FROM JACOBSDAL TO SHOSHONG.
Zeerust--Arrival at Linokana--Harvest-produce--The
lion-ford on the Marico--Silurus-fishing--Crocodiles in the
Limpopo--Damara-emigrants--A narrow escape--The Banks of the
Notuany--The Puff-adder valley.
[Illustration]
We could see Jacobsdal from the Weltufrede farm, a few buildings on
the banks of a brook, and a neat little church, being all that this
embryo town of the western Transvaal had then to show. After leaving it
we turned north, then north-east towards Zeerust, the most important
settlement in the Marico district. On our way thither we passed one of
the most productive farms in the neighbourhood; it belonged to a man
named Bootha, and was traversed by the Malmani, which wound its way
through a low rocky ridge to its junction with the Marico.
I made a preliminary visit by myself to the little town, but we
did not actually move our quarters into Zeerust till next day. It
covers a larger area than Jacobsdal, and any one devoted to natural
science would find abundant material to interest him in its vicinity.
We, however, only remained there a few hours, and started off for
Linokana, outside which we encountered Mr. Jensen, who was bringing
the mail-bag from the interior. The missionary received us with the
utmost cordiality, and gave us an invitation, which I accepted most
gratefully, to stay with him for a fortnight; the time that I spent
with him was beneficial in more ways than one, as not only did it
afford me an opportunity of thoroughly exploring the neighbourhood,
but it permitted my companions to enjoy a rest which already they much
required.
In 1875, the Baharutse in Linokana gathered in as much as 800 sacks
of wheat, each containing 200 lbs., and every year a wider area of
land is being brought under cultivation. Besides wheat, they grow
maize, sorghum, melons, and tobacco, selling what they do not require
for their own consumption in the markets of the Transvaal and the
diamond-fields; it cannot be said, however, that their fields are as
carefully kept as those of the Barolongs. A great deal of their land
has been transferred to the Boer government, and they only retain the
ownership of a few farms.
On the 9th I went to the sources of the Matebe and wandered about the
surrounding hills, where mineral ores seem to abound. The following day
I employed myself in drawing out a sketch-map of my route, and when I
had completed it, I amused myself by an inspection of the plantations
and gardens which surround the mission-station. I attended the chapel,
where the service consisted of a hymn, the reading of a portion of one
of the gospels, then another hymn, followed by a sermon; the impression
made upon the congregation as they squatted on their low wooden stools
being very marked, and the whole service in its very simplicity being
to my mind as solemn as the most gorgeous ritual.
The native postman from Molopolole arrived late on the evening of the
15th, the journey having taken him three days; he only stayed one
night, and started back again with the European mail that came through
Zeerust from Klerksdorf. To my great surprise it brought me a kind
letter from Dr. A. Petermann, the renowned geographer at Gotha.
An English major likewise arrived from the Banguaketse countries; he
was in search of ore and was now on his way to Kolobeng and Molopolole;
he gave us an interesting account of the reasons that had induced him
and Captain Finlayson to explore the north-eastern Transvaal.
The Baharutse girls seem to be particularly fond of dancing, and we
hardly ever failed of an evening to hear music and occasionally singing
in various parts of the town.
One of the most picturesque spots in the whole neighbourhood is in the
valley of the Notuany, about three miles below its confluence with the
Matebe; it is enclosed by rocky slopes broken here and there by rich
glens and luxuriant woodlands that afford cover for countless birds,
whilst in the sedge-thickets on the Matebe wild cats nearly as large as
leopards lurk about for their prey.
[Illustration: ON THE BANKS OF THE MATEBE RIVULET.]
We left Linokana on the 23rd, and crossed the Notuany, a proceeding
that occupied us nearly two hours, as the half-ruined condition of the
bridge made it necessary for us to use even more caution than on my
previous journey.
I spent a pleasant day in the Buisport glen, and had some good fishing
in the pools of the Marnpa stream, as well as some excellent sport on
its banks. The upper pools contain many more fish and water-lizards
than those near the opening of the glen, for being deeper and more
shady they are less liable to get dried up. Some of the mimosas and
willows that overhang the stream were sixty feet high, and as much as
four feet in diameter.
Next day we passed the Witfontein and Sandfontein farms, both in the
Bushveldt. The residents at Witfontein were making preparations for a
great hunting-excursion into the interior, where they expressed a hope
that they might meet me again. Zwart’s farm I found quite forsaken,
its owner having started off on a similar errand the week before; from
his last excursion he had brought back some ostriches and elands. Some
Boers that we met informed me that fresh stragglers from the Transvaal
were continually joining Van Zyl, and that the Damara emigrants
would soon feel themselves sufficiently strong to continue their
north-westerly progress; their place of rendezvous was on the left bank
of the Crocodile River between the Notuany and the Sirorume.
Before the day was at an end we reached Fourier’s farm at Brackfontein,
and spent the night there, encamping next day at Schweinfurth’s Pass,
in the Dwars mountains. By the evening we had come as far as the
springs in the rocks on the spurs of the Chwene-Chwene heights, whence
we skirted the town of Chwene-Chwene itself, and after crossing the
valley on the Bechuana spruit, took up our quarters on the northern
slope of the spur of the Bertha hills. On the banks of the spruit I
noticed a deserted Barwa village containing about fifteen huts; they
lay in an open meadow, and consisted merely of bundles of grass thrown
like a cap over stakes about five feet long bound together at their
upper ends.
The Great Marico was reached on the afternoon of the 30th. We made our
encampment at a spot where a couple of diminutive islands, projecting
above the rapid, made it possible to get across without any danger from
crocodiles. The probability of there being an abundance of game on the
opposite side induced me to stay for two or three days. Regardless of
Pit’s warning that he had seen a lion’s track close by, I selected a
place some hundred yards lower down, and resolved to go and keep watch
there for whatever game might turn up. I took the precaution to enclose
the spot with a low fence.
Soon after sunset I proceeded to carry out my intention. The passage of
the river with its somewhat strong current in the dark was troublesome
as well as fatiguing. I reached my look-out, which I found by no
means comfortable, and as the darkness gathered round me, I became
conscious of a strange yearning for my distant home, and the image of
my mother seemed to arise so visibly before me, that I could hardly
persuade myself that she was not actually approaching. Phantasies of
this kind were altogether unusual with me, and as the sense of awe
appeared to increase, I began to debate with myself whether I had not
better retire from my position and make my way back to the waggon. It
came, however, to my recollection that this was just the hour when the
crocodiles left the water and made their way to the banks, in order to
avoid the rapids.
The night continued to grow darker, and dense masses of cloud rose
up to obscure the sky. I came to the final decision that my watch
would be to no purpose, and was just about setting out to return,
when I became aware of the movement of some great object scarcely ten
yards away. Of course in the dark no reliance was to be placed upon
my gun; my long hunting-knife was the only weapon on which I had to
depend; this I grasped firmly, and stooped down, straining every power
of vision to penetrate the gloom; but nothing was to be discerned;
only a strange and inexplicable glimmer still moved before my eyes.
Again, with startling vividness, the image of my mother rose before
me; I could not help interpreting it to betoken that some danger was
near, and once more I determined to hasten back at all hazards to our
encampment. I placed my foot upon the twigs with which I had built up
my fence, and it came down with a crash which sounded sufficiently
alarming. Gun in one hand, and knife in the other, I proceeded to grope
my way along, but recollecting that my gun was useless, and finding it
an incumbrance, I threw it into a bush; after it had fallen I heard a
noise like scratching or scraping, and I am much mistaken if I did not
distinguish a low growl, and it occurred to me that it was more than
likely that some beasts of prey had been stealthily making their way
to my place of retreat. Having no longer the shelter of my fence-work
I confess a feeling of tremor came over me, and my heart beat very
fast. Still slashing about with my hunting-knife, I cut my way through
the overhanging boughs, pausing at every step, and listening anxiously
to every sound. In spite of all my care I came from time to time into
collision with the branches, and I staggered in wonder whether I had
not at last encountered some gigantic beast of prey.
It took me a considerable time to get over that hundred yards by which
I was separated from the stream, but at length I accomplished it, and
reached a narrow rain-channel, that facilitated my descent to the brink
of the water. It was with extreme caution that I placed one foot before
another, as my sole clue to the direction of the ford was derived from
the increase or decrease in the sound of the current; more than once
I lost my footing, and fell down bodily into the water, but after a
time, with much difficulty, managed to get on to the first of the two
islands; upon this I did not rest for a minute, but plunged at once
into the main stream, whence I succeeded in gaining the second island.
Here I paused long enough to recover my somewhat exhausted breath,
and then re-entering the seething waters, tottered over the slippery
stones till I found myself safely on the shore. As I set my foot upon
the ground I could not do otherwise than experience a great sense of
relief, although I was quite aware that there might be danger yet in
store. I was so tired that I should have been glad to throw myself upon
the ground then and there, but the chance of exposing myself to the
crocodiles at that hour was too serious to be risked.
Just as I was on the point of clambering up the bank I heard a rustling
above my head; I kept perfectly silent, and soon discovered that the
noise came from a herd of pallahs, on their way to drink. I recognized
them by the crashing which their horns made in the bushes, and by their
peculiar grunt. Swinging myself up by means of the branches, I reached
the top of the bank, and wending my way along the glen, before long
recognized the barking of the dogs, which had been disturbed by the
antelopes. My whistle quickly brought my faithful Niger to my side, and
his company agreeably relieved the rest of my way back to the fires
which marked the place of our encampment.
Taking Pit with me next morning, I made an investigation of the place
where I had spent so much of the previous dreary night. It was covered
with lion-tracks, and the little barricade was completely trampled
down. One of my dogs at this place fell a victim to the flies, that
settled in swarms on its eyes, ears, and nose, so that the poor brute
was literally stung to death.
Shortly afterwards I took Pit on another long excursion inland. Having
heard that the colonists are accustomed to creep into the large
hyæna-holes under ground, and that when they have ascertained that the
hyæna is “at home,” they kindle a fire at its mouth, so that the animal
is obliged to make an exit, when it is either shot or killed by clubs,
I made Pit put the experiment into practice. We found the hole, and we
lighted the fire, but we did not secure our prey; somehow or other Pit
was not able to make the smoking-out process go off successfully.
We continued our journey the same day. A few miles down the river I met
an ivory-trader from the Matabele country, who had instructions from
the Matabele king to convey the intelligence to the English governor in
Kimberley that a white traveller had been killed amongst the Mashonas,
on the eastern boundary of his domain.
I had throughout the day noticed such a diversity of birds, reptiles,
insects, plants, and minerals, that I was further disposed to try my
luck at fishing, and taking my tackle, I lost no time in dropping my
line into the river. I succeeded in hooking three large sheat-fish,
the smallest of which weighed over six pounds, but they were too heavy
for me to drag to land; two of them broke my line, and the other
slipped back into the stream. I had almost contrived to get a fourth
safely ashore, when my foot slipped, and overbalancing myself, I fell
head foremost down the bank; happily a “wait-a-bit” bush prevented my
tumbling into the river.
Guinea-fowl I observed in abundance everywhere along the Marico, in
parts where the bushes were thick; but I noticed that they never left
their roosting-places until the heavy morning dew was dry. The speed at
which they ran was quite incredible.
Proceeding on our way we came up with several Bechuana families
belonging to the Makhosi tribe, who had been living on Sechele’s
territory, near the ruins of Kolobeng; but they had been so much
harassed by Sechele that they were now migrating, and about to settle
at the foot of the Dwars Mountains. Sechele had been preparing an armed
attack upon both the Makhosi and the Bakhatlas, but the latter having
gained intelligence of his scheme, took prompt measures to resist him,
and made him abandon the design. It is in every way desirable, both
for traders and travellers, as well as for the neighbouring colonies,
that the integrity of the six existing Bechuana kingdoms should be
maintained. Any splitting-up into smaller states would be attended with
the same inconveniences as the European colonists and travellers have
to suffer on the east coast north of Delagoa Bay.
Whilst we were passing through the light woods of the Marico on the
4th, we caught sight of a water-bock doe in the long grass. Theunissen
stalked it very adroitly, but unfortunately his cartridge missed fire,
and before Pit could hand him a second, the creature took to flight. In
spite of our having had frost for the last two days, the morning was
beautifully fine.
Leaving the Marico, only to rejoin it again at its mouth, we traversed
the triangular piece of wood which lies between it and the Limpopo.
On our way we fell in with a party of Makalakas, who were reduced
almost to skeletons, having travelled from the western Matabele-land,
500 miles away, for the purpose of hiring themselves out at the
diamond-fields, each expecting in six months to earn enough to buy
a gun and a supply of ammunition. We were sorry not to be able to
comply with their request that we would give them some meat, but as it
happened we had not killed any game for several days.
The next morning found us on the Limpopo; and as I purposed staying
here for a few days, we set to work and erected a high fence of mimosa
boughs, for the greater security of our bullocks. In the afternoon
Theunissen and I made an excursion, in the course of which we shot two
apes and four little night monkeys, that were remarkable for their fine
silky hair and large bright eyes. As a general rule they sleep all day
and wake up at night, when they commence spending a merry time in the
trees, hunting insects and moths, eating berries, and licking down the
gum of the mimosas.
[Illustration: CROCODILE IN THE LIMPOPO.]
One of our servants had a _rencontre_ that was rather alarming,
with one of the crocodiles, from which the river derives its name. He
was washing clothes upon the bank, when a dark object emerged from
the water, startling him so much that he let the garment slip from
his hands. He called out, and had the presence of mind to hurl a big
stone at the crocodile’s head, and succeeded in clutching the article
back just as the huge creature was snapping at it. An adventure of a
somewhat similar character happened to myself. Finding that the Limpopo
was only three feet deep just below its confluence with the Marico, I
determined to make my way across. We felled several stout mimosa stems,
and made a raft; but the new wood was so heavy that under my weight
it sank two feet into the water. Convinced that my experiment was a
failure, I was springing from one side of the raft on to the shore,
when a crocodile mounted the other side--an apparition sufficiently
startling to make me give up the idea of crossing for the present.
Taking our departure on the 7th, we proceeded down the stream, having
as many as fifteen narrow rain-channels to pass on our way. The whole
district was one unbroken forest, and we noticed some very fine
hardekool trees. On the left the country belonged to Sechele, on the
right to the Transvaal republic.
Though our progress was somewhat slow, being retarded by the sport
which we enjoyed at every opportunity, we reached the mouth of the
Notuany next evening, having passed the first of the two encampments
where the Damara emigrants were gathering together their contingent. It
contained about thirty waggons, and at least as many tents; large herds
of sheep and cows, under the care of armed sentinels, were grazing
around, while the people were sitting about in groups, some drinking
coffee and some preparing their travelling-gear. I was rather struck by
the circumstance that nearly all the women were dressed in black. Some
of the men asked us whether we had seen any Boer waggons as we came
along; and on our replying that we had passed a good many emigrants,
they expressed great satisfaction, and said that their numbers would
now very soon be large enough to allow them to start. They all declared
their intention to show fight if either of the Bamangwato kings
attempted to molest them or oppose their movements. When I spoke to
them about the difficulty they would probably experience in conducting
so large a quantity of cattle across the western part of the kingdom,
where water was always very scarce, they turned a deaf ear to all my
representations. It was just the same with the emigrants at the other
camp, whom I saw at Shoshong on my return; they would pay no attention
to any warning of danger; nothing could induce them to swerve from
their design.
When I pressed my inquiries as to their true motive in migrating, they
told me that the president had taken up with some utterly false views
as to the interpretation of various passages in the Bible, and that
the government had commenced forcing upon them a number of ill-timed
and annoying innovations. If their fathers, they said, had lived, and
grown grey, and died, without any of these new-fangled notions being
thrust upon them, why should they now be expected to submit to the
novelties against their will? And another thing which they felt to be
peculiarly irritating was, that these state reforms were being brought
about by a lot of foreigners, and chiefly by a clique of Englishmen.
What President Burgers was aiming at effecting would have an effect the
very reverse of remedying the deep-seated evils that oppressed them. It
seemed to me that the project which they considered the most obnoxious
was that for the formation of a railroad which should connect Delagoa
Bay with the Transvaal.
Were it not for their own statements, it would be quite incredible
that men, who already have had to struggle hard for their property and
farms, should for trivial reasons such as these, and at the instigation
of one man, give up their homes and wander away into the interior.
The first troop of them, without including stragglers, soon amounted
to seventy waggons. They were anxious to get possession of the fine
pasturage on the Damara territory, and prepared, in the event of
opposition, to drive the Damaras away altogether. They experienced so
much difficulty through the scarcity of water, that, after reaching
Shoshong, they had to return to the Limpopo, and wait until after a
plentiful rain had fallen upon the country they had to traverse.
Under the impression that the emigrants intended to purchase whatever
land they required, both the Bamangwato kings granted them a safe pass
across their dominions; but as soon as it transpired that they were
going to establish themselves by force of arms, Khame immediately
withdrew his promise. He could not see why his own territory might not
be subject to a like invasion. This led the emigrants openly to avow
their determination, in the event of a long drought, to overcome the
Matabele Zulus, otherwise they would have to fight their way through
the eastern Bamangwatos.
At the end of my journey, after my return to the diamond-fields in
1877, I took up this matter publicly, anxious to do anything in my
power to prevent any overt conflict between the emigrants and the noble
Bamangwato king. The tenour of my views will be apprehended from the
concluding paragraph of my first article, published in the _Diamond
News_ of March 24th: “It is absurd for people like these Boers,
who are not in a condition to make any progress whatever in their own
country, and who regard the most necessary reforms with suspicion, to
think of founding a new state of their own.”[1]
Two months after writing that article, I heard they were in expectation
of securing the friendship of Khamane, while he was living with Sechele
at enmity with Khame. Their scheme of raising him to the throne failed,
and no better success attended them in their subsequent attempt to form
an alliance with Matsheng.
During 1876 and the following year, the condition of the emigrants,
as they still lingered about the Limpopo, changed decidedly for the
worse; they had ceased to talk about the conquest of a hostile country,
but on the contrary took every means to avoid a battle; many of them
had succumbed to fever, and sickness continued to make such ravages
amongst them that they resolved to start once more. Again they applied
to Khame for a safe passage through his land, but made a move in the
direction of the Mahalapsi River, instead of to Shoshong, in order
to mislead him. Khame meanwhile kept himself all ready for a battle;
he drilled his people every day; and having kept spies on the watch,
he soon learnt that the emigrant party had fallen into a state of
complete decay; but instead of taking advantage of their condition, and
seizing their cattle and property, he sent Mr. Hepburn to ascertain
the facts of the case; and when he found that the statements already
brought to him were confirmed, he renewed his guarantee to them that
they should traverse his country in security; he was really afraid that
they would fail in the strength to move on at all. Their difficulties
increased every day. Between Shoshong and the Zooga the district is one
continuous sandy forest, known amongst the Dutch hunters as Durstland;
it contained only a few watering-places for cattle, most of these being
merely holes in the sand or failing river-beds; dug over night, they
would only contain a few buckets full of water in the morning; and
this was all the provision they had for their herds; their bullocks,
consequently, became infuriated, and ran away, so that when the
concourse reached the Zooga they were in a most helpless plight.
Their want of servants, too, was very trying. I saw quite little
children leading the draught-oxen, and young girls brandishing the
cumbrous bullock-whips. By slow and painful degrees, however, sadly
diminished in numbers by sickness, and having suffered the loss of
half their goods, they reached Lake Ngami, only to begin another march
as tedious and fatal as that they had already accomplished. At last,
what might almost be described as a troop of helpless orphans reached
Damara, the sole representatives of the wild and ill-fated expedition.
In London in the present year (1880) I heard that the survivors of
this wild enterprise were in a condition so destitute that the English
Government, assisted by free-will offerings from the Dutch and English
residents, had sent out to them several consignments of food and
clothing, despatched by steamer, _viâ_ Walvisch Bay. Such was
the end of the undertaking originated by a party of headstrong men,
who, in ignorant opposition to reform, and from motives of political
ill-feeling, rushed with open eyes to the destruction that awaited them.
Before reaching the Notuany, I had found out that the game which at
the time of my last visit had been very abundant on the Limpopo, had
been considerably reduced by the continual hunting carried on by
the emigrants. I found only a few traces of hippopotamuses and some
giraffe-tracks in the bushes by the footpath down by the river, but
neither had I opportunity for hunting myself, nor did I wish to reveal
their existence to the Boers.
During one of our excursions I had a narrow escape of my life. We were
chasing a flock of guinea-fowl that were running along in front of us,
one of which kept rising and looking back upon us. Coming to a broadish
rain-channel about twelve feet in depth, and much overgrown with long
grass, I called out to Theunissen, who was close behind me, to warn him
to be careful how he came; but his attention was so entirely engrossed
by the bird of which he was in pursuit that he did not hear me, and
at the very edge of the dip he stumbled and fell forward. His rifle
was at full cock, ready for action; his finger slipped and touched the
trigger; the bullet absolutely grazed my neck. Another eighth of an
inch and I must have been killed on the spot.
To explore the neighbourhood, we remained for a few days upon the banks
of the Notuany. I first went southwards down to the confluence of the
river with the Limpopo. In striking contrast to the time of my previous
visit, when the entire district seemed teeming with game, I had now to
wait long under the shade of the mimosas before getting any sport at
all; at length a solitary gazelle bounded out of the grass in front
of me, and as I was all ready with a charge of hare-shot, I soon put
an end to its graceful career. Some Masarwas, dependents of Sechele,
residing in the wood close at hand, brought me some pallah-skins, of
which I made a purchase.
The shores both of the lower Marico and the Limpopo are composed of
granite, gneiss, and grey and red sandstone, the last often containing
flints; these rocks sometimes assume very grotesque forms; one, for
example, on the bank of the Limpopo, being called “The Cardinal’s Hat;”
occasionally they contain also greenstone and ferruginous limestone.
To the first spruit running into the Notuany above the Limpopo I gave
the name of Purkyne’s Spruit. Some of the mimosas here were ten feet in
circumference; here and there I noticed some vultures’ nests, and the
trees were the habitat of many birds, amongst which we noticed _Bubo
Verreauxii_ and _maculosus_, _Coracias caudata_ and _C. nuchalis_ and
parrots.
I left the Notuany a day sooner than I intended, moving about four
miles down the valley of the Limpopo, where the country seemed to
promise me some desirable acquisitions. On the 14th, I secured the
skins of two cercopithecus, one sciurus, two guinea fowl, and two
francolins. An ape that I shot was disfigured and no doubt painfully
distressed by two great swellings like abscesses. It was impossible
to go a hundred yards along the bank of the river without seeing a
crocodile lift its head above the water, to submerge it again just as
quickly.
When we quitted the river-side, we proceeded to cross the wooded
heights, sandy on one side, rocky on the other, that would bring us to
the valley of the Sirorume. On our way, Niger enjoyed the excitement
of chasing two spotted hyænas that crossed the path, but he did not
succeed in overtaking either of them. By the middle of the day we
reached the pond which I have already mentioned as lying on the top
of these heights, and soon afterwards found ourselves descending
towards the river. The name of Puff-adder valley, which I had given the
place, seemed still as appropriate as ever, for we killed two of these
snakes that were lying rolled up together just where we passed along.
Following a Masarwa track that I remembered in search of water, I came
upon a pool some ten feet deep; fastening my cap to my gun-strap, I was
about to dip my extemporized bucket below the surface, when I caught
sight of something glittering half in and half out of the water, which
proved to be another puff-adder trying in vain to escape from a hole.
To judge from the tracks, I should be inclined to say that leopards are
almost as abundant as snakes, the thorn-bushes and the crevices in the
rocks affording them precisely the kind of hiding-places that they
delight in.
In the course of our next day’s march we came to a Bamangwato station.
Sekhomo had not had sufficient men at his disposal to keep a station
there; the consequence was that Sechele at that time looked upon the
locality as his hunting-ground. It appeared to abound not only with
giraffes, koodoos, elands, and hartebeests, but likewise with gazelles
and wild swine, and numbers of hyænas and jackals.
I reached Khame’s Saltpan on the 17th, and had the bullocks taken to
drink at the cisterns in the rocks. Some Bamangwato and Makalahari
people were passing by, from whom I obtained several curiosities,
amongst which was a remarkable battle-axe. I came across some of the
venomous horned vipers, which fortunately give to the unwary notice of
their presence by the loud hissing they make.
In the evening five gigantic Makalakas came to the waggon, hoping that
I should engage them as servants, but I was too well acquainted with
their general character to have anything to do with them.
We remained at the salt-pan until the 19th, and reached Shoshong quite
late at night. The town was much altered since my last visit. Khame,
after his victory, had set it on fire, and had rebuilt it much more
compactly nearer the end of the glen in the Francis Joseph valley. The
European quarter was now quite isolated. I was delighted to meet Mr.
Mackenzie again, and he kindly invited me to be his guest during the
fortnight that I proposed spending in the place.