[Illustration: NATIVE GROUP. Damaras. Ovampo.
Drawn on Stone by W. L. Walton. Printed by Hullmandel & Walton.
John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1853]
THE
NARRATIVE OF AN EXPLORER
IN
TROPICAL SOUTH AFRICA.
BY FRANCIS GALTON, ESQ.
WITH COLOURED MAPS, PLATES, AND WOODCUTS.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1853.
LONDON:
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
PREFACE.
The following pages contain the description of a part of Africa hitherto
unknown to Europeans, but which has recently been travelled over and
explored by the Author. His journey was a tedious and a very anxious one,
but happily brought to a close without loss of life or serious accident
to any member of his large party, which altogether amounted to nearly
forty men.
The result of this excursion has been to fill up that blank in our
maps which, lying between the Cape Colony and the western Portuguese
settlements, extends to the interior as far as the newly discovered Lake
’Ngami.
The country of the Damaras—warlike, pastoral Blacks—was in the first
instance explored; beyond them he found a broad tract, inhabited by
aboriginal Hottentots; and, again, to the north of these, the Ovampo, a
race of intelligent and kindly negroes, who are careful agriculturists,
and live in a land of great fertility.
On his return southwards, a quick journey was made into the interior,
near the line of the southern tropic, until a road, which had recently
been travelled from the borders of the Cape Colony to Lake ’Ngami, was
reached, and in this way a practicable route between the Lake and the
Atlantic was proved to exist.
Few new objects of natural history were either collected or heard of, as
the tract in question was for the most part a high barren plateau, that
supported but little variety of either animal or vegetable life.
The journey may perhaps produce a useful result, by indicating a very
favourable opening to missionary enterprise, namely, among the Ovampo.
The writer has no wish to commit himself to extreme views either on this
or on kindred subjects, but, if philanthropists continue anxious to
promote African civilisation, the remarkable advantages of Ovampo-land,
as a leverage ground in these matters, should not be lost sight of.
The healthiness of the climate, the position of the country, the
intelligence and orderly habits of the natives, their travelling and
trading propensities, and, lastly, the ready access which it admits of
from a healthy sea-coast, form most cogent recommendations. In addition
to these, though bordering on slave-producing countries, Ovampo-land is
itself exempt from that scourge, and there would be one prejudice the
less for Christian teachings to encounter.
A traveller who, starting with the same views that the Author did, chose
to start from Little Fish Bay, or elsewhere, in Benguela, and explore to
the eastwards and southwards, would be likely to make a very successful
journey. He would find shooting in abundance, and have opportunities of
learning everything about as highly interesting a race of negroes as is
probably to be found in the whole of Africa. The Author’s fate certainly
led him over a great deal of barren country, and many monotonous days
were passed; still he cannot regret that he undertook the journey, for,
besides the enjoyment of robust health in Africa, habits of self-reliance
in rude emergencies were acquired, which are well worth possessing,
though an English education hardly tends to promote them.
A question is commonly put to explorers, “Why could you not go further
when you had already succeeded in going so far?” and the answer to this
is, that several independent circumstances concur in stopping a man after
he has been travelling for a certain time and distance. He _must_ refit,
for his cattle become worn out; his articles of exchange, which are his
money, expended; and, indeed, the medium of currency among the people
he at last reaches being unknown to him, has of course been unprovided
for. His clothes, necessaries, luxuries, all become exhausted, and the
_capital_ out of which he has to support himself fast disappears. On the
other hand, infinite difficulty is found in acquiring the confidence of a
strange nation; a new language has to be learnt; native servants refuse,
and are unfitted, to accompany their master in countries strange and
probably hostile to them, and whom months of joint labours had educated
into a kind of sympathy with his cause; and so, when an explorer intends
to cross the frontier of a neighbouring tribe, he finds that all his old
travelling arrangements are more or less broken up, and that the further
progress of the expedition will require nearly as many preparations
and as much delay as if it were then about quitting the borders of
civilisation. But his energies are reduced, and his means become
inadequate to the task, and therefore no alternative is left him but to
return while it is still possible for him to do so.
It is therefore not to be expected that any large part of the vast
unexplored region before us will yield its secrets to a single traveller,
but, rather, that they will become known step by step through various
successive discoveries; and as the experience of nearly a century
corroborates these views, it is probable that for years to come there
will still remain ample room in Africa for men inclined for adventure to
carry out in them, if nowhere else, the _métier_ of explorers.
FRANCIS GALTON.
8, ST. JAMES’S PLACE, _April 27th, 1853_.
[Illustration: The four Mimosas that, to the exclusion of nearly every
other tree or bush, form the vegetation of Damara-land.]
DATES OF MY JOURNEYINGS.
1850 | August | Sail from Cape Town and land at Walfisch Bay.
| September | Travel with cart and mules to Otjimbinguè.
| October } | Buy oxen and send them down to fetch the waggons,
| November} | while I stay at Otjimbinguè and at Barmen.
| December | Make an excursion on ride-oxen to Erongo.
1851 | January | Take waggons to Schmelen’s Hope, and ride thence to
| | beyond Rehoboth.
| February | Interviews at Schmelen’s Hope; adjacent country is
| | explored.
| March | Travel with the waggons to the northward.
| April | Pass Omanbondè—reach Okamabuti—a waggon breaks down.
| May | Meet the Ovampo caravan, and return with them on
| | ride-oxen to Ondonga.
| June | Stay a fortnight at Nangoro’s, then go back to
| | Okamabuti.
| July | Return southwards with the waggons by the Omoramba.
| August | Reach Barmen and go on to Jonker’s.
| September | Take waggon to Elephant Fountain, ride thence on
| | ox-back to Okomavaka.
| October | Cross plain to ’Tounobis; stay a week and return.
| November | Travel with waggons down towards the coast.
| December | Reach Walfisch Bay and wait for the ship.
LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES OF PRINCIPAL POINTS.
See p. 161, vol. xxii., “Journal of Royal Geographical Society,” for
details of the calculations and for further latitudes.
South Latitude. East Longitude.
Schmelen’s Hope | 22° 0′ | 16° 56′
Okamabuti | 19° 31′ | 18° 20′
Nangoro’s Werft in Ondonga | 17° 59′ | 16° 14′
Elephant Fountain | 22° 27′ | 18° 59′
’Tounobis (or Otchombindè) | 21° 55′ | 21° 55′
ITINERARY OF MY PRINCIPAL ROUTES.
From WALFISCH BAY to NANGORO’S 719 English Miles.
” ” ’TOUNOBIS 518 ”
The hours given are those of actual travelling, _exclusive of all
delays_. I allow 2½ English miles for each hour; but, reckoning _as the
crow flies_ from point to point, 2 _geographical_ miles will be found to
be very near the truth.
+------+---------------------------++------+---------------------------+
|Hours.| WALFISCH BAY TO BARMEN. ||Hours.| BARMAN TO OMANBONDÈ. |
| | 207 Miles. || | 219 Miles. |
+------+---------------------------++------+---------------------------+
| |From Walfisch Bay to— || |From Barmen to— |
|1 |Sand Fountain. ||8 |Schmelen’s Hope. |
|5 |Scheppmansdorf. ||1¾ |Okandu. |
|16 |Oosop Gorge. [No W.] ||5¼ |Okamabondè, |
|9 |Daviéep Gorge. ||4½ |Kutjiamakompè. |
|13 |Mouth of Tsobis R. [W.] ||6½ |Okandjoë. [No W.] |
|7 |Tsobis. ||6¼ |Omoramba R. [No W.] |
|7¾ |Kurrikoop. [No W.] ||2½ |Okatumba. |
|2 |Otjimbinguè. ||2½ |Otjikururumè. |
|3½ |In river-bed. ||2½ |Ontekeremba. |
|5 |Okandu. ||5 |Wells. |
|2 |Ondjiadjikennè. ||3 |Ozukaro. |
|4 |Etamondjua. ||5¼ |Ombarombonga. |
|4 |Reedy Fountain. ||8¾ |Wells. [No W.] |
|3½ |Barmen. ||20 |Okavarè (or Omanbondè) [W.]|
+------+ |+------+ |
|82¾ or 207 miles. ||91¾ or 228 miles. |
+------+---------------------------++------+---------------------------+
+------+---------------------------++------+---------------------------+
|Hours.| BARMEN TO ’TOUNOBIS. ||Hours.| OMANBONDÈ TO NANGORO’S. |
| | 310 Miles. || | 284 Miles. |
+------+---------------------------++------+---------------------------+
| |From Barmen to— || |From Omanbondè to— |
|3 |Foot of first hills. ||10 |Okatjokeama, S. Vley. [W.] |
|11½ |Katjimahas old kraal. [W.] ||4¾ |Okapukua. |
|4 |Eikhams. ||4¼ |Otjamuneè. |
|12¼ |Wells on Quieep R [W.] ||3¼ |Okamabuti. |
|5 |Bend of Quieep R. ||4 |Namboshua. |
|18½ |Noosop R. [No W.] ||6 |Ootui. |
|2½ |Kurrikoop. ||8 |Otchikango. [No W.] |
|1¾ |Water in Noosop R. ||12 |Otchikoto. [No W.] |
|13 |Elephant Fountain. [No W.] ||9¼ |Otjando. [No W.] |
|11½ |Twas. [No W.] ||14½ |Omutchamatunda. [No W.] |
|9 |Okaietoura. [W.] ||10½ |Wells in Flat. [No W. for |
|6½ |Okanyindu [W.] || | 9½ hrs.] |
|5½ |Okomavaka. ||21 |Vleys, 2 hours in Ondonga. |
|20½ |’Tounobis. [No W.] || | [No W.] |
| | ||6 |Nangoro’s Werft. |
+------+ |+------+ |
|124½ or 311 miles. ||113½ or 284 miles. |
+------+---------------------------++------+---------------------------+
The letters in brackets affixed to those stages which exceed 5 hours,
mean as follows:—[W.] that there is water sufficient in quantity for
cattle on the road in one or more places, [No W.] that there is not.
CONTENTS.
Page
CHAPTER I.
Determine to travel in Africa.—Motives for the
Journey.—Preparations.—Stock in Trade.—An Emigrant
Ship.—Arrival at Cape Town.—Dangers of the Road.—Change
of Route.—Determine to proceed by Walfisch Bay.—Necessary
Outfit.—Prospects of the Route.—Travelling
Cortège.—Servants and Dogs.—Arrival at Walfisch
Bay.—The Natives.—Extraordinary Mirage.—The Kuisip
River.—Tobacco.—Ride-Oxen.—Disembarking.—Misadventure at
Starting.—Perils of the Desert.—The ’Nara.—The Mission at
Scheppmansdorf 1
CHAPTER II.
Sand Fountain.—A Lesson to the Natives.—A Present.—News of
a Lion.—Scheppmansdorf.—A narrow Escape.—A Missionary’s
Establishment.—Native Huts.—Missions.—A Lion Hunt.—Preparations
for the Road.—Native Trees.—The Hottentots.—Character
of the Country.—Mode of breaking in an Ox.—Arrangement
of the Baggage.—A Prosperous Start.—The Swakop.—Night
Bivouac.—Labours of the March.—Loss of a Horse and a Mule.—The
Lions’ Chase.—Attempt to avenge the Loss.—Animal Food.—The
Ghou Damup.—Erongo Mountain.—Intense Heat.—The Tsobis
River.—Ride-Oxen.—Native Servants.—Their Cape Town Life.—A
Giraffe Hunt.—Change of Country.—An Ostrich Egg.—Approach to
Otjimbinguè.—Hans Larsen 24
CHAPTER III.
Hear ill News.—Engage Hans.—Ride to Barmen.—En route.—Oxen
_versus_ Mules.—Arrive at Barmen.—Jonker’s Attack.—Previous
History.—Oerlams and Europeans.—Hottentots and
Bushmen.—Establishment of Missions.—Native Feuds.—Dislike to
Missions.—Obstruction to Travellers.—Write to Jonker.—Buy Oxen
from Hans.—Breaking them in.—Attacks of Distemper.—Complete
my Encampment.—Damara Digging.—Native Hunting.—Oxen sent
to the Bay.—I go to Barmen.—Damara Thorn-trees.—Jonker
writes to me.—My Plans.—The Ovampo.—First Rain.—Hottentot
Beauties.—Hyena’s Insolence.—Damara Ferocity.—Cruel
Murder.—Mutilated Victim.—Message to Chiefs.—Their Replies 59
CHAPTER IV.
I go to meet the Waggons.—Start for Erongo.—En route.—Damara
features.—Gabriel in a Scrape.—The Mountain Erongo.—Chase
Zebras.—Ghou Damup Huts.—A Black Coquette.—Return to
Waggons.—Leave Otjimbinguè.—Mishaps.—How to encamp and water
Oxen.—Arrive at Barmen, thence to Schmelen’s Bay.—Ride
to Eikhams.—A doomed Sufferer.—Visit Jonker.—Conference
with him.—Swartboy and Amiral.—Ride on to Rehoboth.—Umap’s
Judgment.—Obtain Interpreters.—Return to Rehoboth.—Murder a Dog
and pay for it.—Conference at Eikhams.—Legislating.—Proposed
Conference.—Mules run quite away.—Schmelen’s Hope.—Dates 95
CHAPTER V.
Personnel.—Commissariat.—Daily Allowances.—Start on the
Expedition.—Damara Obtuseness.—Inability to count.—Information
withheld.—Kahikenè sends to us.—Arrive on the high
Tableland.—Superstitions on Food.—Meet Kahikenè.—His
Difficulties.—Gives me Advice.—Information about the
Road.—Four Oxen stolen.—The Culprits are punished.—Recognising
lost Oxen.—Hear of another Road.—Reach Omatako.—African
Puma.—Eshuameno.—Chipping the front Teeth.—View from the
Hill.—Ja Kabaca.—Climb Omuvereoom.—A Snake.—Seriously
obstructed by the Thorns.—Reach Otjironjuba.—How to make
Soap.—We catch some Bushmen.—Learn a little and travel
on.—Doubts about our route.—Arrive at a Werft.—Are guided
onwards.—Omanbondè.—Hippopotami 128
CHAPTER VI.
Mistake a Lion for an Antelope.—Explore a Road.—Reach
Palms.—Return and bring the Waggons.—Experiences of African
Travel.—Guide decamps and we find another.—Settle at
Okambuti.—The first Elephant.—Waggon breaks down.—Make a Strong
Camp.—Chapupa’s History.—Savages _versus_ Europeans.—Ride on
to the Ovampo.—Method of searching for Water.—Damaras are bad
Guides.—Find some Bushmen.—We start, but are ordered back.—The
Ovampo Caravan.—Chikorongo-onkompè.—Pronunciation of the letter
L.—Salt, not a Necessary of Life.—Damaras never eat it.—Return
to Chapupa’s Werft.—Arrange a Present for Nangoro.—Dressed and
tanned Leather.—Hear of Kahikenè’s Death.—Damara Creed.—Eandas
and Omakuru.—Ceremonies.—Huts and Finery.—Chaunts and
Music.—Damara Language.—Prefixes 162
CHAPTER VII.
Damara Helpmates.—Marriage Tie.—Caravan to Ovampo-land.—Yearly
Traffic.—Otchikoto.—Improvised Chaunts.—Reach an Ovampo
Cattle-post.—Archery Practice.—The Parent Tree.—We reach
Ondonga.—Corn, Beans, and Palms.—Fruit-trees.—Native
Beer.—Density of the Population.—Encamp by Nangoro’s
Village.—Cannot obtain Pasturage.—Nangoro pays us a
Visit.—Ovampo Belles.—We go to a Ball.—Description of
Dances.—Charms and Counter-charms.—Nangoro’s Palace.—The
Great River.—Prospects.—The King is crowned.—His lawful
Successors.—The Queens’ Duties.—Ovampo Dentists.—Surgical
Practice 195
CHAPTER VIII.
We are ordered to return.—Hesitation.—The Slave dealings
here.—Future of Ovampo-land.—A Field for Missionaries.—Best
way of getting there.—Slavery and Servitude.—Giving Men
away.—Arrange my Packs.—Start Homeward.—Leave Ondonga.—The Oxen
suffer severely.—Reach Okamabuti.—The Waggons are safe.—Start
for Omaramba.—Okavarè.—Elephants visit us.—Ice every
night.—Pass Omagundè.—Reach Barmen 225
CHAPTER IX.
The Waggons are condemned.—Messengers to the Cape.—The
Kaoko.—History of Damara-land.—Ghou Damup Genealogies.—Start
for Elephant Fountain.—Excessive Drought.—Engage Eybrett.—Sell
my Cart and Mules.—Travel from Eikhams.—Shooting Giraffes in
the Dusk.—Elephant Fountain.—Numerous Pitfalls.—Plundering
Expeditions.—The Kubabees reach ’Ngami.—Trouble of taking
Observations.—Leave Waggon and ride to the East.—Engage
Saul.—Hans and a Lion.—We enter the Bushman Tract.—Rhinoceros
Skulls.—Hear of the Kubabees Hottentots.—Start for
’Tounobis.—Shoot a White Rhinoceros.—Reach ’Tounobis.—Elephant
in a Pitfall.—Prepare for Sport.—Night-Watching for
Game.—Rhinoceros Veal.—Opera-glasses.—Herd of Elephants.—Fights
and Frolics.—Bulk of the Rhinoceros.—A Picturesque
Finale.—Spring Hares.—Remarks on my Route.—Unicorns
and Cockatrices.—Bushmen Springes.—Setting Guns at
Night.—Description of Plate.—Poisoned Arrows 246
CHAPTER X.
Hear the Fate of my Two Oxen.—Plan an Attack to
avenge them.—Make an Attack on Two Werfts.—Catch some
Culprits.—Hottentot Passion for Onslaught.—Return to
Eikhams.—Best sort of Travelling Compass.—MS. and other
Almanacs.—Watches and Alarums.—Large Packs of Lions.—A
Tale learnt from Tracks.—Accidents with Guns.—Methods of
carrying them on Horse-back.—Description of the Plate.—Saddle
Arrangements.—Travelling Dress.—Colours most suited for
Sportsmen.—Bright Colours of Skulking Animals.—Rationale
of them.—Join Hans’ Party.—Begin to break up the
Expedition.—Travel down the Swakop.—Reach Walfisch Bay.—Whales,
Sharks, and Ostriches.—Retrospects.—Leave Africa 288
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
NATIVE GROUP FRONTISPIECE.
THE THORNS OF DAMARA-LAND Page vii
TRAVELLER WITH PACK-OXEN 103
CHAPUPA, A DAMARA CHIEF 171
DAMARA WOMAN 189
DAMARA WEAPONS, ETC. 194
CAMP IN OVAMPO-LAND 210
NANGORO, KING OF THE OVAMPO 220
OVAMPO WEAPONS, UTENSILS, ETC. 224
SETTING A GUN AS A SPRING-GUN 286
HOTTENTOT METHOD OF CARRYING A GUN ON HORSE OR OX-BACK 302
MAPS AT THE END.
TROPICAL SOUTH AFRICA.
CHAPTER I.
Determine to travel in Africa.—Motives for the
Journey.—Preparations.—Stock in Trade.—An Emigrant
Ship.—Arrival at Cape Town.—Dangers of the Road.—Change
of Route.—Determine to proceed by Walfisch Bay.—Necessary
Outfit.—Prospects of the Route.—Travelling
Cortège.—Servants and Dogs.—Arrival at Walfisch
Bay.—The Natives.—Extraordinary Mirage.—The Kuisip
River.—Tobacco.—Ride-Oxen.—Disembarking.—Misadventure at
Starting.—Perils of the Desert.—The ’Nara.—The Mission at
Scheppmansdorf.
It was in 1849 that I determined upon a long travel in Africa. I had been
there once; and then, landing at Alexandria, sailed or rode far beyond
all the deserts, temples, and cataracts of Egypt, until I had fairly
entered the “Soudan,” or country of the Blacks—that zone of the tropical
vegetation, to which the name of Central Africa properly applies.
It was a tour hastily performed, but still sufficient to imbue or poison
me with that fascination for further enterprise, which African tourists
have so especially felt—a fascination which has often enough proved its
power by urging the same traveller to risk his comfort, his health, and
his life, over and over again, and to cling with pertinacity to a country
which after all seems to afford little else but hazard and hardships,
ivory and fever.
The motive which principally induced me to undertake this journey was
the love of adventure. I am extremely fond of shooting, and that was an
additional object; and lastly such immense regions of Africa lie utterly
unknown, that I could not but feel that there was every probability of
much being discovered there, which, besides being new, would also be
useful and interesting. A large field lay open to any explorer who might
wish to attempt the enterprise, and I chose to undertake the task.
The discovery that was made of Lake Ngami, in South Africa, gave a
direction to my plans; and in the beginning of 1850 I fixed on the Cape
as the point at which to enter Africa.
Many South African travellers and sportsmen were then in London; so that
I received every information about the Bechuana country up to 300 or 400
miles north of the Orange River, which has been most successfully shot
over by several of our countrymen; and through the very kind interest
which several influential members of the Geographical Society took in my
proceedings, I was readily enabled to start, perfectly _au fait_ as to
what was known and what was wanted to be known in South Africa.
I now began my preparations in good earnest. Mr. Andersson, a Swedish
gentleman and a naturalist, consented to accompany me; and to his
perseverance and energy I have since been in the highest degree indebted.
I collected together all the things I could think of, or that my friends
were kind enough to suggest to me, as advisable to take.
I knew that at least the first part of my journey would have to be
undertaken in waggons, in each of which I was assured four thousand
pounds’ weight could be carried without risk across the country, so far
as it had been penetrated, and therefore I was not necessarily stinted in
the quantity of comforts I could carry from Europe; but as to the latter
part of my expedition I was aware that the probability was that I should
have to leave my waggons, and to travel either by boat or on the backs of
some beasts of burden, or possibly even to walk, in which case I should
have to content myself with far less luggage. I therefore collected my
things together, on the principle of having them as light as possible,
and in duplicate, the half of which I could leave _en cache_, when I had
to quit my waggons, as a store to fall back upon should I happen to meet
with robbery or accident.
In my perfect ignorance of what would be the most acceptable presents,
and what were the best articles of exchange among the people I should
meet with, I made a great collection of all sorts of ornaments, so that
I had a store like a pedlar’s shop; for besides the more staple articles
of guns, beads, knives, and gaudily printed calico, I bought or collected
looking-glasses, accordions, hunting-coats, my friends’ old uniforms,
burning-glasses, swords, gilt belts, immense bracelets, anklets, yards
of picture chains for necklaces, Jews’-harps, mosaic rings; lastly,
I explored the shops of Drury Lane for some theatrical finery, and a
magnificent crown rewarded my search, which I vowed to place on the head
of the greatest or most distant potentate I should meet with in Africa.
On the 5th of April, 1850, everything was prepared; I and my boxes were
on board an East Indiaman; my last adieu was said, the very last line
sent off by the pilot boat, and we were off for the Cape.
I had plenty of occupation on board ship in arranging my things, trying
to learn the Bechuana language, practising with a sextant, and reading
up books; so that the time passed as agreeably as can be expected in a
sea voyage. It so happened that the ship in which I had taken my berth
carried a number of emigrants—a fact which the careful agent only let us
find out at the last moment—but I liked the crowding and bustle of it
amazingly. The emigrants were not in the least in the way of the cabin
passengers, for we, of course, had the poop to ourselves; and looking
down from it, the deck had all the appearance of a crowded fair.
The emigrants were a squalid starved-looking set at first, but six weeks
of rest and good feeding made a wonderful change in their condition;
and as we sailed into the warm weather, and they could sit about the
decks, they began to think of their personal appearance, and to wash and
tidy themselves and put their clothes to rights. It was amusing to see
how soon they divided themselves into cliques, and how high and mighty
the party that sat under the left corner of the poop were, and how they
looked down on those who sat elsewhere. Anyhow we had a pleasant sail,
though some eighty days had passed before we were in Table Bay, and among
the white stone and green-shuttered houses of Cape Town.
I intended to make a stay here of a few weeks, and then to sail on to
Algoa Bay, whence my land journey was to have been commenced. I therefore
took the earliest opportunity of presenting my letters of introduction,
and I hoped that chance would soon throw much information, valuable to
me, within my reach. I cannot sufficiently express how much kindness I
received during my stay in Cape Town from all my acquaintance there.
Everybody that I was thrown with seemed to take the greatest interest
in my excursion, and I was referred and introduced to all those whose
experience or information might be of any use to me.
I had not, however, arrived many days, when news came that materially
affected my plans, and in the end gave them a somewhat different
direction. The emigrant Boers—those Dutch colonists who had rebelled and
run away from us—had broken out into open revolt. They invested the whole
breadth of the habitable country, north of the Orange River, through
which the direct way to Lake Ngami lies; and information was received
that they had resolutely refused the passage of any stranger from the
colony through their country; that they had already turned back some
travellers, and that in all probability they would send a “commando” to
take immediate and exclusive possession of the lake country. Sir Harry
Smith, then Governor of the Cape, was so good as to put me in immediate
possession of the news, and strongly dissuaded me from attempting to pass
them, not because there was any risk to my life, but because after the
tedious journey of six weeks or two months that led to their country, I
should be met by these Boers, and almost to a certainty stopped, robbed,
and turned back. There was no road to the left of these people, because
they live up to the verge of the great Karrikarri desert, which takes up
all the middle of South Africa, whilst any party taking the road to their
right would have to pass in the first instance through the whole length
of the Caffre country, and then to the fever-stricken neighbourhood of
the west coast. In fact when the Boers chose to stop all communication
from the Colony northwards, by the usual route, they were perfectly able
to do so.
In a few days the intelligence that had before been received about
the Boers’ intentions became more fully confirmed, and I had to think
of other ways of getting to the tropical lands of South Africa. My
first thought was to try the east coast, by Delagòa Bay, but that
plan was instantly abandoned on account of the fearful unhealthiness
of the district. Next I thought of the Mozambique, and of landing at
Quillirmaine—a plan which was warmly advocated by a Portuguese gentleman
of the highest standing at that place, Signore Isidore Pereira.
His father had crossed Africa from Mozambique to Benguela, and he himself
had travelled much, and was in intimate relation with the chiefs of
many of the surrounding parts. He chanced to be passing through Cape
Town when I was there _en route_ to Rio. He took the kindest interest
in my plans, gave me very full information upon what he knew of the
interior, and subsequently furnished me with credentials to different
Portuguese gentlemen at the more distant of their settlements. If I had
been under no sort of tie, I should have slaved at learning Portuguese
in Cape Town until the first ship sailed for Mozambique, and then have
gone by her—but I was engaged to take my travelling companion by some
means of conveyance, by which he could bring home a complete collection
of the Natural History of the country; and Signore Pereira told me
that no beasts of burden were used in the interior of Mozambique, but
that all luggage was carried on men’s backs, and the traveller himself
in a palanquin. This way of travelling would never have answered the
object Andersson had in view, and I therefore did not feel justified in
proposing it to him. At last a plan was suggested, and very strongly
urged upon me, chiefly by some merchants, of sailing to Walfisch Bay,
and thence travelling with waggons; this was the idea I finally adopted.
I heard that though all was desert by the sea-coast between the Cape
Colony and Benguela, yet that beyond this desert not only habitable but
very fertile country was to be found. As to distance, Walfisch Bay was of
all places most favourably situated for an excursion into the interior,
and there were Missionary establishments already formed from near the
coast to many days’ journey inwards. I was referred to a person who had
carried on for some years a cattle trade between Walfisch Bay and the
countries near it and the Cape. He had built a store at the Bay, and had
had a vessel of his own there; sometimes he sent the cattle by her to St.
Helena, sometimes he sold them to the whalers and guano ships which then
were numerous, and often put in to him for provisions, and lastly he had
driven large herds of them overland to the Cape—by a road to the _west_
of that Karrikarri desert, of which I spoke a few lines back, and to the
_east_ of which the Boers and Bechuanas reside. All about this line of
country the Namaqua Hottentots live, and up it some fifteen or twenty
years ago Sir James Alexander was the first to explore a waggon-road.
My informant, the cattle-trader, had himself seen nothing but arid
worthless country, but he strongly stated his belief in the fertility
of Damara-land, into which no white man had ever penetrated, but on the
borders of which the Missionary stations are placed.
I then went to the agents and friends of the Missionary Societies to
which those stations belonged, and the trader’s account was very fully
confirmed by them. I was informed that the Damaras were considered by
the Missionaries as a most interesting nation, and one well worthy of
exploring, and that an expedition had long been contemplated by them
to go through Damara-land, to see what field might lie open for their
labours beyond it. I was very kindly assured of every assistance on
their part, and my friends insisted on the great advantage that I should
have, if the first stage of my journey was made in company with persons
who had experience of the country and acquaintance with the language.
Moreover, a novice had just arrived from Germany, and was waiting for
the earliest opportunity of being shipped off to join his future fellow
labourers. So far matters seemed promising enough; but one point was
certain, that everything I might want must be taken from Cape Town, as
nothing whatever but oxen could be bought where the Missionaries were.
Servants, waggons, and things of every kind, I must take with me, for
the ship would land me on the desert sand—four tedious months’ journey
from Cape Town; and when she sailed away all communication thence would,
for at least a year, be at an end. Now if I had been going to travel in
any of the usual ways, as with pack-horses, mules, camels, boats, and so
forth, and with people I knew something about, I should not have had the
least anxiety; but oxen were creatures I had no experience with, or of
Cape half-castes either. Cape Town is proverbially the worst place in the
Colony to get waggon drivers and leaders from, and I did not much fancy
the undertaking; but still go somewhere I must, and I could think of no
other alternative but Walfisch Bay. I therefore consoled myself with the
idea that, if the whole affair broke down at the very first, Andersson
and I would still find protection from the Missionaries, and that if on
the other hand we could push on at all, we could probably get a great
way. So I began resolutely to make my preparations.
I will try to put in a few words the whole of the information that I
could get, and upon which I had to act. Walfisch Bay was perfectly
desert, though traders had lived there. The nearest water was three miles
off, and that in very small quantities. The nearest place where cattle
could thrive was between twenty and thirty miles from the coast. This
was the first Missionary station,—it was called Scheppmansdorf. Thence
a journey of ten or twelve days inland over wretched country led to two
other stations; they were the furthest; and all beyond them northwards
was unknown. These last were in Damara-land; the Namaqua Hottentots lived
between them and the Cape. A small pen and ink map was also shown me, but
it was blotted and not very intelligible. No oxen could be bought until I
arrived at the furthest stations. If I bought them from the Damaras they
were untaught; if from the Namaquas taught oxen; the horse distemper was
very severe, and no horse would live throughout the year. The Namaquas
were always fighting with the Damaras, and it was very doubtful whether
having travelled amongst the one tribe, the other would permit me to
pass through their country. No money was used or known, nothing but
articles of barter,—iron things for the most part among the Damaras,
clothing and guns among the Namaquas. Lastly, that the great man of all
the country, who could do what he liked, and of whom everybody stood in
awe, was Jonker Africaner. It was said that he had a wholesome dread of
the English Government, and unlimited respect for a large letter with a
large seal, but that I had much better keep out of his way. This I think
is a faithful summary of all that I could learn, and I soon set to work
to act upon it.
Cape Town abounds with mules, small well-bred looking things, so I made
inquiries and bought eight that had been well broken into harness, and
were in good condition; I could only buy one pack-mule, which made my
ninth. Mules had withstood the distemper so well in Bechuana country,
that I trusted that at least half of them would live until my wanderings
were ended. I then bought a large strongly-built cart for them to draw,
and with it I purposed to make my first expedition up the country,
carrying the heavy articles of exchange and bringing back oxen. I
also bought two waggons—I believe the only two travelling waggons in
Cape Town—for now-a-days the march of intellect has inspired even the
ponderous Dutchmen, and they make good roads and use lighter vehicles.
These were to be drawn by the oxen that I intended to buy in the country,
and the mules, as I calculated, would be strong enough to pull them from
Walfisch Bay to Scheppmansdorf, the first station, and thence to go on
with the cart and articles of exchange. As there was no grass at Walfisch
Bay, I took plenty of corn for my cattle, and a cask of good water for
ourselves; the mules would drink at Sand Fountain, the place three miles
off. I only took two horses, as I knew they would be victims to distemper
before the important part of my journey commenced; and I bought but few
additional articles of exchange for I hoped to obtain enough game to
supply us with daily food, in addition to the few sheep we should take
with us as slaughter-cattle. This was a sad mistake, as I found out
afterwards. I was aware I should require at least sixty waggon oxen,—two
spans of from fourteen to sixteen for each waggon. As Namaqua-land was
out of my intended route, and as I had been so strongly advised not to go
there, I took only enough clothing, &c., to buy some forty or sixty oxen
there, and iron things enough to buy 150 from the Damaras; the surplus
beyond what I immediately wanted being meant to cover the unavoidable
expenses of travelling. I had, as I mentioned before from England, a
large and indeed an expensive set of “presents” but my great error was in
not taking far more things of _known_ exchangeable value, and in having
taken those “presents” which the natives really cared very little for.
I felt quite sure that everything connected with my waggons was right,
because I got more than one experienced friend to look them over; and
having engaged my vessel, a schooner of some 100 tons, all except my
servants were at length in readiness. I wanted, in the first instance,
a headman—one who had travelled with oxen and knew the work—a man with
a character that he could not afford to lose, under whom I could put
every detail, and whom I would pay highly; but I could find no such
person in Cape Town. I, however, engaged a Portuguese, John Morta, a
most thoroughly trustworthy man, who, though he did not in the least
fulfil the conditions I have just mentioned, was honest in the extreme,
and with whom I received an excellent character; next, I hired Timboo,
a black, liberated by one of our cruisers years ago, on capturing a
slave-ship in the Mozambique. He, too, had an admirable character, and
could do a little of everything. I do not think he would have joined me
had he not been suspected of too active interference (on the loyal side)
during the late anti-convict movement, which made it convenient for him
to leave Cape Town for a season. There was some story about his having
had a personal conflict with an influential leader of the opposition.
Timboo was an excellent groom, and had some acquaintance with oxen.
Besides him, I got John St. Helena, as waggon-driver, and his brother,
for leader; John Williams, a square-built, impudent, merry fellow, and
a right useful servant, was another leader; and a young scamp, Gabriel,
who clung to my heels wherever I went in Cape Town, and who undertook
to be agent in getting me dogs, horses, or anything else, begged so
earnestly to go with me, that I enrolled him also in my corps. I still
wanted a second waggon-driver, and at the last moment took a man out
of a waggon-maker’s shop, though I did not much like him. As for dogs,
although I was assured that I could find any number in the country, still
I thought that a few Cape Town mongrels would be of no harm, and Gabriel
brought me a whole pack for approval, at an uniform rate of 2_s._ 6_d._
each; one good dog was given to Andersson, and by entreating that a
sentence of execution, which was passed on a fine-looking Newfoundland,
for trespassing in the barracks, might be commuted to transportation
for life, I obtained him also. I had a fancy to take a small dog which
could be carried in the waggon all day, and would be wakeful at night,
so I bought a spaniel, on which I lavished infinite affection, and who
rejoiced in the name of Dinah.
Andersson was most busy in packing and arranging my things. I don’t know
how I should have got through the work myself: the confusion seemed
endless. At length, after we had been for three weeks or a month in Cape
Town, the schooner was brought close into shore; the kicking mules were
boated into her; the heaps of wheels, axletrees, &c., that belonged to
the four vehicles of the Missionary and myself disappeared off the quay;
all the boxes were on board, and, last of all, a cab-full of lamenting
curs were embarked and sent away.
In the second week of August, 1850, we set sail, and on the eve of the
20th the low sandy shore of the land we were bound for came in sight. We
rounded Pelican Point (on which pelicans were certainly sitting), and
came into a wide bay, the shores of which were dancing with mirage, and
presented the appearance of the utmost desolation. The store-house was a
wretched affair to have received so grand a name—being a wooden shanty,
about the size of a small one-storied cottage—which we could not for a
long time see from on board our ship. The name of the bay, “Walfisch,” is
Dutch, and means whale-fish: the sailors have corrupted it to Walwich,
and, lastly, to Woolwich Bay, all which aliases may be found in different
maps. There are a great many whales of the sort called “humpbacks” all
about this coast; in coming here we passed through a “school” or herd.
It was a magnificent sight; for the whole sea around us was ploughed
up by them. We went up the Bay very cautiously, for it has never been
properly surveyed; and different charts give most widely different plans
of it. At night-fall, we anchored a mile or so off shore. We could see no
natives; and not a sign of life anywhere, excepting in the immense flocks
of pelicans and of flamingos and other sea-birds. And this, it appears,
is the character of the entire coast between the Orange River and the
Portuguese territory—a physical barrier which has saved the natives who
live behind it from the infliction of a foreign slave-trade.
The books of sailing directions say that no fresh water can be obtained
on the coast for the whole of that distance; but this is a mistake, as in
Sandwich Harbour, some twenty miles south of Walfisch Bay, there is, at
least at present, a copious supply.
In the morning we saw some savages about, and brought the schooner
as close in shore as seemed safe, about one-third of a mile from the
store-house; and at midday, the captain, the new Missionary, and
ourselves landed. A row of seven dirty squalid natives came to meet us.
Three had guns: they drew up in a line, and looked as powerful as they
could; and the men with guns professed to load them. They had Hottentot
features, but were of a darker colour, and a most ill-looking appearance:
some had trousers, some coats of skins, and they clicked, and howled,
and chattered, and behaved like baboons. This was my first impression,
and that of all of us; but the time came when, by force of comparison,
I looked on these fellows as a sort of link to civilisation. They were
well enough acquainted with sailors; and the advent of a ship was of
course a great godsend for them, as they bartered, for tobacco, clothes,
and all sorts of luxuries, the goats’ milk and oxen which a few of
them had; but they had been savagely ill-used more than once, and had
occasionally retaliated. The captain of them soon made his appearance,
and we became very amicable, and walked towards Sand Fountain, signs
and smiles taking the place of spoken language. A letter was sent on to
the Missionary at Scheppmansdorf, a cotton handkerchief and a stick of
tobacco being the payment to the messenger for his twenty-five miles’
run. We passed over a broad flat, flooded in spring-tides, following the
many waggon-tracks that here seemed so permanent as not to be effaced by
years. We were surrounded by a mirage of the most remarkable intensity.
Objects 200 yards off were utterly without definition: a crow, or a bit
of black wood, would look as lofty as the trunk of a tree. Pelicans were
exaggerated to the size of ships with the studding-sails set; and the
whole ground was wavy and seething, as though seen through the draught
of a furnace. This was in August, the month in which mirage is most
remarkable here; it is excessive at all times, and has been remarked by
every one who has seen the place. A year and a half later I tried on two
occasions to map the outline of the Bay, which was then comparatively
clear, but still the mirage quite prevented me; an object which I took
as a mark from one point being altogether undistinguishable when I had
moved to my next station.
After proceeding half a mile we came to the bed of the Kuisip, a river
that only runs once in four or five years, but, when it does, sweeps
everything before it. The bed was very broad, and hardly definable: there
were marks here and there like the bottom of dried-up pools, where the
ground has been made into a paste and afterwards cracked by the drought.
Bushes (Dabby bushes I have always heard them called) not unlike fennel,
but from eight to twelve feet high, grew plentifully; a prickly gourd,
the ’Nara, with long runners, covered numerous sand-hillocks; and lastly,
high shifting sand-dunes, on either side, completed the scene. We were
so much out of condition, that the depth of the sand and the heat of the
sun (at least, what we then thought was heat) gave us a good tiring, and
we were heartily glad when Sand Fountain and its watering-place came in
sight. My imagination had pictured, from its name, a bubbling streamlet;
but in reality it was a hole, six inches across, of green stagnant water.
It was perfectly execrable to taste, as many years had elapsed since the
Kuisip last ran, and the water which drains from its damp sand to the
hollow here, had become almost putrid, and highly saline. However, it
was drinkable, and I was satisfied that with plenty of digging enough
could be obtained to water my mules. Some years ago, when the trader
lived here, the water was copious and very good; but all these sort of
wells are very uncertain, even more so than the flow of the river on
which they depend. We came back much as we went, and bought five ostrich
eggs that were brought to us, giving seven sticks of tobacco for the
lot, but this was a piece of extravagance, five being the proper price.
Cavendish tobacco is that which has been nearly always bartered here; it
is, as most smokers know, in sticks, each stick weighing about an ounce,
and worth a penny. I had taken only a hundredweight with me; but five
hundredweight would not have proved at all too much. We took the captain
and an ill-looking Hottentot, who appeared to be a relation of his, on
board, as the two were inseparable; and we employed ourselves in picking
bush tics from our persons, for the bushes swarmed with them.
During the night a gun was heard on shore, and a fire was lighted, which
proved to be made by the Missionary, Mr. Bam, and Stewartson, who had
been a cattle-trader, but had lately lost everything, so that he, his
wife, and children could not afford to return to Cape Town, but lived at
the same station with Mr. Bam. We had sent the letter at midday; they
received it about night-fall, and had ridden down on oxen in five hours.
I had up to that moment no conception that oxen ever were, or had been,
used as hacks, except possibly as a joke; but here were two fine-looking
beasts, saddled, and with sticks through their noses, and a thin bridle
fastened to the stick, and tied to a log of wood, and really they looked
uncommonly well, and not at all out of their element.
We at once proceeded to disembark. The horses and mules had to swim:
the sailors managed it rather clumsily, and nearly drowned one; but at
last the creatures were all got on shore. Heavy packages had next to be
landed in the dingy, and we got through a deal of work. In the evening I
rode with Mr. Bam to the Hottentot kraal, by Sand Fountain, and of course
listened with great interest to all he had to tell me of the country.
With the Damaras he had little or no acquaintance. He was born in the
Cape; had made several overland journeys; spoke much of the difficulty of
travelling here, both from want of food and the badness of the road; and
did not hold out to me the slightest encouragement as regarded my journey.
After sunset Mr. Bam returned on board to sleep, and to get a good
substantial dinner there, which is not to be despised by a resident
in these parts. I pitched my tent on shore, and slept in guard of the
things. My men had worked with very good spirit through the day in
landing them, though it was hard work, and they were wet all the time.
Some slept on shore and some on board. I had a heavy spar, which lay
on the beach, carried under the lee of the store-house, and picketed
my mules and horses to it. The night was very chilly, damp, and windy,
and the animals extremely restless. In the morning we found that my two
horses had broken loose, and escaped. Timboo and John St. Helena went
directly on their tracks; but as hours passed, and they did not return, I
became much alarmed. On Mr. Bam’s coming on shore he advised me at once
to send some natives with provisions after the men, as all was desert for
forty miles and more round the Bay; the horses would never perhaps be
overtaken by the men, who would possibly follow their tracks till they
were exhausted, and so be themselves unable to return. I therefore sent
two natives directly,—Mr. Bam interpreting for me—one with provisions,
and the other with orders to go on after the tracks, and bring the
animals back. Late in the afternoon my men made their appearance, looking
sadly exhausted. They had gone very far, until they dared not go further;
and then, intending to return by a short cut back, soon became bewildered
among the sand-hills, and quite lost their course. They were on the
point of going altogether wrong, when the mist cleared away, and showed
them the sea and the Bay, with the schooner in it, in the far distance.
After a long walk they came to the waggon-tracks, which took them to Sand
Fountain, where they obtained water, and there the Hottentots met them.
The sailors had landed some of my things very carelessly indeed, dropping
bags of flour into the sea. I made a great row, with much effect,
about it. Some goats were driven down to sell. I bought two kids for a
second-hand soldier’s coat, without the buttons: I had three dozen, and
gave sixpence each for them at a Jew’s shop in Cape Town.
The horses were still missing. I sent the captain, “Frederick,” and
another man, on their ride-oxen upon the spoor, for I became extremely
anxious for their lives; there is not a blade of grass or a drop of water
where they are gone. Frederick would not go unless I promised him and
his friend a really respectable coat and a pair of trousers, to be paid
if they brought the horses back—not otherwise. The agreement was made,
and off they started. I wish I had brought more old clothes. Two coats
and the etceteras are a sad drain upon my wardrobe. Another accident
happened: my large white dog, that I begged from the barracks, took
fright at the waggon-whips which we had landed, and were cracking: he ran
straight away, and was never seen by us again. Flamingos gathered here in
immense flocks; their flight is very curious; the long projecting neck in
front, and the long legs behind, make them look in the distance more like
dragon-flies than birds. I broke a pelican’s wing with a cartridge of
swan-shot, and had a chase of a good mile after him before I came up: the
Hottentots eat him. The Bay seems, from all accounts, to swarm with fish;
but, though I have a small seine-net, I have no time now to set it.
_August 23._—The horses are found! They had strayed nearly forty miles
(I saw their tracks long afterwards), and Frederick drove them to
Scheppmansdorf for food and water, as it was much nearer for them than
the Bay. He came to claim his apparel: I grudgingly enough gave him the
only coats I could; they were the workmanship of Stultz: I had intended
them for full-dress occasions at Missionary chapel-meetings, &c. But it
could not be helped; and the greasy savages put them on, exulting in
their altered appearance.
I have mentioned above the ’Nara, a prickly gourd, which grows here: it
is the staple food of these Hottentots, and a very curious plant. In
the first place, it seems to grow nowhere except in the Kuisip and in
the immediate environs of Walfisch Bay; and, in the second place, every
animal eats it; not only men, cattle, antelopes, and birds, but even dogs
and hyenas. It is a very useful agent towards fixing the sands; for as
fresh sand blows over, and covers the plant, it continually pushes on its
runners up to the air, until a huge hillock is formed, half of the plant,
half of sand. I do not much like its taste; it is too rich and mawkish.
The waggons that belonged to the Missionaries in the country came down to
the beach to carry away their supplies, which had arrived by my ship. A
vessel would have been chartered for them if I had not previously engaged
it. They had arranged that one should be sent every two years to bring
them their things of barter—clothes and groceries, and whatever else
they might want; for the overland journey was found to be more expensive
and less practicable, as it takes quite four months to reach Cape Town
from Walfisch Bay, and the roads are so rocky that a waggon is seriously
risked by the journey. The oxen, too, are probably much worn out, and,
after all, only some 1500lb., net weight, can be carried in each waggon.
On the other hand, a vessel from the Cape arrives in a week, and can, of
course, carry anything. The trip costs about 100_l._: it would be much
less if it was not that the prevalent winds make it a matter of some four
weeks to return. Chance vessels hardly ever arrive now-a-days at Walfisch
Bay: not one had come for more than a year.
All our things were at length landed; the wells at Sand Fountain yielded
enough water for the mules; the storehouses both there and at the Bay
were unlocked, and cleared out to receive my luggage; the waggons and
cart were pieced together; and the schooner sailed away.