Off to the Wilds, Being the Adventures of Two Brothers, by George
Manville Fenn.
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The setting is the northern part of what is now South Africa, in the
middle of the nineteenth century. Mr Rogers is a British settler in
South Africa, a "cottage farmer". The earlier Dutch farmers and
settlers are called Boers. The two teenage sons, Jack and Dick, have
often asked if they could all go out on a trek to visit the northern
parts of the country, for a natural history collecting expedition. They
had come out to South Africa for the health of Mrs Rogers, but she had
died, and of the two boys, Dick was not very strong, while Jack was very
robust.
Off they go, together with two Zulu boys who live on their land, the
Zulu boys' father, who is a Chieftain whom they nickname "The General",
and an Irish cook, who is always getting into trouble in every
situation, in a most infuriating manner. There is also Peter the
driver, and Dirk who is a foreloper, the man who walks ahead of the oxen
to guide them into the best way.
They expect to pay for the trip with ivory from elephants, feathers from
ostriches, animal skins, etc.
The various adventures include encounters with snakes, rhino, hippo,
giraffes, elephants, crocodiles, cataracts, tsetse fly, marauding native
tribes, a bush fire, hundreds of miles of dreary grinding effort taking
many months just to cover the ground, scorching heat, and sometimes
cold. And more besides.
As usual with this author there is sustained tension throughout the
book. An interesting and instructive book.
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OFF TO THE WILDS, BEING THE ADVENTURES OF TWO BROTHERS, BY GEORGE
MANVILLE FENN.