After six months' residence at the Cape, at last we were suddenly
hurried on board a transport for Algoa Bay, on the afternoon of the 24th
of February, 1843; The agent, for the transport declared her quite ready
for sea, but such proved not to be the case, and we were detained in
harbour for three days, subject to many most unnecessary expenses and
annoyances, as will appear from a few extracts from the journal that I
began on shipboard.
"February 24th,--Hurried on board, in consequence of the signal for
sailing being fired, and the agent for the owner of the ship sending us
word she was ready for sea, and would sail in the afternoon. The heat
quite overpowering, a hot wind prevailing--what a day for embarking at
half-past two p.m.! The troops have already been on board
four-and-twenty hours. Wind quite fair for getting out of harbour, with
the prospect of a north-wester, which would suit us exactly if we were
once out at sea. Much disappointed at not finding the Captain on board,
and no prospect of even getting up the anchor. Asked the agent why he
had fired the signal for sailing in the morning; he replied, `Because
the ship and the troops were quite ready for sea.' The `Malabar' has
just got under weigh, and is clearing the harbour with a fine breeze.
"Sunday, February 26th.--Cold and wet--the ship shockingly dirty. No
prospect of the Captain. Some of the officers have got leave to go on
shore. A wretched day, a heavy sea prevailing. Many people sick,
especially on the lower decks, which are dark, crowded, and ill
ventilated.
"A violent north-west gale all day and all night. I spent many hours of
terror in remembering our wreck in Table Bay, in the `Abercrombie
Robinson,' in August. Ships should not be detained in Harbour in Table
Bay without efficient reasons, especially troopships, containing
hundreds crowded together.
"Monday, February 27th.--A man found dead on the lower deck, suffocated
from the effects of drunkenness. Had we sailed when we ought to have
done so, he would have had little chance of procuring liquor. The
Captain of the ship, and the officers who obtained leave to go on shore
yesterday, have come on board. Some prospect of sailing. Dead soldier
sent on shore to be buried.
"Sailed at one o'clock.
"March the 1st.--We observed this evening a singular streak of light in
the sky; no one able to account for it; it bore north-west from our
position, steering as we were along the coast to the eastward.
"March 2nd.--The meteoric light greatly increased in size and
brilliancy.
"March 4th.--Anchored in Algoa Bay, at eleven o'clock, a.m. The
meteoric light, which has puzzled us all so much, turns out to be a
comet, and increases in brilliancy every evening. Landed in the
evening, in a private boat. The troops will land to-morrow, in
surf-boats. We have reached the shore by the jetty, which reminds me of
the one at Herne Bay, only that it is on a smaller scale, but is
exceedingly creditable to the place, and a proof of its prosperity in
trade." [Note 1.]
"March 5th.--The single inn much crowded. The regiment has landed, and
the little encampment formed on the green opposite the windows is very
picturesque. How strangely the wild, dusky-looking savages contrast
with the soldiers; the latter busy in their preparations for their
comforts, the former lounging idly in their skins and blankets, draped
not ungracefully round their dark forms!"
On Tuesday, the 7th of March, we started from Port Elizabeth for
Graham's Town.
The evening before we departed, I accompanied my husband into the
Commissariat Yard, to see the waggon which was to be the abode, by day,
of my little girl and myself for nearly a week. I was already all the
worse for having been condemned, with my husband and child, to a cabin
on board the vessel, certainly not more than _nine feet by five, if so
large_. On seeing the huge machine in which we were to travel, I could
not help remarking to the Commissary, who was so good as to point it out
to me, that there were but two alternatives to decide between, ere the
bugles sounded in the morning, and the tents were struck, preparatory to
the troops moving off--these being suicide, or mirth. In a state of
quiescence the thing looked "horrible, most horrible;" but the "start,"
between the disposition to laugh, and the inclination to cry at the
discomfort, was enough to make any one hysterical; and the remembrance
of friends at home, who could never by any possibility be brought to
comprehend the miseries one undergoes here, was strangely blended in my
mind with the sights and sounds of outward objects; with the bellowing
of oxen, the shouts of Hottentot drivers, the screams of children and
scolding voices of their mothers in the neighbouring waggons, and the
mingled oaths and laughter of the soldiers, as they picked up stray
baskets, tin mugs, puppies, and babies, the latter animating the scene
by occasionally tumbling off the waggons.
We left Port Elizabeth at eleven o'clock a.m. The first day of the
march was fine, yet cool; the sky remaining overcast, yet without
symptoms of rain. The first thing we approached worth notice was a
salt-pan, looking more like a frozen lake upon which snow-heaps had been
scattered, than anything else. It is not to my purpose to describe
these singular works of nature here; I mention this one, lying about
four miles from Port Elizabeth, to call the attention of travellers to
the sight; as, being rather below the road, it often escapes the
observation of those who are enclosed within that "narrow receptacle for
the living," a bullock-waggon.
We reached the Zwart-kops, the spot appointed for our out-spanning for
the night, [unyoking the oxen and turning them out to graze] at about
five o'clock. The scene was certainly very beautiful. Imagine a vast
plain of fair green meadow-land, intersected, and in fact divided into
parterres, by tall thick bushes, which here and there grew in clumps and
copses, giving the ground the appearance of a vast park laid out with a
great deal of taste,--an amphitheatre of hills and mountains rising one
behind another, till the summits in the distance blended with the
clouds, gorgeously illuminated by the rays of the declining sun, whose
glory was soon succeeded by the milder light of the "gentle moon,"
beside which the comet, in strange contrast, spread its long and fiery
tail. One by one the tents had risen "side by side in beautiful array."
Arms were now piled; the younger soldiers, tired with their first
march, lounged on the ground in clusters, till roused by the older and
more experienced men, who despatched them to gather wood and fetch
water; and more than a hundred fires soon lit up the camp.
In a short time our own preparations for comfort, refreshment, and
repose had been made. The tent was pitched, the fire lit in the nearest
bush, and the kettle and gridiron put on. We had brought with us an
Indian kitchen [Jones's Patent Indian Kitchen], a most compact thing;
but, unfortunately, it had been packed up in a chest too securely to be
got at without much trouble; and, as we were only a party of three, we
resolved on doing without it as long as we could. For any number of
persons it is invaluable, but for two or three a gridiron, kettle, and
saucepan are, or ought to be, enough. Our servant had also put away the
bellows and the hatchet; and, though the wind sometimes served us in
lieu of the one, we were frequently obliged to borrow the other, when we
halted. Having cold fowls, tongue, bacon, bread, butter, tea, sugar,
and a bottle of milk [Note 2], and good store of wine, in our
provision-basket, we did uncommonly well, roasting our potatoes in the
ashes, comforting ourselves on the cold grass (not having thought of a
tent-mat or table), with some warm negus. A piece of string wound round
the pole of the tent, held a wax candle, but the wind rendering its
light flickering and uncertain, we stuck a bayonet in the ground, and it
made a very convenient and certainly characteristic candlestick. The
meal and its fragments having been cleared away, our beds were made in
the tent, which had been comfortably pitched (by an old soldier of the
27th, long used to the colony), with its back to the wind; we were thus
screened from that, and could not well be inconvenienced by a shower.
Comparative quiet and much order now reigned in the camp. Every tent
became more clearly defined as the evening advanced, and the sky formed
a darker background for the moon, the stars, and the refulgent comet.
Round the fires were assembled groups of soldiers, women resting
themselves, as they called it, poor creatures, with babies on their
knees,--Hottentots playing their rude violins, and merry voices joining
in the chorus, led by neighbouring singers. Sounds of mirth issued from
the tents of others; and the steam of savoury soup gave evidence of the
proximity of the mess-tent and the talents of "little Paddy Farrell,"--
the incomparable cook. Dinner there was always late, the officers never
sitting down to solace themselves with good cheer till their men had
been well cared for, and their different positions established for the
night. Now and then the brazen tongue of a bugle intruded its call upon
the stillness of the hour, and helped to disperse the groups gathered
round the fire for a time, till the duty to which it had summoned them
being done, they either returned to the social circle they had left, or
secured a corner in a tent "licensed to hold fifteen inside" to sleep
in. Gradually, the voices of the singers became mute; the feeble cries
of sleepy infants superseded the monotonous tones of the Hottentot
fiddles. Snoring "matches" seemed to be "got up," as it were, between
sundry waggon-drivers and their neighbours, they having their mats
spread under the waggons; the peals of laughter among the revellers
became less frequent, and at length ceased altogether. The fires grew
dim, and the moon and her companions in the sky alone lit up the scene;
tents were closed and the sound of the last bugle died away in the
hushed night air, leaving all silent, peaceful, and at rest.
Although only fifteen miles from Port Elizabeth, I had been led to
expect that I should hear the distant cry of the jackal, and the howl of
the wolf; but, in spite of the bed being spread upon nothing but grass,
in spite of the more than "whispers of the night breeze" which would be
heard from under the flap of the tent, I never slept so soundly in my
life.
I was up and dressed with my child, ready for the march, at half-past
five. The scene of that morning, though of a different character,
almost equalled in beauty the one we had so much admired on the
preceding evening. The regiment was drawn up on a natural parade of
smooth green turf, bounded by bush, and the background of the eastern
hills was glowing at the approach of the sun, who, as he advanced in
radiant majesty, tipped with gold the glittering arms and appointments
of the soldiers, and shed an acceptable warmth upon us as we left the
dewy grass, for the rough and stony mountain road before us. Up this
hill the regiment wound, preceding the waggons,--now presenting a
glittering cluster of arms, and now being altogether lost to the sight
in the thick bush with which the ascent was clothed. A long line of
nineteen waggons brought up the rear, and, as we proceeded, four hundred
men in advance--women, children, and baggage, wending their way slowly
and steadily after them, I could not but commune in my own mind on the
ways of that inscrutable and unquestionable Providence, by the working
of whose will, England, from her original state of ignorance,
insignificance, and barbarism, is now the chief ruling power in the
world, and sendeth her ships and her soldiers, (in defiance of what to
other countries would perhaps be insurmountable obstacles, when we
consider the dangers and difficulties arising from climates and
localities ill-suited to European habits and constitutions), "even to
the uttermost parts of the earth."
The day (March 8) became dreadfully hot; towards noon the sun had full
sway. Not a cloud shaded the heavens; and, though the country we passed
through was rich in bush, there were no shady trees, and water was
extremely scarce.
The men being much fatigued with the previous day's march, it was
determined to divide the next long march of thirty-two miles into two;
and such an arrangement was not only merciful but absolutely necessary,
as man by man fell by the roadside overpowered with the heat, foot-tired
and faint for want of water. About one hour before we halted on the
second day, we came suddenly upon a pool, where a large herd of sheep
and goats (the property of a neighbouring farmer) were drinking. The
men shouted aloud joyfully; and rushing precipitately to the pool, put
their lips to the element, (which, though muddy, was to them most
grateful), and drank copiously of the unwholesome draught. Several
became ill after doing so; and, instead of being refreshed by it, were
rendered less capable of proceeding than before. Fifteen stragglers
fell out of one company, and were probably only induced to crawl after
the battalion that evening by the dread of wild beasts. On reaching
Sunday River, we learned that such a fear was not without a foundation,
as five lions had, within the last few days, been seen drinking at the
river side. Most gladly did I find, on reaching the "Outspan," that a
bed could be obtained at the snug, small house of Mr Rose, the
Field-Cornet, close to the encampment: there, too, we obtained fresh
butter, a leg of mutton, and some good English ale and porter, but
rejoiced most in copious ablutions and clean bedding. My companions
laughed much at my increased admiration of an encampment by moonlight
that night, as I left it for a comfortable roof. "It certainly," said
I, "is a very pretty sighted--_at a distance_."
We were up with the dawn next morning, and crossed the beautiful ford of
the Sunday River, at sunrise. "Who would imagine," thought I, "that
such a scene of peace and beauty should be one of the fastnesses for
wild beasts?" Green boughs met each other across the stream. Down such
a pleasant-looking river I had often glided in "merry England," singing,
by the way, with young companions, to the gay music of our guitars,
while the plash of oars kept time to the measure of our happy voices.
There, in our own happy land, no lions prowled in our neighbourhood, no
panthers could we fancy glaring on us from the bush, no venomous
reptiles awaited our feet as we stepped upon the green sod from the
boat. A South African climate is beautiful all the year round, except
when visited by terrific thunderstorms, with their usual accompaniments
of hail, rain, and lightning. Ah! that word "except;"--"except" for our
dark November days and painful frosts, England would be an
unexceptionable residence; still, even with these outward discomforts,
look at our fire-sides!
But why go dreaming back from the brimming, shady Sunday River to the
"stately homes of England!" On, on! and let us be thankful, that so far
from home there is yet so much to be thankful for, and to enjoy. Oh!
for the blessed philosophy which teaches us to make light of every
thing! Truly, content is riches! In a moral point of view, may it not
be considered as bearing an analogy to the story of the philosopher's
stone, (always remembering the one to be theory, the other practicable),
which was supposed to possess the gift of transmuting whatever the
possessor of it touched into gold?
On, then, through the river! The sun is up upon the hills; the troops
are refreshed, the oxen willing, the day balmy, and the road better than
I expected. How the mimosa-bushes scent the air! and here and there
some, taller than the others, fling down a pleasant shade, affording
cool resting-places for the travellers.
At night we outspanned on the Quagga Flats, not so beautifully
picturesque as the spots we had hitherto selected, but still pretty well
wooded and watered. Here, for the first time, owing to the rain, which
began to fall in torrents, we slept in the waggon,--an arrangement I did
not at all like; its narrow and close shape give to an excitable mind
the idea of the German story of the "Iron Shroud." I was awakened in
the middle of the night, by the lowing of the cattle and the rattling of
the horse's halter, by which he was fixed to the wheel. We soon found
that the restlessness thus manifested by the poor animals arose from the
noise of neighbouring wolves, which are always more likely to approach
the dwellings of man in wet than in favourable weather. The rain poured
in torrents, the violence of which can only be understood by those who
have experienced it. Fortunately, the morning proved tolerably fine,
and we proceeded, in the usual order, through the Addo Bush, the scenery
decreasing in beauty as we advanced, but still affording a tolerable
supply of wood and water at the spots where we outspanned. I had read
and heard much of steenboks, and other noble game, but we saw nothing of
the kind, not even a monkey; nor did we even hear the laugh of the hyena
at night. Others said they had done so; but we did not.
Among some of the most remarkable things we observed were the ant-hills,
that were scattered all over the face of the country through which we
passed. On a green plain they reminded us of hay-cocks in England,
being about that size. Their similarity in shape to the huts built by
the Fingoes, Kaffirs, and, indeed, almost all savage nations, is not the
least curious feature in their appearance. I had imagined that the ants
themselves were the only architects of these ingenious buildings, but I
was told by the Hottentot drivers that they take possession of a hole
which has been forsaken by the mole (which, indeed, they sometimes
attack and hunt out of its domicile), and thus obtain a foundation, on
which to begin the upper works of their establishment.
In consequence of the second day's march having been divided into two,
we did not reach Sly Kraal (twelve miles from Graham's Town) till
Saturday. Ere we did reach it, however, we were overtaken by the most
terrific thunder-storm I had ever witnessed, save on the night of our
memorable wreck in Table Bay. Those who have never witnessed one can
have no idea of such storms as those to be met with in South Africa.
All the artillery of heaven seems opening at once, while floods of light
struggle for mastery with torrents of rain and hailstones. The
knowledge that such storms are often attended with danger, makes their
approach more awful. The place where we were overtaken by the one to
which I allude was a barren spot, only varied by rocky eminences here
and there, and scattered over with loose stones and pieces of rock. The
horizon was bounded by vast mountains, the tops of which were vividly
illumined by the continued blaze of the lightning. The ground soon
became so slippery that it was considered almost unsafe to proceed; men
and officers were drenched to the skin, and there, in the height of the
storm, we, poor helpless crowd, were obliged to await its progress and
abatement. The waggon conductor, Pullen, (a most amusing character, as
well as a useful and obliging man), was as much to be pitied as any one,
since many who were annoyed with the detention, would not listen to
reason, and were very much inclined to quarrel with him for it. As for
me, I could hardly bear to see the little flasks of brandy handed about
among the few to whom it could be distributed, while the weary, thirsty,
shivering soldiers stood by, looking on. The violence of the hail and
rain decreased at last, and we essayed proceeding, but had not gone far
before we were obliged to descend from our vehicles, as one of the
passes had become dangerous, from the softness of the earth in
consequence of the rain. Well may it be said, "God tempers the wind to
the shorn lamb!" Many who might have caught cold in moving from one
room to another less heated, awaited the passing of the waggons up to
their insteps in water, and went on their journey with damp feet, and
with rain drops pattering through the tops of the waggons.
Wet, weary, and hungry, we reached Sly Kraal at last. Here we were to
rest till Monday; for the waggon conductor would not suffer them to
proceed on the Sunday, and we thus passed two nights and a day in the
camp.
The kindness of Providence is manifested in providing the South African
traveller with wood that is not the less capable of ignition from being
wet. Our tents, saturated as they were, were soon pitched; but we were
again obliged to sleep in the waggon, which we did most soundly, after a
welcome meal of carbonatje [meat toasted on a wooden prong before the
fire, or broiled on the ashes], brown bread, and warm negus. The sun
burst into the waggon in all his glory, the next morning, and, although
within so short a distance of Graham's Town, I cannot but admit that I
was glad of one day's rest before my _entree_ into the capital of the
frontier. We had, indeed, been so thoroughly knocked up, that, though
refreshed by sleep, the having time for ablutions and the selection of
clean linen was a great treat on such a journey. The Sabbath of the
12th of March was thus passed in camp. The ground we had taken up
reminded me of the grouse moors in Scotland, and in the wildest parts of
Yorkshire, and we were told there was abundance of game about; at
dinner, indeed, we were regaled with some hare-soup, sent to us from the
mess-tent. As we approached the end of our journey, I could not but
acknowledge how much better we had got through it than I had
anticipated; and, accustomed to judge of things by comparison, to seek
content, in fact, by measuring my own case, with that of those who are
worse off, rather than those who have more apparent luxuries than
myself, I felt thankful, in spite of the anxiety and fatigue I had
encountered, for all the benefits bestowed on us; and, while I pondered
gratefully, as I rested on cushions spread on a mat within the shadow of
the tent, I learned that a poor woman had been confined the evening
before, just as the waggons came to their resting-places. I went to
visit her immediately, though the sight would have been enough to make
one weep, had it not been for the cheerful voice of the poor soldier's
wife herself. She sat up in the waggon with her husband's cloak and a
blanket under her for a bed, a small red handkerchief round her neck,
her new-born infant in her arms, and three other children gathered round
her. But, oh! the kind voices and ready hands which helped and cheered
her! and, instead of repining at her fatigue and trouble, she looked up
at the sky, and observed, "it was a blessed, gladsome day." I left her,
satisfied that that wretched vehicle contained lighter hearts than many
a darkened room, where closed shutters and costly draperies shut out the
noise of the uncaring world, and the glare of a too saucy sun from the
heirs of vast possessions.
On Monday, at six o'clock we started on the last day's march, and
reached the hill above Graham's Town, a little before nine a.m. Here we
were met by crowds of Hottentot women: some of them young, rather
pretty, and decidedly graceful. They came bounding on to meet the drums
and fifes, and with their red-handkerchief head-dresses, gay-coloured
clothes, and glittering ornaments, formed a picturesque group, as they
danced on in front of the battalion, to the great entertainment of the
soldiers. At the very top of the hill, the band of the Cape Mounted
Rifles awaited our approach; their appearance, in their plumed shakos
and scarlet trousers, being very showy. A little further on, we were
met by the band of the 91st (attached to the first battalion), and that
of the 75th; and in this gay order we entered Graham's Town, the bands
relieving each other, and playing the liveliest airs. Here, a Hottentot
woman tossed her arms aloft, and spun round to the tune of "Nix my
dolly, pals," there, a driver snapped his fingers to "Rory O'More."
These two tunes, and the "Sprig of shillelah," seemed their especial
favourites; and, if the dancers did not move with the stateliness of
Taglioni, or the airy grace of Cerito, they certainly rivalled them in
the activity of their limbs and the steadiness of their heads; for they
whirled round and round, like the Dervishes in the Arabian Nights. The
sun illuminated the town, lying within its sheltering circle of hill and
mountain, the rabble shouted welcome, and all looked glad as they
approached their destination (although only a temporary one for some of
us), and the well-spread table, and cleanly appearance of the apartments
provided, truly gave promise of "ease in mine inn."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 1. This fine jetty was destroyed in a gale of wind, in 1847, by a
ship, which, having broken from her moorings, was driven, stern
foremost, right through the fabric. The unfortunate crew, jumping from
the ship to the lower end of the jetty, had congratulated themselves on
their escape from the raging waves, when another vessel coming in
contact with the wood-work, carried the whole of it away with its
unhappy and ill-starred freight into the boiling surge beneath!
Note 2. It is very unsafe, when travelling in Southern Africa, to trust
to procuring _anything_ on the road; such a chance is very uncertain.
Milk, boiled with plenty of white sugar, will keep good if bottled, for
three days at least.