days, allowing 25 miles
26a day that would bemake it 75 or
27less than 70 geographical
28miles in circumference - Other
29guesses have been made since
30
[as to its circumference,] and they rangeing between 70
31and 100 miles in circumference
32
33
34 Letters published by the Royal Geographical
35society - Read - 11th Feb. & 8 April 1850
0140
1132 135
2It is shallow for I subsequently
3saw a native punting his
4canoe over 7 or 8 miles of
5the N - E - end , and ^ it can never
6be of much value as a
7commercial highway - In
8the months preceding the
9annual supply of water
10from the North it ^ the Lake is so lowshallow
11that it is with difficulty ^ that cattle
12can approach
the water
13through the boggy reedy banks
14These are low on all sides
15but on the West there is a
16space devoid of trees shewing
17that the waters have retired
18from thence at no very
19ancient date - This is just
20another of the proofs of
21desiccation so
{m}et ^ with so abundantly
22
[throughout] in the whole country - A
23number of dead trees lie on
24this space - Some of them
25embedded in the mud right
26in the water - We were informed
27by the Bayeiye who live on
28the lake that when the annual
29inundation begins, not
30only trees of great size but
31Antelopes as the Springbuck
32
[and Tsessebe] (acronotus Lunata)
33are swept down by its rushing
34waters - and the trees are
35
[gradually driven] ^ wafted by the winds gradually
36to the opposite side & become
3749) embedded in mud
0141
1133 136 48
2The water of the Lake is perfectly
3fresh
[when full - but
4brackish when low]
and that coming down
5the Tamunakle we found
6to be so clear cold and soft
7the higher we ascended ^ that the
8idea of ^ melting snow was suggested
9to our minds - We found
10the region to be clearly a
11hollow - The point of the
12ebullition of water ^ as shown by one of
13Newman's barometric thermometer
14beingwas only between 207½ & 206°, giving
15an elevation of not much
16more than 2000 feet above
17the level of the sea - We had
18descended other above 2000 feet
19in coming to it from Kolobong -
20It is the Southern & lowest
21part of the great river system
22beyond - In itwhich large tracts
23of country are inundated
24annually by Tropical rains
25hereafter to be described -
26A little of that water which in
27the countries farther North
28produces inundation comes
29
[from] as far south as 20° 20' the Latitude
30of the upper end of the Lake and
31instead of flooding the country
32falls into the Lake as ^ into a reservoir
33It begins to flow down the
34Embarrah which divides into
35the rivers Tzō and Teouge -
36The Tzō divides into the Tamunakle
37and Mababe - The Tamunakle
0142
1VII. 134 137 49
2discharges itself into the Zouga -
3and the Teouhe (Teouge) into the
4Lake - The flow begins either in
5March or April and the descending
6waters ˄ find the channels of all these
7 meaning -
7not clear.
rivers ˄ dried out except in certain pools in
8their beds
[which have
9long dry
10spaces
11between
12them]
The Lake itself is very
13low - the Zouga is but a prolongation
14of the Tamunakle and ˄ and an arm of
15the Lake reaches up to the point
16where the one ends and the other begins
17This last is narrow and shallow
18while the Zouga is broad and deep
19This
{e} narrow arm of the Lake which
20
[on the map] looks like a continuation of the Zouga
21has never been observed to flow
22either way - It is as stagnant as
23the Lake itself - The Teouge flows
24into and Tamunakle being essentially
25the same river and recieving
26their supplies from the same source
27(the Embarrah) Varra can never outrun
28each other - If either could, or if
29the Teoughe could fill the Lake, a
30thing which has never happened in
31modern times Then this little arm
32would prove a convenient
33escapement to prevent inundation
34If the Lake ever becomes lower
35than the bed of the Zouga a little
36of the water of the Teouga Tamunakle
37might flow into it instead of down
38the Zouga we should then have
39the phenomenon of a river flowing
40two ways - but this has never
0143
1135 138 50
2been observed to take place here and
3it is doubtful if ˄ it ever can occur - ˄ in this locality - The
4Zouga is broad and deep when it
5leaves the Tamunakle but becomes
6gradually narrower as you
7descend about 200 miles - There
8it flows into Kumadau a small
9lake of about 3 or four miles broad
10and 12 long - The water which
11higher up began to flow in April
12does not make much progress in
13filling this till the end of June
14In August ˄ & September they ˄ the rivers cease to flow
15When the supply has been more
16than usually abundant a little water
17flows beyond Kumadau in the
18bed first seen by us in
{on} the 4th July
19
[and if great
20in quantity
21might go
22farther in]
and we have seen the dry rocky
23bed of the Zouga since ˄ seen but still
24farther to the East - The whole
25 omit
26sense not clear
phenomenon
[The water
27supply of]
this part of the
28river system, as will be more
29fully explained farther on, takes
30place in channels prepared for
31a much more copious water flow
32It resembles a deserted Eastern garden
33in which where all ˄ the embankments &
34canals ˄ for irrigation are
{can} be traced but ˄ where the
35main dam and sluices being lefthaving been
36
[allowed to get] out of repair, only a small portion
37can now be laid under water
38In the case of the Zouga the
39channel is perfect but water
40enough to filll the whole channel
41never comes down, and before
0144
1136 139
2it finds its way much beyond
3Kumadau the upper supply
4ceases to run and the rest becomes
5evaporated -
[the higher
6parts of its
7bed even
8are much
9broader &
10more capacious
11than the
12lower towards
13Kumadau]
There is no such
14thing in the country as a river
15running into sand and becoming
16lost - This phenomenon so
17convenient for Geographers
18haunted my fancy for years
19and as I have failed in discovering
20anything except a most insignificant
21approach to it I begin ˄ now to doubt
22its reality -
My chief object in coming
24to the Lake was to visit Sebituane
25the great chief of the Makololo who
26was reported to live some 200
27miles beyond - We had now
28come to a half tribe of the Bamang
29-wato called Batauana. underTheir chief was
30a young man named Lechulatébe
31Sebituane had conquered his father
32Moremi, and Lechulatébe recieved
33part of his education ˄ while a captive among
34the Bakoba Bayeiye - His uncle
35a sensible man ransomed him
36and having collected a number
37of families together abdicated the
38chieftainship in favour of his
39nephew - As Lechulatebe had
40first come into power he
41imagined that the proper way
42of shewing his abilities was
43to act directly contrary to every
44thing that his uncle advised
0145
1137 140
2When we came the uncle recommended
3handsome treatment, therefore the
4hopeful youth presented us with
5a goat only - It ought to have been
6an ox - So I proposed to ˄ to my companions to loose
7the animal and let him go as
8a hint to his master - My com-
9-panions They however did not
10wish to insult him - I being more
11of a native thought "he began it"
12We wished to purchase some
13goats or oxen - Lechulatebe
14offered us elephants' tusks -
15"No we cannot eat these - we
16want something to fill our stomachs"
17"Neither can I, But I see
{hear} you
18
[white men] are all very fond of these bones
19so I offer them, I want to
20put the goats into my own stomach"
21A trader who accompanied us
22was then purchasing ivory at
23the rate of ten good large tusks
24for a musket worth thirteen shillings
25They were called "bones" and
26I myself saw eight casesinstances in
27which the tusks had been
28left to rot with the other bones
29
[where] of the elephant where he fell -
30The Batauana never had a
31chance of a market before - but
32in less than two years afterward
33after our discovery not a man
34of them could be found who
35was not keenly alive to the
36
[great value] preciousness of the article
138 141
On the day after our arrival at
3the Lake I applied to Lechulatebe
4for guides to Sebituane, As he
5was much afraid of that
6chief he objected on the score
7of fearing lest other white men
8w
{s}hould go the thither also and give
9Sebituane guns, butwhereas if the
10traders came to him alone the
11possession of firearms would
12give him such a superiority
13that Sebituane would be
14afraid of him - It was in
15vain to explain that I would
16inculcate peace between them. - that
17Sebituane had been a father to
18him and Sechele, and was as
19anxious to see me as he ˄ (Lechulatebe) had been
20He offered to give me as much
21ivory as I needed without
22going to that chief - But when
23we
{I} refused to take any he
24unwillingly consented to give
25guides - Next day however
26when Oswel and I were prepared
27to start with the horses only, we
28recieved a senseless refusal
29
[& Like like] He, Sekomi - like, ˄ he sent men to
30the Bayeiye with orders to refuse
31us passage accross the river -
32Trying to form a raft at a
33narrow part I worked many
34hours in the water but the dry
35wood was so worm eaten
0147
1139 142
2it would not bear the weight of a
3single person - I was not then
4aware of the numbers of alligators
5which exist in the Zouga and
6never remember my labour in
7the water without feeling thankful
8that I escaped their jaws, The
9season was now far advanced
10and as Mr O, with his wonted generous
11feelings volunteered on the spot to
12go down to the Cape and bring up
13a boat we resolved to make our
14way South again -
Coming down the Zouga
16we hav
{d}e now time to look at
17its banks - These are very beautiful
18resembling closely many parts
19of the ever lovely River Clyde above
20Glasgow, The structure ˄ formation is soft
21calcareous tufa such as forms
22the bottom of all this basin -
23Perpendicular on the side to
24which the water swings and
25sloping and grassy on the other -
26on The slopes ˄ are selected for the pitfalls designed
27by the Bayeiye to entrap the
28animals as they come to drink
29They are about seven ˄ or eight feet deep
30Three or four feet wide at the
31mouth and gradually decreasing
32till they are ˄ only about a foot wide
33at the bottom - The mouth is square
34
[an oblong square] (the only square thing made by
35the Bechuanas for everything
36else is round) and the long
0148
1140 143 55
2diameter at the surface is about
3equal to the depth - The decreasing
4width towards the bottom is
5intended to make the animal wedge
6himself more firmly in by his
7weight and struggles - They are
8usually in pairs with a wall
9of a foot in diameterthick between
10them ends of each - {figure} So
11that if the beast should save
12himself by striding the hind legs
13
[he would] he springs forward to save himself
14and leaps into the second with
15a force which insures the precipitationfall
16of thehis whole body into the trap - They
17are covered with great care
18all the ˄ excavated ground is removed to a
19distance - so as not to excite suspicion
20A coveringceiling is made of reeds &
21grass above these the sand is
22thrown and watered so as to
23appear exactly like the rest of
24the spot - Some of our party
25plumped into them more than
26once even when in search of
27them in order to open them
28to prevent the loss of our cattle
29If an ox sees a hole he carefully
30avoids it And old Elephants
31have been known to precede
32the herd and whisk off the coverings
33of the pitfalls on each side of him
34all the way down to the water
35We have seen instances in which
36
[the old] ofamong these sagacious animals had
0149
1141 144
2actually lifted the young out of the
3trap
The animals which abound in
5the country ajdacent -
The trees which adorn the banks
7are magnificent - Two enormous
8Baobabs (Adansonia digitata) or
9Mo˄uanas groEw at the spot where we
10took the observations for the
11Latitude (20° 20' - S) - The Longitude of the Lake
12
[has] nevernot been ascertained as our watches
13were useless - It may be between 22° & 23°E.)
14The largest of these ˄ trees was 76 feet in
15girth - The Palmyra appears here
16and there among the trees not met
17within the South - The Mokuchong
18or Mashoma bears an edible
19fruit of indifferent quality but
20the tree itself would be a fine
21specimen of arboreal beauty in
22 this word any part of the world - The bole
23is often converted into canoes,
24The Motsouri, which bears
25a scarlet plum containing a
26pleasant acid juice, resembling
27an orange tree byin its dark ˄ ever green
28foliage and a cypress by in
29its form - Wild We were there
30in the winter and saw nothing of
31the flora - The plants and bushes
32were dry - But wild Indigo abounded
33as indeed it does over large tracts
34of country of Africa - It is called
35Mohetolo or the "changer" by the
36boys who dye their ornaments of
0150
1142 145
2straw with the juice - There are two kinds
3of cotton in the country and the
4Mashona who convert it into cloth
5dye it blue with this plant -
We found the elephants in prodigious
7numbers on the southern bank - They
8came to drink by night and - after having
9slaked their thirst - in doing which
10they throw large quantities ˄ of water over
11themselves and scream with
12delight - they shewevince their horror of
13pitfalls by setting off in a straight
14line to the desert and never diverge
15till they are eight or ten miles off
16They are smaller here than in they
17countries farther south - At the Limpopo
18for instance they are upwards
19of twelve feet high here only eleven
20Farther North we shall find
21them nine ˄ feet only - The Khoodoo or
22tolo seemed smaller too than
23those we had been accustomed to
24We saw specimens of the Kuabaōba
25or straight horned Rhinoceros
26 a variety of the white
27
28and found that from the horn
29being projected downwards it
30did not obstruct the line of
31vision and make itso that this species was enabled
32to be much more wary that its
33neighbour - --
We discovered an entirely
35new species of antelope called
36Lechē or Lechui - It is a beautiful
0151
1143 146
2water antelope of a ˄ light brownish yellow colour
3Its horns, - exactly like those of the
4aigoceros ellipsiprimnus - or water
5buck or Tumōga of the Bechuanas, -
6rise from the head with a slight
7bend back wards then curve forwards
8at the points, The chest, belly and
9orbits are nearly white, the front
10of the legs & ankles deep brown - From
11the horns along the nape to the withers
12the male has a small mane and
13the tail of the same yellowish colour
14with the rest of the skin and
15the tail has a tuft of black hair -
16HeIt is never found far from a mile from water
17- Islets in marshes & swamps are hisits
18favourite haunts and we
{it} is
19quite unknown except in the
20central humid basin of Africa
21Having a good deal of curiosity
22
[it] he haspresents a noble appearance as
23he
{it} stands gazing with head erect
24at the approaching stranger - When
25
[it] he resolves to decamp h
{it}e puts
26lowers h
{its}is head and lays his
27horns down to a level with the
28withers - ˄ he then begins with a
29waddling trot which ends in
30a gallop and springing over
31bushes like the Pallahs - He It
32runs invariably ˄ runs to the water
33and crosses it by a succession
34of bounds - each of which
35appears to be from the bottom
36We thought the flesh good at first
37but soon got tired of it -
144 147
2Great shoals of excellent fish
3come down annually with the
4access of waters The Mullet
5Mugil Africanus is the most abundant
The Glanis Siluris a large
17broad-headed fish without
18scales and barbed called
19by the natives "Mosala" attains
20an enormous size and
21fatness - They are caught so
22large ˄ that when a man carries
23one over his shoulder the tail
24reaches the ground - It is a
25vegetable feeder and in many
26of its habits resembles the eel -
27
[ Another
28closely resembling]
˄ This fish is named Clarias
29capensis by Dr Smith - It is
30widely diffused throughout
31the Interior and often leaves
32the rivers for the sake of
33feeding in pools - As these
34dry up large numbers of them
35are entrapped by the natives
0153
1145 148 60
2 A water serpent yellow spotted
3and dark brown is often
4seen swimming along with
5his head above the water
6HeIt is quite innocuous and
7is relished ˄ as food by the Bayeye
They mention ten kinds of
9fish in their river and in
10their songs of praise of the Zouga
11say, "the messenger sent
12in haste is always forced to
13spend the night in the way by the
14abundance of food you place
15before him"
The Bayeiye live much on
29fish which is quite an abomination
30to the Bechuanas in the South and
31they catch them in large numbers
32by means of nets made of the
33fine strong fibres of the Hibiscus
34which grows abundantly in
35all moist places - Their float
36ropes are made of the Ifé or
0154
1146 149
2
[as it is] ˄ now called, the Sanseviere angolensis - a
3flag looking plant having a very
4strong fibre that abounds from
5Kolobeng to Angola, and the floats
6themselves are pieces of a water
7plant containing valves
8at each joint which retain the
9air in cells about an inch long
10The ˄ mode of knotting of the nets is identical
11with our own mode.
They also spear the fish with
15
[Javelins] spears having a light handle
16which readily floats on the
17surface - - AndThey shew great
18dexterity in harpooning the
19hippopotamus - & The barbed blade ˄
20
[of the spear] being attached to a rope
21of the young leaves of the
22palmyra The animal cannot
23rid himself of the canoe attached
24to him in whale fashion except
25by smashing it which he
26not unfrequently does by
27his teeth or by a stroke of
28his hind foot
On returning to the Bakurutse
32we found that their canoes
33were simply large bundles of
34reeds tied together - TheseSuch a canoe would
35be a ready extemporaneous
36pontoon for crossing any
0155
1147 150
2a river with ˄ that had reedy banks
Having returned to Kolobeng I and
11remained there till April of 1850, I and
12
[then] left in company with Mrs L and
13our three children
[with the
14Chief Sechele
15who had now
16brought a
17waggon of
18his own]
in order to go
19accross the Zouga at its lower end
20with the intention to and of proceedinging up along
21the Northern bank till we gained
22the Tamunakle ˄ and of then ascending that river
23to Sebituane in the North - Sekomi
24had given orders to fill up the wells
25which we had dug with so much
26labour at Serotli, So we took
27the more Eastern route through
28the Bamangw
{u}ato town by
{and} by
29Letloche - That chief asked why
30I had avoided him in our former
31journey and when I replied that
32my reason was the knowledge
33that ˄ I knew he did not wish me to go
34to the Lake, and I did not wish to
35quarrel with him, ˄ "Well" he said "Well
36you beat me and I am content"
Parting with Sechele at the ford
38as he was eager to visit Lechulatebe
39we went along the Northern woody
40bank of the Zouga with
41great labour, in cuttinghaving to cut down
0156
1148 151
2trees to allow the waggons to pass -
3Our losses by oxen falling into
4pitfalls were very greatheavy - The
5Bayeiye kindly opened them
6when they knew of our approach
7But when that was not the case
8we could not blame no one but
9ourselves on finding an established
10custom of the country inimical
11to our interests - On approaching
12the confluence of the Tamunakle
13we were informed that the fly
14called Tsetse abounded on its
15banks - This was a barrier we
16never expected to meet - and as
17it couldmight have brought our
18waggons to a complete stand in
19
[the wilderness] where no supplies for children
20could be obtained we were
21reluctantly compelled to recross
22the Zouga - From the Bayeiye
23we learned that a party of
24Englishmen who had come
25to the Lake in search of ivory
26were all laid downlow by fever
27so we travelled hastily down
28about 60 miles to render
29what aid was in our power
30
[Mr Alfred Rider] A an enterprising young artist who had come
31to make sketches
[of this country
32and the Lake
33immediately
34after its discovery]
had died of the ˄ disease
35before our arrival, but by the
36aid of medicines and such
37comforts as could be made by
38the only English lady who ever
39visited the Lake the others
0157
1149 152
2happily recovered - The unfinished of ˄
[drawing of
3Lake Ngami is his
4production just before his death
5has been
6kindly furnished
7lent by
{for}
8this work
9by his bereaved
10mother]
11 Sechele used all his
12powers a
{of}nd eloquence with
13Lechulatebe to induce him
14to furnish guides that I might
15be able to visit Sebituane on
16ox back, while Mrs L. and the
17children remained at Lake Ngami
18He yielded - I had a very superior
19London made gun the gift of
20Lieutt Arkwright on which I
21placed the greater
{st} value both on
22account of the donor and the
23impossibility of my replacing
24it - Lechulatebe fell violently
25in love with it - and offered
26whatever number of elephants
27tusks I should ask for it - and
28would furnish Mrs L. with
29meat all the time of my absence
30This latter ˄ argument made me yield
too
31And though he had no ivory
32at the time to pay me I felt
33the piece would be well spent
34
[on these terms] and delivered it ˄ to him - All being ready
35for ˄ our departure I took Mrs L.
36down six miles that she might
37have a peep at the broad part
38of the Lake - She did not turn
39up the white of her eyes nor act
40the sentimental noany more than
41I had myself done the year
42before - And next morning
43we had other work to do then
44part, for our little boy & girl
0158
1150 153 65
2were seized with fever - On the
3day following all our servants
4lay down too with ˄ the same com
5-plaint - As nothing is better
6in these cases than change of
7place I was forced to give up
8the hope of seeing Sebituane
9that year so leaving my
10gun as part payment for
11guides next year I leftwe started for
12the pure air of the Desert - Some
13mistake had happened in
14the agreement with Mr Oswel
15for we met him on the Zouga
16on our return, and he devoted
17the rest of this season to Elephant
18hunting at which the natives
19universally declare he is the
20greatest adept that ever
21came into the country - He
22hunts without dogs - and it is
23remarkable that this lordly animal
24is so completely harassed by the
25presence of a few yelping curs
26as to be quite incapable of
27attending to man - He He It makes
28awkward attempts to crush them
29by falling on his his its knees - and
30sometimes places his his its forehead
31
[against] to a tree ten inches in diameter;
32glancing at
{by} on one side & then on, by the
33other he he ^ the elephant pushes it down
34before him as if he thought
35thereby to catch him enemies
36The only danger the huntsman
0159
1151 154
2apprehends is the dogs running
3towards him - and thereby
4leading the elephant to their
5master
Foiled in this second attempt
9to reach Sebituane we returned
10again to Kolobeng, whither we
11were soon followed by a number
12of messengers from that chief
13himself - When he heard of our
14attempts to visit him he despatched
15three detachments of his men
16with thirteen brown cows to
17Lechulatebe - thirteen white ˄ cows to
18Sekomi and thirteen black
19cows to Sechele with the a
20request to each to assist
21the white men to reach him -
22Their policy however was to keep
23him out of view and act as his
24agents in purchasing with his
25ivory the goods he wanted -
26The policy is thoroughly African
27and that continent being without
28friths and arms of the sea as
29Europe is, the tribes in the centre
30have always been delivered from
31European intercourse by its
32universal prevalence among
33all the tribespeople around the coasts
34Before setting out on our third
35and successful journey to
36Sebituane - - it was necessary
0160
1152 155
2to visit Kuruman and Sechele
3eager
[for the sake
4of the commission
5thereon]
to obtainget the ivory of that
6chief into his own hands allowed
7all the messengers to leave
8before our return - Sekomi
9however was more than usually
10gracious and even furnished
11us with a guide but Nono one
12knew the path beyond Nchokotsa
13which we intended to follow -
14When we reached that point
15we found that the main spring
16of the gun of another of his men
17who was well acquainted with
18the Bushman through whose
19country we should pass, had
20opportunely broken - I never
21undertook to mend a gun
22with greater zest than this -
23
[for under a
24promise of
25this]
^ And as by
[this] his guidance we went
26
[(to the] North from instead of Westward
27to the Lake - All the other guides
28were most liberally rewarded
29by Mr Oswel -
We passed quickly over a
31hard country which is perfectly
32flat - A little soil lying on
33
[over a tract of several] hundreds of miles of calcareous
34tufa supports a vegetation
35of fine sweet short grass, and
36Mopane and Baobab trees
37In
{On} several parts of this we
38found large salt pans, one
39of which Ntwetwe is 15
40miles broad & 100 long -
0161
1152
{3} 156
2The latitude might have been
3taken on its horizon as well
4as upon the sea -
Although these curious
6spots seem perfectly level, all
7those in this direction have a
8gentle slope to the North East
9Thither the rain water which
10sometimes covers them gently
11graduates - This it may be
12recollected is the direction
13of the Zouga - The salt dissolved
14in the water had by this
15means all been translated to one
16
[pan] in that direction named Tlanye
17
[Chuantsa] , on it we see a cake of salt
18and lime onean inch & a half inches
19thick - All the others have
20an efflorescence of lime and
21one of the nitrates only - and
22some are covered so thickly
23with shells identical with
24those that now liveng in the
25Lake and ˄ the Zouga they feel
26quite crisp beneath the feet -
27There are three varieties
28
29spiral
30
31
322 bivalve
33
34univalve
155
{4} 157
2In every salt pan in the country
3there is a spring of water on
4one side - I can remember
5no exception to this rule - The
6water of these springs is brackish
7and contains the nitrate of soda
8In one instance there are two ˄ springs and
9one more saltish than the other
10If this supply came from beds
11of rock salt it would ˄ not be
12potable as it generally is - And in
13
[some] instances in whichwhere the salt
14contained in the pan, in which
15these springs appear, has been
16removed by human agency
17no fresh deposit occurs
18It is therefore probable that these
19deposits of salt are the remains
20of the very slightly brackish Lakes
21of antiquity large portions of
22which must have been
23dried out in the general desic-
24-cation - This view seems
25supported by the fact that the
26largest quantities of salt have
27been found in the hollows
28or lowest valleys which have
29no outlet or outgoing gorge - ^
30When theythese deposits ^ occur in a flat
31
[tufaceous] country like the present a
32large space is devoid of vegetation
33move this
33forward
33to the end of
33next paragraph
on account of the nitrates
34dissolving the tufa and keeping
35it in a state unfavourable to
36the growth of plants
0163
1156
{5} 158 70
2And a fountain about 30 miles
3South of the Bamangwato -
4The temperature of which is
5upwards of one 100° - and while
6strongly impregnated with pure
7salt but being on a flat
8
[part of the] country is accompanied by
9no deposit -
10
We found a ˄ great number of
13wells in this tufa - A place
14called Matlomagan-yana
15or the "Links" is quite a
16chain of these never failing
17springs - As they occasionally
18fill in seasons when no
19rain falls and resemble
20somewhat in this respect
21the rivers we have already
22mentioned it is probable
23they recieve some water by
24percolation from the river
25system
[in the country] beyond - Among these
26links we found many
27families of Bushmen and
28unlike those on the plains
29of the Kalahari who are
30generally of short stature &
31light yellow colour, these
32were tall strapping fellows
33and of dark complexion -
34Heat alone does not produce
35blackness ˄ of skin but heat with
0164
1157
{6} 159
2moisture seems to insure the
3deepest hue - One of these Bushmen
4named Shobo consented to be
5our guide over the waste
6between these springs and the
7country of Sebituane - Shobo
8gave us no hope of water forin
9less than a month - We came
10
[Providentially,] however ˄ we came sooner than we
11expected to some Providential
12supplies of rain water in a
13chain of pools - Beyond these
14i
{I}t is impossible to convey
15an idea of the dreary scene of
16
[on which we entered
17after leaving this spot]
low scrub in deep sand - We
18Not a bird or insect enlivened
19the landscape - It was without
20exception the most uninviting
21prospect I ever beheld, and
22to make matters worse our
23Guide Shobo wandered on the
24seon˄dday - We coaxed him on
25at night but he went to all
26points of the compass on the
27trails of elephants which
28had been here in the rainy
29season, and then would sit
30down in the path & in his
31broken Sichuana say - "All water
32all country only" -
{,} "Shobo sleeps",
33he breaks down "country only"
34and then cooly curl himself up
35and go to sleep - The oxen
36were terribly fatigued & thirsty
0165
1158
{7} 160 72
2and on the morning of the fourth
3day Shobo after professing
4ignorance of every thing
5vanished altogether - We went
6on in the direction in which
7we last saw him - and about
8eleven oclock began to see
9birds - Then the trail of a
10Rhinoceros - at this we unyoked
11the oxen and they apparently
12knowing the sign rushed
13along to find the water in
14 meaning the River Mababe
[which comes
15from the
16Tamunakle
17and lay to
18the West of us]
. by the afternoon -
19The supply of water in the waggons
20had been wasted by ˄ aone of our servants
21and only a small portion
22remained next morning for the
23children - This was a bitterly
24anxious night: and next
25morning the less the water
26was the more thirsty the rogues
27became - The idea of their
28perishing before our eyes
29was terrible - It would ˄ almost have
30been a relief ˄ to me to have been
31reproached with being the
32entire cause of the catastrophe
33but not one syllable of that
34upbraiding was uttered bynature came from their mother
35though the tearful eye told the
36agony within - In the afternoon
37of the fifth day to our in-
38expressible relief some of the
39men returned with a supply
40of that fluid of which we had
41never ˄
[before ^] felt the true value before
VIII 158 161 73
The cattle in rushing along to the water
3in the Mababe probably crossed a small
4patch of of ˄ trees containing Tsetse an insect which was
5
[shortly] to become a perfect pest to us -
6Shobo had found his way to the
7Bayeiye and now appeared when
8we came up to the river with
9
[at the head] ofof a party of them and as he wished to
10shew his importance before his
11friends he walked up boldly
12and commanded our whole
13cavalcade to stop - & to bring up
{forth}
14fire and tobacco while he
15coolly sat down and smoked
16his pipe - It was such an inimitably
17natural way of shewing off ˄ that we
18all stopped to admire the acting
19and though we
{he} had left us
20at last, we all loved Shobo
21a wonderful fine specimen
22of that wonderful people the
23Bushmen -
Next day we came to a village
25of Banajoa a tribe which
26extends far to the Eastward
27They were living on the borders
28of a marsh in which the
29 Mababe terminates - they had
30lost their crop of corn (Caffer sorghum)
31and now subsided almost
32entirely on the root called
33 "Tsitla", a kind of aroidorioea which
34contains a very large quantity of
0167
1159 162
2sweet tasted starch - When dried
3and pounded into meal and
4allowed to ferment it is to
5an unpleasant food - The
6women shave off all the hair
7of their heads and seemed
8darker than the Bechuanas
9Their huts were built on poles
10and a fire is made beneath
11in order that the smoke
12may drive away the mosquitoes
13which abound on the Mababe
14and Tamunakle more
15than in any other part of
16the country - The headman
17of this village Majane seemed
18seemed a little wanting in
19ability but had ˄ had wit enough
20to promote a younger member
21of the family to the office - This
22person the most like the
23ugly negro of the tobacconists'
24shops I ever saw was called
25Moroa Majane or son of Majane
26and proved an active
27guide through the river
28Sonta and to the banks of
29the Chobe in the country
30of Sebituane - We had
31come through another tsetse
32district by night and our
33passed over our cattle to
34the Northern bank to preserve
35them from its ravages -
160 163 75
2 A few remarks on the Tsetse,
3
[glossina morsitans] may here be appropriate - It is
4not much larger than the
5common house fly and nearly
6of the same brown colour as
7the common honey bee - The after
8part of the body has three or four
9yellow bars accross it - The
10wings project beyond this
11part considerably and it is
12remarkably alert, al
{v}oiding
13most dexterously all attempts
14to capture it with the hand
15at common temperatures,
16In the cool of the mornings &
17evenings it is less agile - Its
18peculiar buz when once heard
19can never be forgotten by
20the traveller whose means
21of locomotion are domestic
22animals, for it is well
23known that the bite of this
24poisonous insect is
25certain death to the ox - horse
26and dog - In this journey
27though we were not certainaware
28of any great number ˄ having at
29any time lightinged on our
30cattle we lost forty three head
31
[fine oxen ˄] by its bite - We watched them
32carefully and believe that
33not a score of flies were
34ever upon them -
A most remarkable
36
37
0169
1161 164
2feature in the bite is its perfect
3harmlessness in man and
4wild animals and even
5calves so long as they continue
6to suck the cows - We
7lived two months in its habitat
8which was in this case
9as sharply defined as in
10many others for the south
11bank of the Chobe was
12infested by it and the
13Northern bank
[where our
14cattle were
15placed]
only 50 yds
16distant contained not a
17single specimen - This was
18the more remarkable as we
19often saw natives carrying
20over raw meat to the
21opposite bank with many
22tsetse settled upon it -
23The person does not seem
24injected by a sting or by ova
25placed beneath the skin
26for when one is allowed
27to settle on the hand - it is
28seen to insert the middle prong
29
[of three portions] into which the proboscis
30divides itself; somewhat deeply
31into the true skin: it then
32
[draws] withdraws it ˄ out a little way
33and it assumes a crimson
34colour as the mandibles
35come into brisk operation -
36
[The previously] The before ˄ shrunken belly
37swells out and though
38perfectly undisturbed the fly
0170
1162 165
2quietly leavesdeparts when it is full -
3A littleslight itchiness and irritation
4follows but not more than
5in the bite of a mosquito -
6In the ox this same bite produces
7no more immediate effects
8than in man - It does not
9startle him as the gadfly does
10but a few days afterwards
11the following symptoms
12supervene - The eye ˄ & nose - begins
13to run, the coat stares as
14if the animal were cold -
15A swelling appears under
16the jaw and sometimes at
17the navel, and though the
18animal continues to graze
19emaciation commences
20accompanied with a
21peculiar flaccidity of the
22muscles, and it proceeds
23unchecked untill perhaps
24months afterwards, purging
25comes on and the animal
26no longer able to graze
27perishes in a state of extreme
28exhaustion - Those which are
29in good condition often
30perish with staggering ˄ & blindness as if
31the brain were affecting
{ed} soon
32after the bite is infected -
33Sudden changes of temperature
34produced by falls of rain
35seem to hasten the progress
36of the complaint, but in
0171
1163 166
2but in general the emaciation
3goes on uninterrupted for
4months and do what we
5will they perish miserably -
When opened the cellular
7tissue on the surface of the
8body beneath the skin is
9seen to be injected with
10air, as if a quantity of
11soap bubles were scattered
12over it or an dishonest
13ackward butcher had been
14trying to make it look fat.
15The fat is of a greenish yellow
16colour and oily consistence
17All the muscles are flabby &
18the heart often so soft the
19fingers may be made to
20meet through it- The lungs
21and liver partake of the
22disease - The stomach and
23bowels are pale and empty
24and the gall bladder is distended
25with bile -
These symptoms seem
27to indicate what is probably
28the case, a poison in the
29blood - the germ of which
30enters when the proboscis
31is inserted to draw blood -
32Another insect will be
33mentioned in which this
34same operation produces
35in the human subject both
36vomiting and purging
0172
1164 167
2In this case the poison germ however
3minute in quantity seems
4capable of reproducing itself
5for the blood at death is
6very small in quantity
7and scarcely stains the hands
8in dissection
The Mule, ass - and goat
10enjoy the same immunity
11as man and the game -
12Many large tribes in the
13Zambesi lands can keep
14no domestic animals
15except the goat in consequence
16of the scourge existing in
17their country - Our children
18were frequently bitten yet
19suffered no harm - and
20we saw around us
21
[numbers] herds of Zebras - buffaloes
22
[pigs,] pallahs & other antelopes,
23feeding quietly in the very
24habitat of the tsetse, yet
25as undisturbed by its bite
26as oxen are when they
27recieved the fatal poison
28There is not so much
29difference in the natures
30of the horse & Zebra -
31The buffalo & ox - The
32sheep and antelope - as
33to afford any satisfactory
34explanation of the phenomenon
35Is a man not as much
36a domestic animal as a dog?
0173
1165 168 80
2The curious feature in the case
3that dogs ˄ perish though fed on milk (as the
4calves which escape) which
5so long as they continue suckling
6made us imagine that it
7
[the mischief] might be produced by some
8plant in the locality but
9
[Major] Captain Frank Vardon
10of the Madras army had
11settled that point by riding
12a horse up to a small
13hill infested by the insect
14and though he only remained
15long enough to take a view
16of the country and catch
17some specimens from the
18of tsetse on the animal
19in ten days afterwards the
20horse was dead -
The well known disgust
22which the tsetse shews to
23animal excreta as exhibited
24when a village settles is placed
25in its habitat has been
26observed and acted on byturned to
27
[account by] some of the doctors - They
28mixuse droppings of animals
29human milk & some medicines
30together and smear the animals
31
[that are about] intended to pass through a
32tsetse district - but this though
33it proves a preventative at
34the time is not permanent
35There is no cure ˄ yet known
36for the disease - - A careless
0174
1166 169
2herd allowing a large number
3of cattle to wander intointo a
4tsetse district loses all except
5the calves, and Sebituane
6once lost nearly the entire
7cattle of his tribe - very many
8thousands, by unwittingly
9coming into under its influence
10Inno-culation does not produceinsure
11immunity as animals which
12have been slightly bitten in
13one year may perish by
1461 a greater number of bites in
15the next - But it is probable
16that with the increase of guns
17the game will perish as in
18the South and the Tsetse
19deprived of food perish
20become extinct simultaneously
21with the larger animals
The Makololo whom we
26met on the Chobe were delighted
27to meet us - And as their chief
28Sebituane was about twenty
29miles down the river Mr O -
30and I proceeded in canoes
31to his temporary residence
32He had come from the Barotse
33town of Naliele down to
34Sesheke as soon as he heard
35of white men being in search
36of him, and now came
0175
1167 170
2one hundred miles more to bid
3us welcome into his country -
4Th
{H}ey were
{as} upon an island with
5all his principal men around
6him - and engaged in singing ˄
7
[when we arrived] It was more like church music
8than the sing-song ēēē ae ae ae - of
9the Bechuanas in the South and
10they continued the tune for
11some seconds after we approach
12
[We informed him] After mentioning ourof the difficulties
13
[we had encountered,] and how glad we were that
14they were all over comeat an end by
15at last reaching his presence
16He signified his own joy
17and added "your cattle are
18all bitten by the tsetse and
19will certainly die - but never
20mind, I have oxen and will
21give you as many as you
22need" - We in our ignorance
23then thought ˄ that as so few tsetse
24had bitten them no great
25mischief would follow
26He presented us with an ox ˄
27
[and a jar of honey] as food and handed us over
28to the care of Mahale who had
29headed the party to Kolobeng &
30would now fain take ˄
[appropriate to himself] the
31whole credit of their ˄ our coming
32to himself - Prepared skins of
33oxen as soft as cloth were
34given to cover us through
35the night and as nothing
0176
1168 171
2
[could] is
{be} returned to this chief Mahale
3became honourowner of them too -
4Long before it was day Sebituane
5came and sitting down by
6the fire which was lighted
7behind the hedge where we
8lay for our benefit he
9began and narrated his
10own difficulties in crossing
11that same desert we had
12mastered long afterwards
13As he had been most
14remarkable in his carreer
15and was unquestionably
16the greatest man in all
17that country, I may give
18a short sketch of his life -
19may prove interesting to the reader.
He seemed about 45 years
21of age - of a tall & wiry form
22and slightly bald - In manner
23cool and collected and more
24frank in his answers
25than any chief I ever met
26He was the greatest warrior
27ever heard of beyond the
28colony for unlike Mosilikatz
29and Dingaan &c - he always
30led his men into battle himself
31When he saw the enemy
32he felt the edge of his battle
33axe and said "Aha! it is sharp
34and whoever turns his back
35on the enemy will feel its edge" -
169 172
2So fleet of foot was he ˄ that all his
3
[people] knew there was no escape
4for the coward
[He wasas any such would be cut
5down without
6mercy -]
- In some
7instances of skulking he
8allowed the individual to
9return home - Then calling
10him, he would say - "Ah, you
11prefer dying at home to
12dying in the field ˄ do you?, you
13shall have your desire" this
14was the signal for his
15
[immediate] execution - This discipline
16will explain what follows
He came from the sources
18of the Likwa & Namagari in
19the South - so we met him
20800 or 900 ˄ miles from his
21birth place - He was not the son
22of a chief though related closely
23to the reigning family of
24the Basuta and when
25in an attack by Sikonyele
26the tribe was driven out of
27one part Sebituane was one
28in that immense horde of
29savages driven back by
30the Griquas ˄
[from Kuruman] in 1824 He
31then fled to the North with
32an insignificant party of
33men and cattle - At Kolobeng
34Melita the Bangwaketze collected
35the Bakwains - Bakatla and
36Bahurutse to eat him up
37 See an account of this affair
38in Moffats Missionary enterprise
39 in Africa
0178
1170 173 85
2Placing his men in front
3and ˄ the women behind the cattle
4he routed the whole ˄ of his enemies at one blow
[Having thus
5conquered Makabe
6the chief of the Bangwak^etse
7and sat himself
8down in Makabes
9town he took
10immediate possession
11of that chief's
12town and
13all his goods]
14He then afterwards settled at
[ Sebituane
15subsequently
16settled at the
17place called]
Litubaruba
18and ˄ his people suffered ˄ severely in one of those
19unheard of attacks by two
20white men in which murder
21 meaning is committed and materials
22laid up in the conscience
23for a future judgment -
24 A great variety of fortune
25followed him in the Northern
26part of the Bechunana country
27Twice he lost all his cattle
28by attacks of the Matibele but
29always kept his people
30together and retook more than
31he lost - He ˄ then crossed the desert
32in
{by} nearly the same path that
33we did, ^
[His captured
34guide however
35fled from
36him while
37travelling
38by night - ]
conquered all
39the tribes along the Zouga
40and at Lake Nyassa and
41hearing that
42
43 He had captured a guide &
44as it was necessary to
45travel by night in order
46to reach water the guide
47took advantage of this and gave him the slip; and
48after marching till morning
49and going as they thought
50right they found themselves
51coming on the trail of the
52day before - He found the
0179
1171 174
2Many of his cattle burst away
3from him in the frenzy
4of thirst and rushed back
5to Serotli (then a large water)
6and to Mashüe and Lopepe
7the habitations of their original
8owners - He refurnishedstocked
9himself among the Batletli
10on Lake Kumadau - who
11had their herds of the large
12horned species of cattle Note
[We found the
13Batauana
14in possession
15of this breed
16when we dis-
17covered Lake
18Ngami]
19He
{Co}nquering all around the
20Lake Ngami he heard of
21white men living at the
22w
{W}est coast and haunted
23by what seems to have been
24haunted him during his
25
[through]
[the dream of] his whole life ˄ a desire to have
26the intercourse ofwith the white
27man he passed away to
28the South west into the parts
29opened up lately by Messers
30Galton and Anderson
31There suffering intensely
32from thirst they ^ he & his party came
33to a small well - He
34decided that the men not
35the cattle should drink it
36the former being of most
37value as they could fight
38for more3 should these be
39lost - In the morning they
40found the cattle had escaped
41to the Damarás
172 175
2Returning to the North poorer
3than he left -^ started He ascended
4the Teoughe to the Hill Sorila
5and crossed over a swampy
6country to the Eastwards
7The low lying basin of the
8Leeambye presented no
9attractions to a pastoral tribe
10like his so he moved down
11that river among the Bashubia
12and Batōka who were then
13living in all their glory
14His narrative resembles
15closely the "Commentaries
16of Caesar - " and ˄
[the History of ^] the British
17in India, He was always
18forced to attack the different
19tribes and to this day his men
20justify every step he took as
21perfectly just and right - The
22Batoka lived onon large islands
23in the Leeambye or Zambezi
24and feeling perfectly secure
25in their fastnesses often
26allured fugitive or wandering
27tribes on to uninhabited
28islets on pretence of ferrying
29them accross - and there left
30them to perish for the sake
31of their goods - Sekomi the
32chief of the Bamangwato
33was when a child in danger
34of meeting this fate but a
35man still living had compassion
36on him & enabled his mother
0181
1173 176
2to escape ˄ with him by night - The river
3is so large that the clearestsharpest
4eye cannot tell the difference
5the between an island and a
6bend of the opposite bank
7But Sebituane with his
8usual foresight requested
9the island chief who ferried
10him accross to take his
11seat in the canoe with
12him and detained him by
13his side till all his people
14and cattle were safely landed
15The whole Batoka country
16was then densely peopled
17and they had a curious foible
18
[weakness for] of ornamenting their villages
19with the skulls of strangers
20When he appeared near the
21great falls - an immense army
22collected to make trophies
23of the Makololo skulls - but
24instead of that they gave him
25a good excuse of for conquering
26them and capturing so many
27cattle that his people were
28quite incapable of taking
29any note of the sheep and
30goats - He overran all the
31high lands towards the Kafue
32and settled in what is called
33a pastoral country - short grass
34little forest and gently undulating
35plains - The Makololo have
0182
1174 177
2never lost their love for this
3fine healthy spot -
But the Matibele a Kaffir
5
[or Zulau] tribe under Mosilikatze crossed
6the Zambesi and attacking
7him in this chosen spot captured
8his cattle and women - Rallying
9his men he followed and
10recaptured the whole - A fresh
11attack was repulsed again
12and Sebituane thought of
13going farther down the
14Zambesi to the country
15of the white men - He had an
16idea whence imbibed I
17never could learn that if
18he had a cannon he
19might live in peace - He
20had ˄
[led ^] a life of war yet no one
21apparently desired peace
22more than he did - A prophet
23
[induced] led him to turn his face
24again to the Westward - This
25man by name Tlapane was
26called a "senoga" one who holds
27intercourse with the gods - He
28probably had a smacktouch of insanity
29for he was in the habit of retiring
30no one knew whither but probably
31into some cave to remain in the
32hypnotic state for untill the moon
33was full - Then returning to the
34tribe quite emaciated ˄ he worked himself
35as other do into a
{w}ho pretend to the
36prophetic afflatus untill he was
0183
1175 178 90
2in a state of exstasy - They ˄ These pretended prophets commence
3
[their operations] it by violent action of the voluntary
4muscles - stamping ˄ & leaping shouting in
5a peculiarly violent manner or
6beating the ground with a club
7They pretend that these
{ir} utterances are
8unknown to themselves - Tlapane
9pointing Eastwards said - "There Sebituane
10I behold a fire - shun it - It is a fire
11which will burn youmay scorch thee - The gods
12say - "go not thither" Then turning
13to the West he said - "I see a city
14and a nation of black men - men
15of the water - their cattle are red - Your
16
[Thine] own tribe ˄ Sebituane is perishing and will
17be consumed - youthou wilt govern
18black men and when your
19
[thy] warriors have captured red
20cattle then let not the owners
21be killed, they are yourthy future
22tribe - They are yourthy city let them
23be spared to buildto cause you up - " thee to build"
24"And thou Ramosinini Thy
25village will perish utterly" - If
26Mokari removes from that village
27he will perish first, and thou
28Ramosinini wilt be the last to
29die - Concerning himself he
30added" "The gods have caused other
31men to drink water but to me
32 say
33the water
they have given the urine ˄ bitter water of the
34Chukuru (Rhinoceros) (meaning bitter
35bad water) They call me away
36myself - I cannot stay much
37longer with you - "
0184
1176 179
2 This utterance which ˄
[loses much
3in the translation]
I have given
4rather fully ˄ as it shews an observant
5mind - The policy recommended
6was wise and the and the deaths
7of the "senoga" and those of the two
8men and their d with the erasementdestruction
9of their village, having all
10happened soon after, it is not
11wonderful that Sebituane
12followed implicitly the warning
13voice - The black men
14referred to were the Barotse
15or as they term themselves
16Baloiana; and Sebituane
17spared their chiefs even though
18they attacked him first -
19
[At] Though h
{H}e had ascended the
20Barotse valley, he ˄ but was followed
21by Matibele as Mosilikatze
22never could forgive the
23former defeats - They came
24up the river in a very large
25body - Sebituane placed some
26goats on one of the large islands
27of the Zambezi as a bait
28to the warriors and some
29men in canoes to assist
30his enemiesthem - When they were
31all on the island the canoes
32were removed and the
33Matibele found themselves
34completely in a trap and
35perfectly unable to swim
36they subsisted some time
37on the roots of grass after the
0185
1177 180
2after the goats were gone but
3gradually became so emaciated
4that when the Makololo landed
5they had only to perform the part
6of executioners on the adults &
7incorporate the rest into their own
8tribe - Sebit Mosilikatze was
9goaded on by his warriors to
10revenge this loss - so he sent
11an immense army carrying
12canoes ˄ with them that no such mishap
13might occur again - Sebituane
14had by this time incorporated
15the Barotse and taught his
16young men to manage canoes
17so he went from island
18to island and watched the
19Matibele so that they could not
20use their canoes without
21parting their forces. At last
22all the Makololo and their
23cattle were collected on the
24island of Loyelo - And they
25lay all around keeping
26watch night and day
27over the enemy - After some
28time spent in this way
29Sebituane went in a canoe
30towards them and addressing
31them by an interpreter asked
32why they wished to kill him
33he had never attacked them
34never harmed their chief
35"Au! the guilt is on your side"
0186
1178 181
2the Matibele made no reply but
3the Makololo next day saw
4their canoes lying smashed
5They returned towards their
6own country and fever and
7famine and the Batoka did
8the rest
[completed their
9destruction]
- only five men returned
10to Mosilikatze
[Sebituane] He had now not only con
12quered all the black tribes
13over an immense tract
14of country; but made himself
15dreaded by the terrible Mosilikatze
16He never could trust him
{this}
17ferocious chief, however -
18And as the chiefs on the
19islands had been guilty of
20ferrying his enemies
21accross the Zambezi
22he made a rapid descent
23down upon them and
24roouted them all out of their
25fastnesses - He thus unwittingly
26performed a good service
27to the country by breaking
28completely ˄ breaking down the whol old
29system which prevented
30trade from penetrating into
31the great valley - Of the
32chiefs who escaped he said
33"they love Mosilikatze, let
34them live with him - The
35Zambesi is my line of
36defence" and men were
37placed all along it as sentinels
0187
1179 182
2When he heard of our wish to
3visit him - he did all he could
4to assist our approach -
5Sechele - Sekomi and Lechulatebe
6owed their lives to his clemency
7and the latter might have paid
8dearly for his obstructiveness
9He knew everything that
10happened in the country
11for Sebituane had the art
12of gaining the affections
13of both of his own people and
14of strangers - When a party
15of poor men came to sell
16their hoes or skins no matter
17how ungainly they might
18be he knew them all - And
19never did a stranger depart
20from him without some
21token of his generosity -
22A party of the poor sitting
23far apart from the
24Makololo gentlemen around
25the chief, would be sur-
26-prised to see him coming
27alone to them and sitting
28down enquire if they were
29hungry - He would order
30an attendant to bring meal
31and milk and honey - and
32mixing them in their sight
33make them feast perhaps
34for the first time in their lives
35on a lordly dish - They ˄ were delighted
0188
1180 183 95
2beyond measure with his affabi
3-lity and liberality, felt their hearts
4warm ^ towards him and gave him all
5the information in their power
6and as he never allowed a
7party of strangers to go away
8without giving everone of
9them ^ servants and all each a present his praises
10were sounded far & wide
11"He has a heart - He is wise" were
12the usual expressions we
13heard before we saw him - He
14was much pleased with
15the proof of confidence we
16had shewn in bringing our
17children - and promised to
18take us to see his country
19so that we might choose
20whatever part we might like
21to locate ourselves ^ in - Our plan
22was that I should remain
23in the pursuit of my objects
24as a missionary while
25Mr Oswel should explore
26the Zambesi to the East - Poor
27Sebituane however just
28after realizing what he
29had so long ardently desired
30fell sick of inflammation
31of the lungs - which extended
32from an old wound got
33at Melita - I saw his danger
34but being a stranger feared
35to treat him lest in the event
36of his death I should be
0189
1181 184 96
2blamed by his people - I mentioned
3that to one of his doctors he
4said "your fear is prudent &
5wise" "this people would blame
6you" - He had been cured the
7
[during the] year before by the Barotse
8making a large number
9of free incisions in the
10chest - The Makololo doctors
11scarcely cut the skin - On
12the afternoon in which he
13died I visited him when
14the service was over with
15my little boy Robert - "Come
16near said Sebituane &
17see if I am any longer
18a man - I am done" After
19sitting with him some time
20I rose to depart when
21the dying chieftain raised
22himself up a little from
23his prone position, called
24a servant and said "Take
25Robert to Maunku (one
26of his wives) and tell her
27to give him some milk"
28These were his
{the} last words
29ever spoken by Sebituane
We were not informed
31till next day of his death
32Their burial of a Bechuana
33chief takes place in his cattle
34pen - and all the cattle are
35driven for an hour or two
36around & over the grave so
IX– 1 185 97
2so that it may be quite obliterated
3We went and spoke to the
4people advising them to
5keep together and support
6the heir - They took this kindly
7and in turn advised us
8not to be alarmed for they
9would not think of ascribing
10the death to us - That Sebituane
11had just gone the way of his
12fathers and though the
13father had gone he had left
14children and they hoped
15that we would be as friendly
16to them ^ his children as we intended to
17have been to his[ ]
{mself} -
He was decidedly the
19finest native chief I ever met
20I never felt moreso much
[so much ^] grieved by
21the loss of a black man ^ before than
22by this - and it was impossible
23not to follow him in
24thought into the world of
25which he had just heard
26before he was called away,
27and to realize somewhat
28of the feelings of those
29who pray for the dead -
30The deep dark question
31of what is to become of such
32must however be left where
33we find it - believing that
34assuredly the "Judge of all
35the earth will do right"
0191
12 186
2At ^ Sebituane's death the chieftainship
3devolved on a daughter named
4Ma mo-chisane as her father
5intended - He had promised
6to shew us his country and
7select a suitable locality for
8a residence but now the
9daughter was living twelve
10days to the North - at
11Naliele - When We were nowthen
12
[therefore] obliged to remain untill a
13message came from her
14
[and when it did she] giving
{gave} us perfect liberty to
15visit any part of the
16country we chose - Mr Oswel
17and I therefore proceeded
18130 miles ^ to the N. E. to Sesheke and
19in the end of June 1851 were
20rewarded by a
{t}he discovery
21of the Zambesi in the
22centre of the Continent -
23This was a most important
24point, for that river was
25
[not previously] never known to exist there
26at all - The Portuguese maps
27all represent it as rising
28far to the East of where
29we now were - and if ever
30anything like a chain of
31trading ^ stations existed accross the
32country between the latitudes
3312˚ and 18˚ South this
34magnificent portion of
35the river must have
36been known - We saw it
0192
13 99 187
2at the end of the dry season,
3or at the time when the river
4is about its lowest - and yet
5we saw from 300 to 600 yards
6of deep flowing water - Mr
7O. ^ said he had never sawseen such a fine
8river even in India - andthat
9at the period of annual
10inunda inundation it rises
11fully 20 feet in perpendicular
12height to flood fifteen or
13twenty miles of country -
14
[lands adjacent to its banks,] The country over which
15we had travelled from the
16Chobe was perfectly flat
17except where ^ there were large anthills
18appeared
[or have beenthe remains of former ones
19& left a ^ which had left mounds
20a few feet high]
- These are generally
21covered with wild date
22trees and Palmyras
23and ^ in some parts their
{re}
24are patches of mimosae -
25Occasionally the country
26between the Chobe
[and Zambezi] is flooded
27and there are large patches
28of swamp
[lying near
29or on itsthe banks
30of the former]
The Makololo
31were living among these
32swamps because of the
33protection the deep ^ reedy rivers
34afforded them against
35their enemies
4 188 100
2^
[Now in reference
3to a suitable locality
4for a settlement
5for myself I could
6not conscientiously
7ask them to
8abandon their
9defences for my
10convenience alone
11The healthy
12districts were
13defenceless - and
14the safe localities
15are so deleterious
16to human life
17that the original
18Basutus]
had nearly all been cut off
19by the fever I ^ therefore feared to
20subject my family to
21the scourge -
As we were the very first
23white men the inhabitants
24had ever seen, we were
25visited by prodigious numbers -
26Among the first who
27came to see us we were
28struck by was a gentleman
29
[who] appearing
{ed} in a gaudy
30gown of printed calico.
31Many of the Makololo
32besides had garments of
33blue, green, and red baize
34and also of printed cottons
35on enquiry we learned
36that these had been purchased
37with boys - from a tribe which
38is situated near Bihé
39
[in exchange for boys] called Mambari - ^ This tribeThey came
40and began the slave trade
41with Sebituane only in
421850 - and but for the
43unwillingness of Lechulatebe
44to allow us to pass him
45we should have been
46with Sebituane in time
47to ^ have prevented it from commencing
48at all - The Mambari
49visited the chief of the
50Barotse whom Sebituane
51conquered and he refused
0194
15 189
2to allow any one to sell a
3child - They never came
4back again till 1850 and
5
[as they] havinghad a number of
6old Portuguese guns marked
7"Legitimo de Braga" which
8Sebituane thought would
9be excellent in any other
10invasion of Matibele
11he offered to purchase them
12with cattle or ivory but
13theythe Mambari refused everything but
14
[except ^] boys - about 14 years of
15age - The Makololo declare
16they never heard of people
17being bought and sold till
18then and disliked it, but
19the desire to possess the
20guns prevailed and
21eight old guns were
22exchanged for as many
23boys - These were not
24bla their own children but
25captives of the black races
26they had conquered
[I have never
27known ^ in Africa an instance
28of a parent
29selling his own
30offspring]
- The
31Makololo were afterwards
32incited to make a foray
33against some tribes to
34the Eastward - The Mambari
35bargaining to use their
36guns for the captives
37they might take and the
38Makololo should ^ wa were to have
39all the cattle - They went off
0195
16 190
2with at least 200 slaves
3that year -
During this foray the
5Makololo met some Arabs
6from Zanzibar who
7presented them with three
8English muskets and
9in return recieved about
1030 of their captives -
In talking with my
12companion over these
13matters the idea was suggested
14that if the slave market
15were supplied with articles
16of European manufacture
17in the way of by legitimate
18trade commerce, the trade
19in slaves would become
20impossible - It seemed
21more feasible to give the goods
22for which the people now part
23with their servants in exchange
24for ivory ^
[and other products
25of the country]
and thus prevent
26the initiative trade - that
{n}n to
27put a stop to it ^ at any of the
28subsequent steps - This
29could only be effected by
30
[establishing ^] a highway from the coast
31into the centre of the country
32As there was no hope of
33of the Boers allowing the
34peaceable instruction of
35the natives at Kolobeng
36I at once resolved to take
37savesave my family from
0196
17 191
2exposure to this unhealthy region
3by sending them to England
4and to return alone with a
5view to exploring the country
6in search of a healthy
7district that might prove
8a centre of civilization
9and open up the Interior
10by a path to either the
11East or West coasts -
12This resolution led me down
13to Cape Town in 18
{A}pril 1852
14
[being] the first time during eleven
15years that I had revisited
16the scenes of civilization
17 ======
In the minds of many English-
4men I find the ideas of the
5Cape and Kaffre
{ir} wars are
6
[as ^] inseparably connected as
7the Siamese twins, and it is
8somewhat difficult for those
9who live on a railway
10island to realize the idea of
11our little unprotected party
12
[quietly] travelling through the heart of
13the colony to the capital
[in the twentieth
14month of a
15Kaffre
{ir} war]
with
16as little sense of danger as
17if we had been in England
18 These Kaffre
{ir} wars are an
19unmitigated nuisance - English
20colonists are unquestionably
21the best in the world - Neither
22French nor Spaniards nor
23Portuguese can be compared
24to the sturdy manly Englishman
25
[emigrant - ] He knows and acts on the
26principle which other nations
27are so slow to learn that
28wives are
{and} families are more
29essential to prosperous
30settlements than kettledrums
31and bayonets - The English
32wife must have a decent
33house and things to match
34and grumble as he willmay
35he must follow her guidance
36
[so far, ^] and confess ^ that she is an essential
0198
19 193 105
2element in upholding and promoting
3civilization - successful colonization
All my experience inclines
5me to the belief that in their dealings
6
[with the natives] of the English trader and Colonist
7
[have payssome] more regard is paid to the to justice
8and honour than they assume
9credit for - Nowhere can it
10be fairly said that the wide
11world wide reputation of
12the British merchant for
13honest determination to fufill
14his engagements, has been
15so entirely forgotten in an
16English community as to
17
[have it publicly] considered a smart thing
18to swindle
[either black
19or white]
the aboriginies -
20To the poorest and most
21degraded the Englishman
22says "Live and let live" and
23that has been the general
24feeling of the English Government
25
[too - ] The acts of different ministers
26have been capabe ^ it is true of bearing
27another interpretation,
28but it must be conceded
29that no disposition has ever
30
[of late years] ^ at least been shewn by the English
31nation or Government
32to exalt themselves by the
33debasement of the less
34favoured portions of humanity
35t
{T}here is even a general willingness
36to make considerable sacrifices
37
[for,] and to acknowledge the duty
0199
110 194
2of their civilization - But every
3now and then we are forced
4to hear of the happy homesteads
5of English settlers made desolate
6by hordes of ruthless savages -
7t
{T}housands of sheep ^ & cattle are driven
8off to be devoured in the mountain
9fastnesses - The gardens and
10fields of the comfortable family
11
[families] are left desolate while those
12whose industry would in
13the course of a few years
14have rendered them independent,
15if they have escaped with
16life, are reduced to beggary -
17English troops are then
18sent to chastise the Kaffre
{ir}s
19
[and avenge] for these fearful outrages,
20for it is quite abhorrent
21to the English nature^ure to leave
22
[England's] her children unprotected
23in the presence of these such
24barbarians - The English
25soldier fights as bravely there
26as anywhere else - The fatigues
27of bush fighting are excessively
28severe - and their privation
29
[which must be ^] endured in following a
30brave and crafty foe ^ are such
31as can scarcely be imagined
32by those who never saw
33the fighting grounds - The
34Officers are decimated
35by perpetual anxiety -
36Kaffre
{ir} bullets, and the
0200
111 195
2dead certainty that their labours
3will be appreciated nowhere,
4Millions of Pounds are
5cheerfully paid by ^ out of the British
6Treasury for the defence
7of the Colonial Frontier,
8but notwithstanding the
9most lavish expenditure
10of money and men there
11
[never] is not the smallest probability
12that ^
[^ a future] the nextanother outbreak will
13be prevented -
As the period of our visit
15to the Cape happened to be coincident
16with the termination of g
{a} grand
17experiment at a ^ towards a practical
18solution of the great Caffre
{Kaffir}
19difficulty noticed above -
[though ^ and the
20subject being
21rather out of
22my line and
23certainly not
24one on which
25I love to dwell
26I shall only
27offer a rapid
28sketch]
29 The interval between Caffre
{Kaffir}
30outbreaks had been prolonged
31for a great many years
32by what has been called
33the Glenelg or "philanthropic
34policy" - This though not
[perfectly well
35worked out]
faultless was worthy of the
36man whose name it bears,
37and incomparably the least
38expensive to the mother country
39This policy was put an
0201
112 196
2an end to and a severer system
3strongly advocated on the Frontier
4called the "Durban policy" was
5tried - The former treated the
6
[C] Caffres
{Kaffirs} as rational creatures
7and presupposed that they had
8some sort of natural title to
9their lands and if we could
10keep a treaty so could they -
11It also went on the basis
12of the observation of common
13honesty among ourselves as
14well as among the Kaffirs
{Caffres}
15and It was remarkably cheap
16to the mother country -
The Durban policy presupposed
18a willingness on the part of
19the Dutch Colonists to turn out
20and exterminate the Kaffirs
{Caffers}
21if only allowed to do it in
22their own way - This could
23not be put into operation
24because it is a libel to say
25that the Dutch in the Colony
26are what the bloodthirsty people
27this policy represented them
28to be -
Another plan was tried
30by a gentleman conversant
31with Indian Affairs - He wished
32to adopt the Indian plan of
33arming one part of the K
{C}affirs
34against another and disciplined
35a large body of the K
{C}affir police -
0202
113 197
2then elected himself the paramount
3chief of Kaffir
{Caffre}land - He was
4unconsciously dealing with the
5most devotedly loyal people
6on earth - They never desert
7
[leave ^] the ranks of their chiefs as
8French, Russians & even
9Englishmen do desert to the enemy
10So when the watchword was
11given by the great organ of
12the war party "Send away
13Sandillah" - The Kaffir
{Caffre}
14"Sippa-his" went off en masse
15to join their proper standard
16in the Annatolans - Men whose
17loyalty to their chiefs has
18been but ^ only barely equalled but not
19surpassed by that of the
20Highlanders to the Pretender
21might one would think
22have been turned to better
23account than have every
24feeling of their devotedness
25outraged by a foreigner
26pretending to place himself
27in the position of their
28paramount chief Sandillah
29To any one acquainted
30with the political constitution
31of the South African tribes
32no step could have been
33devised better adapted for
34rousing the wrath of the
35entire Kaffir
{Caffre} people than
0203
114 198
2most impotent stab at their
3nationality - Not even Sandillah
4himself could have invented
5a more certain and efficient
6means of rallying all the
7chivalry of k
{C}affirland around
8him than that "a white man
9who had been made a chief
10by a woman should depose
11him who had been made a
12chief by God" -
After a desperately
14prolonged struggle in which
15upwards of two millions of
16money were spent. the
17Durban policy worked to
18be
{The} rather dear bought conclusion
19was reached that the D'Urban
20policy is not the solution of the
21Kaffir
{Caffre} difficulty for it
22was officially declared
23by competent authority that
24
[a] Kaffir
{Caffre} war was equal to one
25with the Circassians or
26Algerine Arabs and Sandillah
27was not sent away -
An experiment had
29thus been fairly tried at the
30time of our arrival at the
31Cape at
{on} a large scale
32and in exact accordance
33with the ideasviews of a large
34party on the Frontier - The
35measures were as severe
0204
115 199
2as the most bloody minded
3could desire, yet we cannot
4exterminate a single African
5tribe - The race is imperishable
6as other things hereafter to be
7noticed indicate this as well
8Whether the Kaffirs are the
9descendants of Ishmael may
10be gravely questioned - but
11certain it is they do in
12spite of all we can do "dwell
13bravely in the presence of all
14their brethren" - Their past
15seems to forbode that if we
16follow the fighting policy
17we can only hope for a
18permanent peace when
19we have depopulated all the
20country between Graham's
21town and Timbuctu - And
22as we have taken so long and
23been at so much expense
24with such small progress
25in that direction, such a
26consummation implies
27a postponement of the
28Millennnium to please the
29war party for some fifteen
30thousand years to come
If we knew the
32causes of the Kaffir
{Caffre} wars
33a remedy might be found
34but since the annulment
35cancelment of the rational
0205
116 200
2Glenelg policy all those who
3pretend to knowledge of
4the difficulty have made
5such ridiculous mistakes
6in practice and are at
7so much variance in their
8opinions the enquirer is
9quite at sea - Some aver
10that K
{C}affir wars have
11been rendered necessary
12by the restless thievish
13propensities of our savage
14neighbours and not
15from any injustice or
16aggression either on the
17part of the government
18or of the inhabitants of
19the Frontier - or was
20
[(Or] must be around in because
21it is a fact true of this
22as of other colonies that the
23native population becomes
24worse and not better by
25from its contact with civilization
26and a professedly Christian
27people adding that the
28grasping encroachments
29of the white man from
30year to year on the native
31lands is rather an unlikely
32mode of teaching the K
{C}affirs
33that honesty is one of
34the virtues
Or And to complete
0206
117 201
2the catalogue of alleged causes
3the Kaffirs
{Caffres} themselves say
4"No white man is without
5a book - Is it God who gave
6this book bids him think
7of blood - Some white men
8come and say "the Kaffirs
{Caffres}
9steal" - but the white men
10are the robbers - God made
11a boundary by the sea
12and white men cross it
13to rob us of our country
14When the son of God came
15down from Heaven you
16white men killed him - ^ It was not black
17men ^ who did not do that -
18Englishmen make laws about
19promises about the land
20and break them - They make
21a boundary and then take
22it away - The reason why
23we fight is we do not wish
24to live under the English - Is it
25God who sent the Englishman
26acc
{r}oss the sea to take our
27country - Is it God who created
28him bids him come and
29rule over the chiefs of
30other countries - Is that
31right - We are tired of the
32Englishman on account
33of his bad conduct - If he
34kills me both he and I will
35have to answer before God"
36 Extracts of a speech of Sandillah
37to R R Renton United Presbyterian church Scotland
18 202
2Now these assertions possess
3so much of the recriminatory
4character one cannot feel
5confidence in either - Still
6less can we concieve of those
7who have been benefitted by
8Kaffir
{Caffre} wars giving an
9opinion worth a straw
10Yet it is a remarkable
11feature in thes case that those
12who from a residence on
13the spot where supplies
14 from England are chiefly
15spent and where men
16with their wits about them
17may make fortunes in
18the philanthropic business
19of aiding the troops are
20generally quite decided
21in their opinions as
22to the necessity of severe
23measures with the Kaffirs
{Caffres}
24They are particularly active
25in pointing out the causes
26of the K
{C}affir wars and boldly
27criticise the tactics of generals
28the conduct of the governors -
29the thieving of the K
{C}affirs &
30the behaviour of missionaries
31Their lugubrious wailings of
32these over the afflicted
33Frontier farmers are
34peculiarly affecting, and as
35
[the body of] Frontier farmers of war
36supplies have become
0208
119 203
2a moneyed community
3possessing great influence
4their volunteer lamentations
5over the frontier farmers of
6cattle may well lead some
7to suspect that the cry of
8distress made in their behalf
9is somewhat ^ like the cry of
10agricultural distress which
11formerly was rife in
12England
[That was as
13non-indicative
14of suffering
15among the
16real farmers
17as this is
18non-indicative
19of distress
20in the real
21sufferers
22by Caffre wars
23Real distress
24existed in
25both cases
26but Caffre
27war provides
28no relief
29to the needy
30[ ] in either
31case - While
32they do
33give competencies
34to the men
35who "give
36tongue"]
- And had a "Times
37commissioner" accompanied
38the army i
{o}n the Cape Frontier
39the English public might
40have known ere this
41the difference between the
42real and the feigned Frontier
43farmers
It would be a great
45mistake
[to imagine] that the Cape people
46as a body are benefitted by
47a state of warfare - It is
48a blight on the prosperity of
49the country - But since
50there is a ^ small party which has
51grown great by K
{C}affirre
52wars, and they are especially
53divided in their opinions
54as to the causes of the outbreaks
55
[but] and always stoutly hold to
56the opiniondoctrine that England
57must pay the expenses
58It might be well to
59ask the K
{C}affirsres - We have
0209
120 204
2always but one side of
3the question in K
{C}affirre
4difficulties - We never
5hear of our defeats except
6by
{fr}om the defeated forces
7
[In aeach war] The aggregate is defeat
8while all the defea details
9are victory
{ies} Such a
10discrepancy could not
11occur if we had the
12Kaffir
{Caffre} opinions too and -
13perhaps collision might
14be avoided ^ altogether if they
15were allowed a voice
16in the solution of the difficulty
17An English military official
18is well known to have
19broken his word of honour
20and thereby got a Caffre chief
21into his hands - We never
22got another - And though
23one governor declared in
24a public dispatch that
25"he had slain 9
{8}0 000 Caffres
26and and 6,000 Caffre
27chiefs and returned triumphant
28and victorious" we
{he} never
29had a single live Caffre
30chief to shew - Sandillah
31declared that "though killed
32his bones would rise
33up and fight - aye and
34his bones' bones would
35fight against the English forever"
21 205
2This proclamationdispatch was read
3written while we were at the Cape
4The war went on for about
5half a year afterwards but as
6the entire Caffre population
7has been stated to be only 94,000
8I have never ceased to regret
9that we had not a Times
10commissioner on the spot
11as well as at the Crimea - It would
12be so interesting to discover how
13the Caffre bones got up and fought
14like Benjamin Franklin's
15
[dead] flies from Madeira wine
16and fought with Sir George
17Cathcart for months after
18-wards - If England must
19pay such enormous sums
20and her Government is
{as} is
{it}
21certainly the casedoes wishes to deal
22fairly and fight fairly too in
23cases of necessity, by all
24means let us hear both
25sides of the question - What
26do the Caffres and our soldiers
27say? To whom do our soldiers
28refer as those who alone are
29benefitted by the wars? Let us
30hear both sides and not go
31blundering on at the bidding of
32those who not worth
{se} than the
33generality of men are in a position
34to make even the blood of the
35English soldier profitable - Let us
36have a "Times commissioner"
Without supposing these
6people to be either worse than
7the general mass of humanity
8or that they have acted
9otherwise than most men
10would have done when
11placed in circumstances
12where fortunes were to be
13made out of the supplies
14sent out from England
15it must be conceded that
16the mother country has
17gone as far in gratifying
18their whim for Kaffir
19wars as the most leech-
20-like portion of humanity
21could desire - Their favourite
22"D'Urban policy" can not be
23worked because as Sir
24Harry Smith fully proved
25by his proclamation inviting
26(insulting?) the Colonial
27farmers to "exterminate"
28the Kaffirs" the Dutch areunder
29
[English law ^ are] not the bloodthirsty savages
30which the misanthropic
31policy presupposes - And
32even at among the Kaffre
{ir}
33war party itself there is
34no hope of working it
0212
1207
2And if ^ also in addition he finds the statement I have
3made of the invariable friendliness
4& honesty of the Bechuanas such as I describe
5that he and find it advisable
6to make ^ the same a relaxation of the
7powder ordinance in favour
8of our friends as we have
9done in favour of our
10enemies (the Boers) the
11influence and honour of the
12British name will be both
13enhanced
208
2children now openly practised
3in the Northern part of the Trans-
4vaal territory was carefully
5concealed but immediately
6on their Independance being
7acknowledged They mad the
8foray against Sechele to regain
9the slaves the emancipation
10of which having been the
11grievance for which most
12of them left the Colony -
13And they proclaimed that
14the English had now
15handed over the whole region
16to their will This the
17natives who had the highest
18respect for the English name
19did not believe but as
20the assertion of the Boers
21seems to be backed by
22the operation of the Powder
23ordinance we
{our} fame is
24in danger of being tarnished
Now I do not wish
27to express an opinion on
28the policy of the Independance
29of the Transvaal Boers,
30but the [ ]that I do beg
31that that the Government
32powder Ord - so proper for the
33Kaffirs on the East should
34not be so worked as to
35give the impression of
0214
1connivance in the enslavement
2of the friendly tribes in the West
3This impression spreading
4rapidly in the far Interior
5will in all probability as
6made powerfully destruct my
7own future efforts as the
8good opinion which had
9circulated far and wide
10over vast regions formerly
11aided my progress And it
12will tend to the still farther
13development of English
14commerce and civilisation
If it should be your
17pleasure to attend to this very
18important subject I would
19humby beg you to bring
20the subject before the
21Present Colonial Governor
22Sir George Grey and if
23His Excellency will examine
24the different eulogiums which
25have been passed by different
26Colonial Governments or
27the Griqua chief Waterboer
28for his faithful adherence
29of
{to} a treaty for the defence
30of the North West Frontier
31during twenty years
0215
1209
2being numbered among the patients -
3Our Maker has surrounded us with
4beauty in his fair creation, and
5believing that we ought to cultivate
6the taste for the beautiful and good
7my mind I have been in the habit of
8admiring his handy works
9wherever manifested in nature
10or man - This habit of mind
11will probably appear in these
12pages for I now look with
13kindlier feeling on every landscape
14and on every class of my
15fellow men than persons of a
16bilious temperament may
17think advisable -
[and now to] The objects which I had in view
19may be understood by what follows
20Having left England in 1846 with
21instructions from the London Missionary
22Society to endeavour to carry Christianity
23into the countries North or Kuruman
24or Lattakoo then their farthest station
25inland from the Cape
[ possessed
26 intense desire
27 become a
28neer of civilisation
29shewing that
30 medical
31ucation rendered
32 suitable for
33ning up the
34ag for other
35issionaries -
36and]
I a
{A}t once I
37proceeded in the direction indicated -
38and i
{I}n order to attain an accurate
39knowledge of the language I separated
40myself for several months from
41European society and gained thereby
42a knowledge of the people and
43their w language and way of
44thinking which have
{s} proved
45of immense value in intercourse
46with them ever since - The tribe
0216
1to &
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 [ ]Before I giveBefore I renew & narrate our colloquy let me
14offer a very brief sketch of this remarkable man who has [ ]
15[ ] embraced Christianity but expounds its doctrines
16to his people et c et c
0217
1210
2for when the rest of the Colony
3sent levies of volunteers
4and even the Hottentots
5turned out by hundreds
6The Shopocracy of
Graham's
7Town to whom every returned
8officer points out as
9those who alone are benefittd
10by protective wars, musterd
11only 36 thirty six most
12of whom where ^ Hottentot substitutes
13
[who] and remained only a
14fortnight under arms.
15No wonder that Sir George
16
[Cathcart] complained bitterly of
17that not a man of those
18for whom he was fighting
19would aid him and as the
20war drew to a close, uttered
21uttered an ominous threat
22against those who continued
23to keep up the irritation
24of the war for their own ends
The Cape Government
27however
The influence of the
29party referred to may be
30understood when it is
31mentioned that Sir Harry
32Smith adopted the watch
33word which the organ of
34the party perennially proclaimed
35as that of the war
0218
1211
2declared would shew the causes
3of the C
{K}affir war and Hotentot
4rebellion to be "the missionaries"
Now the proportion which
6the community which has been
7enriched by Kaffir wars bears
8to the missionaries may be
9 about five hundred to five
10And though the latter have on
11every occasion lost everything
12article
[of property] of worldly goods they possessed if
13they are really
the the mono-
14-maniacs who delight in
15arson and murder they have
16
[been asserted] believed to be - it is no more
17than patriotism in these
18five hundred who have always
19been sane enough to extract
20the sweet out of the bitter - line
21
[--] their "draw honest gain from the
22necessary evils of war" - to
23denounce the mad originators
24of this most calamitous
25state - This they vigourously did -
26
[by the public
27press]
^ and in doing so the entire
28body felt that their organ acted
29nobly -
A Hottentot officer named
31Botha was fixed upon as apparently
32
[deeply] implicated in the ^ late rebellion &
33war - and as he was known
34as
{to} be connected with some
35missionaries at the Kat river
36his trial was loudly demanded
0219
1212
2as certain to draw out in the
3most convincing way the fullest
4evidence of their complicity -
5The trial took place in
6Cape town while I was there
7in May 1852 - And as I felt
8interested in seeing ^ the judicial
9forms after of civilized life
10after witnessing those of the
11Bakwains and Makololo -
12I attended during the whole
13eight days of the case lasted
The prisoner Andries
15Botha was upwards of seventy
16years of age - of short stature
17and firmly built - his hair
18white and features of the
19cast of his race - The evidence
20of Sir Andries Stockenstroom
21and of the magistrate ^ (Mr Wienand) of the
22district in which the alleged
23rebellion had taken place
24(Mr Wienand) shewed that
25for forty years ^ he had been
26"a most efficient officer"
27in the Queens service and
28had been the "chief agent in
29bringing one ^ at least of the C
{K}affir wars
30to a successful conclusionclose"
Against him were arranged
32by the Attorney General a few
33Fingoes who were well known
34to be the mortal enemies of
35the whole Hottentot race - and
36of Botha in particular as
0220
1213
2a chief man among those of that are
3
[tribe living on] the Frontier - To these witnesses
4were added about half a dozen
5Hottentot convicts whose
6irons were removed before
7they were put into the witness
8box butand appeared in their
9convict dresses - The counsel
10for the prisoner objected
11to these convicts on the
12ground that no witness ought
13to be examined here who
14would be incompetent
15to act as witnesssuch in a case
16of treason at Westminster
17but this was overuled by
18the Lord Chief Justice who
19acted as Judge in the case -
20So, here though the Attorney
21General acted conducted
22the case with his well known
23
[candour] fairness and impartiality
24the witnesses may be
25fairly be supposed to have
26been somewhat influenced
27by the removal of their chains
28just before entering into
29court, to give evidence
30as much in favour of
31the side for which they
32were called as possible -
33Some indeed confessed afterward
34that ^ they had ^ they indulged the hope
35that the irons were not to be
36 resumed
0221
1214
2The influence was ^ thus neither in
3favour of the eliciting what the
4
[the evidence
5what the
6if any
7existed of
8what the]
party organ believedasserted to be
9the case, that the missionaries
10were the originators of the
11Hottentot rebellion & C
{K}affir
12war -
The prisoner was
14shewn to have absented himself
15on one occasion only from
16meeting General Somerset
17on account of that officer
18being unable to protect
19him from the vengeance
20of some irregular Fingoe
21forces who had already
22attempted his life - and
23for this single breach
24of duty
[fully explained
25to the General
26beforehand]
his forty years of
27service counted as nothing
28and he was sentenced to
29death ^ as a rebel in consequence -
30The Governor communted
31the sentence to imprisonment
32of with hard labour ^ on the roads for life
33This after some years was discovered to be illegal and
34he has since been kept
35a prisoner only -
Now the point of most
38importance in this trial
39was - the causes of the Kaffir
40war and Hottentot rebellion
215
2The Hottentots had been placed
3by that far seeing and enti
4upright man Sir Andries
5Stockenstrom as an advanced
6gaurd against the C
{K}affirs
7on athe Kat river - And
8were previous to the war
9most unjustly deprived of
10their arms and some of
11their lands by an under official
[whose act
12was when
13too late
14disapproved
15by his
16government]
17whom Sir Harry Smith
18thought he could adroitly
19punish by promotion i- e-
20appear to disapprove
21of his acts while he actually
22
[upholding] by giving him a better situation
A sudden impulse led
24them
[unarmed
25and unable
26to do otherwise
27from being
28surrounded
29by the enemy]
on the breaking out
30of the Kaffir ^ war completely in the power to join in the
31ranks of the enemyKaffirs and ^ But
32not a syllable could be
33elicited tending in any
34way to elicit shew complicity
35of any missionary of
36any sect whatever Nor
37was that now wanted
38for the"Graham's town
39Journal" at once boldly
40affirmed that the case was simply this - "the
41British settlers versus
42the Cat Kat river settlement"!
43This frank avowal shews
44how men otherwise estimable
0223
1216
2could notwithstanding all that
3had been done for them
4and by which they had
5profited so largely - cooly
6place the interests of a
[respectable
7but really
8insignificant]
9contemptible purse proud-
10-part in opposition to that
11
[those] ^ of the whole Empire - Two
12millions of money must be
13paid by the mother country
14because certain proteges ^
15
[petulant as
16spoiled children]
^ wished to possess the Kat
17river settlement
That which renders the
19unblushing greediness of this
20
[small] ^ portion of our empire
21peculiarly odious is the
22altogether un-English wish
23displayed for aggrandizement
24at the expense of the degraded
25races in their vicinity even
26
[and of] ^ by the blood of the English
27soldier - The idea
28prevailed extensively that
29the Kat River Settlement
30belonged to the London
31Missionary Society
[This was asserted
32even by a
33Clergyman
34who ought
35to have
36known better - ]
Hence
37The cause of the "British
38settlers" required a conviction
39of the missionaries there -
40This roundabout way
41of gaining an end might have
42been dispensed with (as
43could the whole Caffre war
44way of enrichment might
45 also)
0224
1217
2
[dispensed
3with too - ]
H
{h}ad it ^ the unquestionable fact been known that the
4Society in question never
5possessed an inch of ground
6at that settlement - The wars
7lands of
[of Hottentots on] the Kat River belonged
8to the g
{C}rown and the location
9was formed for political
10purposes and with exactly
11the same objects in
12view as are now expected
13to be realised by the German
14legion - and the defence
15of the Frontier while committed
16to the Hottentots involved no
17political Governmental aid
18
[whatever] to the missionaries who
19freely taught them whatever
20These Hottentots answered well
21the object which the founder
22of the settlement
[(Sir Andries
23Stockenstrom)]
had in view
They turned out boldly to fight
26the C
{K}affirs and to them and
27others [ ] other Colonists
28from distant parts we are
29indebted for the permission
30to say that efforts have been
31made for the defence of the
32Frontier by the Colonists
33themselves in successive wars -
34remained in the field often
35without pay and returned
36to their families in rags
37while the Grahams town
38levies played at soldiering
39 only
0225
1218
2at ranges convenient for
3daily returns to teapot & tills -
4The credit however of
5the defence made by both
6Hottentots & Colonists from
7distant parts has always
8been appropriated by this
9moneyed community whom
10we have before remarked
11as crouching under the
12term distressed "Frontier
13farmers" The cry of
{f}or
14protection in their case
15closely approximates that
16of the agriculturists in
17England - And the pangs
18of distress felt by the
19British settlers is as now
20indicative of the true sorrow
21As the
{in} the real Frontier farmers
22of cattle & grain as the
23cry of "agricultural distress"
24was in former years
25
[non-] indicative of sufferingpoverty in
26the agricultural labourer
27In both cases there was true
28suffering but in neither has
29the wail been made by the
30sufferer -
Had the Times commissioner
32been the agent of a paper ^ the organ & which
33
[of a party which] had become rich by Russian
34wars Even Mr Russels
35graphic narrative might
36have assumed a modified
0226
1219
2form - What then may be
3expected to issue from the
4
[a] paper itself du
{of} which the
5staple article was
{du}ring all
6those years in which of the
7
[peaceful
8preservation
9of the]
^ Glenelg treaties, was "Kaffir
10grievances - "
As the missionaries
22petitioned in vain for a
23commission to sift the
24matter to the bottom, and
25the C
{K}affirs themselves are
26most anxious to discuss
27the matter why should the
28
[it] matter not be fully investigate
29In all our wars we have
30had but one side of the
31question - We never hear
32the Kaffir version - We
33were compelled to hear the
34Russian views of our
35operations in our late
36wars - Why not allow our
37savage neighbours as we
38call them the means of
39explaining their views too
0227
1220
2and wishes too - My Earnest hope
3and prayer is that a Times
4commissioner may anticipate
5the next Kaffir war by a
6searching enquiry among
7both Kaffirs Hottentots and
8Colonists and I am certain
9that if the causes of
{of} this
10chronic warfare were laid
11before the English public
12as fairly as these gentlemen
13can, the exposure would
14go farther towards the prevention
15of another outbreak than
16any measure that has yet
17been proposed - They at least
18will not be afraid of
19meeting the Kaffirs in
20argument
The travels of which I now mean
4to give a sketch extended from
5the Cape of Good Hope, the southern
6extremity of the continent, to
7St Paul di Loando, the capital
8of Loando ^
[Angola] on the West Coast,
9and thence accross the continent
10in an oblique direction to Quilimane
11in Eastern Africa - They were
12commenced in the beginning
13of June 1851
{2} and terminated
14in the end of May 1856, a period
15of four years, though not of
16continuous travel, having been
17spent in the ^ prosecution of the objects for which
18the enterprise was undertaken -
19And as no one but a German
20bookworm would think of
21giving a detailed account of the
22ever recurring minutiae of travel,
23during that such as period, or lengthy
24disquisitions on all that has been
25said and written from Hanno
26down to our comfortable Easy chair
27geographers who can fiercelykeenly
28contend for the exact positions of
29
[places] about as well known as the garden
30of Eden, the reader may expect
31from me that information and
32those incidents alone which
33attract my attention most stronly
34and which I hope will convey
X 182 116 222
2 =====
Having sent my family home
4to England I beganstarted mythe on my last
5journey from Cape Town on
6
[in] the beginning of June 1852 which
7
[This journey] extended from the Southern
8Extremity of the continent to
9
[St Paul di] Loando on
{the} capital of Angola
10on the West coast and thence
11accross the South central Africa
12in an oblique direction to
13Quilimane in Eastern Africa
14I proceeded in the usual
15conveyance of the country,
16the heavy lumbering Cape
17waggon drawn by ten oxen
18and was accompanied by
19two
[Christian] Bechuanas from Kuruman
20who than whom I never saw
21better servants anywhere - Two
22Bakuena men and two
23little ^ young girls who having come
24as nurses with our children
25to the Cape were returning
26to their home at Kolobeng
27Waggon travelling in Africa
28has been so often described
29
[that] I need say no more than
30
[it is] that waggon this life ^ it is is just
31an prolonged system of pic-
32-nicing - excellent for the
33health and agreeable to those
34who are not over fastidious
0230
1183 223
2about trifles and ^ who delight in ^ being the
3
[in the] open air -
Our route on leavingto the North the
5Cape lay near the centre of the
6Cone into which constitutes
7the promontory of the Cape, If
8we suppose this cone to be
9divided into three zones or longitudinal bands, we find
10each presenting distinct
11peculiarities of climate,
12physical appearance and
13population These are more
14marked beyond thanan within
15the Colony - At some points
16too, one district seems to be
17continued intoin and merge into
18the other, but the general
19dissimilarity warrants the
20division as an aid to
21memory - The Eastern zone
22
[is often furnished] ^ with mountainous
{s}, well
23wooded bywith ^ evergreen succulent trees
[on which
24neither fire
25nor droughts can
26have the smallest effect]
27
[Streliezt Strelitzia] ( Zamias horrida - portulacaria afra
28Schotia speciosa, Euphorbias & Aloes arborescens)
29and the ^ seaboard gorges with gigantic
30timber - It is also ^ comparatively well
31watered with streams and
32flowing rivers - The annual
33supply of rain is considerable
34and the inhabitants
[(Caffres or Zulas)] are
35tall muscular and well
36made. They are shrewd
37energetic and brave and
38
[altogether] they merit the character given
0231
1184 224
2them by military authorities of
3being "magnificent savages"
4Their splendid physical development
5and form of skull shew that but for the
6black skin they would take rank ^
[among the foremost
7Europeans]
The zone again which
9embraces the centre of the
10continent can scarcely be
11called hilly for it consists
12of low hills and extensive
13
[&] slightly undulating plains
14The latter predominate
15and there are no lofty mountains
16There are few fountains
17and fewer flowing streams
18Rains areis far from abundant
19and droughts may be expected
20every few years - Without
21
[artificial] irrigation no European
22grain can be raised, and
23the inhabitants (Bechuanas)
24though evidently of one stock
25originally with those on the
26
[already mentioned] ^ East side of the continent
27and closely resembling them
28in being an agricultural as
29well as a pastoral people
30are a comparatively timid
31race, and inferior to the
32
[Kaffirs] Caffres in physical development
The Western zone is still
35more level than the middle
36one, being rugged only near
0232
1185 225
2The coast - It includes the
3great plain called the Kalahari
4desert which is remarkable
5for little water and very
6considerable vegetation
The reason why so
8little rain falls on this
9extensive plain probably is
10this - The prevailing winds
11of most of the ^ Interior country are
12Easterly with a little Southing
13The moisture taken up by
14the atmosphere from the
15Indian Ocean is always
16deposited on the Eastern
17hilly slope and when the
18moving mass of air the atmosphere
19reaches its greatest elevation
20it is then on the verge of
21the great valley or as
22it is in the case of the Kalahari the
23great heated inland plains
24There meeting with the rarified
25air of that hot hot dry
26surface the ascending heat
27gives it greater capacity
28for retaining all its
29remaining humidity and
30few showers can be given
31to the middle & Western lands
32in consequence of the
33increased hygrometric power
The large vegetation
35of the Kalahari so different
186 226
This is the same phenomenon
3on a gigantic scale which
4takes place on Table mountain
5in what is called the spreading
6of the table cloth - The South
7East wind causes a mass
8of air equal to the diameter
9of the mountain lsuddenly
10to ascend at least a thousand
11feet - The rarification produced
12by altitude ^ & cold causes the immediate
13formation of a cloud on the
14summit, successive masses
15of air cause the continual
16formation of clouds but
17the summit top of the vapoury
18mass or "Table cloth" is level
19and seemingly motionless
20on the lee side however the
21thick volumes of vapour
22curl over and descend but
23when they reach the point
24below where greater density
25has greater capacity for
26carrying water They entirely
27disappear
Now if instead of a
29hollow on the lee side of
30Table mountain we had
31a heated plain the clouds
32which curl over and disappear
33as they do now might deposit
34some moisture there
35but the heat would impart
0234
1187 227
2impart the increased capacity
3it now recieves at the lower
4level and instead of an
5extended country with a
6flora of the Disa grandiflora,
7gladiolus, & rushes and lichens
8we should have the hardy grassy
9vegetation of the Kalahari
Why there should be
11so much vegetation
12on the Kalahari may be explained
13by the geological formation
14of the country - There is a
{seems}
15
[to be] a rim or fringe of ancient
16rocks all round the great
17central valley which generally
18dip into an ancient basin
19wh the bottom of which is
20composed of the most
21ancient Silurian rocks
22This basin has been
23burst through and filled
24up in many parts by
25eruptive traps & Breccias
26which often bear in
27their substances ^ angular fragments
28of the more ancient rocks
29as shewn in the fossils
30they contain - Now though
31large areas have been
32so dislocated that but
33little trace of the original
34valley formation appears
35it is highly probable that
0235
1188 228
2it still holds true of most of the
3country and as the strata
4on the slopes where most
5of the rain falls dip in towards
6the centre they probably guide
7water beneath plains but
8ill supplied with moisture
9from the clouds - The
10phenomenon of stagnant
11fountains becoming by
12a new outlet never
13failing streams may be
14confirmatory of the same
15view. And it is not
16beyond the bounds of
17probability too that the
18wonderful river system
19in the North which if
20the native information
21be correct influencescauses
22the rise of the springs
23called at N Matlomaganyana
24(the links) extends its
25fertilising influence
26beneath the plains of the
27Kalahari
The peculiar formation
29of the country explains why
30there is & should be such a
31difference ofin the vegetation
32between the ^ 20° 30° parallels of latitude in central of Australia
33and the same latitudes in
34South Africa - This holds
35true of The want of
36vegetation is as true
0236
1189 228
{9}
2of some parts in the centre
3of South America of the
4same Latitudes as of Australia
5And it opens the difference
6holds out a high degree
7of probability for the
8success of Artesian
9wells in extensive tracts
10now unpeopled solely
11on account of want of
12water - We thus coin
13elements of future greatness
14which we cannot hope
15for in Australia or Chili
16and a
{A}s the central parts
17of the Cape Colony are daily
18becoming of higher value
19offering to honest industry
20a fair renumeration
21for capital besides a
22climate unequalled in
23salubrity for consumptive
24patients - I should un-
25hesitatingly recommend
26any farmer at all afraid
27of that complaint to
28try the Colony in preference
29to Madeira With the
30means of education already
31possessed and the onward
32and upward movement
33of the Cape population he
34need entertain no appre-
35hensions of his family
36sinking into barbarism
190 230
The route we at this time
3followed ran along the middle
4and
{or} skirted the Western zone
5before alluded to, untill we
6reached the latitude of Lake
7Ngami where a totally
8different country begins
9While in the Colony we passed
10through districts inhabited
11by the descendants of the Dutch &
12French refugees from religious
13persecution - Those living
14near the Capital differ but
15little from the middle classes
16in English rural counties
17and excel in public spirit
18and general intelligence
19while those situated far from
20the centres of civilization
21are less informed but are
22a body of frugal, industrious,
23and hospitable peasantry
24A most efficient system
25of public instruction was
26established in the time
27of Governor Sir George Napier
28on a plan drawn up in
29a great measure by that
30accomplished philosopher
31Sir John Herschel - the
32system had to contend with
33less sectarian rancour than
34elsewhere - Indeed untill quite
35recently such rancour
36except in a mild form was unknown
0238
1191 121
{231}
2
[The population here
3described ought
4not and probably
5would not
6be confounded
7with some Boer
8who fled from
9British rule
10on account
11 the emancipation
12of their Hottentot
13slaves]
B
{b}ut as every now and then
14 omit some Rip Van
[Getze] Winkle starts
15forth at the Cape to justify in
16the public prints the deeds
17of blood and slavehunting
18in the far Interior, it is not to
19be wondered at if the whole
20race is held in low estimation
21by those who know not
22the real composition of the
23Cape community -
Population among the Boers
25increases rapidly - They marry
26soon - have children late
27and are seldom sterile - I once
28met a worthy matron whose
29husband thought it right to
30imitate ^
[the conduct of] Abraham while
31Sarah was barren; she evidently
32agreed in the propriety of the
33measure for she was pleased
34to hear the children ^ by a mother of what
35has been though an inferior
36race, ^ and they address her as their
37mother - Orphans are never
38left allowed to remain long
39destitute and instances are
40perpetually seenfrequent in which a
41the tender hearted farmer has
42adopted a fatherless child
43and will when it comescame of
44age ^ has portioned it as his own -
45
[Two] Two centuries of the South
46African climate has not had
0239
1192 232
2much effect upon the ^ physical condition of the Boers - race - They
3are a shade darker than Europeans
4or rather ruddier, than Europeans
5on the body - and Are never cadaverous
6looking as descendants of
7Europeans are said to be
8elsewhere - There is a tendency
9to the development of steatopyga
10so characteristic of Arabs &
11other African tribes, and it
12is probable that theyin will get
13colour and strong robust
14forms, of the Interior boers
15will become what the
16learned imagine those of
17our progenitors Adam and Eve
18to have been -
The parts of the Colony through
25which we passed were
26of sterile aspect and as the
27time of our passing was being
28
[the] winter after a severe drought
29
[so severe
30many farmers
31had lost two
32thirds of their
33stock]
^the landscape was uninviting,
34the hills, destitute of trees, were
35of a dark brown colour
36and the scanty vegetation
37on the plains made me
38feel this ^ that it deserved the name of
39desert more than ^ the Kalahari
193 233
2When first taken possession of,
3these parts are said to have been
4covered with a coating of grass
5but that has disappeared with
6the antelopes which fed upon
7it and a crop of Mesembryanthe--mums
8
[and crassulas] occupy
{ies} its place - It is
9curious to observe how in
10nature, organismszations the most
11dissimilar are mutually dependant
12
[^ upon Each other --- ^] for their perpetually
{tion} ^ - Here the
13grasses were dependant for
14dissemination on the grass
15feeding animals which scattered
16the seeds - When by the death
17of the antelopes no fresh sowing
18was made the African droughts
19proved too much for this form
20of vegetation But even this
21contingency was foreseen
22by the Omniscient One for as
23we may now observe in the
24Kalahari desert another family
25of plants (Mesembryanthemums) stood ready
26to neutralize the aridity which
27must otherwise have followed -
28This
[family of] plants possesses a seed
29vessels which remains firmly
30shut on itstheir contents while the
31soil is hot and dry and
32thus preserves the vegetative
33power intact during the
34highest heat of the Torrid
35sun, But when rain falls
0241
1194 234
2the seed vessels openss and shedss
3their its contents just when there is
4the greatest probability of its their
5vegetating - In other plants
6heat & drought cause the
7seed vessels to burst
8and shed their charge
One of this family h
{i}s edible
10(Mesembryanthemum edule)
11another possesses a tuberous
12root which may be eaten raw
13and all are furnished with
14thick fleshy leaves having
15pores capable of imbibing and
16retaining moisture from the
17most unlikely atmosphere
18and soil, so that if a leaf
19is broken during a period
20of the greatest drought it shews
21abundant circulating sap -
22The plants of this species are
23found much farther North
24but the great abundance of the
25grasses prevents them from
26making any shew - There
27however they stand ready to
28fill up any gap which may
29occur in the present prevailing
30vegetation, and should the grasses
31disappear animal life would
32not necessarily be destroyed
33because
[a reserve supply] an
equivalent to
34^ a fresh an
act of creative power
35has been provided
195 125 {235}
As this new vegetation is
3better adapted for sheep and goats
4in a dry country than grass the
5boers supplement the latter by
6imitating the process by which
7graminivorous antelopes have
8so abundantly disseminated the
9seed - A few waggon loads
10of Mesembryanthemum plants
11in seed are brought to a
12farm covered with a scanty
13crop of course grass, and
14placed on a spot to which
15the sheep have access in the
16evenings - As they eat a little
17every night the seeds are
18dropped over the farm grazing
19grounds in this simple way
20with a regularity with a regularity
21which could not be matched
22except by
[at the cost of] an immense amount
23of labour - The place ^ thus becomes
24in the course of a few years
25as was intended a sheep farm
0243
1196 236
2As already mentioned some
3plants of this family are
4furnished with an additional
5contrivance for withstanding
670 droughts viz - oblong tubers
7which buried deep enough
8beneath the soil for complete
9protection from the scorching
10sun, serve as reservoirs
11of sap and nutriment during
12those rainless periods which
13recur perpetually in even the
14most favoured spots of Africa
15I have adverted to this peculiarity
16as often seen in the vegetation
17of the Desert and though rather
18out of place it may be
19well in noticing a clever
20imitation of one process in
21nature by the Cape farmer to
22suggestmention another for their
23consideration - When the
24country beyond South Lat 18°
25
[abounds] aboundants in three varieties
26
27of grape bearing vines, and
28one of these is furnished with
29oblong tubers every three or four
30inches along the horizontal
31root - They resemble closely
32those of the asparagus - and
33This increase of power to
34withstand the effects of climate
35might prove of value in those
36
[more] arid parts
[of the Cape Colony] for grapes being
37well known asto be an excellent
0244
1197 237
2restorative in the debility produced
3by heat - by engrafting or
4 by some of those curious
5manipulations ˄ which we read of
6in books of gardening a
7variety might be secured better
8adapted to the country than
9the foreign vines from which
10at present cultivated - The
11Americans find that some
12of their native vines yield
13wines superior to those made
14from the very best imported
15vines from France and
16Portugal - What a boon a
17vine of the sort contemplated
18would have been to a
19Rhenish missionary I met
20at a part in the West of the
21colony called Ebenezer
22whose children had never
23seen flowers though old
24enough to talk about them -
The slow pace at which
26we wound our way through
27the Colony made almost
28any subject interesting - The
29attention is attracted to the names
30of different places because
31they indicated the former
32existence of Buffaloes, Elands
33and Elephants which are now
34to be found only hundreds of
35miles beyond - A few blesbok
0245
1198 128 238
2 Wildebeests
3 Bluebucks
4 Steinbucks
5and the Ostrich (Struthio )
6continue like the Bushmen to
7hold a precarious existence
8when all the rest are gone
9The Elephant the most sagacious
10flees the sound of fire arms
11first, The gnu and ostrich
12the most wary and the most
13stupid last The first emigrants
14found the Hottentots in possession
15of prodigious herds of fine
16cattle but no horses, asses
17or camels - The original cattle
18which may still be seen in
19some parts of the frontier
20must have been brought
21South from the North North
22East for from this point
23the natives universally ascribe
24their original migration -
25They brought cattle sheep,
26goats and dogs - Why not
27the horse the delight of savage
28hordes? Horses thrive well
29in the Cape Colony when
30 omit imported from ships - Naturalists
31point out certain mountain
32ranges as limiting the range
33of certain classes of animals
34but there is no Cordillera in
35Africa to answer that purpose
0246
1199 239
2There being no visible barriers
3between
[the North Eastern
4Arabs and]
the Bechuana and
5
[the] Hottentot tribes to prevent the
6different hordes as they felt
7their way Southwards to ˄ from indulge
{ing}
8their taste for the possession
9of this noble animal I am
10led to notice an invisible one
11
[barrier] more insurmountable than
12mountain ranges, but which
13is not opposed to the Southern
14progress of cattle goats and
15sheep - The Tsetse would
16prove a barrier only untill
17they knew its well defined
18habitat, but the disease
19known as horse sickness
20(peripneumonia) exists in
21such virulence over
22nearly seven degrees of
23latitude that no precaution
24would be sufficient to save
25theses animals - The horse
26is so amenable to this disease
27that only by great care in
28stabling can a horse be kept
29anywhere between 20º S - & 27°
30during the months time between
31December and April - The winter
32beginning in the latter month
33is the only period in which
34Englishmen can hunt on
35horseback and they are in
36danger of losing all their studs
37some months before December
0247
1200 130240
2 To this disease the horse is
3especially liable and it is almost
4always fatal - One attack however
5seems to secure immunity
6from a secondanother or rather
7it proves thatwould seem as if nothing but
8shooting him willwould kill the
9horse which gets over it -
10Cattle too it is true are subject
11to it but only at intervals of
12a few sometimes many years
13but it never makes a
14clean sweep of the ˄ whole cattle of
15a village as it would do
16in a troop of fifty horses
17This barrier then seems to
18explain the absence of the
19horse among the Hottentots
20though it is not opposed to
21the southern migration of
22cattle sheep and goats
When the flesh of animals
24which die of this disease is
25eaten it causes a malignant
26carbuncle which when it
27appears over any important
28organ proves rapidly fatal
29It is more especially dangerous
30over the pit of the stomach
31The virus ˄ in the flesh of the animal is neither destroyed
32by boiling nor roasting - It
33
[The effects of the
34poison have
35been experienced by]
had happened in missionaries
36even who had eaten properly
37cooked food the flesh of
0248
1201 131241
2sheep really but not visibly
3affected by the disease - This
4fact of which we have had
5innumerable examples shews
6the superiority of experiments
7on a large scale to those of an
8
[of] an acute and able physiologists
9and Chemist in histhe laboratory
10with dogs as the for a
11Complete well known physician
12Dr --- of Paris after
13careful investigation thought
14the virus in such cases to be
15completely neutralised by
16boiling
This disease attacks wild
18animals too - During our residence
19at Chonuane great numbers
20of Tolos or Khoodoos were
21attracted to the gardens of the
22Bakwains abandoned at
23the usual period of harvest
24because there was no prospect
25of the corn (Caffre sorghum
26bearing that year - The
27Khoodoo is remarkably fond
28of the green stalks of this
29kind of millet - Free feeding
30produced that state ˄ of fatness favourable
31for the development of the
32disease viz - fatn
{and} no fewer
33than twenty five died on the
34hill opposite our house - Great
35numbers of Wildebeests and
0249
1202 242
2zebras perished from the same
3cause - but the mortality
4produced no sensible diminution
5
[in the numbers] of the game, noany more than
6the deaths of many who
773 persisted in spite of every
8remonstrance to eat ˄ in eating the dead
9meat caused any dsensible
10decrease in the strength of
11the tribe - In In the
{the} case of horses
12not one would have been left -
The farms of the Boers con
15sist
[consist] generally of a small patch
16of cultivated land in the midst
17of some miles of pasturage
18They are thus less an agricultural
19than ˄ a pastoral people - Each
20farm must have its fountain
21and where no such supply of
22water exists the Government
23lands are unsaleable - An acre
24in England is thus oft
{m}ore valuable
25than a ˄ square mile in Africa - But
26the country is prosperous and
27capable of great improvement
28The industry of the Boers bodes
29well for the future formation
30of dams and tanks and greater
31fruitfulness -
203 243
2 As cattle and sheep farmers the
3colonists are very successful
4
[Increasingly ˄] L
{l}arge quantities of wool are
5produced annually and the
6value of Colonial farms
7increases year by year - But
8the system requires that with
9the increase of the population
10there should be an extension
11of territory - Wide as the country
12is and thinly inhabited, the
13farmers feel it to be too smalllimited
14and gradually spread to the
15North - This movement proves
16prejudicial to the country behind
17for industrylabour which would
18be directed to the improvement
19of the Colony is withdrawn
20and expended in a mode of
21life little adapted for the exercise
22of industrial habits - That however
23does not much concern the rest
24of mankind - Nor does it seem
25
[much of] an evil for men who cultivate
26the soil to claim a right to
27appropriate lands which other
28men only hunt over
[provided
29some com-
30pensation for
31the loss of
32sustenance
33be awarded]
The original
34idea of a title seems to have
35been ˄ that "subduing" or cultivation
{ng}
36gave that right - But this
37rather Chartist principle
38must be recieved with limitations
39for its recognition in England
40would lead to the seizure of
41all our broad ancestral acres
0251
1204 244
2by those who are willing to
3cultivate them - And in the
4case under consideration
5the encroachments lead at
6once to less land being put
7under the plow
{ugh} than is
8subjected to the native hoe
9for it is an undisputed
10fact that the Caffres
{Kaffirs} ˄ Basutus cultivate
11largely - , ˄ and undersell our farmers
12wherever they have a fair
13field and no favour, - And
14an
{the} insignificant tribe of
15Basutas ˄ for instance actually raise
16more grain annually than
17the whole Eastern Province
18for which we ˄ have expended
19millions of Pounds and
20thousands of lives - Would it
21
[not be better to
22furnish the
23real agricultur
24with ploughs
25than attempt
26to exterminate
27them which
28can only be
29effected at
30a cost which
31will make
32our Eastern
33Province the
34dearest land
35in the world]
205 245 135
2Before we came to the Orange
3river we saw the last portion
4of a migration of springbucks
5(Gazelle Euchore) or Tsépe) They
6come from the great Kalahari
7Desert and when seen after
8first crossing the Colonial
9boundary are said often
10to numberExceed forty thousand, ˄ in number
11I cannot give an estimate
12for they appear in vast
13numbers expanses of country
14and make a quivering motion
15as they feed & move and toss
16their graceful antlers, They
17feed chiefly on grass and
18as they come ˄ from the North about
19the time when the grass most
20abounds it cannot be want
21of food that prompts the
22movement - Nor is it want
23ing water for this antelope
24is one of the most abstemious
25Their nature prompts them to
26seek, for their haunts, level
27plains with short grass so
28as to be able to watch the approach
29of an enemy - The Bakalahari
30take advantage of this feeling
31and burn off large patches
32of grass - not only to attract the
33game by the newly spring crop
34when it comes but also
35to form bare spots for the springbuks
Robinson It is not the springbuck alone
3that manifests this feeling - When
4oxen are taken into a country
5of high grass they are much
6more ready to be startled - Their
7sense of danger is increased by
8the increased power of concealment
9possessed in the cover by theafforded to an enemy
10
[by such cover;] and they will often start off in
11terror at the ill defined outlines
12of each other - The springbuck
13possessing this deep ^ seated feeling in
14an eminentintense degree and being
15intens
{emi}nently gregarious if
{be}comes
16uneasy as the grass of the
17Kalahari becomes tall -
18The vegetation being more
19sparse in the more arid
20South naturally induces leads the
21different herds to turn in
22that direction - As they advance
23and increase in numbers,
24they pasturage becomes more
25scarce It - is ^ still more so still
26the faurther they go, untill they
27are at last obliged ^
[ order to obtain
28 means of
29subsistence]
for the
30sake of life to cross the
31Orange river, and become
32the pest of the sheep farmer
33in a country which contains
34scarcely any of their favourite
35food - If they light on a
36field of wheat in their way - the ^ not even an army of locusts
37could
notnot make a cleaner
38sweep of the whole than they will ˄ do
0254
1207 247
2It is questionable whether they ever
3return - as they have never been
4seen as a returning body - Many
5perish from want the country
6to which they have gonemigrated being
7unable to support them - the
8rest become scattered over the
9Colony - And in such a wide
10country there is no lack of
11room for all - It is probable that
12notwithstanding the continual destruction ^
[ fire arms
13hey will
14ntinue long
15 hold their
16place]
On crossing the Orange river
18we come into Independent
19territory inhabited by Griquas
20and Bechuanas, The former
21are of Dutch and Hottentot
[and bushman] extraction
22of various degrees of remoteness
23
[Cross-breeds] Bastards of the first generations
24are
{con}sider themselves superior
25to those of the second, and
26all possess in some degree the
27characteristics of both parents.
28They were governed for many
29years by an elected chief
30named Waterboer who by
31treaty recieved a salary about
32£[ ]
[small sum] per annum from the
33Colonial Government for
34the support of schools in his
35country and proved a most
36efficient gaurd of our
37North west boundary - Cattle
38stealing has beenwas totally
39unknown during the whole
40period of this able chiefs reign
0255
1208 248
2and he actually drove back
3singlehanded a formidable force
4of marauding Mantatees that
5threatened to invade the Colony Note
[For an account
6 this see
7Moffats missionary
8enterprise "Scenes
9 Labours
10 South Africa"]
11But for this ^ that brave Christian
12man ^ Mr Moffat Waterboer there is every human
13probability that the North & -
14
[North] West frontier would have
15been as ^ given the Colonists as much troublesome as the
16Eastern ^ Frontier for the first of these
17
[original ^] Griquas were a had large
18numbers among them who
19had as little scruple atabout robbing
20farmers of cattle as has been
21ascribed to the Caffres - On
22the election of Waterboer to the
23chieftainship he distinctly declared
24that no marauding should
25be allowed - As the government
26of all
[none of] these tribes is despotic
27some of his principal men
28went in spite of this declaration
29and plundered some villages
30
[of Corannas ^] living to the South of the
31Orange River - He immediately
32seized six of the ringleaders
33and though the step put his
34own position in jeopardy
35he summoned his council
36tried, condemned and publicly
37executed the whole six - This
38produced an insurrection
39and the insurgents twice
40attacked his capital, (Griqua
41town) with the intention of
0256
1
2
3
4
5
6
7Having witnessed the deleterious
8effects of the introduction of
9ardent spirits among his
10people he with characteristic
11energy decreed that any Boer
12or Griqua bringing it
13brandy into the country
14should have his property in
15ardent spirits confiscated
16and poured out on the
17ground - The Griqua chiefs
18farther East were unable
19to carry this law into effect
20as he did - hence the greater
21facility with which Boers
22in that direction got them
23to part with their farms
0257
1209 249
2deposing him, but he bravely
3defeated both attempts and
4from that day till forth during
5his a long reign of thirty years not
6a single ^ plundering expedition ^ has ever left
7his territory -
Ten years after he was firmly
9
[established] seated in his power he entered
10into a treaty with the Colonial
11Government and during the
12twenty years which followed
13not a single charge was ever
14brought against either him
15or his people, on the contrary
16his faithful adherence to its
{the}
17
[stipulated] provisions elicited numerous
18expressions of approbation
19from successive Governments
20A late Governor however
21of whom it is impossible to
22speak without respect in
23an access of real generalship
24which would have been good
25had it not been totally inappropriate
26to the case, set about conciliating
27a band of rebellious British
28subjects by proclaiming their
29independence and not only
30abrogating the treaty with the
31Griquas but ^ even engaging to
32prevent them ^ from getting the ^ long accustom
33ed supplies of gun powder
34for the defence of our
35Frontier but even
[preventing them
36from purchasing
37for their]
for their
38own defence by lawful bartertrade
210 250
2Wilkes If it had been, as it probably
3was necessary to prevent
4supplies of ammunition
5from finding their way into
6the country, one would
7have thought that the exception
8should not have been made
9in favour of either Boers
10or Caffres our openly
11avowed enemies; but the
12exception has been made ,
13and is still continued in
14their, (the Boer's) favour
15and the Bechuanas and
16Griquas, our constant friends
17are debarred from obtaining
18a single ounce for either
19defence or trade; - And such
20was the state of ignorance
21of the relationships of the
22border tribes with the Colony
23
[English, ^] even at Cape Town; that
24the magistrates, though willing
25to aid my researches
26were sorely afraid to allow
27me to purchase more
28than ten pounds of gun powder
29lest the Bechuanas should
30take it from me - by force -
31As it turned out I actually
32left more than that quantity
33for more than two years
34in an open box in my
35waggon at Linyanti
The lamented Sir George
3Cathcart apparently unconscious
4of what he was doing
5entered into a treaty with the
6Transvaal Boers in which
7articles were introduced for
8the free passage of English
9traders to the North, and
10that no slavery should be
11permitted in the t
{F}reee
12State - Then passed the
13"Gun powder ordinance," by
14which the natives, whom
15alone they dare attempt
16to enslave (the Bechuanas)
17were rendered quite defenceless
18The Boers never attempt
19to fight with C
{K}affirs, - But
20immediately on the proclama
21-tion of their Independance,
22a Slave-hunt was made
23and Mr Peit Scholz and
24the policy which had been
25that of their hearts desire ever
26since the emancipation
27of the Hottentots put into
28operation - Thus from
29Sh unfortunate ignorance
30of the country, he had
31to govern, an able and
32sagacious governor
33adopted a policy proper and
34wise had it been in front
0260
1212 252
2of our enemies but altogether
3inappropriate for our
4 friends against whom
5it has been applied, Such
6an error could not have
7been committed by a man
8of local knowledge and
9experience as that noble of
10colonial birth Sir Andries
11Stockenstrom, and such
12instances of jumbling
13friend and foe in the
14innocent belief of
15thereby promoting colonial
16interests will probably
17lead the Cape community
18
[ chief part of ^] which by no means
19feels its interest to lie
20in the degradation of the
21native tribes, to long
22for the right of choosing
23their own governors
24This - with colonial representation
25in the Imperial Parliament
26in addition to the self-
27government soalready
28so liberally conceded
29would undoubtedly secure
30the perpetual union
31of the Colony andto the
32English crown
213 253
2Many hundreds of both Griquas
3and Bechuanas have become
4Christians and partially civilized
5through the teaching of English
6missionaries - My first
7impressions of the progress
8made were that ^
[the accounts] too high an
9opinion had been expressed
10as of the effects of the gospel
11among them had been
12too highly coloured - I expected
13a higher degree of Christian
14simplicity and purity than
15exists either among them
16or among ourselves
17I was not covetous of a
18deeper insight in pointing
19out shams than others
20but expected character such
21as we imagine the primitive
22disciples had - and was
23disappointed - When however
2477 I passed on to the true
25heathen in the countries
26beyond the sphere of missionary
27influence and could compare
28the people there with the
29native Christians I came
30to the conclusion that if
31the question were examined
32in the most rigidly
33scientific way - the change
34effected by the missionary
35movement would be
36considered unquestionably great -
0262
1214 254
2Cross We can not fairly compare
3these poor people with our-
4-selves who have an atmosphere
5of Christianity and enlightened
6public opinion, the growth
7of centuries around - us
8to influence our deportment
9but let any one from
10the natural and proper
11point of view behold
12the prevailing public
13morality of Griqua town
14Kuruman Likatlong and
15other villages and remember
16what even London was
17a century ago and he
18must confess that
19the Christian mode of
20treating Aborigines is
21incomparably the best -
The gross amount expended
23on this entire field cannot
24be more than £30 000
25during the whole period of
26the existence of the
27mission - Now the
28Griquas spend annually
29£12 000 in goods brought
30from the Colony and
31the whole of the Bechuanas
32consume probably an equal
33amount of our manufactures
34Viewed therefore in the
35lowest possible light
0263
1215 255
2English commerce derives
3a handsome per centage
4from the money expended
5in her missions of mercy
6But what do we gain by
7the C
{K}affir war into which
8we were plunged by scouting
9the Glenelg policy - It cost
10us upwards of £2,000,000
11and the only thing we have
12to show for the money
13is a monied community
14on the frontier with feelings
15closely akin to those of
16other Africans to the missionary
17They would consider themselves
18defrauded if England did
19not pay more millions
20for their defence and expect
21the benefits to be reaped
22by individuals while the
23burdens are to be borne
24by the state -
216 256
The Griquas and Bechuanas
3were in former times were
4
[clad] clothed ^ much like the Caffres if such a word may
5be used to signify scarcely any no clothing
6at all - A bunch of leather strings
7about a 18 inches long hung
8from the ladies' waist in
9front, and a ^ prepared sheep skin or
10
[antelope's
11skins]
^ covered the shoulders, leaving
12the breast and abdomen bare,
13The men wore a patch of skin
14about the size of the crown
15of one's hat - which barely
16served for the purposes of
17decency and a Kaross mantle of skin exactly
18like that of the woman - To
19assist in protecting the pores
20of the skin from the influence
21of the Sun by day and of the
22[ ] cold by night all smeared
23themselves with a mixture
24of fat & ochre - the head was
25
[anointed] also smeared with pounded
26blue mica schist mixed with
27fat - and the fine particles
28of shining mica falling on
29the body and on strings of
30beads and brass rings was
{ere}
31considered
[ornamental to] dress, ^ & fit for the
32most fastidious dandy
33Now these same people -
0265
1216 217 10. 257
2come to church in decent though
3poor clothing and behave
4with a decorum certainly superior
5to what seems to have been the
6case in the time of Mr Samuel
7Pepys in London - Sunday
8is well observed and even
9in localities where no missionary
10lives religious meetings are
11regularly held and children
12and adults taught to read
13by the more advanced of their
14own fellow countrymen and
15no one is allowed to make a
[profession
16of faith by
17baptism
18unless he
19knows how
20to read and
21understands
22the nature of the
23Christian
24religion]
218 258
2The Bechuanas Mission has been
3
[so far] so successful that when coming
4from the Interior we always
5felt on reaching Kuruman
6that we had returned to civilized
7life - But I would not give
8any one to understand by this
9that they are model Christians
[We cannot
10claim to be
11model Christians
12ourselves)]
13or even in any degree superior
14to the members of our own
15country churches - They are
16more stingy and greedy than
17our own the poor ^ at home but in many
18
[respects the two] points they are exactly alike -
19On asking an intelligent chief
20what he thought of them - He
21replied, "You white men have
22no idea how wicked we are
23We know each other better than
24you, some feign belief to ingratiate
25themselves with the missionaries -
26some profess Christianity because
27they like the new system which
28gives so much more importance
29to the poor (civilization) and desire
30that the old system may pass
31away, and the rest - a pretty
32large number profess because
33they are really true believers" - This
34testimony may be considered as
35about correct - The
Wilkes There is not much prospect
37of this country ever producing
38much of the materials of
0267
1219 259
2of commerce expect wool - At
3present the chief articles of trade
4are Karosses the skins of which
5they are composed coming from
6the desert, Next to that ivory
7which cannot be great inasmuch
8
[in as much] as the means of shooting elephants
9is sedulously debarred entrance
10into the country - A few skins
11and horns ^ and some cattle make up the remainder
12of the exports - English goods
13sugar tea & coffee are the articles
14recieved in exchange - of
15coffee all the natives of these
16parts soon become remarkably
17fond - The acme of respectability
18among the Bechuanas is the
19possession of cattle and a
20waggon - It is remarkable
21that though these ^ latter require
22frequent repairs none of the
23Bechuanas have ever
24learned to repair mend them -
25Forges and tools have been
26at their service and teachers
27willing to aid them, but beyond
28making a camp stool no
29effort had ever been made to
30acquire the knowledge of the
31trades - They observe most carefully
32a missionary at work untill
33they understand whether a tire
34is well welded or not and
35
[then] pronounce upon its ^ merits with great
0268
1220 260
2emphasis, but there their ambition
3rests satisfied - It is the same
4peculiarity among ourselves
5
[which leads us] when in other matters such as
6bookmaking weto attain the excellence
7of faultfinding
[without the
8wit to indite
9a page]
It was in vain
10I tried to indoctrinate them with
11the idea that criticism did not
12imply that either equality or
{with}
13
[or] superiority withover the the workman
14
15
16
18Wilkes
The permanence of the station
20called Kuruman depends entirely
21on the fine ever flowing
22fountain of that name - It comes
23from beneath the Trap rock
24of which I shall have to speak
25when describing the geology
26of the entire country - and
27as it usually flows out
28
[issues] at a temperature of 72° Fht., it
29probably comes from the
30the silu old silurian schists which
31formed the ^ bottom of the great primaeval
32valley of the Continent - I could
33not detect any diminution
34in the flow of this gushing
35fountain during my residence
36in the country but when Mr
37Moffat first attempted a settlement
0269
1221 261 15
2
[here,] 35 years ago, he made a dam
3
[6 or 7 miles below
4the present damsone]
^ and led out the stream for
5irrigation where not a drop of
6
[the fountain ^] of water ever now flows -
[now.]
Other parts fourteen miles
8below ^ the Kuruman gardens ^ [ ] are
9pointed out ^ as having contained
[inwithin the memory
10by
{of} people
11now living]
12hippopotomi, and water sufficient
13to drown both men and cattle -
14Most of this failure may
{ust} be
15
[chiefly] ascribed to the general desiccation
16of the country
[but partlysome
17also]
and to the amount
18of irrigation carried on along
19both banks of the stream
20at the mission station - This
21latter l circumstance would
22have more weight were it
23not coincident with the failure
24of fountains over a wide extent
25of country - Without entering
26minutely into this feature
27of the country at present, it
28may be remarked that the
29Kuruman district presents
30evidence of this dry Southern
31country having at no very
32distant date been as well
33watered ^ as the a country as that
34North of Lake Ngami district
35doesis now - Ancient river
36beds and water courses
37abound and the very eyes
38of fountains long since dried
39up may be seen in which
0270
1222 262
2the flow of centuries has worn
3these ^
[orifices] from a slit to an oval
4form - having on their sides
5the tufa so abundantly deported
6from these primitive waters
7and just where the splashings
8may have
{be} supposed to have
9reached and become evaporated
10the same phenomenon appears
11Many of these failing fountains
12no longer run because
13the brink over which they
14ran is now too high - or
15because the elevation of the
16Western side of the country
17lifts the land away from
18its ^
[the water] supply below - But let
19a cutting be made from a
20lower level than the brink
21and through it to the a part
22below the surface of the
23water and it flows perennially
24Several of these ancient
25fountains have been resuscitated
26by the Bechuanas near Kuruman
27andwho occasionally they shew
28their feelings of self-esteem by
29labouring for months at deep
30cuttings which having once
31begun they feel bound to in
32
[honour to] preserve in, though told by a
33missionary that they can never
34force water to run up hill -
[It is interesting to observe] the industry of themany Boers in this
36
[region] in making long and deep canals
0271
1223 263
2
[from lower levels] up to spots which shew the singleslightest
3
[indication] symptom of water existing beneath
4
[such as] in a few rushes
[and a peculiar
5kind of coarse
6reddish coloured
7grass]
growing in
8a hollow, which anciently must
9have been the eye of a fountain
10but is now filled up with
11
[soft] tufa - In other instances the
12indication of water below consists
13of the rushes growing on a long
14sandy ridge a foot or two in
15height instead of a holl in a
16furrow - A deep ^ transversecutting cutting
17made through the higher part
18of this is rewarded by a stream
19of running water - The reason
20why the ground covering the
{i}s water
21is higher than the rest of the
22locality is this - The winds
23carry quantities of fine dust and
24sand about the country and
25hedges bushes & trees cause its
26deposit - The h
{r}ushes in this
27case perform the part of these
28hedges and the moisture rising
29as dew by night fixes the
30sand securely among the roots
31and a height instead of a hollow
32is the result - While on this subject
33it may be added that there is
34no perennial fountain in
35this part of the country except
36those which come from beneath
37the quartzose trap which constitutes
38the "filling up" of the ancient valley
0272
1224 264
2and as the water supply seems to
3rest on the old silurian schists
4which form its bottom it is
5highly probably that Artesian wells
6would in several parts places
7perform the part which these
8deep cuttings now answer do.
9Robinson
The aspect of this part of
11the country ^
[during most
12of the year ^]
is generally is a
{of} a light
13yellow colour
[for some
14months during
15the rainy
16season it
17is of a
18pleasant
19green mixed
20with yellow]
- Ranges of hills
21appear in the West but the
22East of them we find hundreds
23of miles of ^ great covered plains - There are
24l
{L}arge patches of this ^ are covered
25with white calcareous tufa
26resting on perfectly horizontal
27states of Trap - There the vegetation
28consists of fine grass growing
29in tufts among low bushes
30of the "wait a bit" thorn (acacia tortuosa)
31with its annoying fishhooklike
32thorns - Where these rocks
33do not appear on the surface
34the soil consists of yellow
35sand, and tall g
{c}oarse grasses
36growing among berry yielding
37bushes named Moretloa and
38another (Mohatla)
[urtisia faginea]
which has
39 enough of aromatic resinous
40matter to burn brightly though
41perfectly green - In more
42sheltered spots we come on
43clumps of the white thorned mimosae
0273
1225 265
2(acacia horrida) and great abundance
3of wild sage - and various
4leguminosae, ixias and large
5flowering bulbs - of the Amaryllis
6
[Brunsvigia] multiflora yields in its silky
7 decayed lamellae a sil soft silky
8down a good material for
9stuffing mattrasses
In asome few placesparts of the
11country the remains of ancient
12forests of the Camel thorn are
13still to be met with - but when
14these are levelled byin the proximity
15of a Bechuana village
16no youngs trees ^ ones spring up to
17take their places - This is
18not because the wood, being
19excessively hard, its its growth
20is so slow as not to be
21appreciable in its increase
22during the short period, that
23
[it] they can be observed by man
24for having measured a young
25
[tree of this species] one growing in the corner
26of Mr Moffats's garden at near
2781 the water I found after a number
28of years that it had increased
29at the rate of ¼ of an inch in
30diameter annually ^
[during a number of years] - And the
31larger specimens which now
32find few or no successors
33
[cannot, supposing] if they had more rain in their
34youth cannot be more than
35between 200 & 300 years old -
0274
1226 266 20
2It is probable that this is the tree
3of which the ark of the Covenant
4
[and the tabernacle
5were constructed]
as it is to be found where
6the Israelites were at the time these
7
[were made ^] ^ of its construction - - It is an
8imperishable wood while
9that usually pointed out as the
10"shittim" (is
{or} ( acacia Nilotica) is
11soon decays and wants beauty -
12In association with it we
13always observe a curious
14plant named 'Ngotuané' -
15which bears such a profusion
16of fine yellow strong scented
17flowers that it quite perfumes
18the air -
[This ^ plant forms is
19a remarkable
20exception - to the
21general rule here;
22As nearly all
23the plants in
24this part of
25Africa are
26scentless or
27emit a
28disagreeable
29odour - ]
It ^ moreover, is ^ contains an active poison
30A French gentleman having
31imbibed a mouthful or two
32of an infusion ^ from the flowers as tea, found
33himself rendered nearly powerless
34Vinegar has a peculiar power
35in rendering this poison perfectly
36inert both within & out of the
37body - He ^ This Gentleman described itsthe action of
38^ the vinegar to have been as if electricity had raun
39along his nerves, as soon
40as he had taken a ^ single glass,
{ful.}
41the cure was instantaneous
42 and complete - I had always
43to regret want of opportunity
44
[for] to investigateing this remarkable
45and yet controullable agent
46on the nervous system - Its
47usual proximity with camel
48thorn trees may be accounted
0275
1227 267
2for by ^ the fact that the giraffe which feeds on
3this tree probably makingmakes use of
4
[the plant] it as a medicine
During the period of my visit
7at Kuruman Mr Moffat who has
8been a missionary in Africa
9during upwards of forty years
10and is well known by his
11interesting work "scenes & labours
12in South Africa" was busily
13engaged in carrying through the
14press with which his station
15is furnished the Bible in the
16language of the Bechuanas,
17This has been a work of immense
18labour and as he was the first
19to reduce their speech to a written
20form and has had his attention
21directed to the study for at least
22thirty years he may be supposed
23to be the best adapted for the
24task of any man living - Some
25idea
[the copiousness
26 the language]
27
[of the extent of this task] may be formed
[of the copious-
28ness]
from the
29fact that even he never spends
30a week ^ at his work without finding ^ discovering new
31words,
{;} whether the phenomenon
32
[therefore,] of a man of
{w}ho after a few
33months or years study of a
34native tongue cackles forth a
35torrent of vocables is much
36
[may well] to be wondered at -
[ it is meant
37 be instruction]
In my own
38case though I have had m
{as} much
39intercourse with the purest idioms
40as most Englishmen,
0276
1228 268
2and have studied the language carefully
3
[yet] I can never utter an important
4statement but ^
[without doing so ^] slowly and repeating it
5too - lest our unsure the foreign
6accent which is distinctly per-
7-ceptible in all Europeans should
8render methe sense unintelligible - In this
9 I follow the example of their
10own spokesmen who on
11important matters always speak
12slowly, deliberately and with
13reiteration - The capabilities
14of this language may be inferred
15from the fact that the Pentateuch
16is fully expressed in the ^ Mr Moffat's translation
17in fewer words than in the Greek
18Septuagint, and in a very considerably
19smaller number than in our
20verbose English - ^ The languageIt is however
21so simple in its construction that
22it copiousness by no means
23requires the explanation that
24the people have fallen from a
25former state of civilization and
26culture. Language seems to be
27an attribute of the human mind
28and thought - and the inflexions
29proofs various as they are in
30the most barbarous (as the Bushmen)
31are probably only proofs of the race
32being human and endowed
33with the power of thought
{thinking}
[thinking] - The
34fuller development of language
35may take place as the improvement
36of our other faculties - goes on
229 269
2It is fortunate that the translation
3of the bible has been effected before
4the language became adulterated
5with foreign words - and while
6those who have heard the eloquence
7of the ^ native assemblies are still living
8for the young who are brought
9up in schools know less of
10the language than the missionaries,
11and Europeans though born
12in the country andwhile possessed
13of the idiom perfectly, if not
14otherwise educated, cannot be
15referred to for explanation
16of any uncommon word.
17One such acting as interpreter
18to Sir George Cathcart actually
19told his employerExcellency that the language
20of the Basutas was not capable
21of expressing the substance of a
22
[chief's] a diplomatic paper - While every one
23who knows the chief who sent
24it
[(Moshesh)] would assert ^ well know that he could in
25his own tongue have expressed
26it all ^ over again in three or four different
27ways -
In this language both rich
29and poor speak correctly - There
30is no vulgar style - but children
31have a patois of their own
32using many words in their
33play which men would scorn
34to repeat - The Bamapela
35have adopted a click into their
0278
1230 270 24
2dialect and a large infusion of
3the ringing ñ, which seems to
4have been for the purpose of
5preventing others ^ from understanding
6them -
The fact of the complete
8translation of the Bible at a
9station 700 miles inland from
10the Cape naturally suggests the
11question as to whether it is likely
12to be permanently useful and
13whether Christianity as planted by
14modern missions is likely to
15retain its vitality without constant
16supplies of foreign teaching -
17It would certainly be no cause
18for ^ congratulation if the Sichuana
19Bible seemed at all likely to
20meet the fate of Elliot's Choctaw
21version a specimen of which
22may be seen in the library of
23one of the American colleges
24as Gods word in a language
25no living human tongue can
26articulate or living mortal
27understand - but a better destiny
28seems in store for this for
29the Sichuana language has
30been introduced into the new
31country beyond Lake Ngami
32there it is the court language
33and will take you anywhere
34through a district larger than
35France, and the Bechuana
0279
1XII. 231 271
2in all probability possess the
3imperishability which forms
4so remarkable a feature in
5the entire African race
When converts are made
8 Daintree & Co. from heathenism by modern
9missionaries it becomes
10an interesting question whether
11their faith possesses the
12elements of permanence
13or is only an exotic too
14tender for self propagation
15when the fostering care
16of the foreign cultivators
17is withdrawn - If habits
18of self reliance are not both
19sedulously cultivated and
20opportunities given for
21the exercise of that virtue
22the most promising converts
23are apt to become like
24spoiled children - In Madagascar
25a few Christians were
26left with nothing but the
27bible in their hands
28and though exposed to
29persecution and even
30death itself as the penalty
31of adherence to their profession
32they increased tenfold
33in numbers and are if
34possible more decided
35christi believers now than
0280
1232 272
2they were when by an edict of
3the queen of that island the
4missionaries ceased their
5teaching -
In South Africa such
7an experiment could not
8be made for such a variety
9of Christian sects have followed
10the footsteps of the London
11Missionary Societys successful
12career that converts of one
13denomination if left to themselves
14their own resources are eagerly
15adopted by another and are
16thus more likely to become
17spoiled children than trained
18to the manly Christian virtues
Another element of weakness
21in the part of the missionary
22field is the fact of Missionary
23Societies considering the Colony
24a proper sphere for their peculiar
25operations - In addition to a
26well organized and efficient
27Dutch Reformed established
28Church we have schools for
29secular instruction maintained
30by Government in every
31village of any extent in
32the Colony, we have a number
33of other sects as the Wesleyans
34Episcopalians Moravians
35all piously labouring at the
36same good work Now
0281
1233 273
2it is deeply to be regretted that
3so much honest zeal
4should be so lavishly expended
5in a district whenever there
6is so little scope for success
7When we hear an agent
8of one sect urging his
9friends at home to aid
10him quickly to occupy some
11unimportant nook because
12if it is not speedily laid
13hold of he will "not
14have room for the sole of
15his foot" one cannot help
16longing that both he and
17his friends should direct
18their noble aspirations to
19the millions of true Heathen
20in the regions beyond - and
21no longer continue to make
22the extremity of the continent
23as it were into a dam
24of benevolence
I would earnestly
27recommend all young
28missionaries to go at once
29on to the real heathen and
30never to be content with
31what has been made ready
32to his hands by men of greater
33enterprise - The idea of
34making model christians
35of the young need not be
0282
1234 274
2be entertained by any one who is
3secretly convinced as most
4men who know their own
5hearts are that he is not a
6model Christian himself Our
7own elevation has been the
8work of ages and remembering
9this we shall not indulge in
10overwrought expectations as
11to what those who have inherited
12the degradation of ages, in
13our day may become -
And the principle might
15be adopted by missionary
16Societies that one ordinary
17missionaries lifetime of teaching
18should be considered an
19ample supply of foreign
20teaching for any tribe in a
21thinly peopled country
22A missionary is soon
23known to be supported by
24his friends at home - and
25though the salary is but a
26bare subsistence to Africans
27it seems an enormous sum
28and being unable to appreciate
29the motives by which he is
30actuated they consider them-
31-selves entitled to various
32services at his hands and
33themselves defrauded if they
34are not duly rendered - This
35feeling is all the stronger
0283
1235 275
2when a young man instead
3of going boldly to the real
4heathen settles down in
5a comfortable house and
6garden prepared by those
7who into whose labours
8he has entered - A remedy
9for this might be found
10in appropriating the houses
11and gardens raised by
12
[the] missionaries to their own
13hands to their own families
14It is ridiculous to call
15such places as Kuruman
16for instance "Missionary
17property" This beautiful
18station was made what
19it is not by English money
20by by the sweat & toil
21of fathers whose children
22have notwithstanding
23no place on earth they
24can call a home - And
25in all probability it is
26the strong built mission
27premises are destined to
28be the home of a Boer
29and the stately stone
30church his cattle pen -
Protestant missionaries
32of every denomination in
33South Africa all agree in
34one point that no mere
35profession of Christianity is
0284
1236 276
2sufficient to entitle the converts
3to the Christian name - They are all
4anxious to place the bible in
5their hands and with ability
6to read that there can be little
7doubt as to the future - We
8believe Christianity to be divine
9and equal to all it has to
10perform - then let the good
11seed be widely sown no
12
[and no] matter to what sect the converts
13may belong the harvest will
14be glorious - Nothing that
15I have said must be in-
16-terpreted as indicative of
17feelings inimical to any body
18
[of] Christians for I never as
19a missionary felt myself
20to be either Presbyterian
21Episcopalian or Independant
22or called upon in any way
23to love less one sect than
24another - My earnest desire
25is that those who really have
26the best interests of the heathen
27at heart should go to them
28and assuredly in Africa at
29least selfdenying labours
30among real heathen will
31be appreciated - Christians
32have never yet dealt fairly
33by the heathen and been
34disappointed
237 When Sechele understood
2that we could no longer 277
3remain with him at Kolobeng
4he sent his children to Mr
5Moffat at Kuruman for
6instruction in all the know-
7-ledge of the white men - Mr M
8very liberally received at once
9an accession ^ of five to his famiily
10with their attendants - Before
11
[Having] I was
{been} detained about a
12fortnight w
{b}y the breaking
13of a waggon wheel
0286
1238 278
2I was Providentially prevented
3from being present at the
4attack of the Boers on
5the Bakwains news of
6which were about the end
7of that time brought by Ma-
8-sebele the wife of Sechele -
9She had herself been hidden
10in a cleft of rock over which
11a number of boers were
12firing - Her infant began to
13cry and terrified lest ^
[this should attact
14attract ^]
their
15attention of the men the muzzles
16of whose guns appeared
17at every discharge over
18her head, she took off her
19armlets as play things to ^
[quiet the Child] still her
20She brought a letter which
21tells its own tale to Revd R Moffat
22" nearly literally translated it runswas
23as follows
"Friend of my heart's love and
25of all the confidence of my heart
26I am, Sechele, I am undone
27by the Boers who attacked me (though
28I had no guilt with them) - They
29demanded that I should be
30in their kingdom and I refused
31They demanded that I should
32prevent the English & Griquas
33from passing - (Northwards)
34I replied these are my friends
35and I can prevent no one (of them)
36They came on Saturday and
0287
1239 279
2I besoughtasked them not to fight on
3Sunday but I besought them
4not to fight on Sunday and
5they assented - They began on
6Monday morning ^ at twilight and fired
7with all their might and burned
8the town with fire & scattered us
9They killed sixty of my people
10and captured women and
11children and men - And the
12mother of Balering they also
13took prisoner - they took
14all the cattle and all the goods
15of the Bakwains - And the
16house of Livingston they
17plundered taking away all
18his goods - The number of
19waggons they had was eighty
20five and a cannon and
21after they had stolen my
22own waggon and that of
23Macabe then the number
24of their waggons (counting the
25cannon as one) was Eighty
26four eight - All the goods
27of the hunters (certain gentlemen
28hunting & exploring in the North)
29were burned in the town ---
30And of the Boers were killed
31twenty eight - Yes - my beloved
32friend now my wife goes
33to see the children and Kobus
34Hae will convey her to you
35 I am Sechele
36 the son of Mochoasele"
0288
1240 10280
2This statement is in exact
3accordance with the account
4^
[given by the
5native teacher
6Mebalwe and
7also that]
sent by some of the Boers to
8the public colonial papers - The
9crime of cattle stealing of which
10we hear so much near
11Caffreland was never ^ alleged attributed
12
[against these people,] and if a single case had
13ever occurred when I was
14in the country I must have
15heard of it and would
16at once declare it - But the
17only crime imputed was in
18
[the papers was] "Sechele was getting too saucy!"
19The demand made for his
20subjection and service in
21preventing the English traders
22
[penetrating] passing to the North was
23kept out of view - As this
24was a Caffre war in embryo
25it is important to remark
26that everything was done
27in perfectly orthodox style
28
[These Boers] They cou had just been received
29as a body into the Dutch Reformed
30Church with great solemnity
31and concluded a treaty with
32Sir George Cathcart by means
33of the Commissioners Hogg
34and Owen for stipulating
35for freedom of access to
36the Interior for Englishmen
37and that no slavery should
38be permitted - But as they
0289
1241 281
2all believe assert when the
3question was put "and what
4about the missionaries" - ?
5One of the Commissioners jokingly
6replied "O you can do as you
7like with them - The consequence
8of this indiscretion was the
9immediate organization
10of the expedition against
11Sechele and the destruction
12of three mission stations -
The treaty was made with
14the Rebel A - W - Pretorius
15The missionaries of two of
16these being formally expelled
[the country afterwards]
17for mildly remonstrating
[with the Commandant
18Peit Scholtz]
19at the sight of the Boers
20driving crowds of children
21while on their very back
22from the fight to & from
23the waters as is done
24with flocks of goats - From
25Sechele were taken away
26200 of the children most
27of whom I could have
28identified as belonging
29to our schools - These and
30hundreds of others are now
31bought and sold ^ openly as slaves
32in the vicinity of the Colony
33My house which had stood
34in perfect safety in the
35gaurdianship of the natives
36during the three years of
37my Northern & Southern
0290
1242 282
2journies was plundered of
3property of the value of upwards
4of £ 300 - by those who style
5
[distinguish] themselves as "Christians" ("Krystilik
6mensken") --> and all the blacks
7as creature or (swaarte goed) -
8black property - The books of
9a good library my solace
10in the wilderness were not
11taken away but the leaves
12were torn out and thrown
13all over the place - The medicin
14bottles were smashed - The
15clothing, furniture, & utensils
16mills tools &c &c being the only
17property ^ in their minds worth taking away
18I do not now make a
19pitiful wail over my losses
20for the plundering of a all
21my goods was in some
22respects an advantage
[While it was
23impossible not
24to feel keenly
25the ruthless
26waste of lexicons
27dictionaries
28classical &
29medical
30books &c -
31the companions
32of my boyhood]
33It set me
{y} co
{m}ind completely
34free for the North and
35I my family being in England
36I ^ felt that I had not a single source
37of care in my rearbehind me - But
38as matter of duty I immediately
39volunteered to Sir George
40Cathcart to identify the
41school children consigned
42in opposition to Mr Commissioner
43Owen's jocular treaty to hopeless
44slavery, and claimed compensation
45for the plunder I had suffered
0291
1243 283 13
2 This came too closely upon the
3inauguration of his policy
4to merit more than the reply
5that "such was the fortitude
6of war" - I was then in my
7way ^ to the North or I should
8have raised a question which
9could not have been answered
10so cavalierly, viz - As the Boers
11were notoriously intent on
12the practis
{c}e of slave hunting
13 DL-
13( - .)
and slavery, whether a
14policy favourable to this
15system notoriously directly
16at variance with the general
17policy of the English Government
18would not subject the
19commander himself to refund
20the losses thereby sustained
21by British subjects, I should
22not have succeeded but
23I might
have recieved the
24compensation and
[had the satisfaction of
25feeling that I had]
taught
26a great man that it was
27scarcely safe to despise the
28meanest missionary
A few years modify
30our feelings on many
31subjects and towards many
32men - Long before I returned
33from the North Sir George
34Cathcart ^ had died bravely fighting
35the battles of his country in
36the Crimea loved and lamented
0292
1244 284
2by all - His policy was a mistake
3but no one doubts the uprightness
4of him intentions and aims -
Very soon after A - .. W - Pretorius
6sent the marauding party
7against Kolobeng he too
8
[has been] was called away to the Tribunal
9of infinite justice - His policy
10is justified by the Boers
11generally from the text the
12instructions to the Jewish warriors
13in Deuteronomy xx. 10-14 - Hence
14when he died it was send "Blessed
15are the dead, who die in the Lord"
16I wish he had not "forbid us
17to preach unto the gentiles that
18they may be saved" -
The report of this outrage
20on the Bakwains coupled
21as it was with denunciations
22against myself for having,
23
[as it was alleged, ^] ^ taught then to kill boers
24produced such a panic in
25the country ^ that I could not engage
26a single native to accompany
27me to the North - During
28our residence at Kolobeng
29no fewer than nine tribes
30had been attacked and large
31numbers of children carried
32off on each occasion - They
33compel the tribes already
34subjected to them to act as
35a shield to them by standing
0293
1245 15285
2in front and repelling the attempt
3of their countrymen to reach
4the Boers, while the latter sit
5on their horses and coolly
6fire over their heads - These
7tribes being totally unprovided
8with fire-arms - could never
9break through the shield and
10never was a drop of Boerish
11blood shed - The Bakwains
12however having purchased
13some guns killed twenty
14eight Boers - and I recieved
15the credit of the difference
16between the attacks of the nine
17aforementioned tribes and
18
[that of] Kolobeng - Loud vows of
19vengeance were uttered against
20my head and threats of instant
21pursuit by a large party on
22horseback should I dare to go
23into their country to the North and
24as these were coupled with
25the declaration that the English
26Government had given over
27the whole of the native tribes
28to their rule and would assist
29them in their entire subjugation
30by preventing firearms
31and ammunition from entering
32the country except to the Boers
33it was not to be wondered at
34that I was detained for months
35at Kuruman from sheer
36inability to get waggon drivers
0294
1246 286
2The English name from being
3honoured and respected all
4over the country because
5somewhat more than suspected
6and as the policy of depriving
7these friendly tribes of the
8means of defence is always
9adduced by the Boers as
10proof positive of the wish
11of the English that they
12should subjugate the independent
13Bechuana tribes the conduct
14of a Government they
15always thought the paragon
16of justice & friendship is
17totally incomprehensible
18They can neither defend themselves
19
[against their enemies ^] ^ nor shoot the animals by
20
[in] the produce of which we wish
21them to trade -
I again repeat that the
23morality Now the sentiments
24of the majority of the Cape people
25are not to be judged by
26those of its vagabond emigrants
27While they are delighted with
28the exploration of the Interior
29and anxious to promote
30the commerce and civilization
31of its great population, the
32men of whom we now
33speak actually fined a
34gentleman
[oseph Macabe) Esqr] in the sum of
35500 dollars for publishing
0295
1247 287
2a merely conjectural route
3to the Lake Ngami before
4it was discovered and kept
5him in Prison until the
6fine was paid - The reason
7assigned was he had gone
8into and written about their
9country without permission
10The boundaries which I have
11heard them gravely assign
12to their territory are rather
13vague for their general
14ideas of geography are
15derived from an old map
16placed in the ^ large old copies of the
17Bible left them by their forefathe
18This shews the Latitude &
19Longitude of the garden of
20Eden - The Pillars of Hercules
21and perhaps the bedstead of
22of King of Bashan - And
23being in the Bible is of
24course quite true - Jerusalem
25being apparently near forms
26the Northern boundary of
27 this word? the Transvaal Republic
This lamentable ignorance
29is the natural consequence of
30the position in which they were
31left - Not a single minister or
32missionary accompanied
33them in their emigration but
34when Sir Harry Smith routed
35them at Boomplaats he most
0296
1248 288
2nobly resolved to furnish them
3with ministers schoolmasters
4and nursery gardens for the
5promotion of agriculture - and
6for their general elevation
7Unfortunately his idea was
8never carried out - Two Dutch
9clergymen went on a ^ hasty tour of
10baptizing marrying &c - I happened
11to be
[at the time] in the part of the Cashan
12mountains ^ which they were visiting
13and found my brethren
14residing in the house of Mr
15Gert Krieger the sub-
16commandant who had
17first returned from the above
18mentioned battle with his
19ammunition pouch shot
20away, and who had been
21noticed significantly by
22Sir Harry in a proclamation
23for histhe part in the rebellionhe had played in the
24
[rebellion] I saw in every house I entered
25
[slave] children who had been captured
26in the murderous forays
27conducted by this very man
28I knew their tribes and
29my men sometimes knew
30their parents and it is a
31well known fact that no
32Bechuana ever sold a child
33and yet when my reverend
34brethren returned to the Cape
35they published their report
0297
1249 289
2stating how many hundreds of
3converts they has baptized -
4How much Christian feeling
5rested and "as for slavery
6they did not find a vestige
7of it" Now admitting the
8perfect propriety of their
9friendly feelings to people
10wandering as sheep without
11a shepherd and ^ of their desire to avoid
12an exposure of their degradation
13would such reports from
1489 a missionary
[concerning
15his converts]
be considered
16honourable He would be
17expected to reveal the real
18state of his people - I have
19now attempted this in reference
20to these poor degraded Interior
21Boers and in accordance
22with the whole of my conduct
23when among them I now
24say, they assuredly need the
25sympathy and aid of their
26own church to prevent
27them sinking into utter barbarism
28No mission to the blacks
29ought to be undertaken by
30the Dutch untill they have
31supplied these children of
32pious parents - These now
33white savages with the
34light of Christianity
When at last I found three
3servants willing to risk a
4journey to the North and
5a man of colour named
6George Fleming who had
7generously been ass
{ss}isted by
8a mercantile gentleman
9of Cape Town to endeavour
10to establish a trade with the
11Makolo, had also managed
12to get a similar number
13we left Kuruman on the
1420th Novr and proceeded
15on our journey - Our servants
16were the worst possible
17specimens of those who
18imbibe the vices without
19the virtues of Europeans
20but we had no choice - &
21were glad to get away on
22any terms -
When we reached Motito
24forty miles off we met
25Sechele on his way as he
26said "to the Queen of England"
27Two of his own children
28and their mother ^ Mabalerileng were among
29the captives and being strongly
30embued with the then very
31prevalent notion of Englands
32justice and generosity he
33
[thought he] had ^ had a fair case to lay
34before her majesty - He
35employed all his eloquence
0299
1251 291
2and powers of persuasion
3to induce me to accompany
4him but I excused myself
5by the fact of ^ my having sent
6my family home for a
7different purpose - On
8explaining the difficulties
9of the way and ^
[Endeavouring to] dissuading
10him from the attempt on
11account of the knowledge
12I possessed of Sir George
13Cathcart's policy - He
14put the pointed question
15"Will the Queen not listen
16to me supposing I should
17reach her"? "I replied "I believe
18she would ^ listen but the difficulty
19is to get to her". "Well I shall
20reach her" expressed his final
21determination - Others explained
22the difficulties more fully but
23
[nothing could shake] his resolution was implacable
24When he reached Bloemfontein
25he found the army of Sir
26George just returning from
27a battle in which both parties
28claimed the victory and both
29were glad that a second
30engagement was not tried
31The officers not a whit
32chagrinned by their not over
33glorious campaign invited
34Sechele to dine with them
35heard his story and collected
36a handsome ^ sum of money
0300
1252 292
2to enable him to pursue his
3journey to England - As a
4single word in favour
5of the restoration of the
6children of Sechele would
7have been a virtual declaration
8confession of the failure of
9his policy at the very outset
10
[Sir George Cathcart] he wisely refrained from
11noticing him - Sechele proceeded
12to the Cape and his resources
13being there expended he was
14obliged to return to his own
15country again - one thousand
16miles distant in a straight
17line without accomplishing
18the object of his journey -
On his return
20he adopted a mode of punishment
21he had seen in the colony viz
22making criminals work
23on the public roads - and he
24has since I am informed
25b made himself the missionary
26to his own people - He has
27great intelligence, reads well
28and is a fluent speaker
29Great numbers of the tribes
30having under the Boers have
31taken refuge under his sway
32and he is now greater in
33power than he was before
34the attack on Kolobeng -
Having parted with Sechele we
3skirted along and sometimes
4in the Kalahari desert
[giving the Boers
5a wide berth]
There
6had occurred a more than
7usual supply of rain in 1852
8
[and that] was the period of the completion
9of a cycle of eleven or twelve
10years at which the same
11phenomenon has is reported
12to have happened on three
13occasions - An unusually
14large supply of melons had
15appeared and we had the
16pleasure of meeting with
17J - Macabe Esqr returning
18from Lake Ngami which
19he had succeeded in reaching
20by going right across
21the Desert from a point
22a little to the South of Kolobeng
23The accounts of the abundance
24of water melons were amply
25confirmed by this energetic
26traveller for his hadcattle actually
27subsisted for a period of
28twenty one days on this fluid
29found in these alone - and
30when at last they reached
31a supply of water they did
32not seem to care much
33about it - Coming to the Lake
34from the South East he
35crossed the Teage and went
36round the Northern part of it
0302
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19We afterwards heard that there had
20been some fighting between
21these Barolongs and the Boers
22and that there had been
23capturing of cattle on both sides
24These are the first instances
25of cattle captured by Bechuanas
26I ever heard of -
0303
1254 29424
2and is the only European
3traveller who has actually
4seen it all - His estimate
5of the extent of the Lake is
6higher then that given
7by Mr Oswel and myself
8or about 90 or 100 miles
9in circumference -
[Mr Macabe's
10companion
11Mahar was
12mistaken by
13a tribe of Barolongs
14for a Boer
15and shot as
16he approached
17their village
18When Macabe
19came up &
20explained the
21his nationality
22they expressed
23the utmost
24regret - and
25helped to bury
26him -. This
27was the first
28Englishman
29in modern recent
30times slain
31by the Bechuana
32]
Two Another English gentlemen
34crossed and recrossed the
35Desert about the same time
36and nearly in the same direction
37On returning one of them
38Captain Shelley inwhile riding
39forward on horseback
40lost his waypath and was
41obliged to find his ^ own way alone
42to Kuruman some hundreds
43of miles distant - Reaching
44that station shirtless and
45as brown as a Griqua
46he was recieved by Mrs
47Moffat as one with a
48salutation in Dutch - His
49sufferings must have been
50
[far] more severe than we
51endured; and his
{the} routes
52of Mr he & Mr Macabe
53result of both the exertions
54of Shelley and Macabe is to
55areprove that the general
56view of the Desert given
57by the natives has been
58always substantially correct
XIII. 255 295
2FrequentlyOccasionally during the
3very dry seasons which
4succeed our winter and
5preceede our rains a dry
6
[hot] ˄ wind blows over the
7Desert from North to South
8It feels somewhat as if
9coming from an oven
10and seldom blows
11longer at a time than three
12days
[together] : It resembles in its
13effects the Harmattan for
14
[of the North of
15Africa for]
^ it co
{a}mes loaded aboutat
16the time the missionaries
17first settled in the country
1830
{5} years ago loaded
19with fine reddish coloured
20sand -
[he sand no
21longer appears
22but it is so
23devoid of
24moisture that]
And it causes the
25wood of the best seasoned
26English boxes & furniture
27to shrink so much that
28every article not made
29in the country becomes
30warped - The verls of
31ramrods made in England
32become loose and on
33returning f
{to} Europe fasten
34again - This wind is so
35strongly electric that
36a bunch of ˄ ostrich feathers held
37in it
[a few seconds
38against it]
become as strongly
39
[charged] electrified as they would
40do
[if attached to] in a powerful electrical
41machine, and clasp
0305
1256 296
2the advancing hand as
{wi}th
3a ˄ short crackling sound as if the
4experiment were performed
5in a chemical class room
6On shewing this phenomenon
7to a traveller ˄ once he begged the
8feathers so earnestly that I
9gave him the bunch without
10any explanation - On meeting
11long afterwards I asked him
12what explanations the philosophers
13had given - "They had lost the
14property by the time he got
15to the coast - !" When this
16wind is blowing and even
17at other times this peculiarly
18
[strong] electrical state of the atmosphere
19causes the slightest move
20-ment of a native in his
21Kaross to shew ofproduce a stream
22of small sparks - The
23first time I noticed this
24
[appearance ˄] was in the case of a chief
25travelling with me in my
26waggon - Seeing parts of
27
[the fur of] his mantle ˄ which was exposed to
28slight friction by the
29movement of the waggon
30assume quite a luminous
31appearance - I rubbed it
32smartly with the hand &
33found it ˄ readily gave ˄ out with the
34greatest ease bright sparks
35and ˄ heard distinct cracks -
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15numbered upwards of 4,000
16Only a few of these breed at any time
17in this country, I have often observed
18them and they never appeared on
19such occasions to be influenced
20by sexual desires at all - there was
21no appearance of having paired
22no chasing or playing together
23There are man several other birds
24which continue in flocks and
25as wandering gipsies even during
26the breeding season which in
27this country happens with intervals
28between the hot & cold cold & hot
29seasons - cold acting some what in
30the same way here as the general
31warmth of spring does in
32Europe - Are these the migratory birds
33of Europe which return there to breed
34and rear their young?
0307
1257 297
2"Dont you see ˄ this"? "? said I - "The
3white men did not shew us
4this" he replied: "We had it long
5before white men came into
6the country
[we and our
7forefathers of old"]
- " Unfortunately
8I did notnever ˄ never enquired the name
9but I have no doubt that
10it exists in the language,
11Otto Von Guerrike is said by
12Baron Humbolt to have
13been th first that ever
14observed this effect in
[Europe]
15while the phenomenon had
16been familiar to the Bechuanas
17for ages. Nothing came of
18that however for they viewed
19Omit
[the sight] it ˄ as if with the eyes of ˄ an oxen
20The human mind here
21
[has] remained
[to the present day] as stagnant here
22in reference to the physical
23operations of the Universe
24as it ˄ once did in England
25 JM before the time of ------------
26No science was developed
27and few questions were
28ever discussed except
29those that havehad an intimate
30
[connection with
31the wants of]
relation to the stomach
Very large flocks of swifts were
34observed to
{f}lying over the plains
35North of Kuruman - I counted
36a stream of them which by the
37time it took to pass towards the
38reeds of that valley must have
39 turn over to back of page
2
3
4
5
6
7Near the village there exists a cave named
8Lepelole, It is an interesting evidence of the
9former existence of a gushing fountain
10No one dared to enter into go near the Lohahen or the
11the Lohaheng or cave for ^
[^ it was the common belief that]
12God was there, As we never
13had a holiday from January to September
14December and our Sundays were
15the th periods of our greatest exertions
16I projected an excursion hereinto the cave to see
17God
{the} god of the Bakwains - Everyone
18who went in remained for ever -
19said the old man and if the teacher is
20so mad as to kill himself we shall not be
21to blame - The declaration of Sechele tha
22he would follow where I led - produced
23the greatest consternation - It is curious
24that in all their pretended dreams or visions
25of having seentheir god he has always a
26crooked leg; Like the Egyptian Thoth.
27Supposing that those who arewere reported
28to have fallen perished in this cave had fallen
29over some precipice we went well provided
30with lights ladder lines &c - but it was only
31an open cave ˄ with an opening entrance about 10 feet high an
{sq}uare
32which contracts into two water worn branches
33that ending in round orifices through
34which the water once flowed - I fleft as
35in one of these one of Father Mathew's lead
36Teetotal tickets - The only inhabitants it ever
37seems to have had: were Baboons
258 298
2On the 31st Decr 1852 we reached
3the town of Sechele called
4from the part of the range
5on which it is situated
6Litubaruba - I never
7
[-] saw the Bakwains looking
8so haggard and lean
9as now - Most of the
10cattle had been swept away
11together with about 80
12fine draught oxen and
13much provision left
[in charge]
14by two officers Captains
15Codrington and Webb to
16
[serve ˄] for their return journey
17South - They
{se} ^ officers found the
18skeletons of the Bakwains
19where they expected to find
20their goods - All the corn,
21clothing, and furniture
22of the people had been
23consumed in the flames
24which the Boers had
25forced the subject tribes
26to apply
[to the town
27during the fight]
to the So they were
28now literally starving -
Sechele had given orders
30to his people not to
31commit any act of
32revenge pending his
33visit to the queen ˄ of England - but
34some of the young men
35ventured to go to a party
36of Boers returning from
0310
1259 5 299
2hunting and as the Boers
3became terrified and
4ran off they brought
5their waggon to Litubaruba
6This seems to have given
7the main body an idea
8that he
{^}
[the Bakwains] meant to begin
9a guerilla war upon
10them - This Caffre war
11was however only in
12embryo and not near
13that stage of development
1493 which we by coming
15after the Boers have
16unwisely inherited, when
17the native finds the hide
18and seed seek system
19most successful - The
20Boers in alarm sent
21to ask for peace! I being
22present heard the condition
23"Sechele's children must
24be given up" - I never
25saw men so completely
26and unconsciously in
27a trap as these four Boers
28were - Strong parties of
29armed Bakwains occupied
30every pass in the hills &
31gorges around and had
32they not promised much
33more than they intended
34or did perform that sunday
35would have been their
36 last
0311
1260 300
2Mr Peit Scholz the commandant
3had appropriated the children
4of Sechele to be his own
5domestic slaves - I was
6present when one little
7boy
[Khari son of
8Sechele]
was returned to his
9mother Ma-balerileng - The
10 child had been allowed
11to roll into the fire and
12there were three large
13
[unbound ^] open sores on different
14parts of his body - His
15mother and the women
16recieved him with a flood
17of silent tears - Slavery
18is said to be mild &
19tenderhearted in some
20placesparts - The Boers say ^ that they
[are the best of
21masters]
22& ^ that if it had been the English
23who had
[possessed] the Hottentots slaves they
24
[they] would have been ^ treated worse
25
[received much worse
26treatment than they did]
than they - weredid What that
27would have been, it
28is difficult to imagine
29seeing ^ that the best is so
30very bad - I took down
31the names of some
32scores of girls & boys
33many of whom I knew
34
[as our scholars] and I could not comfort
35the weeping mothers by
36any hope of their every
37returning from hopeless
38slavery - The Boers know
39 See back of this page
0312
17+
2The Bechuanas are universally much
3attached to children - A little child toddling
4near a party of men eating is sure
5to get a handful of the food - This
6love of children may depend inin a great
7partmeasure on the patriarchal system under which
8they dwell - Every little stranger is an
9increase of value influence to the whole community
10and is duly reported to the chief - boys
11being more esteemed welcome than girls - The
12parents take the name of the child & often address
13their children as Ma or Ra - (mother & father)
14Our eldest boy being named Robert Mrs
15L - was after his birth always addressed
16as Marobert - instead of Mary her maiden
17name -
I have examined several cases in
19which a grandmother has taken upon herself
20to suckle a grandchild - Masina of Kuruman
21had no children after the birth of her ^ daughter Sina
22and had no milk after Sina was weaned
23which usually is deferred till the child is
24two or three years old - Sina married
25when she was 17 or 18 and had twins
26Masina ^ after at least 15 years interval took possession of one of
27them applied it to her breast and
milk
28followed so that she was able to nursed
29the child ^ Entirely - On examination it seemed like
[omit]
30
other human milk only perhaps a little
31more bluish than ordinary - She was at
32this time at least 40 years of age -
33I have witnessed several other cases
34analogous to this - A grandmother left
35at home with a young child ^ frequently applies
36it to her own shrivelled breast ^
37 See back of next page
0313
1261 301
2from experience that adult
3captives may as well be
4left where they are but
{for}
5escape is so easy in
6wild country that no
7fugitive slave law can
8come into operation - They
9therefore adopt the system
10of seizing the youngest
11children that these may
12forget their parents and
13remain in perpetual bondage
14I have seen mere infants
15in their houses repeatedly -
16and the only thing which
17 was requisite to make
18the fact
[the denial of the
19practise of
20domestic slavery
21and slave
22hunting]
no longer necessarydesirable
23 meaning was the declaration of their
24independance by Sir George
25Clark Cathcart
In conversation with
27some of my friends here I
28learned that Maleke the
{a}
29chief of the Bakwains who
30formerly lived in Litubaruba
31was killed by the bite of
32a mad dog - My attention
33curiosity was strongly
34excited by this statement
35as Rabies is so infrequent
36
[in this country.] I never heard of another
37case - and could not satisfy
38myself that even this was
39real hydrophobia - Some
0314
18+
2and a fluid resembling ^ and
milk soon
3follows In suchsome cases, as that of
4Mabogosing the chief wife of Mahure ^ who was
5about 35 years of age the child was not entirely dependant
6on the produce of the grand mothers
breast
7as he mother suckled it too - I had
8witnessed the production of milk so
9frequently by the simple application
10of the lips of the child that I was not
11surprised when told by the Portuguese
12in Eastern Africa of a native doctor
13who by ^ applying a poultice of the pounded
14larvae of hornets to the breast of a woman aided by
15with and the attempts of the child milk could
16be brought ^ bring back - ^ milk And I was quite
17prepared to believe the assertion of an
18American physician quoted in the
19Medical British & Foreign Medical
20Review to the same effect (mention number)
[omit]
21that milk could be brought back to
22a breast which in consequence of
23inflammation or sore nipples had
24been allowed to dry up Probably the
25story in the "Cloud of Witnesses" of a man
26during the time of persecution in Scotland
27putting his child to his own breast
28and finding to the astonishment of
29the whole country ^ that milk followeding the
30act, is literally true - It was regarded
31and is quoted as a miracle but the
32feelings of the father towards the child of
33a murdered mother must have been as
34nearly as possible the maternal feeling &
35as anatomists the stru declare the structure
36of both male & female breasts to be identical
37there is nothing physically impossible in the alledged
[result]
0315
1262 302
2
[some] dogs which became affected
3by a disease which led them
4to run about in an
5incoherent state while I was
6at Mabotsa but I doubt
7whether it were anything
8but an affection of the
9brain - No individual
10or animal got the complaint
11by inoculation from
12the animals teeth and
13from all I could hear
14the idea of hydrophobia
15not existing within the
16Tropics seems to be quite
17correct
The diseases known
19among the Bakwains
20are remarkably few -
21There is no consumption, nor
22scrofula and insanity and
23hydrocephalus are rare -
24Cancer and cholera are
25quite unknown - Smallpox
26and measles came through
27the country about twenty
28years ago but t and com-
29mitted great ravages
30but though the former was
31
[has since broken out ^] on the coast repeatedly
32
[neither disease has] they never travelled inland
33since - For small pox
34
[the natives] they employed in some
35parts inoculation with
36in the forehead with the
0316
1263 303
2droppings of a bull - In
3other parts they employed
4the matter of the small
5pox itself and in one
6village they seem to have
7selected a virulent case
8for the matter used in
9the operation for nearly
10all the village was
11swept off by the disease
12in a malignant confluent
13form - Where the idea
14came from I cannot
15concieve - It was practised
16by the Bakwains at a time
17when they had no intercourse
18direct or indirect with
19the Southern missionaries -
[They all adopt
20readily the plan
21of vaccine virus
22when it is
23brought within
24their reach]
Syphilis is unknown
26also - I have seen cases
27in which it had been
28imparted and appeared in
29the secondary form ^ but it died
30out without the aid of
31medicine - And the Bang
32-waketze who got the
33mildest form of it from
34a tribe of Damaras near
35the West Coast lost it
36when they came into their
37own land South West
38of Kolobeng - It seems
39incapable of permanence
40in any form in persons
0317
1264 10304
2of pure African blood anywhere
3in the centre of the country,
4In persons of mixed
5blood it is otherwise and
6the virulence of the secondary
7symptoms seemed to be
8in all the cases that came
9under my care - in exact
10proportion to the greater
11or less amount of European
12blood in the patient -
13Among the Corannas and
14Griquas of mixed breed
15it produces the same
16ravages as in Europe -
17Among half blood Portuguese
18it is equally frightful
19in its inroads on the
20system but in the pure
21Negro of the central parts
22it is quite incapable of
23permanence - Among the
24Barotse I found a disease
25called Manassah which
26closely resembles ^ that of the "foeda
27mulier", of history -
Equally unknown
31is stone in the bladder
32and gravel - I never met
33
[with] a case though the waters
34are often ^ so strongly impregnated
35with sulphate of lime that
0318
1265 305
2kettles quickly become
3incrusted internally with
4the salt - And some of
5my patients who were
6troubled with indigestion
7believed that their stomachs
8 had got into the same
9condition - This freedom
10from calculi seems would
11appear to be remarkable
12in the ^ negro race even in the
13Un United States for seldom
14indeed have the fam most
15famed Lithotomists there
16operated on a negro -
The diseases most
19prevalent ^ are the following -- pneumonia,
20produced by sudden
21changes in temperature --
22and other inflammations
23as of the bowels, stomach
24and pleura
[Rheumatism
25disease of the
26heart - but
27these become
28rare as the
29people adopt
30the European
31dress - ]
- Various
32forms of indigestion
33and ophthalmia - Hooping
34cough comes frequently
35and every year the period
36preceding the rains
37is marked by some
38sort of epidemic - Sometimes
39it is general ophthalmia
40resembling closely the Egyptian
41At
{In} another year it is
42a kind of Diarrhoea which
0319
1266 306
2which nothing will cure
3untill there is a fall of
4 anything rain and anything or nothing
5acts as a charm after
6that - One year
[the epidemic
7period was ]
was
8^ marked by a disease
9which looked like pneumonia
10but had the peculiar symptom
11strongly developed of
12great pain in the 7th
13cervical process - Many
14
[persons] died of it ^ after being in a comatose
15state for many hours
16or days before their
17decease - No inspection
18of the body being ever
19allowed and the place
20of sepulture being carefully
21concealed I had to rest
22satisfied with conjecture
23Frequently the Bakwains
24burned their dead in
25the huts where they died
26for fear lest the witches
27(Baloi) should disinter
28their friends and use
29some parts of the body
30in their fiendish arts -
31Scarcely did the is the
32breath out of the body
33
[when] than the unfortunate
34patient is hurried away
35to be buried - An anteaters
36hole is often selected in
0320
1267 307
2
[order] to save the trouble of digging
3a grave - On two occasions
4
[while I was there,] this hasty burial led to
5the return home again
6of the man who had been
7buried alive, to his
8afrighted relatives
The doctors cup on the
10temples and apply the
11pungent smoke
[of certain roots] to the eyes
12in ophthalmia
- The
13patient at the same time
14taking strong draughts of
15it up his nostrils - We
16found the solution of nitrate
17of silver
[ 2 or 3 grams
18to the ounce
19of rain water]
answer
20the same end so much
21more effectually that
22every morning crowds
23numbers ^ of patients crowded round
24our house for the collyrium
25It is a good preventative
26of an acute attack
27when poured in to the eyes
28as soon as the pain
29begins and might prove
30valuable for travellers
31The cupping glass is performed
32by the horn of a goat or
33antelope having a smalllittle
34hole pierced in the small
35end - In some cases a
36small piece of wax is
37attached and a temporary
38hole made through it to
0321
1268 308
2in the horn - When the air is
3well withdrawn by keeping
4the touching the orifice at
5every inspiration with the
6point of the tongue - The
7wax is at last bittenpressed with
8the teeth and the orifice ob-
9literated
[closed up] so as to leave a
10vacuum for the blood
11to flow from the already
12scarified parts - The edges of
13
[the horn] applied to the surface are
14wetted and cupping is well
15performed though the doctor
16occasionally by separating
17the fibrine from the blood
18in the basin of water by
19his side and exhibiting it
20pretends that he has extracted
21something more than blood
22He can then explain the
23rationale of the cure by his
24own art and the ocular
25demonstration given is well
26appreciated -
Those doctors who have
28
[inherited ] the
{is} profession as an heirloom
29
[from their fathers & grandfathers ^] generally possess some
30valuable knowledge the
31result of long and close
32observation - but if a man
33cannot say the medical art
34is in his family he may
35be considered a quack. With
0322
1269 309
2the others I always remained
3on the best of terms by always
4refraining from appearing
5to doubt their skill in the
6presence of their patients
7 Aside, any explanation was
8thankfully recieved ^ by them and
9wrong treatment changed into
10
[something more] more reasonable with cordial
11good will if no one but
12the doctor & myself heard
13
[& myself were present] the
{at} the conversation - English
14medicines were eagerly
15
[asked for &] accepted by all - And we
16always found medical knowledge
17an important aid in
18convincing the people that
19we were really anxious
20for their welfare - We cannot
21accuse them of ingratitude
22
[^ in fact We shall] We remember the kindness of
23the Bakwains to us as long
24as we live -
270 310
2The surgical knowledge of
3the native doctors is rather
4at a low ebb - No one ever
5attempted to remove a tumour
6except by external applications
7Those with which they are
8chiefly troubled are fatty &
9fibrous tumours - and as
10they all have the vis medicatrix
11naturae in remarkable
12activity I safely removed
13an immense number
14In illustration of their want
15of surgical knowledge it
16may be mentioned that
17a man having a tumour
18as large as a childs head
19
[-] which being situated on
20the nape of his neck
21prevented himhis walking
22straight - applied to his chief
23to get some famous strange
24doctor from the East coast
25to cure him - They attempted
26to dissolve it by kindling
27
[on it] a little fire ^ on it made of a few
28
[small] little pieces of medicinal
29roots - When I removed it
30
[for him and] he always walked with his
31head much more erect
32than he needed to do ever
33afterwards - Both men &
34women submit to an
35operation without wincing
36or any of that shouting
0324
1271 311
2which caused young students
3to faint in the operating
4theatre before the introduction
5of chloroform - - The women
6pride themselves on their
7ability to bear pain - A
8mother will address her child
9
[little girl] from whose foot a thorn
10is to be extracted by - "Now
11Ma you are a woman - A
12woman does not cry" - A
13man too scorns to shed tears
14When we were passing one of
15the deep wells in the Kalahari
16a boy the only son of an
17aged father had been drowned
18in it while playing on
19its brink - When all hope
20was gone ^ the father he uttered an
21exceedingly great & bitter cry
22It was sorrow without
23hope, This was the only
24instance I ever met with
25of a man weeping in
26this country -
Their ideas on obstetrics
28are equally un
{in}operative - and
29the idea of a ^ medical man going near
30
[a woman at her confinement] a lady in the straw appeared
31
[to them] more out of placeout of place than a
32female medical student
33appears to us in a male
34dissecting room - A case of
35twins however happening
0325
1272 312
2and all the ointments of all
3the doctors of the town proving
4utterly inefficient incompetentinsufficient to effect
5
[a] delivery the relief which a few
6seconds of English art
7afforded the prejudice at
8vanished at once - As it would
9have been out of the question
10for me ^ to have entered upon this branch
11of the profession as indeed
12it would be
[inexpedient] improper for
13any medical man to devote
14himself exclusively in a
15thinly peopled country to the
16practice of medicine I there-
17after reserved myself for the
18difficult cases only and
19had the satisfaction of often
20conferring great benefits
21on poor women in their
22hour of sorrow - The poor
23
[creatures] are often leftplaced in a little hut
24built for the purpose ^ and are left without
25any assistance whatever
26and the numbers of umbilical
27herniae which are met with
28
[is] very greatquite astonishing in consequence
29
[The women] They suffer less ^
[^ at their confinements ^] than ^ is the case in
30civilized countries; perhaps
31from ^ their treating it not as a
32disease but as an operation
33of nature requiring no change
34of diet except a feast of meat
35and abundance of fresh air -
0326
1273 313
2The husband on these occasions
3being bound to slaughter an
{for} his
4
[lady an] ox or a goat or sheep according
5to his means - No further
6 omit intercourse is supposed to take
7place till the child is weaned
My knowledge of
9obstetrics procured for me
10a great fame in a line
11toin which I could lay no
12claim ^ to merit - A woman came
13from the a distance of 100 miles
14for relief in a complaint
15which seemed to have
16baffled the native doctors
17a complete cure was the
18result - Soon after she
19returned to her husband she
20concieved and bore a son
21Her husband having
22previously reproached her
23for being barren she sent
24me a handsome present
25and proclaimed all over
26the country that I possessed
27thea medicine for the cure
28of sterility - The consequence
29was ^ that I was pestered with
30applications from husbands
31and wives all over the
32country - Some came upwards
33of 200 miles to purchase
34the great boon and it was
35in vain ^ for me to explain ^ that I could
36only cure the disease of
0327
1274 20
{314}
2the other case - The more I
3denied they higher their offers
4became - They would give
5any money for the "child
6medicine" and it was really
7heart rending to hear the
8earnest entreaty and see
9the tearful eye which spoke
10the intense desire - "I am getting
11old, you see gray hairs here
12and there on my head, and
13I have no child, you know
14how Bechuana husbands
15cast their old wives away
16What can I do, I have no
17child to bring water to me
18when I am sick" &c -
The whole of the country
22adjacent to the Desert from
23Kuruman to Kolobeng
24or Litubaruba and beyond
25up to the Latitude of
26Lake Ngami is remarkable
27for its great salubrity of
28climate - Not only the natives
29but Europeans whose
30constitutions have been im-
31-paired by an Indian climate
32find the tract of country
33indicated not subject both healthy
34
[and] but restorative - The health
35and longevity of the missionaries
0328
1275 315
2has
{ve} been always fair, though
3mission work is not
4very conducive to either
5elsewhere - Cases have
6been known in which
7patients have come from
8the coast with a complaints
9
[closely] ^ simulatingresembling if ^ it they were not
10actually ^ those of consumption,
{;}
11and they have recovered
12by the influence of the
13climate alone - One of these
14a woman I examined
15and found ovarian
16tumour, as if the tuberculous
17matter had had been
18removed from the lungs
19& deposited
[in another organ] there - She
20is still aliveng while had
21she with that same disease
22remained near the coast
23it would speedily ^ have been as
24fatal to her as it is to
25the Hottentots - It must
26always bee borne in mind
27that the climate near the
28coast from which we
29recieved sosuch very favourable
30reports of the health of the
31British troops is actually
32inferior to that of any
33part not subjected to
34the influence of sea air
35I have never seen the
0329
1276 316
2the beneficial effects of the
3inland climate on ^
[persons of ^] shattered
4constitutions nor and heard
5their loudhigh praises of the
6benefit they have derived
7from travelling without
8wishing that its bracing
9effects should become
10more extensively known ^
11
[in England ^] N No one who has
12visited the region I have
13above mentioned fails
14to remember thewith pleasure
15of the wild healthful gipsey
16life of waggon travelling
[A considerable
17proportion of
18animal diet
19seems requisite
20here - Independant
21of the want of
22salt we required
23meat in as large
24quantity daily
25as we do in
26England and
27no bad effects
28follow ^ the free
29use of flesh
30in the way of
31biliousness as
32in other hot
33climates - A
34vegetabe diet
35causes acidity & heartburn]
36Mr Oswel declares this
37climate farmuch superior
38to that of Peru as far as
39pleasure is concerned
40and but for the impossibility
41of my giving accurate
42scientific data from
43want of instruments to
44the medical world and
45the expense of such a trip
46being so high I would
47have no hesitation
48to recommend the borders
49of the Kalahari desert
50as admirably suited for
51all patients having
52pulmonary complaints
53It is the complete antipodes
54to our cold damp English
0330
1277 317
2climate - The winter is perfectly
3dry - and as not a drop of
4rain falls during that
5period - viz from the beginning
6of May to the end of August
7damp and cold are never
8combined - However hot
9the day was
{may} have been
10at Kolobeng and the thermometer
11sometimes rose previous
12to a fall of rain up to 96°
13in the coolest part of our
14house yet it never has
15that steamy feeling nor
16those debilitating effects
17so well known in India
18In the evenings the air
19becomes deliciously cool
20and a pleasant refreshing
21night follows the hottest
22day - The greatest heat
23ever felt is not so oppressive
24as it is when there is much
25humidity in the air and
26the great evaporation
27consequent on a fall of
28rain makes the raining
29season the most agreable
30for travelling - Nothing can
31exceed the delicious balmy
32feeling of the evenings &
33mornings aft
{du}ring the whole
34year - You can wish for
35neither an increase of
36cold nor heat - It is perfect
0331
1278 24
{318}
2and you can sit out at night till
3
[midnight ^] twelve ^ without ever thinking
4of colds or Rheumatism - And
5
[you] one may sleep out at night
6looking up to the moon till
7you fall asleep without
8a thought or sign of moon
9blindness - Indeed during many
10months there is scarcely any
11dew -
Having remained five days
13with the wretched Bakwains
14seeing the effects of war of which
15a very inadequate idea can
16ever be formed by those who
17have not been eye witnesses
18of its miseries - I
{we} prepared to
19depart - Several dogs in better
20condition by far than any of
21the people had taken up their
22residence at the water - No one
23would own them - they had
24remained, and returning coming ^
25
[on the trail of
26the people long
27after their departure
28from the scene
29of conflict it was
30plain]
they "Held oer the dead their carnival"
31
32
33Hence the disgust with which
34they were viewed
In proceeding from
36Khopong along the ancient
37river bed which forms the
38pathway to Boatlanama
39we found another species
40of cactus - Thus making
0332
1XIV - 319
2being the third I have seen
3in the country, viz, - one
473 at a part of the Colony called
5f
{a}fter it the "Koup," with a
6bright red flower-
{;} one at
7Lake Ngami whose flower
8is edible is liver coloured,
9and the present ^ one whose flower
10is unknown-
{;} ^ That the plant
11is uncommon may be
12inferred from the fact
13that the Bakwains find
14such a difficulty in
15recognizing a plant again
16after having once seen it,
17T
{t}hey believe it has the power
18of changing its locality -
Bristow On the 21st January we reached we
21reached the wells of Boatlanama
22and found them for the first
23time empty - Lopepe which
24I had formerly seen a running
25stream was and a from a large
26
[reedy] pool was also dry - The hot
27salt spring of Serinane East of
28Lopepe was
{being} undrinkable
29we pushed on to Mashue
30
[for] with its delicious waters
31In travelling through this country
32the olfactory organ nerves
33are frequently excited by
34a strong disagreeable odour
35This is caused by a large jet black an ant
0333
1320
2named "Leshonya" - It is quite an
3nearly an inch in length and
474 emits thisa pungent smell
5when alarmed in the same
6manner as is practised
7by the skunk and polecat ^ dog
8The scent must be as volatile
9as ether for on irritating the
10insect with a stick 6six feet long
11the It is instantly perceptible
Occasionally we lighted
13upon land tortoises which
14
[with their inlaid
15eggs]
make a very agreeable dish
16We saw many of their trails
17leading to the salt fountain
18they and ^ they must seem to have come great
19distances for this health giving
20article - In lieu thereof they
21often devour wood ashes
22It is wonderful to see how
23this reptile holds its place in
24the country - It hol
{When} When seen it
25never escapes - The young
26are taken for the sake of
27their shells to be made into
28boxes which filled with
29sweet smelling roots the
30women hang around their
31persons - When older it is
32used as food and the
33shell converted into a
34[ ] rude basin to hold
35food or water - It owes its
36continuance neither to speed
0334
1321
2nor cunning - Its colour yellow
375 and dark brown is well adapted
4by its similarity to the surrounding
5grass & brushwood to render
6it indistinguishable and though
7it makes an awkward attempt
8to run on the approach of man
9its trust is in its bony covering
10from which even the
11teeth, of a hyaena glance off
12foiled - When this long lived
13cl creature is about to deposit
14her eggs she lets herself into the
15ground by throwing the earth
16up round her shell untill
17only the top is visible - There
18covering up the eggs she
19leaves them covered up untill
20the rains begin to fall and
21Robinson the fresh herbage appears -
22The young ones then come
23out - their shells still quite soft
24and unattended by their dams
25begin the world for themselves
26Their food is tender grass and
27a plant named Thotona - and
28they frequently resort to ashes
29& parts containing efflorescence
30of the nitrates for the salts these contain
Enquiries among the
32Bushmen and Bakalahari
[who are intimately
33acquainted with
34the habits of
35the game - ]
36lead to the belief that many
37diseases prevail among
38wild animals - I have seen
0335
1322
2the kokong or gnu, Kāma
376 or hartebeest, The Tsessebe
4
[Kukama] and even the giraffe so mangy
5as to be uneatable even by the
6natives, Reference has already
7been made to the peripneumonia
8which cuts off horses Tolos or
9Khoodoos, and ^ that great numbers,
10
[also,] of Zebras are found ^ dead with the
11a masses of foam at the nostrils
12exactly as occurs in the ^ common "horse
13sickness" - The production
14of the malignant carbuncle
15called Kuatsi or selonda is
{by}
16
[the flesh when
17eaten is]
^ another proof of the disease of the tame & wild
18being identical -
I once found a buffalo
20blind from ophthalmia standing
21by the fountain Otse and when
22he attempted to run he lifted
23up his feet in the peculiar
24manner blind animals do,
25The Rhinoceros has often
26 worms on the conjunctiva
27of his eyes but these are
28not the cause of his
{the} dimness
29of vision which will make
30him charge past a man
31who has wounded him
32if he stands perfectly still,
33in the belief that his enemy
34is a tree - It probably arises
35from the horn being in the
36line of vision for the variety
0336
15
{323}
277 named Kuabaōba which has
3 a straight horn directed down-
4
[-wards ^] away from that line has much
5more acute eyesight & is much
[more wary]
All the wild animals are subject
7to intestinal worms besides,
8I have observed bunches of a
9tapelike worm - thread and
10short worms of enlarged size
11in the Rhinoceros - The zebras
12
[& Elephants] are seldom without them, and
13a thread worm may often be
14seen under the peritoneum
15of these animals - Short red
16larvae which convey a stinging
17sensation to the hand are
18seen clustering round the orifice
19of the windpipe (trachea) of this animal
20at the back of the throat - others
21are seen in the frontal sinus
22of antelopes and curious
23flat leechlike worms with
24black eyes are found in
25the stomachs of Lechés
26insert a
26paragraph at
26top of 7
27
28
The carnivori too become
30diseased and mangy - Lions
31become lean and perish
32miserably by reason of the
33decay of the teeth - When he
34
[a Lion ^] becomes too old to catch
35game he frequently takes to
0337
1324
2to killing goats in the villages
378 A woman or child happening
4to go out ^ at night falls a prey too - And
5as this is his only source
6of subsistence now, he continues
7at it, From this circumstances
8has arisen the idea that the
9lion when he has once tasted
10human blood flesh loves it
11better than any other - Men=
12=eaters are invariably old -
13and when he overcomes
14his fear of man so far as
15to come to villages for
16goats the people remark
17"his teeth are worn out
18he will soon kill men" They
19at once acknowledge the the
20necessity
[of forestalling
21this]
of and turning out to
22kill him - When living far
23
[away] apart from population or
24when as is the case in some
25parts he entertains a wholesome
26dread of the Bushmen and
27Bakalahari ^ so soon as either disease
28or old age overtakes him
29he begins to catch mice &
30other small rodents and even
31to eat grass - the natives observing
32undigested ^ vegetable matter in his
33
[or in sickness] droppings follow up his
34trail in the certainty of finding
35him scarcely able to move
36under some tree - (The grass
37may have been eaten as medicine
38as is observed in dogs)
It must be added that
17though the effluvium which
18is left by the footsteps of man
19is in general sufficient to
20induce them to avoid a
21village there are exceptions
22So many came about our
23half deserted house at
24 Chonuane while we
25were in the act of removing
26to Kolobeng that the natives
27who remained with Mrs L-
28were tempted to stir out of
29doors in the evenings
7 {325}
79 (The zebra - giraffe eland &
3Kukama have been seen
4(ante.) mere skeletons from decay of
5(where ?) their teeth as well as from
6at 5 - disease)
That the fear of man often
8remains in the carnivori
9excessively strong ^ is proved from a
10
[well authenticated] cases in which a
{the} lioness
11in the vicinity of towns where
12the large game had been
13unexpectedly driven away
14by firearms ^
[^ has been known to
15assuage]
actually assuaging
16
[asuaging ^] the paroxysm of hunger
17by devouring her own
18young - ^ BitchesI have ^ too been known
19
[to be] bitches also guilty of this the
20horridly unnatural deed ^
[of eating their own
21young ^]
,
22probably from the great
23desire for animal food
24
[which is] experienced by [ ] the
25inhabitants as well -
26When we meet a lion [ ]
27
[is met in ^] the day time - a by no means
28infrequent circumstance
29to travellers here - in these
30parts - if his preconcieved
31notions do not lead himthem
32to expect something very "noble"
33or "Majestic" hethey will see merely
34^ something a little ^
[somewhat] larger than
35the largest dog hethey ever saw
36and partaking very strongly
37of the canine features - The
38face is not much like
0340
1326
2the usual drawings of that
380 animal - the nose being a
4 prolonged ^ like a dog's dog like thing not
5exactly like whatsuch as our painters
6make ^
[it, though]
though in spite of they might see
7
[learn] better at the Zoological
8gardens - their ideas of
9majesty being usually seenshewn
10by making their lions likefaces
11
[like] old women's in their nightcaps -
12
[When encountered in
13the daytime, the lion]
He stands a second or two
14gazing, then turns slowly
15round and walks as
16slowly away for a dozen
17paces
[looking over
18his shoulder]
- then begins to trot and
19when he thinks himself
20
21out of sight bounds off like
22a greyhound, By day there
23is not
[as a rule] the smallest danger
24of hims attacking man -
25nor even on a clear moon
26light night - except when they
27possess the breeding στoργή
28
[natural affection)] This makes them brave
29 any danger almost and if
30a man happeningsed to cross
31
[above] their up the wind of them wind would make
32both lion and lioness ^ will rush
33at him in the manner of
34a bitch with whelps - This
35does not often happen as
36I only became aware of
37one two ^ or three instances of it, and
38a
{A} man
[i
{I}n one case ^ a man was
39passing where
40the wind blew
41from him to the animals, - and]
was bitten by the
42animal before he could
43 climb a tree
94
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16This seems characteristic of the
17feline species - When a goat is
18picketted in India for the
19 purpose of enabling the huntsman to
20shoot hima tiger by night if on a plain he
21would whip off the animal so quickly
22by a stroke of the paw ^ that no one could
23take aim - To obviate this a small
24pit is dug - and the goat is picketted to
25a stake in the bottom, A small stone is tied
26in the ear of the goat which makes
27him cry the whole night - When the
28tiger sees the appearance of a trap
29he walks round and round the
30pit and allows the [ ] hunter who
31is lying in wait to have a fair
32shot
0342
19
{327}
2
[and occasionally
3a man on
4horseback
5has been caught
6by the leg in under
7the same
8positioncircumstances but]
^ So general is the sense of
9security inon moonlight we
{nights}
10
[^ that]
[we ^] seldom ever tied up our
11oxen but let them lie loose
12by the waggons: but While inon a
13dark rainy night if a lion
14is ^ in the neighbourhood he
15is almost sure to venture
16
[to kill an ox -] to against the oxen - His
1781 approach is always stealthy
18
[except when] if not wounded - and
19any appearance of a trap
20is enough to makecause him
21
[ refrain from
22making the]
^ beware of the last spring,
23 When ^ a lion is very hungry and lying
24in wait the sight of an
25animal may make
26 himhim commence stalking it.
27as in theIn one case - of a man
28who inwhile stealthily crawling
29to ^ towards an Rhinoceros happened
30to glance behind him back & found
31to his horror a lion stalking
32himself - He required No
33other stimulus
[was required] to make him
34
[He only escaped by] springing up a tree like a
35cat - On Another occasion
36a man on horseback
37 found a lion^ess spring on the
38after quarter of his ^
[Mr Oswel's ^] horse
39
[but] and turning round ^ he shot
40him dead in the neck -
41By accident the a horse
42ran away but was caught
0343
1328 10
2by the bridle laying hold of a
3stump - there he remained
4a prisoner two days and
5when found the whole space
6around was marked by the
7footsprints of lions - They had
8evidently been afraid to
982 attack the haltered horse from
10fear that it was a trap,
11Two lions came up by
12night to within three yards
13of of
{oxen} tied to a tree a waggon
14and a sheep tied to a tree
15and stood roaring but afraid
16to make a spring - and so
17of a man on another
18occasion ^ one of our party was lying sound
19asleep between two natives
20behind a bush at Mashue
21The fire was nearly out
22at their feet in consequence
23of ^ their all being utterlycompletely tired
24out by the fatigues of the
25previous day & unconscious
26of danger - A lion came
27up to within two three yards
28again of the fire and there
29commenced to roaring instead
30of making a spring - The
31fact of the their ox riding ox being
32tied to the bush beingwas the
33only human leonine reason
34
[the lion had,] for not making following
35his instinct and making
36a meal of flesh - He then
0344
1329
2Chester
3
[stood on a knoll
4300 yards distant
5and roared all
6night - and continued
7his growling as
8the party moved off by daylight]
^ Nothing that I ever learned of
9the lion would lead me ^ to attribute to to
10give it ^ either the ferocious or noble
11character ascribed to it
12elsewhere - It possesses none
13^
[of the nobility
14of the Newfound-
15land or
16St Bernard
17dogs]
With respect to its powergreat strength
19there can be no doubt that it is
20great - The immense masses
21of muscles around its jaws,
2283 shoulders & and forearms proclaim
23tremendous force - They would
24seem ^ however to be inferior ^ in power however
25to those of the Indian tiger
26Most of those feats of strength
27
[that] I have seen performed ^ by lions, such as
28the taking away of an ox
29were not carrying but
30dragging or slipping the
31carcase along - ^ the ground They have
32sprung on some occasions
33on to the hind quarters of
34an [ ] horse but no one
35has ever seen them on the
36withers of a giraffe - - They
37do not mount on the
38hind quarters of an eland
39Insert in a foot
39note - the extract
39in the note attached
39to this page
even, but try to draw
40him down with their claws
41Messrs Oswel and Vardon
42were spectators ofonce saw three
43lions endeavouring to
44drag down a buffalo
45and they were unable to do so
46
[for somea long time
47at least]
^ though he was at the time
48mortally wounded by ^ a balls
49
0345
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24 from a small
25 orifice
0346
1330
2In general hea lion seizes the animal
3
[he is attacking,] by the flank near the hind
4leg - by the hind leg or by the
5throat below - It is
684 questionable ifwhether he ever
7attempts to seize an animal
8by the withers - The firstflank
9place is the most common ^ point of attack
10and that is the ^ part place ^ where he
11
[begins
12to feast on
13first -
14The natives & lions
15Caffre & eland
16are very
17similar in
18their tastes
19in the selection
20of tidbits - An
21eland may
22be seen
23disemboweled ^ by the natives
24so completely ^
25 that he scarcely
26seems cut
27up at all]
^ eats t
{T}he bowels and softfatty
28parts there formsing a
29full meal for any even
30the largest beast lion known -
31The Jackall comes ^ sniffing about
32and sometimes & suffers for
33his temerity by a stroke from
34the lion's paw laying
35him dead. When gorged
36the lion falls fast asleep goes off to sleeps
37off his surfeit and is
38then easily dispatched -
39Hunting thema lion with dogs
40involves very little danger
41as compared with hunting
42the Indian tiger - because
43the dogs bring him out of
44cover and make him
45stand at bay - giving the
46hunter plenty of time for a
47good deliberate shot -
Where game is abundant
49there you may expect lions in proportionately large
50numbers - They are never seen in herds but six or
51eight, probably one family, occasionally hunt together
52One is in much more danger of being run over
53in walking the street of London than he is of
54being devoured by a lions in Africa unless he is
55 engaged in hunting the animal
331
The same feeling which
3has induced the modern
485 painter to caricature the lion
5has led the sentimentalist
6to ^
[consider ^] feel the lion's roar the
7most terrific of all earthly
8sounds - We hear of the
9"Majestic roar of the king of
10beasts" It is indeed well
11calculated to inspire fear if
12you hear it in combination
13with the tremendously loud
14thunder of that ^ that country i
{o}n
15a night so pitchy dark that
16every flash of the intensely
17vivid lightning leaves you
18with the impression of
19stone blindness - ^ while and the
20rain poursing down so fast
21
[that] your fire goes out and
22leaves
{ing} you without the
23protection of even a tree or
24the chance of your gun firing;
25but ^ when you are in a comfortable
26house or waggon it is
27
[the case is very different
28& you hear the roar
29of the lion without
30any awe, or alarm - ]
never and knowing that
31the silly ostrich makes a
32noise as loud as any
33lion and
{but} ^ yet he never was
34feared by man - to talk of
35the majestic roar of the
36lion is mere majestic
37twaddle - On ^ my mentioning
38this fact ^ some years ago the
39assertion was doubted
0348
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15There is ^ it must be admitted considerable a difference between
16the singing noise of a lion
17when full & thehis deep gruff
18growl when hungry, But --- In general
19the lions voice coseems to come
20deeper from the chest then that
21of the birdostrich But ---
0349
1332
2andso I have been careful ever
3since to enquire the opinions
4of Europeans who have
5heard both if they could
6detect any difference
[ between the roar of
7a lion & the scream of
8an ostrich - ]
9
[The lion's
10seems to
11come deeper
12from the chest]
- The
13invariable answer was that
14
[they could] Not
[in the distance
15when the animal
16was at any distance - ]
although the natives
17assert ^ that they can detect a
18variation between the com
19mencement of the noise of
2086 each - to this day - I can
21only distinguish between
22them
[with certainty only] by finding the ostrich
23roars
{ing} by day and the lion
24by night -
The African lion is
26 this word? of a tawny or brindled (or fulvoous colour
27like that of the mastiff
28The mane in the male is
29large and gives the idea
30of great power - ^ In some lions the ends
31of the hair of the mane in
32some lions is are black
33these go by the name of
34black maned lions though
35as a whole all look of
36the yellow tawny colour
37At the time of the discovery
38of the Lake Mssrs Oswel &
39
[Wilson] a trader who accompanied
40us shot two specimens
41of another variety - One
42was an old lion whose
43teeth were
[mere stumps & his
44The claws worn
45quite blunt -]
nearly gone
46with age, the other was a
0350
1insert (the case of buffaloes keeping them at Bay)
2insert on back of following page {figure} 15
3
4
5
6The lion has other checks on
7inordinate increase thanbesides man
8He seldom attacks ^ singly full grown
9animals - but frequently
10when a buffalo calf is
11caught ^ by him the cow rushes
12to the rescue and a toss
13from her not infrequently
14kills him - One ^ we found was killed dead
15thus; on the Leeambye and
16another which died near
17Seshsheke had all the
18appearance of having
19got his death blow
20from a buffalo - It is
21questionable if a single
22lion ever attacks a full grown
23buffalo - The amount
24of roaring ^ heard at night on such
25occasions ^ when a buffalo is killed heard at
26night seems to say
27there are always more
28than one - Lions never
29go near any Elephants except the
[- calves which
30when young
31are sometimes
32torn by them]
33Every living thing retires
34before this lordly beast
35
[Yet] The ^ full grown elephant would be
36an easier prey than the
37Rhinoceros - & He
{the} ^ lion rushes off at the
38 mere sight of this beast
0351
115
{333}
2full grown but in the prime
3of life
[with
4white perfect
5teeth]
and both were
6entirely destitute of mane
7
[The lions in the
8country near the Lake]
they also give tongue less
9than those farther south. We
10scarcely ever heard them roar at all -
In the country adjacent
1287 to Mashüe great numbers
13of different kinds of mice
14are exist -
[Mus Lehocla (Smith)] The ground is
15often so undermined with
16their burrows that the foot
17sinks in at every step -
[Little hay-cocks
18made by one variety
19of these little
20creatures - They
21are ^ often about two
22feet high and
23rather more than
24that in breadth
25The same thing
26is done in regions
27annually covered
28with snow for
29obvious purposes
30but it is difficult
31here to divine
32the reason of the
33(contras.)
34haymaking]
35Whenever these abound
36serpents may be expected
37for the one preys on
38the other - A cat in a house
39is therefore a good prevent-
40-ative against the entrance
41of these noxious reptiles creatures
42Occasionally however
43notwithstanding every
44precaution they do find
45their way in but even
46the most venomous
47sorts bite only when put
48into bodily fear themselves
49
[or] ^ when trodden upon or
[or when the
50sexes come together - I once
51found a coil of
52skins made by a number of them twisting together
53in the manner described by the Druids of old - ]
When in
54the country one feels nothing
55of that alarm and loathing
56which we may experience
57when sitting in a comfortable
58English room reading
59about them - Yet they are
0352
1 Insert ante - back of page 14
2
3{figure} On the plain south of Sebituane's ford
4a herd of buffaloes kept a number
5of lions offfrom Being
{their} young by the
6males turning their heads to the
7enemy - The young and cows
8were in the rear - One toss
9from a male bull would kill
10the beststrongest lion that ever breathed - One
11In India even the tame buffaloes
12feel their superiority for they
13have been seen to chase
14a lion up the hills bellowing
15as if they enjoyed the sport.
0353
1334
2nasty things and we seem
3to have an instinctive feeling
4against them - In making the
5door for our Mabotsa house
6camouflage
7 this word.
I happened to leave a small
8hole at the corner below - One
9morning early a man came
1088 to call me for some article
11I had promised - I at once went
12to the door and it being dark
13trod on a serpent - and when
14
[The moment] I felt the cold scaly feel
15skin twine round a part
16of my leg the instinctive
17feeling was roused ^ and instantaneous
18ly roused
[my latent
19instinct ^ was it
20making
{de} me
21and I leapt up higher
22than I ever
23did before or
24hope to do
25again - shaking
26the reptile off
27in my leap.]
and I never
28leaped so high before nor
29since - I may ^ might have trod on it
30near the head but did not
31stop to examine -
Wilkes Some of the serpents are
36particularly venomous.
37one ^ was killed at Kolobeng
38of a dark brown, nearly
39black colour, 8 ft 3 inches
40pica Kolu long - (pica kholu)(.) This species is so
41ven strongly supplied with
42the poison, that when a
43number of dogs attack it,
44The first bitten dies almost
45instantaneously, - the
0354
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16One names by the inhabitants
17Noga ea puts-ane, or serpent of a kid,
18& utters a cry by night exactly like
19the bleating of that animal(.) - I heard
20one at a spot where no kid
21could possibly be(.) - It is supposed
22to lure travellers to itself by this
23bleating - several varieties
24when alarmed emit a peculiar
25odour whby which the people
26become aware of their presence
27in a house -
0355
1335
2second in about five minutes,
389 the third in an hour or so,
4while the fourth may live
5several hours. In a cattle
6pen it produces great
7mischief in the same way -
8
[The head of
9the
[one we killed at
10Kolobeng]
individual
11mentioned being
12cut off continued
13to distill the clear
14poison from
15the fangs for
16hours afterwards
17its ^ head was cut off - ]
They all require water, and
18come long distances, from to
19the Zouga and other rivers
20waters ^ rivers & pools in search of it -
21We have the puff adder,
22another dangerous serpent,
23and the cerastes
Also ^ the cobras Naia haje,
26which possesses the power of spitting
27
[(green)] its poison Naia augusticeps (Smith), treeclimber;
28
[(Dasy peltis
29inornatus)
30another climber
31& eggeater;]
and others which appear
32to be harmless, and ^ even edible
Of the latter sort is the
35large Boa Python, or
36 Metse pallah, - or Tári
Take to
38next page
38 A
One we shot was 11ft 10in
39long, and as thick as a
40man's leg - The largest
41ever seenspecies known is about 15 ft
42in length: It is perfectly
43harmless, - lives on small
44animals, chiefly the Rodentiae;
45occasionally the Puruhuru
46and pallah fall a victim
47and are sucked in to
48its comparatively small
0356
1336 18
2
[mouth] in boa-constrictor fashion
3Insert paragraph
3from last page A.
When this individual serpent was
4shot through the spine, he
5was capable of lifting
6himself up about five
790 feet high, - ^ and opened his
8mouth in a threatening.
9manner; but the poor
10thing tried oftenest to get
11
[crawl] away (-) The flesh is
12much relished by the
13Bakalahari and Bushman:
14they carry away each
15his portion, like logs
16of wood, over their shoulders
Some of the Bayeiye
[we met
20at Sebituane's
21ford, who]
22pretended to render themselves
23
[to be ^] innocuous to the bite of
24serpents, and shewed the
25feat of lacerating theirthe
26arms with thetheir teeth of
27Sebituanes
27ford
27
tame ones of such as are
28unfurnished with the poison
29fangs (-) They also swallow
30the poison by way of
31gaining notoriety, but Dr
32Andrew Smith put their
33sincerity
[of such persons] to the prooftest by
34offering them the fangs
35of a really poisonous
36variety, and found
37they shrank from the experiment
194
When we reached the Bamangwato, the
3chief Sekomi was particularly friendly, -
4collected all his people to the ^ religious services ^ we held,
5and explained his reasons for compelling
6some Englishmen to pay him a horse - "They
7would not sell him any powder, though
8they had plenty; so he compelled them to give it
9^ & the horse for nothing" - He would not deny the extortion
10to me; that would be "boherehere," "swindling,"
11He thus thought extortion better than swindling(.)
12I could not detect any more difference in
13the morality of the two, transactions than in the dangerousness
14of apoplexy & Coup de Soleil, but Sekomi's
15ideas of things are honesty are the
16lowest I have met with in any
17Bechuana chief, and this instance
18is mentioned as the only approach to
19payment for leave to passpass that I have
20met with in the South(.) - In all other
21cases the difficulty has been to get
22a chief to give a
{us} man to shew the
23way, - and the payment has been for such
24a guide (-) and Englishmen have always
25very properly avoided giving that idea
26to the native mind which we shall
27hereafter find ^ proved troublesome, that payment
28ought to be made for passage through
29a country
In this town I was once a spectator
31 of
the second part of the ceremony
of the
32
circumcision ^ (Boguera) or ci - called "Sechu(.)" Just at the
33dawn of day a row of boys of ^ nearly fourteen
34 years of age ^ nearly stood ^ naked in the Kotla, each
35having a pair of sandals as a shield on
0358
191 337 19
2his hands(.) - Facing them stood the men of
3the town in a similar state of nudity - all
4armed with long thin wands, of a tough
5strong supple bush called Moretloa, and
6engaged in a dance named "Koha", in which
7questions are put to the boys; as, "will you
8gaurdguard the chief well?" "Will you herd
9the cattle well?" - and while the latter give
10an affirmative response, one after the
11and another of the men rushes forward
12to them and ^ Each aims a full weight blow at
13the boy's back ^ of one of the boys; he, shielding himself with
14the sandals above his head, causes the
15supple wand to descend & bend in to his
16back, and every stroke inflicted thus
17causes the blood to squirt out of a
18wound a foot or eighteen inches
19long(.) - At the end of the dance the boys'
20backs are seamed with wounds & weals,
21that ^ the scars of which remain through life(.) This is intended
22to harden the young soldiers, and prepare
23them for the rank of men(.) - They may
24there after marry - this ceremony, and after
25killing a Rhinoceros, ^ they may marry a wife(.)
26In the "Koha" the same respect is shewn
27to age as in many other of their customs -
28A younger man rushing from the ranks
29to exercise his wand on the backs of
30the youths may be himself the object
31of chastisement by the older, and on
32the occasion referred to Sekomi himself
33recieved a handsomesevere cut on the leg
34from one of his grey-haired people(.)
35On my joking with some of the young
36men on their want of courage notwith-
37 standing
0359
1all the beatings of which they bore marks,
2and hinting that our soldiers were brave
3without suffering so much, one rose up
4and said, "Ask him if, when he and I were
5compelled by a lion to stop & make a fire,
6if I did not lie down and sleep as well as
7himself(.)" In other parts a challenge to try
8a race would have been given, and
9you willmay frequently see grown men
10adopting that means of testing
11superiority, like so many children -
The Sechu is practised by
13 three tribes only - Boguera
(Circumcision) is
14observed by all the Bechuanas and
15Caffres, but not by the negro tribes
16beyond 20˚ South (-) It is named
17"Boguera", and is a civil rather than
18a religious rite (-) All the boys of the an
19age between 10 and 14 or 15 are selected
20
[to] be the companions for life of one of
21the sons of the chief - They are taken
22out to some retired spot in the forest,
23and huts ^ are erected for their accommodation
24The old men go out and teach them
25to dance, initiating them at the same
26time in all the mysteries of African
27politics & government (-) Each one
28is expected to compose an oration
29in praise of himself, called a "leina" or
30name, - and to be able to repeat it with
31sufficient elo fluency - A good deal
32of beating is required to bring them
33up to the required excellency in differen
34matters, so ^ that when they return from
35 (Turn over three leaves for
36 continuation of this subject)
0360
1338 20
2- close seclusion in which they
392 are kept, they have generally
4a number of scars to shew
5on their backs - These bands
6or regiements, named Mepato,
7recieved a name a particular
8appellation; as, the Matsatsi =
9The suns; the Mabusa =
10the rulers - equivalent to our
11Coldstreams or Enniskillens;
12and they
[though living
13at different
14parts of the
15town, turn out
16at the call, and]
act under the chief's
17son as ^ their commander - They
18recognize a sort of
19equality & partial communism
20even afterwards,
[and address
21each other by
22the endearing
23name title of Molekane,
24or comrade (-)
25In cases of
26offence against
27their maxims,
28as eating alone
29when any of
30their comrades
31are within call,
32or in cases of
33cowardice or
34dereliction of
35duty, they may]
May
36^ strike each other, and those
37of a younger mo-pato,
38but never anyone of
39any older one
{band}; and
40when three or four mepato
41have been made, the oldest
42no longer takes the field
43in time of war but remains
44as a gauuard over the women
45and children (-) When a fugitive
46comes to a tribe, he is directed
47to the Mopato analogous
48to that to which in his own
49tribe he belongs, and does
50duty as a member (-) Age is
51reckoned by the number of
52the mepato they have seen
53pass through the formulas
54of admission (-) The oldest
0361
193 339
2 individual I ever met boasted
3he had seen eleven sets of
4 boys submit to the
[Boguera (circumcision),] circumcision
5i-e he must have been fifty
6
[forty] when he saw the fifth (-) It is
7an ingenious plan for fixing
8attaching the members of
9the tribe to the chief's family,
10and ^ for imparting a discipline
11which renders the tribe easy
12of command (-) On their
13return to the town, a prize is
14given to the lad who can
15run fastest, the article being
16placed where all may see
17the winner run up to
18snatch it - They are then
19considered men
[(banona - viri)] , and can
20sit among the elders in the
21Kotla (-) Formerly they were
22only basimane pueri - boys(.)
23The first missionaries
24set their faces against
25the Boguera on account
26of its connection with
27heathenism, and the fact
28that they youth learned
29much evil, and become
30disobedient to their parents
31(-) From the general success
32of these men, it is perhaps
33better that younger missionaries
34should tread in their footsteps,
35for so much evil may ˄
36 result
XV 340
2arise from destroying confidence
3in the measures of our pre-
4decessors to our own influence
5
[byfrom breaking down
6the authority
7on which, to
8those who cannot
9read, the whole
10system ^ of our own influence appears
11to rests]
that bold young innovators
12ought to be made to propose
13their new measuresones measures as the
14Locrians did in the case of
15new laws, with ropes
16around their necks -
94 Chester The circumcision
18
["Boguera" was ^] has probably only a sanitary
19
[and political ^] measure - & There being no
20continuous chain of tribes
21practising the rite between
22the Arabs and the Bechuanas
23
[or] and Caffres and ^ as its ^ is not
24being a religious ceremony
25it can scarcely be referred
26as is often done to the a
27Mahometans source - We
28
[no more than we] never, ascribe the custom of
29Omit the scotch in ascribing adultery
30
[certain sins ^] to the divine decree as derived
31from
the fatalism of the Turks
A some what analogous
34ceremony
[(Boyale)] takes place for
35young women and the
36protege
{é}es appear under the
37surveillance of an old
38woman drilled to the carrying
39of water - They are clad
40during the whole time in
41a dress composed of alternate
0363
1341
2ropes of alternate pumpkin seeds
3and bits of reed strung together
4and wound around the
595 body in a figure of eight
6fashion - They are inured
7in this ^ way to bear fatigue &
8carry huge pots of water under
9guidance of some stern
10old hag - They have often
11
[scars] marks of bits of live coals
12having been applied to the
13fore arm which must have
14been done to test their power
15of bearing pain -
The Bamangwato hills are
3part of the range called Bakaa
4( What tribe?
4Bakaa of course)
The latter tribe ^ (Bakaa) however removed
5to Kolobeng and are now
6joined to that of Sechele
796 They
{The} range stands almost 700
8or 800 feet above the plains
9and areis composed of great
10masses of black basalt
11and areIt is probably ^ part of the youngestlatest
12
[series of] volcanic rocks in South
13Africa - At the Eastern end -
14they havethese hills have of a curious fungoid
15or cup shaped hollows
16with masses of the rock
17chrystallized in the columnar
18form of this formation
19 The tops of the columns are
20quite distinct, of the hexagonal
21form like the
[bottom of the] cells of a
22
23honeycomb - but they are
24not parted from each
25other as at the Cave of Fingal -
26In many parts the lava
27streams may be recognized
28for theythere the rock is
29rent & split in every
30direction but no soil ^ is yet
31formed in the interstices
32When ^ we were sitting in the evenings
33after a hot day it iswas quite
34common to hear these
35masses of basalt split
0365
15
{343}
2split and fall among each
3other with the peculiar ringing
4sounds which makes
5people believe that this rock
6contains much iron - Several
797 large masses in splitting
8thus by the cold acting suddenly
9on parts expanded by
10the heat of the day have
11slipped down the sides of
12the hills and impinging
13against each other
14formed cavities in which
15the Bakaa took refuge
16against their enemies
17The numerous chinks and
18cranies left by these huge frag-
19ments made it quite impossible
20for their enemies to smoke
21them out as was done by
22the Boers to the people of
23Mankopane -
This mass of basalt about
25six miles long has tilted
26 say up the rocks, on both the
27East & West; ^
[These are ^]
28
[The upheaved
29rocks]
the antient
30silurian rocks ^ schists which formd
31the great primaeval valley
32and like all the recent
33volcanic rocks have a
34hot fountain in their
35 vicinity; viz - Serinane
0366
16
{344}
2In passing through these hills
3on our way North we enter
4a pass named that of Manaka
5-loñwe pass or Unicorn's pass -
6The Unicorn here is meaning
798 a large edible caterpillar
8 with an erect horn like tail
9 It was also called Porapora
10or gurgling (of water) from a
11stream having run through it
12
12omission
[The scene] ^ And must have been very
13different in former times
14from what it is now -
15This is part of the river
16Mahalapi which ^ so called rivers
17
[scarcely merits ^] no more deservemerit the name
18
[more ^] than the meadows of Edinburgh
19deserve the title of North Loch
20These are
{hill} hills are the last
21we shall see for months
22The country behind^yond consisted
23of large patches of trap covered
24tufa having little soil or
25vegetation, except tufts of
26grass and Wait-a-bit thorns
27in the a count
{the} midst of extensive
28sandy pl
{gr}ass covered plains
29These yellow coloured grassy
30plains with moretloa and
31mahatla bushes form
32quite a characteristic feature
33in the country - The yellow
34or dun colour prevails
35during a great part of the
36year - The Bakwain
0367
1345
2hills are an exception to the
3to the usual flat surface for
4they are covered with green trees
5to their tops and the valleys
699 are often of the most lovely
7green - The trees are larger
8too and even the plains
9contain trees instead of bushes
10If you look North from
11the the hills we are now
12leaving, the country partakes
13of this latter character - It
14looks as if ^ it were a flat covered with
15a forest of ordinary sized
16trees ^
[from 20 to 30ft
17high]
but when you travel
18over it they are not so closely
19planted but that a waggon
20with care may be guided
21among them - The grass
22grows in tufts of the size
23of ones hat with bare
24soft sand between - Nowhere
25here have we an approach
26to English lawns the
{or} this
27
[pleasing] kindly appearance of English
28greensward
346
2In no part of this country could
3European grain be cultivated
4without irrigation - The natives
5all cultivate the Dourrha or
6100 Caffre Sorghum - maize - pumpkins
7melons cucumbers and different
8kinds of beans - and they are
9entirely dependant for the
10growth of these on rains
11Their instrument of culture is
12the hoe and the chief labour
13falls on the female portion
14of the community - In this
15respect the Bechuanas closely
16resemble the Caffres - The
17men engage in hunting -
18they milk the cows and have
19the entire controul of the cattle
20They prepare the skins - and
21make the clothing and
22in some respects resemble
23a nation of tailors
Dennett When at Sekomi's we
25 generally have heard his praises
26sounded by a man who
27rises at break of day and
28utters at the top of his voice
29the oration which that chief
30is said to have composed
31at his circumscision - It pleases
32a chief so much that he
33f generally sends a handsome
34present to the man who diddoes it -
3
4
5
6
7101
8
9
10
11
January 28th Passing on to Letloche, about
13twenty miles beyond the Bamangwato,
14we found a fine supply of water,
15This is an interesting fact in
16that country; - The first question
17we ask of passers by is "have
18you had water?" - The first
19enquiry a native puts to
20a fellow countryman is
21"Where is the rain" and, though
22they are by no means an
23untruthful nation the answer
24generally is "I don't know
25there is none, - we are
26killed with hunger and
27by the sun" - If news areis
28asked for, they commence
29with there areis "no news
30I heard some lies only,"
31
31 furthest and then tell all they know
32This spot was - Mr Mr - Gordon
33Cummings farthest station
34North; - Our house at
35Kolobeng having been quite
0370
110
{348}
2in the hunting country - Rhinoceros
3and buffaloes having several
4times rushed past and enabled
5
[I was able] me to shoot the latter from
6our own door: - We were
7favoured by visits from this
8102 famous hunter during
9each of the five years of his
10warfare with wild animals
11Many English gentlemen following
12the same pursuits paid
13equally with him their guides
14and assistants so punct-
15ually that in furnishing
16
[making arrangements] guides for them we had
17to be careful that four
18
[did] should not go where
19two only were wanted
20They knew so well that
21an Englishman would
22pay them that they depended
23implicitly on theirhis words
24of honour, and would
25not only ^ would they go and hunt
26for five or six months
27in the North, going through
28
[Enduring] all the hardships of that
29trying mode of life with
30little else but meat of
31game to subsist on, - but
32they willingly went 700
33or 800 miles to the Grahams
34town ^
[receivingreceiving] for wages comprized
35
[only] in a musket, worth 15/
0371
1349
2No one ever decieved them
3except one man, and as I
4believed ^ that he was afflicted with
5a slight degree of the insanity
6103 of greediness I upheld the
7honour of the English
8name by paying his debts
9to them - As the guides
10of Mr Cumming were
11furnished by me through my
12influence and usually got
13some strict charges as to
14their behaviour before parting
15they, looking upon me in
16the light of a father, always
17came to givinggive me an account
18of their service, - andand told
19us most of those hunting adventur
20which have since been
21given to the world before we
22had the pleasure of hearing
23our friend relate them
24himself by our ^ own fire side
25I had thus a tolerably good
26opportunity of testing their
27value, and I have no
28hesitation that in saying
29that for those who love that
30sort of thing Mr Cumming's
31book conveys a pretty
32truthful id idea of South
33African hunting; - Some
34things require explanation
35others but the numbers of animals
0372
1350
2said to have been met with and
3killed are by no means improbable
4considering the amount of
5large game there in the country
6104 Two other gentlemen hunting
7in the same country destroyed
8in one season no fewer
9223 than 96 Rhinoceros alone
10Others however would not
11now find an equal number
12for ^ all these fine animals
13melt away as guns are
14 introduced like snow in
15spring - Where fire arms
16have not yet been introduced
17the game, with the single
18exception of the Rhinoceros,
19
[is to be found ^] in numbers much greater
20than Mr Cumming ever saw -
21The Tsetse is however an
22insuperable barrier to hunting
23with horses there, and Europeans
24can do nothing on foot -
{;} The
25step of the elephant inwhen charging
26back on the hunter, though
27apparently not quick is so
28long that the pace equals
29the speed of a good horse
30at a canter; - A young
31sportsman no matter how
32great in ^ among pheasants, foxes
33and hounds of braving
34fever would do well to
35pause before resolving
0373
1351
2 brave fever for the excitement
3of standing risking such a
4terrific charge; The scream,
5or trumpeting, of this enormous
6105 brute when infuriated is
7more like ^ what the shriek of a French
8steam whistle ^ would sound to a man standing
9on the dangerous part of
10a railroad than any other
11earthly sound - A horse
12unused to it will sometimes
13stand shivering instead of
14taking his rider out of
15danger - OrIt has happened
16often ^ that the poor animals legs
17will do their duty so badly,
18
[that] he may fall and expose
19
[his] the rider to be trodden into
20mummy, or losing his presence
21of mind, the rider may
22dash under a tree and
23crack his cranium onagainst a
24branch - As one charge
25has made embryo Nimrods
26bid a final adieu to the chase
27incipient Gordon Cummings
28might try their nerves by
29standing on the railways till the
30
[Engines] tenders were within 150 yards
31of them, - Hunting elephants
32on foot would be not less
33dangerous unless the Ceylon
34mode of killing them by
35one shot could be followed -
36It has never been tried in Africa
37
[(foot note) since
38writing the above
39the statement has
40recieved con-
41formation in the
42reported death of
43Mr Walhberg in
44hunting elephants on foot at Lake Ngami]
Robinson Some wells east beyond Kann
3Letloche at a spot named Kanne
4we found them carefully hedged
5round by the people of a
6106 Bakalahari village situated
7near them - We have then 90 60
8miles of country without water
9& very distressing for the oxen
10as it is generally deep soft
11sand - There is one sucking
12place, around which was
13congregated great numbers
14of bushwomen with their
15eggshells and reeds - Mathuluane
16now contained no water
17and Motlatsa only a litsmall supply
18so we sent the oxen across
19the country to the deep well
20Nkauane and half were lost
21in the way - When found at
22last they had been five whole
23days without water - Very
24large numbers of elands were
25were met with - here as usual
26though they seldom can get
27a sip of ^ drink water - Many of
28the plains here have large
29expanses of grass without
30trees but you seldom ever
31see a treeless horizon -
32The ostrich is generally seen
33quietly feeding on some
34spot, where, no one can
35approach him without
0375
115
{353}
2being detected by his wary eye -
3As the waggon moves along
4far to the windward he thinks
5it is intending to circumvent
6107 him so he rushes up a mile
7or so from the leeward and
8so near to the front oxen
9
[that] one sometimes gets a shot
10at the silly bird - When he
11begins to run all the game
12in sight follow his example
13I have seen his folly taken
14advantage of by when he was
15quietly feeding in a valley
16open at both ends - A
17number of men would
18commence running as
19if to close one: cut off his
20retreat from the end f
{t}hrough
21which the wind blew and
22although he had the whole
23country to the Cape ^ for hundreds of miles before him
24by going to the other end, on he
25madly rushed to get past the
26men and ^ so got speared
[He never swerves
27from the course
28he once adopts
29but only increases
30his speed]
When the ostrich is feeding
32his pace is from 20 to 22 inches
33When walking but not feeding
34it is 26 inches but
{and} when
35terrified as in the case noticed
36it is from 11 ½ to 13 and even
3714 feet in length - Only in one
38case was I at all satisfied
39of being able to count the
0376
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34 as sometimes occurs
35 in the egg of the
36 common fowl
0377
1354
2rate of speed by a stop watch
3and if I am not mistaken
4there were thirty in ten seconds
5Th
{G}enerally the ^ one's eye can no more
6108 follow the legs than it can the
7spokes of a carriage wheel in
8rapid motion but suppose we
9take the above and twelve feet
10stride as the average 10: 20: : 60 =
11180 strides paces per minute 180paces x 60m =
12= 10800 x 12ft = 129600 ÷ 3 = 43200
13
14we have a speed of 26 miles
15an hour - It cannot be
16much above that and is
17therefore slower than a railway
18locomotive - It is ^ They are sometimes
19shot by the horseman making
20a cross cut to theirits ^ undeviating course
21but few Englishmen ever
22succeed in killing them -
The ostrich begins to lay
24her eggs before she has
25fixed on a spot for a nest ^
[which is only a
26hollow a few inches
27deep in the sand
28& about a yard
29in diameter]
30^ Solitary eggs named by the
31Bechuanas "Lesetla" are
32thus found lying forsaken
33all over the country and
34become prey to the Jackall
35she seems averse to risking
36a spot for a nest and
37often lays her eggs in that of
38another bird so that as many
39as 45 have been found in
40one nest -
[Some contain small
41concretions of the
42matter which
43forms the shell -
44This has given rise
45to the idea of
46stones in the eggs]
Both male &
0378
1355
2
[female] assist in the incubation but
3the numbers of females being
4109 always greatest it is probable
5that cases occur in which
6the females have the entire
7charge --
[Several eggs lie
8out of the nest
9and are thought
10to be intended as
11food for the first
12of the newly hatched brood
13till the rest come
14out & enable
15the whole to
16leavestart in quest
17of food.]
I have several times
18seen newly hatched young
19in charge of the cock and
20he ^ who made a very good attempts
21at appearing lame in
22the plover fashion ^ in order to draw
23off the ^ attention of pursuers The young
24
[(squat] be down and remain
25immoveable when too small
26to run far but maintainattain a
27wonderful degree of speedvelocity when
28about the size of common
29fowls -
[It cannot be
30asserted that
31they ^ ostriches are polygamous
32though they
33often appear
34to be so]
When caught they
35 The egg retains
36are easily tamed but are
37of no use in their domesticated
38state -
The egg is possessed of
42very great vital power
43One kept in a room during
44more than three months
45in a temperature upwards
46
[about] of 60° when broken was
47found to have a partially
48developed live chick in
49it - The Bushman care-
50fully avoid touching the eggs
0379
1356
2110 or leaving marks of human
3feet near them when they
4find a nest - They go up
5the wind to the spot and with
6a long stick remove some of
7them
[occasionally] and by preventing
8any suspicion keep her
9
[the hen] laying on for months as
10we do with fowls - The
11eggs have a strong disagreeable
12flavour which only the
13keen a^ppetite of the Desert
14can reconcile one to - The
15Hottentots use their trousers
16to carry home the twenty or
17twenty five eggs usually
18found in a nest and it
19has happened that an Englishman
20intending to imitate this knowing
21dodge comes to theirthe waggons
22with blistered legs and after
23great toil to find all the
24eggs uneatable - Our countrymen
25invariably do best when
26they continue to act think and
27speak & in their own proper
28character -
TheirThe food ^ of the ostrich consists of
30pods ^ & seeds of different kinds of
31Leguminous plants with
32leaves of various plants,
33and as these are often hard
34and dry he picks up a great
35quantity of pebbles many
0380
1357
2of which are as large as marbles
3111 He picks up also some
4small bulbs and occasionaly
5a wild melon to afford
6moisture, for one was
7found with onea melon which
8had chocked him by sticking
9in his throat - It requires
10the utmost address of the
11Bushmen crawling for miles
12on their stomachs to stalk
13them successfully - Yet
14the numbersquantity of feathers
15collected annually
[ shews that the
16numbers slain
17must be]
being in
18only the a few in each
19wing of the number [ ]must
20be considerable
[as each case
{bird}
21havinghas only
22a few in the
23wings and tail]
- This
24latter animalbird ^ male bird is of a jet
25black ^ glossy colour with the
26single exception of the white
27feathers noticed ^ in trade - Nothing
28can be finer than the
29
[adaptation] arrangement of these glossy
30( where?) feathers for the climate
[where these
31birds abound
32of the Kalahari
33where these
34birds abound]
35for they afford a perfect
36shade to the body with
37free ventilation beneath
38them - The Hen ostrich
39is of dark brownish grey
40colour and so are the
41half grown cocks -
Dennett HisThe organs of vision
43
[in this bird] are placed so high ^ that he can
44detect an enemy at a
45great distance but the
0381
120 358
2lion sometimes kills him: -
3112 The flesh is white and coarse,
4though when in good condition
5it resembles in some
6degree - ^ that of a coarse turkey - It
7seeks safety in flight,
8but when pursued by
9dogs it may be seen
10to turn upon them
11when
{and} inflict a kick
12which is vigorously
13applied, and sometimes
14breaks the back