NARROW ESCAPE--SANDILLI GOES HOME--VOYAGE TO NATAL--MY FELLOW,
PASSENGERS--TEMPTING VIANDS--PROPERTY OVERBOARD--NATAL BAY--THE "TICK"--
BEAUTY OF THE VEGETATION--DOLCE FAR NIENTE--CAPE HORSES--POINTS OF A
CAPE HORSE--SHOOTING-PONIES--MODE OF JOURNEYING--THE "SICKNESS"--
TRAINING A SHOOTING-HORSE--ENDURANCE OF CAPE HORSES--A ROUGH JOURNEY--A
STORMY NIGHT--AGREEABLE TERMINATION.
After about eight months of frontier life, which was little better than
so much banishment, I had directions to leave the colony and embark at
Algoa Bay for conveyance to Natal. I had to wait in the wretched town
of Port Elizabeth for a period of three weeks, during which time I was
nearly drowned in the bay, owing to swimming out too far, and forgetting
the strength of the current which set along the shore. While waiting
there, I visited the pretty little village of Uitenage, with its neat
houses, gardens, and tree-lined streets.
On the road to Graham's Town, I met a large party of Kaffirs, galloping
along as usual, leaving a cloud of dust behind. They pulled up as I met
them, when I recognised the great Gaika chief Sandilli, Anta the giant,
a splendid fellow nearly seven feet high, and all the aristocracy of
Kaffirland. They had been for some time prisoners in Graham's Town for
their rebellious conduct in not stopping the cattle-stealing of their
men, but had now been let out, and allowed to go home, on condition of
promising to be good boys in future, and kissing the governor's great
toe. They appeared to be in high spirits, and, in answer to my "_Uya
pina_?" (Where are you going?) shouted with exultation, "_Goduka_"
(Going home).
The little ship that carried me and my goods from Port Elizabeth was
badly supplied in every way. The captain was a happy bridegroom, and
because he had been living for a fortnight on love, seemed to think that
others should have equally as refined an appetite. I thought that even
our start was bad, for there was something wrong in getting the anchor
up.
The other passengers were two in number,--the one a jolly fat Dutchman,
who used to sit in his little chest-of-drawers-like bed-place, and
tootle unknown airs on a flute; and the other a carpenter well to do at
Natal, who never changed his clothes, and talked through his nose.
As the cabin was only eight feet square, there was no place for the
latter individual to sleep upon but the floor. He shook down a blanket
for his bed, and regularly at about ten o'clock became horizontal, and,
looking at me with only one eye open, remarked that he "turned in all
standing like a trooper's 'orse." This he repeated with precisely the
same expression of face every night, till at last it made me quite
nervous, and I used to remain very late on deck for the sole object of
escaping this infliction. When he did not use his nose for talking, he
still prevented it from lying silent by snoring through it with a sound
like a locomotive engine blowing off steam.
The distance from Algoa Bay to Natal was but 600 miles, and yet we were
twenty-three days on that tempestuous coast, most of the time half under
water. A hurricane blew during the greater part of the voyage, and in
ten days after leaving Algoa Bay we were off Cape L'agulhas, or 300
miles further from our destination than when we started.
I should not have been so much annoyed, had there been anything to eat
or drink; but the beer was all finished in three days: wine there was
none, with the exception of a composition of Cape stuff, that had been
shaken up into the appearance of a pot of blacking, and was very like
vinegar in taste. A dish of pork swimming in its own fat was our usual
meal, with the exception of some mutton, which I declined, in
consequence of having seen the sheep die a death all but natural. This
fate was only prevented by the wonderful activity of a sailor, who acted
as butcher, and who, on seeing from aloft the state of affairs, came
down one of the back stays by the run, and stuck his knife into the--I
am afraid to say which--sheep, or mutton. He declared, however, that it
was sheep, while the fat Dutchman "verdamt" it was mutton. A jury, of
the captain and mate was called, who took evidence, and decided that the
sheep had been fairly killed.
Another delicacy with which we were favoured was some water in which a
cabbage was daily boiled; this composition the captain dignified with
the name of soup; it came day after day, and was worse each time--while
around the taffrail ten more cabbages hung.
I was sitting one day beside the Dutchman, improving my knowledge of his
language, when I noticed that he had been for some time looking with a
melancholy sort of face at this row of esculents. Our eyes met, and he
asked me, with an expressive voice, "if I liked cabbage-soup?" I met
him more than half-way, and said, "No; and if you are only a man, we
won't have any more." We understood one another immediately, and met on
that evening by appointment, when the halter of each vegetable was
quickly cut, and they all dropped with a cheerful splash into the sea.
Suspicions there might be, and were, respecting the guilty party, but no
certainty.
We were all alarmed one day by the mate reporting that there was a deal
of water forward amongst the coals; so all hands set to work to get the
coals out, and then to look for a leak; which proceeding was not
accomplished without considerable risk, as the sea was tremendous, and
the little brigantine, being only about 140 tons, made very bad weather
of it. Fortunately there was no leak, the water having come from above
instead of below, owing to the heavy pitching.
We envied the fine-looking Indiamen, who frequently rolled past us with
their stun'-sails set and every sail drawing, while we were pitching and
tossing, and making scarcely any progress. "More wind in your jib," was
frequently applied by our sailors to the vessels that met us, and at
length was responded to by the south-east gale changing to a north-west,
which enabled us eventually to reach the wished-for Bluff of Natal,
where we were boarded by the port-boat. With only one bump on the bar,
we passed to the smooth water inside, and, sailing along the narrow
channel, obtained a sight of the glorious bay of Port Natal.
It is difficult for any pen to give an adequate idea of the beautiful
view, and almost impossible for one as unskilled as mine, to convey to
the imagination of the reader even a slight impression of the glorious
reality that was presented by the bay and surrounding country of Natal.
It broke suddenly upon the wearied eye after three weeks' perpetual
contemplation of leaden-coloured water had tired the vision and caused a
thirst for the green and earthy.
On our left, as we entered, rose the bluff, densely wooded to the
water's edge, the branches of the trees, with their rich foliage, almost
brushing the vessel's yards. Two hundred and fifty feet of this nearly
perpendicular vegetable-clad wall formed our foreground, while the
middle distance was represented by the calm and brilliant waters of the
bay, with two or three thickly-wooded islands. Numbers of wild fowls
floated about, and among these the delicate colours of the flamingo and
the grotesque forms of the pelican were conspicuous, the white plumage
of some cranes standing out like stars in the blue waters. In the
distance were seen the densely wooded hills of the Berea and the white
chimneys of a few of the plastered houses of D'Urban village; while
little wreaths of light smoke coming through the trees gave indication
that the culinary processes of a habitation were being carried on.
The waters of the bay extend nearly six miles inland, and at the extreme
end, the refraction from heat, etc., caused some of the mangrove-trees
that lined the banks to be magnified or inverted, while others appeared
to be suspended in the air, and to have no connection with the earth
below. We dropped our anchor in this smoothest of harbours, where no
wind could move the ship. As we were within a few yards of the shore,
we soon received visits from several residents, who came to the vessel
for the latest news.
I was so ill when I landed, on account of the confinement on board and
our bad provisions, that I was obliged to remain in bed for several days
at the miserable "hotel" of the village: I was kindly attended by the
resident surgeon of the troops, under whose skilful hands I soon
recovered.
Having regained health and strength, I began to look out for a horse,
but had great difficulty in getting all that I required; at length an
animal was offered me at a reasonable price, and he became my property.
He merely served for riding about in the deep sandy roads near, or for
saving me from the persecution of a little animal called a "tick," whose
armies were quartered upon every blade of grass and leaf of tree. On
the first opportunity these little creatures transferred their adhesive
qualities, with great delight, to the most retired situations of a
newly-arrived victim; there they would bury themselves under the skin,
and before their invasion could be discovered, produced an irritation
and a sore that enlarged with great rapidity and became a serious evil.
A thorough inspection and frequent bathing were the two best antidotes;
the leaf of the Kaffir gooseberry I also found very effective; it should
be bruised, laid over the part bitten, and held on by wrappers of linen.
Each ride that I took brought more beauties before me; the sterile
appearance of the frontier was here exchanged for the most luxuriant and
fragrant vegetation. Forests appeared, hung with creepers and scented
blossoms; undulating grassy slopes, with detached and park-like clumps
of trees. Here and there the calm silvery water of the bay was seen in
the distance through openings in the forest, or under the flat
horizontal foliage of the umbrella-acacia, whose graceful shape,
combined with the palm, the gigantic euphorbias, and the brilliant
Kaffir-boom, formed the characteristics of this bush. Let the admirers
of architectural art talk of their edifices and public buildings, they
are not equal to a single tree. Bricks and mortar, stones, plaster,
chimneys, etc., are heaps of rubbish when compared to a natural forest,
every leaf and flower of which is a witness and an evidence of that
mighty Power who creates with as much ease the endless worlds about us
as the minutest details of vegetable and animal life, the perfect
working and machinery of which are more than wonderful.
The annoyance to which an individual must submit during a voyage over
nine thousand miles of ocean is well repaid by a scene of this kind,
that scarcely needs its accompaniments of many animated specimens of
nature, in the shape of birds, bucks, and monkeys, to enliven it.
Still, however, there are some human natures so dead to the purely
beautiful, and so entirely fettered to the things less pure, that all
the beauty I have so feebly described is passed over unadmired and
almost unnoticed; and the same round and routine is carried on in the
leisure hours of such men as though they were in Portsmouth, Plymouth,
or some other well-peopled town.
"How do you pass your time?" I asked of an intellectual looking
gentleman with whom I dined soon after landing.
"Oh, I backy a good deal, and bathe sometimes, but it is too hot to do
much," was his answer.
"Do you sketch?"
"Well, I'm no hand at that."
"Is there no game about? I have heard that bucks were numerous and
elephants very near."
"Well, if you bother about them, I dare say you may see lots; but it's
too much trouble for me, and I am no shot."
Poor miserable man! he took no interest in anything; he had no pleasure
in viewing the most wonderful and beautiful works of nature, and had no
gratification in placing on paper even a poor representation of the
scenes before his eyes, for the future amusement of friends less
favoured by locality. No! there was trouble or bother in it; there was
neither, he thought, in smoking tobacco, and drinking brandy-and-water:
the first habit, however, has ruined his health, the latter his
prospects and character.
I know many men who through their devotion to field-sports have avoided
many of those evils which others, through nothing but a life of
idleness, have incurred.
I was soon fortunate enough to purchase a very useful second pony, which
was an accomplished animal in every way: he would stop immediately when
I dropped the reins, or crossed the gun over the saddle, or rested my
hand on his neck, or even if a buck sprung up in front of him. He would
stand fire like a rock, and would not shake his head or start on any
account, nor did he care for elephants or anything else. He was a most
useful auxiliary, and from his back I shot elands, hartebeest, reitbok,
ourebis, steinbok, duikers, etc. He would allow small bucks to be put
up behind the saddle, and would carry them quietly.
I passed a month in making myself acquainted with the country around
D'Urban, its rivers, paths, and kloofs, and also in studying the Zulu
language, which I found to differ slightly from the frontier Kaffir. I
always carried a dictionary with me, and, upon meeting any natives, sat
down, and, pulling out my book, asked word for word what I wanted. I
rarely failed in making myself understood, and then the Kaffir would
repeat my words, giving the correct pronunciation and grammar. If, for
instance, I was thirsty and wanted some milk, I would look in my
dictionary for "I want." _Funa_, I would find, expressed to want;
_amasi_ or _ubisi_, milk (the first being sour milk, a very refreshing
drink, and the latter sweet milk); _uku posa_, to drink. "Puna ubisi
uku posa," I would say. The Kaffir would give a kind of intelligent
grunt, such as _er-er_, and say, "Wena funa posa ubisi." I then
repeated the sentence after him, putting _di_, I, for _wena_, you, and
bore in mind that "Di funa posa amasi (_or_ ubisi)," was I want to drink
some sour (or sweet) milk. By this means I was soon able to ask for
everything I wanted, and in six months could talk the language with
tolerable freedom. I found it of inconceivable use in my solitary
trips, as I was then independent of Dutch farmers, English squatters,
etc.; a Kaffir kraal always supplying the few things I wanted; and I was
by its aid enabled to see and hear more than by any other means.
I recommend every person who may be in a strange country at once to set
to work and acquire its language; it turns out generally a most useful
amusement.
By these Kaffirs I was taught the art of spooring; my lessons were
learned over the print of some buck's foot on the bent-down blade of a
bit of grass. Spooring requires as much study and practice as any other
science, and a professor is often required to decide some knotty point,
such as the number of days since a buffalo passed, or at what hour
certain elephants rolled in the mud. It first appeared to me very much
a matter of guess, but I afterwards saw the reasons throughout for the
Kaffirs' conclusions.
A few rough outlines, showing the spoors of some of the different
South-African animals may be useful to an inexperienced hunter.
_A_ is the footprint of a Bull-Elephant (circular).
_B_ Cow-Elephant (elliptical).
_C_ Rhinoceros.
_D_ Hippopotamus.
_E_ Buffalo. The animal can also be known by its dung being different
from that of the antelope.
_F_ Eland.
_G_ the footprint of antelopes of different species, such as the
Hartebeest, Reitbok, Duiker, and Bush-buck; practice will alone enable
the sportsman to distinguish between each.
_H_ is the footprint of a Wild Pig or Vleck Vark.
_I_ Ostrich.
_K_ Hyaena.
_L_ Leopard; the Lion's is similar but much larger.
The pace at which, an animal has travelled may be judged by the
impressions of its footmarks, or the position in which these impressions
lie.
_T_ would indicate that an animal had galloped or cantered, the distance
between S and S' being great or small, in proportion as the animal had
moved fast or slowly.
_R_ would indicate that the animal had walked or trotted; if it had
moved at a trot, the toes of the hoof would be seen to have indented
themselves in the ground more deeply than had the heel, and most
probably some grass, gravel, or soil, would be found lying on the
ground, they having been kicked up by the animal in its rapid passage.
Practice alone enables a man to judge of the length of time that has
elapsed since the animal passed. A good plan is to scrape up the ground
with the foot and compare this "spoor" with the animal's footprints.
When judging of elephants, it may be concluded, that if they browsed,
they must have moved slowly; if they are found to have passed through
the forest in Indian file, they travelled at a quick walk; and if they
disregarded old paths and smashed the branches or trees in their course,
that they moved very rapidly. Other signs the hunter will soon learn by
experience, that best of all instructors.
The Kaffirs in this district are most quiet, harmless, honest people,
living in small villages, each of about twenty kraals. These they build
in a ring, the place for the cattle being in the centre. The houses of
these people are composed of wickerwork and thatch. One or two stout
poles are driven into the centre of a circle of about fifteen feet in
diameter; round the circumference of the circle, long pliable sticks are
stuck into the ground, and then bent over and made fast to the top of
the pole or poles driven into the centre, which are left about eight
feet out of the ground. This framework gives the skeleton outline of a
beehive-looking hut, which the builders cross with other pieces, and
finally thatch with long grass.
The furniture consists generally of two or three assagies, some
club-sticks, a pipe made from an ox's horn, some skins, a few dried
gourds to retain the milk, a wooden pillow, some beads, and small gourd
snuff-boxes. These habitations are certainly snug, warm when a fire is
lighted, and cool without one. They are entered by a small opening
about three feet high, which is closed by a wickerwork door. The whole
clump of huts is surrounded by high palings.
Although they numbered near seventy thousand souls, if not more, these
Kaffirs lived together, and with the white intruders, in the greatest
harmony. Scarcely a case of theft or crime was known amongst them
during my residence of two years and upwards. Many of them have run
away from the tyranny of the Zulu king across the Tugela river; and
finding safety in the protection afforded by the presence of the white
men, they live a pastoral and harmless life.
I have trusted myself alone amongst them, many miles from any other
white man, and never met with anything disrespectful or annoying in
their treatment. If much accustomed to deal with white men, they are
given sometimes to ask for presents; but the less they know of the
whites, the less I always found the Kaffirs so disposed. As auxiliaries
in the bush they were unequalled, and I rarely moved without taking at
least two with me. Enduring, cheerful, sensible, and unassuming, they
were thoroughly skilled in tracking game; they could be sent home with a
buck, and the horse thus be kept unencumbered, or the hunter himself
free for more sport.
I was always gathering some lesson from them either as to the animals
which we pursued, their habits or their trail, the things good to eat in
the forests or those to be avoided. The Kaffirs' ambition was limited,
a cow or a blanket being sometimes the extent of their desires.
In a country of this description one has the pleasure of great freedom.
It is certainly pleasant for once in a life to feel like a wild man,--to
throw off all the restraints imposed by the rules of society, and to
wander, unwatched, uncriticised, amongst the wonders and beauties of
nature. Dress, that all-important subject in civilised countries, and
about which the minds of hundreds are wholly engrossed, is here a dead
letter, or nearly so. Could a man dye his hide a dark brown, he might
walk about with a few strips of wild-beast skins hung around him, and
not attract particular attention. Novelty has certainly a wonderful
charm, and perhaps it may be for this reason that a man fresh from
civilisation feels so much pleasure in sharing the pastimes and
excitements of the savage. A wet tent is by no means an agreeable
residence, and frequently during the heavy rains that visited Natal, I
shouldered my gun, and paid an afternoon call to some Kaffirs who lived
a mile or so from my camping-ground. We had plenty of conversation, and
could afford mutual instruction about many subjects on which we were
each respectively ignorant. I believe that, if we inquire without
partiality, we shall find no man so ignorant but that there is some one
subject upon which he can instruct us. I rarely found a Kaffir who
could not afford me a vast amount of information on many subjects; and
all the cunning and art of an English lawyer would scarcely improve the
Kaffir's style of reasoning. I believe that common sense is more
admired by the savage than the civilised man; it certainly is by the
savages with whom I have conversed. While in civilisation the most
sensible and sound arguments or advice are "pooh-poohed" or neglected,
because they happen to come from one who is unknown in the world for
wealth, position, or fashion, amongst savages these same arguments or
advices are received at their proper valuation, irrespective of the soil
from whence they spring. The words of a chief or _induna_ [Councillor]
are generally worth hearing, and consequently receive their proper
respect; but if the logic used by either happens to be unsound, any
common man whose capacity is equal to the competition may enter the
lists, and come out victorious; a Kaffir is not too bigoted to
acknowledge that he may have been wrong. The man who thus gained a
victory by his more sensible argument would neither be much elevated nor
proud in consequence, but would merely consider himself as a man who had
pointed out a by-path that had been overlooked by the traveller. The
Kaffirs easily appreciate reasoning by analogy; I frequently tried its
powers upon them, and with invariable success. On one occasion an old
Kaffir laughed at me, because of a mistake that I made in speaking his
language. I used the word _inyama_ to express _black_, when I should
have used _mnyama_; the former word signifying _flesh_ or _meat_. After
he had laughed immoderately, I asked him how long he had known
Englishmen; he said, many tens of moons. I then said, "How much English
do you speak?"
"None."
"Why not?"
"Because I cannot hear the Englishman's words." I then told him that I
had known Kaffirs scarcely twenty moons, that I could speak my own
language as well as he spoke his, and, in addition, I could speak his
sufficiently well to converse. Therefore he ought to laugh at himself
for knowing nothing of my language, not at me for knowing so little of
his; besides which, as his hair was grey, he ought to possess more
wisdom. He was much struck by the argument, and repeated it to several
other Kaffir men, all of whom appeared equally to appreciate it. I
doubt whether a civilised man would have been as much affected by this
reasoning as were the Kaffirs; for how often do we find that foreigners
are ridiculed by the ignorant Englishman because they cannot speak
English correctly, the quiz forgetting at the same time that he cannot
utter two words correctly in any other, language than his own, and that
he very frequently fails even in that.
But it is the vulgar error to laugh at people as ignorant because we may
discover that they know less on some one subject than we do. Some of
our most scientific men would be sad "pigeons" and regular dunces, were
they to show in the ring at Epsom, and few of our celebrated statesmen
would be equal to the savage in the crafts necessary in an African
forest. The savages rarely make the blunder of choosing the wrong man;
they are very excellent judges of character, and consequently would not
choose a man to fire a long shot or fight a battle because he was a good
hand at stringing beads together, or talking at their council-fires.
They select the man on account of his fitness for the post. Here
savages have a great advantage over civilised men. Amongst the latter,
individuals are frequently chosen in the most fantastic way;--mere
theorists are used for practical purposes; and men placed in positions
where quick decision and energy of character are all-important, and
where trifles should not be allowed to interfere, because perhaps these
men have excelled in the minute details of some office, or are famous
for increasing a correspondence already too large. We might as
reasonably select a man to ride our racers simply because he had studied
and understood the anatomy of the horse. While the learned theorist was
arguing about or reasoning on which muscle or nerve ought to be excited,
the practical jock would be busy at the "pull and hustle," and would win
as he pleased. The Kaffirs, from whom my experience was gained, however
low they ranked in savage society, had none of the offensive or
presumptuous manners that are met with so frequently amongst the vulgar
in civilisation. They never pretended to more than they possessed in
any way, or by a system of deceit, lying, or false appearance,
endeavoured to persuade others that they were really more than simple
savages.
Let us now contrast these men with a civilised house. On one occasion I
paid a visit to the house of a settler, who was clothed in white linen
jacket, straw hat, fustian trowsers, and coarse shirt, and was busy at
work in his garden. His wife met me, and, being acquainted, we at once
entered into conversation. I wished to hear about the soil, the
thriving of poultry, etc.; but at first this would-be great lady could
utter nothing but apologies for being so "dreadfully dressed." She then
gave a long history of the number of her great friends in England, and
described the astonishment of these aristocrats were they to hear of
_her_ being in such a wilderness. Then, pointing to her husband, she
said, "Ah, dear me! to see--now, you would scarcely imagine what a
stylish man he was formerly. In England, he used to wear his hair long,
and when he had greased it, and put on a clean shirt on a Sunday, there
was not a more gentlemanly-looking man in London." With some difficulty
I immediately invented a story, at which I pretended to laugh
immoderately, and thus concealed my want of appreciation of the former
elegance of her dear, fallen spouse.
The extremes on very many occasions appear to meet. The perfectly
uncultivated man is certainly nearer perfection than he who has picked
up a little knowledge, and is puffed up in consequence. We see this in
so many subjects. In music, for instance, it is sweeter to hear a
person (who may be ignorant of the science) play by ear an air, than
listen to the struggles and unmusical contortions produced by some
beginner trying to play by notes, on scientific principles. When one
advances, and makes the acquired knowledge subservient to the natural,
the admired effect is then produced.
A ring, composed of grease, wax, and wood, is worn on the head of the
Kaffir men. I believe it to be a sign of a man having arrived at the
dignity of marriage; it is called _esikoko_, the two k's signifying two
clicks of the tongue.
This clicking is a peculiarity of several South-African languages. The
Bushmen, Hottentots, and Kaffirs have each several clicks. The Natal
Kaffirs use but three, and these not frequently, as there are few words
but can be understood without the click. In the Bushmen's language,
very many are used, and I have heard that a Bushman is not considered to
speak his language elegantly until age has deprived him of all his
teeth. These curious little men use a great deal of action during their
conversation; and it is said, that if a Bushman wishes to talk during a
dark night, he is obliged to light a fire, to enable the listeners to
see his action, and thereby fully to comprehend his meaning. A deadly
hatred exists between the Kaffirs and the Bushmen, and war to the knife
is the result of any chance encounter, always supposing that neither
party can retreat, as they have a mutual dread of each other.
I soon made inquiries with reference to the game in the Natal district,
and was informed that the following were the principal animals that were
plentiful; viz.,--snipe, quail, partridges of three species, pheasant,
two species of Guinea-fowl,--one that was generally found in the plains,
the other in the forests: the latter was a very fine bird, excellent
eating, and very handsome; he had a fine top-knot on his head, but was
otherwise similar, only superior in size, to that of the plains. Two
species of bustards were common; viz., the coran and the pouw, both
excellent eating, the latter frequently reaching to a great size and
weight. Ostriches were sometimes met on the plains near the
Draakensberg Mountains. Many birds, brilliantly adorned, frequented the
forests, amongst which the golden cuckoo and the lowry were conspicuous.
Eagles and hawks of all sizes sailed around in search of prey, while
the little sugar-birds, with their long fluttering tails and their
dazzling plumage, gave an appearance of life to every bush.
Three species of bush-buck were plentiful in the forests along the
coast. The finest is the black bush-buck (_Tragelaphus sylvaticus_).
The male is three feet high, and about five feet long; he is very
elegant, and stouter than the generality of antelopes; his horns about a
foot long, nearly straight, and wrinkled near the base; the general
colour is dark chestnut, black above, and marked with a streak of white
along the spine, with several white spots about the body: the female is
similar, but lighter-coloured, and without horns. The ears, large and
round, are well adapted for the bush, and the hunter must be an adept
who approaches these antelopes without causing them alarm; few shots are
obtained at them, owing to their watchfulness. The red bush-buck
(_Oreotragus griseus_) is a very common antelope in the wooded tracts up
the south-eastern coast. The male is about two feet high, and about
three in length; small horns, three inches long, smooth, round, and
vertical; large ears; colour deep reddish-brown: the female similar, but
hornless. The foot of this buck, between the division of the hoof
underneath, has a small hole that reaches to the fetlock-joint; a straw
can be pushed up in it to that extent. I cannot conceive its object.
The blue buck (_Cephalophorus caeruleus_) is a beautiful creature; the
male is scarcely more than a foot in height, and about two feet three
inches long; ears like a rat's, but much larger; small and conical
horns, two inches in length, closely annulated; colour dark blue, or
mouse-colour: female hornless and smaller, otherwise similar. These
three bush-bucks were solitary, and very wary. The latter antelope was
very difficult to distinguish in the gloom of the bush, his colour
suiting well for concealment. The duiker (_Cephalopus mergens_): most
frequently found amongst bushes, or long grass; about two feet high,
three feet eight inches long; horns four inches in length; colour dun:
female with smaller horns, otherwise similar. The steinbuck
(_Oreotragus tragulus_): about twenty-one inches high, and three feet in
length; horns four inches long, wrinkled at the base, slender and
pointed; colour brownish-red, with belly white: female hornless,
otherwise similar. Generally found in bushy ground along the hills.
The ourebi (_Oreotragus scoparius_): two feet high at shoulder, and four
in length; horns annulated, and about five inches long; colour pale
tawny, with white belly: female similar, but hornless and smaller.
Generally found in the plains in pairs. The reit-buck (_Eleotragus
reduncus_): three feet high, nearly five feet in length; horns one foot
long, and annulated near the base; ears six inches long; colour
ashy-grey, white beneath: female smaller, but hornless, otherwise
similar. Besides variously in reeds, grass, and near bushes. Generally
found in pairs. He frequently lies down in a small patch of grass, and,
from his colour, is overlooked by the sportsmen.
The leopard (_Felis leopardus_): male two feet six inches high at the
shoulder, and seven feet in extreme length; armed with long teeth and
retractile claws; colour tawny and reddish-brown; the chin, breast,
belly, and inside of extremities white, irregularly marked with spots of
black, which vary in size and colour at different ages and states of
condition; tail nearly four feet long: female similar, but smaller.
Found in thick coverts, either bush or reeds. Destructive to poultry,
cattle, and game; generally seizes its victim by the back of the neck.
The spotted hyaena (_Crocuta maculata_): height about two feet six
inches, sloping towards the rump; length about five feet ten inches;
colour brown, with blotches of circular black spots; white under; head
short and broad; feet like a dog's; common in bush and plain: female
similar. Destructive to sheep, calves, and foals; seizing them by the
flank, and holding on until the piece gives way or the animal falls.
This animal possesses a wonderful strength of jaw, grinding the bones of
the largest animals to powder: it is very cowardly. The _Crocuta
brunnea_ was also common, but did not very greatly differ in habits or
appearance from the spotted hyaena.
The wild hog (_Sus Scrofa_): height two feet six inches; extreme length
about five feet; canine teeth very strong, those in the upper jaw
projecting horizontally, those in the lower upwards; colour dirty brown;
bristles long; tail a foot long. Inhabits the forests (gregarious).
The African wild-boar (_Phacochaerus aethiopicus_): height two feet six
inches; extreme length six feet; colour reddish-brown; covered with
bristles; canine teeth, very large, curved upwards, forming a
semicircle; head very large, a large fleshy wen behind each eye, and an
excrescence on each side of the muzzle; tail tufted with bristles, two
feet long, straight. Gregarious; found in the plains; retreats into
holes in the ground when pursued; dangerous when wounded.
The reh-buck (_Eleotragus villosus_): male two and a half feet high,
about five feet in length, slender, and neck long; horns about nine
inches long, straight, pointed, and slender; colour greyish-buff, white
beneath: female similar, but hornless and smaller. Found in troops of
from six to twenty, generally on the rocky hills.
The hartebeest (_Acronotus Caama_): male five feet high, and nine in
extreme length; head long, horns forming nearly a right angle, rising
above the head about eight inches, and then turning backwards; colour
bright sienna, with a red shade, black stripes down the back of the
neck, on the fore-leg, and on the hind-leg: female smaller, with more
slender horns, otherwise similar. Found in large herds in the plains.
The eland (_Boselaphus oreas_): male six feet high at the shoulder, and
about twelve feet in length; horns two feet long, with a ridge ascending
in a spiral direction about half-way up, the spiral making two turns
when the male is an adult; appearance like a bull, a broad dewlap
hanging to the knees; tail two feet six inches long; general colour dun,
or ashy-grey, with a blue tinge when heated: female smaller and
slighter, with more slender horns, and without the ridge; no dewlap.
Found in large herds in the plains.
The buffalo (_Bubalus Caffer_): male about five feet six inches high,
twelve feet in length, very heavily made, neck short, breast dew-lapped,
head ponderous, eyes nearly overshadowed by hair and the heavy
dark-coloured horns, which are nearly in contact at the base, spread out
horizontally, and curve round and inwards; hide bluish black, without
hair: female similar, but smaller in every way. Found on the plains and
forests in herds, and often a solitary bull in the forests; very
dangerous.
The hippopotamus (_Hippopotamus amphibius_): four feet six inches high
at the shoulder, ten feet long; body ponderous, legs very short, head
thick, eye small, and placed in a prominence; ears small and round; the
upper incisors and canine teeth large,--the latter may be called tusks;
skin very thick and tough; colour pinkish-brown: female smaller.
Amphibious; found in the rivers and lakes; several still remain in
Sea-cow Lake, about six miles from Natal, and in several of the rivers
up the coast. The ivory is valuable, as it is curved in the shape of
the nautical sextant, and being very hard, is especially adapted for the
fine lines used upon Vernier scales; the skin is cut up into whips,
called by the colonists _sjamboks_; the flesh is good eating, tasting
when salted something like pork.
The elephant (_Loxodonta africana_): male twelve feet high, droops
towards the tail; extreme length eighteen feet; colour blackish-brown;
tail short, tufted with coarse hair at the end; ears very large, and
front of head round; tusks large, from three to seven feet in length,
weighing nearly a hundred pounds: female smaller, with tusks, except
solitary specimens. Gregarious; found in large troops in the forests;
wary, fierce, and vindictive.
Besides the animals that I have described, there were baboons, monkeys,
rock-rabbits (the _hyrax_), a species of hare, porcupines, the ratel,
many small vermin, such as the ichneumon, etc., in great numbers. All
these animals were to be found in the Natal district in numbers, whilst
across the Drookensburg Mountains were camelopards, rhinoceros, zebras,
koodoo, wildebeest, gnoos, sassybys, water-buck, roan-antelope, blesbok,
springbok, pallahs, ostriches, and many other magnificent animals, in
countless herds.
A curious creature inhabits the African forest,--many specimens were
found by me in the Berea, near Natal; it is called the Manis. It looks
like a large and scaly lizard, being covered with hard scales, or
plates, like thick short leaves; when lying on the ground motionless, it
resembles a vegetable. Its body is long; tail twice the length of body;
total length, about four feet; it is toothless.
The Cape horses have been universally praised by travellers; they are
particularly hardy, game, and docile. The climate in many parts of the
colony is well suited for breeding; and although inland but little
attention is paid to this important matter, still it is a rare
occurrence to find an animal, however ugly or misshapen, without its
redeeming quality. At Cape Town and the immediate neighbourhood, the
horses generally are like those of England, with a slight trace of the
Arab in their head and hind-quarters; the breed, in fact, is a compound
of the English thoroughbred and the Arab. Several well-known English
horses have found their way to the Cape, having been purchased for
exportation when they were stale or broken down; Fancy Boy, Battledore,
Rococo, Gorhambury, Evenus, and many more, having acted as fountains for
supplying a stream of pure blood through the equine veins of Africa.
Nearly a hundred horses of tolerable English fame have been landed at
the Cape within the last twenty years.
In many parts of the colony races are held, and the stakes are
sufficient to repay the winners for their expenses in training and
breeding. In Cape Town horses of good appearance fetch from twenty-five
to sixty guineas, and very much larger prices are frequently given. The
stallion is all-in-all with Cape breeders, the mare being considered as
quite a secondary item. The consequence is, that from the frequent
disproportion between the dam and sire, awkward-looking animals are
common, more especially inland, where the science of breeding is less
understood: a horse is frequently seen with fore-quarters equal to
fifteen hands, and hind-quarters only large enough for a pony. In
Africa many animals have a tendency to largeness about the
fore-quarters; the elephant, wildebeest, and hartebeest appearing
unnaturally heavy in front, and as though they required but a push from
behind to send them on their noses. Whether the climate has anything to
do with this peculiar form I know not, but the horses are seldom too
large in their hind-quarters, although the Hottentots and the Cape sheep
are in this particular absolutely ponderous.
The Hantam and Swellendam districts are celebrated for their breed of
horses, and these supply great part of the colony. The qualities most
esteemed amongst the Cape breeders are,--small head, small ears, large
nostril, small muzzle, broad chest, large bone in the leg, short in the
cannon and pastern, toes rather turned in than out; well ribbed home
(many Dutchmen would not buy a horse that allowed more than four fingers
to be placed between the last rib and the hip-bone); broad behind, with
the tail set on very high (this last is a _specialite_); cow-hocks are
detested. Several small peculiarities are esteemed at the Cape that are
not even observed in England; for instance, a Dutchman once told me that
he knew a pony of mine must be enduring, from the small size of the
corns on the inside of the hind-legs; he assured me that, when this was
the case, a horse rarely tired, while, when the reverse, he generally
shut up with only half a journey. I must own that I found this man's
theory correct, as far as my experience carried me.
The Cape shooting-ponies are most extraordinary animals. In a country
of this description, where every small journey, or even call, is made on
horseback, the pony is more convenient than the horse; he is more easily
mounted, is cheaper both to keep and buy, and is generally more
manageable and teachable. Beauty forms no necessary item with a
shooting-pony; he is often ugly, misshapen, big-headed, and small in
girth; but upon examining him closely, the large bone of the leg, game
head, and large nostril, with several other recommendations, cancel the
imperfection of want of beauty. His action also is peculiar; he rarely
walks, his mode of progression being a sort of tripple, at which he
travels about six or seven miles an hour: trotting is not admired by the
Boers. When the pony gallops, he shows good action, and his activity in
scrambling down the hills that are covered with loose stones, rocks, and
holes, is something marvellous; he is seldom shod, his hoofs being as
hard and tough as iron. I usually shod the fore hoofs, as the roads
were sometimes hard in or near the towns; but inland, where the country
was nearly all grass, even this was unnecessary. The hardiness of these
ponies was extraordinary; they frequently had but little to eat, and
less to drink, were ridden long journeys, and then, while covered with
sweat, turned out on a plain to pick up a very scanty meal. Their
principal forage was fresh air and a roll in the sand; and upon these
they thrived very well, while grooming was considered quite an
unnecessary labour, and a proceeding that did more harm than good.
When a Boer takes a long journey, he rides one pony and leads two
others, changing his saddle from back to back, as each animal has done
its share. Biding for two hours, and off-saddling for half an hour, is
the usual arrangement; six miles an hour being the general pace. When a
traveller halts in Africa, which he does in a well-chosen spot, near
water and shade if possible, he takes off the saddle and bridle, and
knee-halters his horse; this last affair is nothing more than fastening
the animal's head to its leg just above the knee; the leg is lifted up,
and the halter passed round, and formed into a clove hitch: thus held,
the animal is unable to move away quickly, and can be caught when
required: the halter does not slip, or gall the leg. As soon as the
pony finds himself at this partial liberty, he searches for a dry, sandy
place, scrapes the ground a little, and then enjoys his roll; he gets up
covered with dust and dirt, takes a drink, and loses no time, but at
once picks up as much grass as the place affords. When the traveller is
again ready, the animal is up-saddled, and the journey continued. Few
of the colonial settlers have stables; the pony, on completing the
journey, is turned out to graze until evening, when it is driven into an
inclosure fenced with palings or brushwood, and thus left uncovered and
uncombed. In the morning, it is turned out for the day. The
better-kept horses have oats, barley, and Indian corn; oats being
expensive in many parts of South Africa, barley is obliged to supply its
place, and the horses consequently suffer in condition; the Indian corn
is fattening, but is very inferior to oats; it is also dangerous by
blowing out horses; and if they are allowed to drink much after eating
it, they sometimes die from the swelling of the corn inside them, or the
gas there generated.
About the coast of Natal, horses did not thrive well; the climate was
rather relaxing, and "the sickness," as it is called, sometimes attacked
them. The enormous number of ticks that transferred their adhesive
properties from the grass to the hides of the horses, and then sucked
the blood, was a species of outlay that few of the hard-worked
quadrupeds could afford. If a horse were turned out to graze in the
morning, he would before evening be covered with hundreds of ticks, each
of which, by burying itself under the horse's skin and sucking the
blood, becomes distended and increased from the size and appearance of a
common bug to that of a broad-bean. A Kaffir would be nearly an hour in
clearing a horse from these animals, and after all overlook scores,
whose distended hides would appear in the morning. The sickness that I
refer to was very fatal: a horse would one day appear well, but perhaps
a little heavy in hand; the next day he would be down on his side, and
dead before the evening. I attended the _post-mortem_ of one or two
animals that died in this way, but could discover nothing decidedly
unhealthy: this, however, was most probably owing to my want of
experience in the veterinary art. The Boers are frequently unmerciful
to their horses, and I seldom rode a horse that had been very long in
the possession of a Boer, but I found its mouth like iron and its temper
none of the sweetest. The Dutchmen frequently train their
shooting-horses to stand fire by galloping them for two or three miles
and then firing twenty or thirty shots from their backs. If these
horses are at all frisky under the discharge, the merciless riders,
plying whip and spur, take another gallop, and repeat the performance
until they conquer the restlessness of their steeds. This is certainly
not a proceeding likely to improve the temper of any animal,
particularly if well bred or having any fire in its composition; but
rough-and-ready is the great thing in Africa.
When well-trained, the Cape shooting-pony is worth his weight in gold;
he is treated more like a dog than a horse, knows when he is spoken to,
and obeys orders, fears nothing, and seems to delight in sport. I
possessed a pony that was so easily managed and steady, that I
frequently shot snipe, partridges, and always buck, from off his back.
He was my daily companion for two years, and rarely played me a trick.
He had a queer temper; but, knowing this, I made due allowance, and we
always managed things well. If I spurred him, or pulled the rein, when
he approached a hill, he would stop and refuse to advance; but a word or
two in Dutch, in place of the assault, would make matters progress
satisfactorily. I heard that his career after I left was unfortunate;--
he passed through one or two hands who could not have understood him,
and was finally killed by a lion in the interior. I can easily imagine
that such would have been his fate, should he be in the vicinity of a
hungry lion, as he never showed fear of elephants or any other animal,
and was not alarmed by the smell of a fresh lion's skin past which I
rode one day.
The Boers are generally very heavy men, and the small shooting-ponies
that they ride appear fearfully overweighted: a pony of twelve or
thirteen hands is ridden long journeys, and hunted, by a Boer of some
fourteen or sixteen stone weight. The game little animal does its work
well in spite of the weight it carries; and one of the surprising facts
to an Englishman fresh in the African hunting-field is the pace at which
the Boers thus mounted go across country. Neither whip nor spur is
spared during a chase, and, not contented with the day's hard work,
these Boers sometimes on returning home take a half-mile gallop as a
test of the enduring qualities of their ponies. During my experience in
Africa, I was but once unfortunate enough to have a horse that I was
riding knock up with me: the animal was a new purchase, and had led a
life of idleness during some previous weeks. The results of its failing
me were a thorough ducking and a very unpleasant journey of near five
miles. It may give an idea of the manners of the civilised man of South
Africa, if I detail the circumstance. I left Pietermaritzburg about
three o'clock in the afternoon, and purposed resting for the night at
Stony Hill, the distance being twenty-five miles. About eight miles had
been accomplished, when I was attracted by a grand fight between two
bulls. I watched the struggle for a considerable time, and admired the
courage of each combatant: sometimes they would charge each other, and,
falling on their knees, roar and bellow with mingled rage and pain.
Victory for a long time was doubtful, until the strength of one appeared
to be failing, and then, turning tail, he galloped off, followed by his
conqueror. Finding that the sun had moved a considerable distance while
I was engaged in watching the bull-fight, I pushed on faster than the
usual African travelling-pace, and found, before twelve miles were
ridden, that my horse appeared much distressed. The day was intensely
hot, and I thought an "off-saddle" for half an hour might refresh the
animal; but upon again starting I found it difficult to spur even a trot
out of him. I dismounted and tried to lead him, but found he was one of
those brutes that will not follow. He stuck his head out as I drew the
reins tight, but would not stir an inch. Remounting, I managed to
hustle him along at a smart walk; but even this I did not accomplish
without considerable manual and spur labour. I had nearly five miles
before me, and the sun was within half an hour of setting. Had the
night been fine, a ride would have been pleasant during the moonlight;
but the dark heavy clouds that were gathering round, and a drop of rain
that fell occasionally, gave earnest of a coming storm. No house or
resting-place was there on the road, except that for which I was making
my way, and Botha's, which latter was five miles farther. I reached
Stony Hill soon after dark, and was preparing to dismount at the door of
the inn, near which I noticed two waggons; when the man who kept the
establishment came out, and said, "Who's that?" I told him that I
wanted a dinner, a bed, and stabling. I heard him make a remark in
Dutch to some person within the building, and distinguished "verdamt
Englishmensch" as two of the words. He then turned round to me, and
said, "I can't give you a dinner or a bed." I told him that I was not
particular about what I ate, but, as my horse was knocked up, I could
not go farther. He said, "Well, you shan't stop here; and if you didn't
mind sleeping in the pigsty, I wouldn't even let you have a bed there."
I was very angry with him, and high words ensued; and I am afraid that
deeds would have followed the words, had not a Hottentot near me
whispered that I had better not strike the man, as he would not hesitate
to use the knife when he was half-drunk. I therefore turned my tired
horse again into the road, and, with a vigorous dig of the spur,
retreated, from the conflict. I had now five miles of a very rough road
before me: it passed over stony hills, and wound round the side of
others. The night was dark as Erebus, and the road, or rather beaten
track, could only be distinguished during the flashes of lightning,
which now came with blinding brilliancy. My horse slipped down on his
side, and nearly broke my ankle, as we were passing round a hill on the
side of which the road sloped; the rain, that now fell with rapidity,
having made the track greasy and slippery. Dismounting, I drove the
horse before me, but had great difficulty in getting him to keep the
beaten track; sometimes he would turn to the right or left, and the long
grass brushing against my legs would alone make me acquainted with the
fact of having left the road. I then waited for a fresh flash of
lightning to enable me to regain the pathway. Strange and indistinct
forms would be seen as the surrounding country was electrically
illuminated; the wild animals always choosing rainy or stormy weather to
wander forth from their rocks, holes, and coverts. Nearly two hours
were passed in the midst of the most vivid lightning and deafening
thunder, while the rain poured upon me in torrents. At the end of that
time I reached Botha's Hotel: I had to knock up the landlord from his
bed; but this civil and obliging man lighted a fire for me, and brought
the better half of a chicken-pie; in the enjoyment of which luxuries I
soon forgot the previous disagreeables; and throwing off my wet
garments, and fastening a blanket round my neck, and wrapping myself in
its folds Kaffir fashion, I feasted like a Zulu chief.