“‘A narrative from the surviving crew, relating to the loss of the Arniston, Transport, wrecked near Cape Lagullos, on the evening of the 30th of May, 1815.“‘Charles Stewart Scott, late carpenter’s mate of the Arniston, Transport, and others, assert to the best of their knowledge, that she sailed from Point de Galle on or about the 4th of April, under convoy of H.M.S. Africaine, and the Victor Brig, with six Indiamen. About the 26th of May parted company from the convoy, owing to stress of weather, having blown away most of her sails; other sails were then bent, but the weather continued very squally, with a heavy sea. On the 29th, about seven a.m. the land was discovered right ahead, bearing about N. by W. a long distance off, the wind then S.S.E. about half-past four p.m. still blowing very strong, hauled to the wind on the larboard tack, under a close reefed maintopsail, and stood on till half-past two a.m. on the 30th; then supposing the land seen was near Table bay, the hands were turned up,bore up steering N.W. and set the foresail, intending to run for St. Helena; continued on till 10 a.m. when the land was again discovered nearly ahead, turned the hands up, and hauled the ship close to the wind on the larboard tack, still blowing very hard, made all sail, having topsails and courses set, stood on till near noon, when breakers were discovered on the lee-bow, wore ship and hauled to the wind on the other tack; stood on till 2 p.m. then wore, and hauled to the wind on the larboard tack, continuing on till near 4 o’clock, when breakers were seen, called Lagullos Reef, which we could not weather on either tack, being completely embayed; clewed up the sails and cut away three anchors, the two bower cables parted shortly after, when Lieutenant Brice, agent for transports, recommended the captain to cut the sheet cable, and run the ship on shore, as the only chance of saving the people’s lives. The cable was then cut, and the ship put before the wind, in about eight minutes after she struck forward, the ship heeling to windward; cut away the guns in order to heel her the other way, but which could not be effected, and she soon began to break up. About eight o’clock the masts went, and the ship in a very short time was quite in pieces; many people were drowned below in consequence of her heeling to windward, and others clung to the wreck, endeavouring to reach the shore about half a mile distant. Out of the whole crew, consisting of near 350 persons, only six men reached the shore with great difficulty upon planks, being much bruised by the wreck and surf, which was very high. At daylight the next morning the stern post was the only part of the ship tobe seen, the beach was covered with wreck, stores, &c. and a number of dead bodies, which were buried by the survivors. Amongst these were Lord and Lady Molesworth, the agent, the captain, and some children. On the next day, the 1st of June, considering ourselves to the westward of Cape Point, it was agreed to coast the beach to the eastward, which we continued to do for four days and a half, subsisting on shell fish from off the rocks, but fearing we had taken a wrong direction, we returned to the wreck, and accomplished it in three days and a half, where we remained six days subsisting chiefly on a cask of oatmeal, which had been driven on shore; by drying it in the sun, we experienced great relief. The pinnace having been driven on shore bilged, we proposed to repair it in the best manner circumstances would allow, and coast along shore. At that time, the 14th of June, being at work on the boat, we were fortunately discovered by a farmer’s son, John Schwartz, who was out shooting, and humanely carried by him to his father’s house, where we remained with every comfort he could afford us for a week, and then set off for Cape town, where we arrived on Monday evening, the 26th of June.“‘Before we left the country we were informed that three hundred and thirty-one bodies thrown on shore, had been interred near the beach.“‘Signed,“‘CHARLES STEWART SCOTT, and party.’“This declaration was made before me this day atCape Town, the 27th day of June, 1815, of which this is a copy.“J. MERES,“Lieutenant R.N. Resident Agent for Transports.”A List of Officers and Passengers, as far as can be collected from the survivors, who perished on board the Arniston Transport, the 30th of May, 1815.Lieutenant Brice, R.N. Agent.Captain George Simpson.1st Mate, Thomas Hall.2nd Mate, William Young.3rd Mate, William Gibbs.4th Mate, —— Robinson.Doctor, —— Gunter.Boatswain, John Barrett.Carpenter, John Finley.Gunner, Thomas Gowan.Survivors.Charles Stewart Scott, (Captain’s Mate).Philip Shea,Wm. Drummond,Wm. Fish,Thos. Mansfield,John Lewis, Seamen.Passengers.Lord and Lady Molesworth, with a boy aged 7 years old under their care.Four children—boys belonging to an officer of the 73 Regt. at Columbo.Captain Stoddart, (Royal Scots).Mrs. James, with two children, belonging to Point de Galle.Mrs. Taylor, Officer’s Widow.Miss Twisleton, daughter of the Clergyman at Columbo.Mr. Gordon, Commissary, and son, about five years old.Lieutenant Callender, 19th Regiment.Invalids from the 19th, 22nd, 56th, 69th, 84th, and Royal Scots Regiments; and near 100 seamen from the different men of war in India, with 14 women, including passengers, and 25 children, in the whole about 350 people.N.B. Captain Whyms of the army died on board six weeks after leaving Ceylon.
“‘A narrative from the surviving crew, relating to the loss of the Arniston, Transport, wrecked near Cape Lagullos, on the evening of the 30th of May, 1815.
“‘Charles Stewart Scott, late carpenter’s mate of the Arniston, Transport, and others, assert to the best of their knowledge, that she sailed from Point de Galle on or about the 4th of April, under convoy of H.M.S. Africaine, and the Victor Brig, with six Indiamen. About the 26th of May parted company from the convoy, owing to stress of weather, having blown away most of her sails; other sails were then bent, but the weather continued very squally, with a heavy sea. On the 29th, about seven a.m. the land was discovered right ahead, bearing about N. by W. a long distance off, the wind then S.S.E. about half-past four p.m. still blowing very strong, hauled to the wind on the larboard tack, under a close reefed maintopsail, and stood on till half-past two a.m. on the 30th; then supposing the land seen was near Table bay, the hands were turned up,bore up steering N.W. and set the foresail, intending to run for St. Helena; continued on till 10 a.m. when the land was again discovered nearly ahead, turned the hands up, and hauled the ship close to the wind on the larboard tack, still blowing very hard, made all sail, having topsails and courses set, stood on till near noon, when breakers were discovered on the lee-bow, wore ship and hauled to the wind on the other tack; stood on till 2 p.m. then wore, and hauled to the wind on the larboard tack, continuing on till near 4 o’clock, when breakers were seen, called Lagullos Reef, which we could not weather on either tack, being completely embayed; clewed up the sails and cut away three anchors, the two bower cables parted shortly after, when Lieutenant Brice, agent for transports, recommended the captain to cut the sheet cable, and run the ship on shore, as the only chance of saving the people’s lives. The cable was then cut, and the ship put before the wind, in about eight minutes after she struck forward, the ship heeling to windward; cut away the guns in order to heel her the other way, but which could not be effected, and she soon began to break up. About eight o’clock the masts went, and the ship in a very short time was quite in pieces; many people were drowned below in consequence of her heeling to windward, and others clung to the wreck, endeavouring to reach the shore about half a mile distant. Out of the whole crew, consisting of near 350 persons, only six men reached the shore with great difficulty upon planks, being much bruised by the wreck and surf, which was very high. At daylight the next morning the stern post was the only part of the ship tobe seen, the beach was covered with wreck, stores, &c. and a number of dead bodies, which were buried by the survivors. Amongst these were Lord and Lady Molesworth, the agent, the captain, and some children. On the next day, the 1st of June, considering ourselves to the westward of Cape Point, it was agreed to coast the beach to the eastward, which we continued to do for four days and a half, subsisting on shell fish from off the rocks, but fearing we had taken a wrong direction, we returned to the wreck, and accomplished it in three days and a half, where we remained six days subsisting chiefly on a cask of oatmeal, which had been driven on shore; by drying it in the sun, we experienced great relief. The pinnace having been driven on shore bilged, we proposed to repair it in the best manner circumstances would allow, and coast along shore. At that time, the 14th of June, being at work on the boat, we were fortunately discovered by a farmer’s son, John Schwartz, who was out shooting, and humanely carried by him to his father’s house, where we remained with every comfort he could afford us for a week, and then set off for Cape town, where we arrived on Monday evening, the 26th of June.
“‘Before we left the country we were informed that three hundred and thirty-one bodies thrown on shore, had been interred near the beach.
“‘Signed,
“‘CHARLES STEWART SCOTT, and party.’
“This declaration was made before me this day atCape Town, the 27th day of June, 1815, of which this is a copy.
“J. MERES,
“Lieutenant R.N. Resident Agent for Transports.”
A List of Officers and Passengers, as far as can be collected from the survivors, who perished on board the Arniston Transport, the 30th of May, 1815.
Survivors.
Passengers.
Invalids from the 19th, 22nd, 56th, 69th, 84th, and Royal Scots Regiments; and near 100 seamen from the different men of war in India, with 14 women, including passengers, and 25 children, in the whole about 350 people.
N.B. Captain Whyms of the army died on board six weeks after leaving Ceylon.
“On the morning of the 3rd December, anxious to visit the spot become so deeply interesting, from the preceding melancholy history, our party proceeded to the place, and arrived there at half-past nine, a.m. It was indeed an awful scene, although much of the horror had been removed by the burial of the dead. Every object was calculated to throw a deep and solemn gloom over the mind. The wreck of the ship lay scattered in great fragments in every direction on the beach, and the remains of the unhappy sufferers were indicated by pieces of plank and timber, which had been placed in an upright position over them; 350 bodies had been washed on shore.
“It may be easier to conceive than to describe the feelings excited in our minds at the awful scene which here presented itself. The coast and surrounding country was desolate in the extreme. The day being cloudy, not a sunbeam gleamed over it; there was little wind, and the surf rolled sullenly along the shore, with a hollow and lugubrious roar, whilst every object told the tale of woe. A monument had been raised by the direction of Colonel Giels over the grave where his children were deposited, by an artificer sent from Cape Town; its bright white appearance contrasted with the dark clouds, and the still darker tablet onwhich the fatal event was recorded, produced an indescribable effect upon the eye, unprepared for such an object.
“Having remained some time meditating upon this mournful scene, our party pursued their journey over a wide sandy plain towards the Hope, an Estate belonging to Mr. Lawrence Cloete, and appropriated to the breeding of sheep. In crossing these plains, and far distant from the coast, even many miles, we observed pieces of the wreck of the Arniston, which had been evidently dropped from wagons employed in carrying away timber from the beach, and it did at the moment occur to me, that the notions respecting the receding of the ocean which has occupied so many pens, and so many pages, and concerning which so much has been written in reference to this part of the world in particular, might have been accounted for by the object before us. Had a strong S.E. wind taken place subsequent to these remarkable pieces being dropped from the wagons, (they were shot-racks), they would have been forthwith covered deep in sand; and had they been found a century afterwards they would have excited the same suggestion, that the sea had formerly covered this place also.
“From an attentive observation of every part of the coast of this colony, I am much more inclined to adopt Sir John Barrow’s theory of the sea gaining, rather than of its receding; and the observations he makes upon the subject, (vol. i. p. 6,) appear very satisfactory; but I felt at the same time convinced, that the Capeflat, now an immense sandy plain, covered with shrubs and heath was, perhaps ever since the commencement of the Christian era, a channel between the Table mountain, then an Island, and the main land. Sir John Barrow grounds his opinion upon the effects produced by the accumulation of sand, during the period of nearly seven years that he was in the country, of which some very striking instances will be given in the course of this narrative. But lest the assertion may appear a startling one, it may be as well even in this place to shew on what grounds he founded the supposition.
“It is well known that the S.E. winds blow during a great part of the year, and sometimes with great violence for many days together. A heavy sea consequently rolls in upon every part of the southern coast, bringing with it an immense quantity of sand, which may have been forming a ridge of considerable elevation above high water mark. As the tide recedes, the sand dries, and is taken up by the wind, and carried in a continued and dense stream into the interior, where it is deposited among the shrubs, and soon covers them. A reference to those who have land near the coast, and even at some miles distant from it, will give a melancholy confirmation of this fact, and shew that much of their land has been entirely ruined by the accumulation of sand. During the winter months when the N.W. winds prevail they are in general accompanied by rain, and the sand when wet is not liable to be taken up by the wind andcarried back again: and this shews how the sand hills accumulate, and how soon not only shrubs, but trees may be overwhelmed with sand.
“Our party arrived at the Hope in the afternoon of the 3rd. The house is small but very commodious, and fitted up with every attention to comfort and even luxury. It is situated on the eastern bank of an extensive salt lake, into which the little salt river carries its waters; there is no visible outlet, but they doubtless pass through the surrounding sands.
“Great quantities of game abound in this neighbourhood, and several ostriches were seen in the day’s journey, rising from the heath on the approach of the wagons, and striding towards the interior with most extraordinary velocity.
“Immense quantities of corn were once grown in this neighbourhood, but a decided and very reasonable preference was given by our host to sheep and horses. Of the former he has a very large flock, with a valuable collection of merinos. It is considered that the wool of the fourth cross is nearly equal to the Spanish original. It is surprising, considering the number of hyenas and wolves, with which this part of the colony abounds, that so little injury is experienced in the sheep-folds, but the hyena and the wolf seldom attack cattle or sheep in an enclosure, however simple and defenceless it may be.
“There are no trees near the house, but several beautifully wooded glens or ravines running down to the lake.
“On the 5th December, at six, a.m. we left the Hopehaving been furnished with a span of oxen to ascend the Potteberg, a steep and rugged road, but one which might with care be greatly improved. From the summit of the hill we had a splendid view of the Sout valley, and the adjacent plains, with an extensive line of sea coast, terminating at Cape Lagullos to the S.W. The country although wild and uncultivated, was picturesque, and much enlivened, by the profusion and variety of the shrubs and heaths with which it was covered in all the brilliancy of flower. Many Piebocks were seen on ascending the Potteberg, and some Partridges. We stopped in the course of the morning at the house of the field Cornet; it lies in the descent of the Potteberg, and he is a most respectable man, with a large family, cultivating an extensive corn farm. He was suffering severely from a whitloe, which had begun on the finger, but its effects threatened the loss of his arm. The greatest inconvenience experienced by the colonists in the interior is the want of surgical assistance; though they are sufficiently well instructed in medical remedies, to apply them with tolerable success.
“After some repose at this place, we proceeded on our way to the Bride River, but having mistaken the road we had a long and very fatiguing journey, and having reached a part of the river where no means existed for crossing, we had to retrace our steps nearly half way over a hilly rugged road, and did not arrive at the ferry at Guillenpuis until nearly sunset. The country we had passed through this day was of an extraordinary description. The prospect before us as we left thePotteberg was that of a gently undulating surface, covered with a great variety of shrubs and aloes; but as we proceeded we found it frequently intersected by deep and precipitous ravines, and which could only be passed by means of very winding roads down the steep slaty sides. The ascent from these occasioned great labour to the cattle. The Bride River as seen from the heights on its right bank had a most picturesque appearance from its windings, making a distance between two places along its banks of two hours, when a straight road between them, had such existed, would not have required more than half an hour. Corn might be grown to an immense amount near this river, as was evident by what was seen growing on the few spots which were cultivated, but the population is very scanty, and labour very difficult to procure. It was said that black cattle would thrive greatly on these plains, but that there was something in the pasturage generally destructive to sheep, of which the inhabitants complained of having lost great numbers, and no longer ventured to keep more than they required for their immediate consumption.
“As it was too late to get the wagons over that evening, which requires a tedious process, they were unloaded and the baggage taken over in a small boat, which landed us at a small but commodious farm house on the opposite bank, where we received a most hospitable welcome; and the inmates, though very limited in their circumstances, made every effort to accommodate us, giving up the best part of the house to our use,and supplying us with fish, fowls, and fresh eggs, for which they positively refused to receive payment.
“The small boat, not more than twelve feet in length, returned for the horses, which swam over, having their heads tied up to the gunwale of the boat, two at each side. It consequently required three trips to get over the eight wagon and four saddle horses. Much difficulty was experienced, and time lost in getting them all to take the water. Some of them having been accustomed to it, took their stations on each side of the boat at once, whilst others could scarcely be brought to the water’s edge; but example here, as in most other cases, had at length its influence, they reached the other side in safety and ease, and were comfortably accommodated in the farm stables. At daylight in the morning we rose, in order to see the process of getting the wagon over. The river at this place might be about one hundred and fifty yards across, and perhaps two fathoms deep, the depth however was of no consequence. A large empty leaguer well bunged up, was placed in the wagon, and lashed to the framework at the bottom, a line was then brought from the opposite shore, and made fast to it, it was then pushed into the water, and hauled over to the other side without any difficulty, by two or three men; when a pair of horses were ready to receive it, and draw it out of the stream.
“The Bride River is navigable from this place to its mouth, for vessels of thirty or forty tons. The face of the country to the eastward, is wild and precipitous toa degree surpassing what we have hitherto seen; so much so as to wear the appearance of having been convulsed by earthquake. It is at the same time very fertile, even to the summit of the hills, being covered with corn wherever the cultivator thought proper to sow it.
“The scenery amidst the windings of the Bride River was most strikingly picturesque; the various tints which the mimosa, the aloe, the milkwood, and the protea, gave to the landscape, produced a very splendid effect.
“At eleven, on the 8th December, we arrived at Rhinoster Fonteyne, a grazing and breeding farm (for horses) on the banks of the Bride River, near its mouth. The view to the westward was superb. We rode down to the entrance of the river, and found a capacious harbour for small craft, formed by a spit of sand running out from the eastern shore. The harbour here formed is very capacious, its breadth securing the vessels which might be lying there in the winter, against the effect of the torrents rushing from the mountains. Here a depôt should be made of corn, wine, flax, linseed, and oil, in readiness to ship for the capital, on board any vessels which might be sent for the purpose. They might also take on board large quantities of thorn bark for tanning; the gana, a shrub used in making soap; tobacco; wool of an excellent quality from the Merino sheep; the inspissated juice of the aloe, which may be had in large quantities; and many articles of traffic, not only for home consumption in the Cape district, but also as articles for exportation, the want of which was so severely felt, that the exchange for billsupon England, which were considered at par at 125, rose in the year 1822 to more than 200.
“A constant trade might thus be carried on, and if the resources of the colony were by such means brought into action, there is little doubt but the export trade would be very considerable, even in corn.
“Mr. Van Rennen, the owner of this farm, having purchased the famous English stallion, Euryalus, had greatly improved his breed of horses, which rose in value, and were generally sold at high prices from 500 to 1000 rix dollars. There were upon the farm 300 cows, and yet neither butter nor cheese were made, beyond what was required for the use of the family, and this for want of an outlet. It was stated that 1500 sheep were shorn annually upon this farm; that the wool was sold in Cape Town for two rix dollars the pound, and that the fleeces average two pounds each. Mr. Van Rennen has taken the precaution of enclosing and covering in a pool, or rather an extensive well in his grazing ground, by which he ensures a constant supply of water in the hottest seasons. It not only prevents the rapid evaporation, which would be caused by the heat of the sun, but also prevents the cattle from wallowing and trampling upon the borders of the pool. The want of water is the cause of the greatest suffering in every part of the colony. Great improvidence has been manifested in the distribution of the different farms by the Government, and this shews the expediency of being liberal in the remuneration of talented and upright Surveyors in all new settlements, and in preventing a monopoly of the streams; from whichsingle cause it frequently happens that extensive tracts of valuable land may be thrown out of cultivation. From the steep descent of the beds of the rivers the waters soon run off; but much might, nevertheless, be done by irrigation and by lateral cuts. The country however must become much more populous before such improvements can be looked for.
“On the 8th, we left Rhinoster Fonteyne in Mr. Van Rennen’s wagon, which he had kindly lent us in order that we might send off our own, and the saddle horses at a very early hour; and that the horses might be refreshed before they were required for the remainder of the day’s journey, which was to be a very long one. We traversed an immense plain near fifteen miles in breadth, cultivated in patches which produced corn in abundance, and stretching to a great extent from the sea to the foot of the Swartberg. The mountains had continued to bound the prospect upon the left, from the time we had passed Hottentot Holland’s Kloof, and were seen running on to the north-east, lost in the most remote distance. The vallies and ravines, were generally dark with the woods springing up in the dark alluvial soil which was washed down by the wintry rains. In the course of this day, we arrived at Duivenhock, where the scenery was truly beautiful; and here we found a most respectable and hospitable family, in a substantial and commodious cottage, with every thing wearing the appearance of industry and gradual improvement. After receiving refreshment here, we proceeded over an open and generally level country to the Kaffer KuylRiver; we saw abundance of game in crossing it. The Kaffer Kuyl is a considerable stream running with rapidity from the mountains towards the sea. Much corn is grown near to its banks, and two respectable looking farms lie at a small distance from each other. This river is not capable of being made navigable, having an irregular and rocky bed, and in the rainy seasons it becomes an impetuous torrent. In the evening, we arrived at a farm belonging to Mr. La Grange, on the high road from Cape Town to Mossul Bay; it is situated on a level plateau at a considerable height above the level of the sea. The country about it is generally undulating, except in the immediate neighbourhood of the river, the banks of which are very steep and rugged. The Soetmelks River runs very near this farm; a great number of horses are bred here and some cattle.
“Having passed the night with great comfort here, we pursued our journey towards the Gauritz River, over a beautifully variegated country. The mimosa of the most lively and refreshing green was strikingly contrasted with the generally parched and arid appearance of the soil, but this was also frequently relieved by the brilliancy of patches of flowering shrubs of the most lively hues, approaching even to gaudiness, if such a term can be applied to the objects of creation; while the aloes, scattered over the country in boundless profusion, gave finishing touches to the landscape, and produced the happiest effect. The whole of the tract we passed over this day appeared to be fit for cultivation,capable of producing in abundance all the necessaries of life, and wherever industry had been employed, it was apparently crowned with success.
“This day, the 9th day of December, was the hottest we had experienced, the thermometer was at 99 in the interior of the wagon. The wind from the north felt as though it came from a furnace; not a cloud was to be seen, except a few of a white and fleecy description, which were gathering over the summit of the Swartberg; and from their appearance, Colonel Graham, who had been long an observer of the changes of the weather in this country, at once predicted a thunder storm; and his conjectures were accurate, for in less than three hours a most violent storm of wind and rain, with tremendous thunder and vivid lightning, came on, and lasted about two hours. We had, providentially, reached the Gauritz River, and crossed it before the storm came on, and were comfortably sheltered at the house of Esaias Miers, on the left bank. He was a kind and hospitable man; and, with his excellent wife, gave every accommodation in their power to offer. With their assistance, and that of our own cook, we soon procured an excellent dinner. In about two hours the weather cleared up, and gave us a delightful evening for pursuing our journey.
“The banks of the Gauritz are extremely precipitate, and scarcely less than two hundred feet in height; the road, as may be supposed, is very steep, but with the precaution of locking both the hind wheels of the wagon, is not dangerous. The difficulty of ascending is very great. The country people in general travel with twoor three wagons in company, for the purpose of assisting each other in getting over these places, which to one team of oxen would be insurmountable. This forms one of the most animating and picturesque scenes imaginable. I have already adverted to it, but to see the wagons ascending from the bed of Gauritz, up a broken road which in other countries would be deemed impracticable, with a long line of, in some instances, thirty-six oxen, through the wildest scenery imaginable, the shouting of the drivers, the echoes occasioned by the cracking of their huge whips, and the passengers in every direction climbing amongst the rocks in pursuit of the nearest way to the summit of the ridge, altogether produces an effect which is indescribable, and of a peculiarly animating character.
“We had in this place an additional proof of what industry and perseverance can perform in overcoming existing difficulties, but it is certainly ‘taking the bull by the horns.’ A small portion of labour applied by legislative investments would soon render these roads practicable for the wagon and its own team, without any of the detention and risk of loss of oxen, and damage to the vehicle which is now constantly experienced; and this being the great road to immense forests in Uitenhage, and to the district of George, it seems the more extraordinary that some exertion had not long before been made by the Colonial Government. In many cases we observed that the road might have been rendered much easier, and consequently safer, and more expeditious, by a little more detour being made in it; but when even it was at all possible, the straightline was most inflexibly adhered to. It was frequently seen that the ruts of wheels were passing over a stone of two or three feet in height, where a deviation of as many yards would have avoided it. But it was a road which the grandfather had gone, and was therefore most dutifully followed by his descendants.
“The Gauritz is frequently in the rainy season a formidable torrent, and impassable for days together, at which time a most singular and picturesque scene presents itself, from the groups of wagons and travellers collected on each bank, forming as it were extensive encampments, their numerous spans of horses and oxen grazing on the steep declivities of the bank, where any food can be found for them, or outspanned on the heights for the purpose of grazing. To these are added on the left bank very large droves of cattle and flocks of sheep, waiting for the water to subside, that they may continue their way to the Cape Town market. The Boors and their Hottentots enjoy these bivouacs much, as they pass the time of their detention in shooting, and the neighbourhood is well supplied with game; nor are the females of the party without their share in the general excitement, as they have the enjoyment of society from which they are precluded in their solitary farms; and as their wagons form very commodious tents, they experience but little more discomfort than in their cots at home, where in many cases the accommodations are hardly superior. To add to the animation of the scene, their little fires blazing in all directions, and the column of blue smoke ascending along the hills, and taking from them the monotony offeature by giving an appearance of distance to those parts dimly seen, increases the general effect of the picture.
“The Gauritz is in no part navigable, from the broken and rocky nature of its bed, and no boats are consequently to be found upon it. Beneath the cliff on the right bank was a remarkable plateau, enclosed in a bend of the winding of the banks, quite level, and of considerable extent, and about twenty feet above the bed of the river. At the first view it appeared well calculated for the site of a village, but in winter it is frequently laid under water; and logs of timber and drift wood scattered over it shewed this to have been recently the case.
“Several wagons laden with timber were met with in the course of this day, on their way to Cape Town, carrying many large yellow-wood beams for building, and logs for converting into planks, also fellies for wheels, and treenails for the repair of ships. It may easily be conceived under what amazing disadvantages this traffic is carried on between the forest and the capital, a distance little short of two hundred miles, and the road lying nearly along the coast. It can be shewn that plank from Norway and from America may be brought into the market at a rate which competes with this which is grown in the colony; but the injury is not confined to the high price of this indispensable commodity. These journeys for the conveyance of timber depopulate the whole country in the neighbourhood of the forest. The labourers and the cattle are constantly on the road; and not unfrequently the farmer and his familyseize the opportunity, in order to have their frolic, leaving the cows, the young stock, and the crops to the care of an aged female Hottentot, while every other part of the establishment follows the wagon. Should the scanty portion of grain which he has sown fail, in consequence of his absence, the family have a resource; they can live entirely upon mutton, and game, and tea, and brandy; the two latter articles being never forgotten in the return cargo. The want of hands in the different farms is an universal complaint; and is the only cause that can be assigned, why the immense tracts of fertile land are uncultivated; but the reason is here at once given. The whole population is employed in taking materials for building to Cape Town; while a few hundred hands employed in conducting a coasting trade would effect more completely all that is to be done; and leave the farmers and the farm servants, undisturbed in their rural occupations; ensuring to the former a most liberal return of whatever the ground would produce, while industrious habits would take the place of that wandering, unsettled, and indolent disposition for which the Cape Boor is so remarkable.
“The abundance of all the essentials of life which a kind Providence has showered down on this favoured country, is another great cause of the little advance its inhabitants make in improvement, which is so obvious in most parts of the interior. The want of food is unknown amongst them, either for man or beast; and other wants are easily provided for. Houses built of clay and thatched with reeds are readily constructed; the wood work necessary for doors, windows, and rafters,is easily obtained from the nearest Bosch, as the forest is called; and converted by the roughest tools in such a way as may answer the purpose. The furniture of many of the houses is confined to the frames of a bedstead or two, (the sacking for which is formed of thongs of raw hide) and a large chest serving at once for a store closet and a table. Clothing is easily made from the sheep-skin tanned or untanned; and a few loads of wood or aloes carried to Cape Town market, will procure them brandy and tea, their principal luxuries, and such European manufactures as they may be tempted to indulge in, such as printed calicos, and linen. These journies, as we have shewn, are attended with no other expense or loss than the neglect of their farms. The covered wagon is their dwelling house, and the sleeping apartment for the master and mistress; the children and slaves sleeping under them in dry weather. The journey is divided into schoffs, or distances, calculated from one grazing place to another, called “Out-span” places; these are six, eight, or ten hours from each other, as they happen to be. In the more sandy and arid parts of the colony the schoffs are regulated by the springs of water. The march is generally performed by night in summer, in order to avoid the heat of the sun. As soon as they reach the out-span place, the oxen are unyoked, and turned out to graze. If they have horses, they are knee haltered, by the halter being tied to the fore leg, and so short that when the head of the animal is elevated, his leg is lifted from the ground, and he can only go upon three legs, which ensures his being caught whenwanted. In these wild parts of the colony there is little fear of the cattle straying, for they are too much in fear of wild beasts to wander far from protection; and it was very remarkable that saddle horses, which if turned out near the Cape, would be very difficult to catch, will, in the interior, when far from any inhabited place, keep close to the owner, when leading them by the bridle, or if left to themselves.
“As soon as the horses and oxen are turned out, the domestic arrangements begin; fires are lighted, sheep or fowls are killed, and cooking proceeds with great energy. It may be that a buck is brought in, which makes the feast a sumptuous one, in which all are equally interested. The driver and leaders of the oxen are no sooner off duty than they betake themselves to sleep, and only awake for their food, and then sleep again. After the meal, the Siesta becomes general, and lasts till the preparation signal is given for resuming the journey, when all again is bustle; the cattle are yoked, the wagons packed, and the cracking of the huge whips again announces that they are in motion. Such is nearly the history of every day, and of the whole journey, until they reach the immediate vicinity of the capital, when they become restrained by the usages of more civilized life, a fetter which is severely felt by all, bipeds as well as quadrupeds. There are few instances of these travellers being attacked in their night marches by the wild beasts, which infest so many parts of the interior of the colony. The feline species are in general as cowardly as ferocious, and are scared by the noise and thenumber of the caravans, which of course is not diminished on this account.
“If stationary, in the night the cattle are kept tied to the wagons, and large fires kept burning round the little encampment. In the preceding year, while the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset, was on his journey to the Fish river with his family, having stopped for the night on one of the extensive plains over which they had to pass, a little Hottentot boy, the leader of one of the teams, having laid down to sleep at a little distance from the wagons, was seized by a lion. His screams having aroused the people who had not yet gone to sleep, the noise they made in pursuing the animal, induced it to drop its prey, and the child was found at a few yards distance, very little injured by the jaws of the beast.
“At three p.m. we proceeded on our journey towards Mossel Bay, which I was very anxious to visit, that I might form my own judgment as to its fitness as a resort for the coasting trade. The accounts published by the Dutch authorities of every part of the coast, threw great discouragement over every prospect of such a trade being ever established; but they were evidently influenced by consideration of the inexpediency of the coast being known to foreigners, which would render it necessary to defend many parts hitherto avoided as dangerous.
“We soon reached the farm of Thunis Meyer, lying in a beautiful, fertile, and tolerably well cultivated valley. The land was evidently good, and immense quantities of grain might have been grown here, in theimmediate vicinity of Mossel Bay, where the anchorage might be deemed as safe as that of Table Bay, and from whence it might be shipped either for the capital or the foreign market. Between this place and Mossel Bay lies another extensive farm, belonging to Mr. Muller, also abounding in grain, and in which a number of horses and black cattle are annually reared. The farm lies at the eastern extremity of the Kleine Riverberg, and has a distant view of the sea, near Mossel Bay and the mouth of the Kayman, or ‘Crocodile’s Gut.’ There are some deep and well wooded glens and precipitous ravines in the immediate neighbourhood of this farm, beautifully wild and picturesque. The aloe, the mimosa, with every description and size of shrubs, and an immense variety of blooming and curious heaths, and other flowering plants, give a richness and beauty to the scene of which neither the pen nor the pencil could give any adequate idea. We remained at Mr Muller’s, and were as usual kindly and hospitably treated. It was here we remarked the apparently improvident and wasteful manner in which the Dutch colonial system of farming was carried on. A thrashing floor is built on the summit of an elevation commanded by the prevailing S.E. wind, and here the corn is trodden out by the hoofs of horses driven round the enclosure at a quick pace; after which it is turned up to the breeze, and the chaff and the straw are carried far away, being considered of no value here, as it was supposed the cattle would not feed upon it. This might certainly be true when they had abundance of green food at command, but could not be the case inthe hot summer months, when the country was parched up in all directions. We had an opportunity of shewing the error of this system, for when dry feeding cattle for St. Helena was practised at Simon’s Town, the straw formed a very principal part of their food.
“On the following morning a thick haze covered the face of the country, a sure indication that the day would be sultry, and we had every reason to respect the prediction. We left Mr. Muller’s at eight in the morning of the 10th December, and traversed an extensive plain, on our way to Mossel Bay. We at length reached an eminence, from which a most magnificent view of the bay and eastern coast presented itself. Cape St. Blaize, which when originally discovered, gave its name to the bay, since altered by the former to the more familiar one, taken from the immense number of the shell-fish, to Mossel (or Muscle) Bay lay on our right. The little village or depôt formed by the Dutch for collecting corn on government account was immediately below our feet, with the receding range of the Swartberg mountains, and the indented line of sea coast, terminating the prospect on the left and in front.
“On our arrival in Mossel Bay, we were most kindly and hospitably welcomed by Mr. Obeen, a worthy Dane, long settled here, and whose name has been frequently and respectfully mentioned by travellers who have visited this place. He gave me some interesting information upon a subject I had much at heart, and assured me that he did not consider this bay as a dangerous anchorage, although exposed to theS.E. winds, which in the offing blew with much violence, but seldom, to use the seamen’s phrase, ‘blew hard.’ During the period of his residence here, more than thirty years, he could remember more than one hundred vessels having anchored here, not one of which ever met with an accident whilst riding in it. An Englishman, named Murray, traded here ten years; though his vessel was at last stranded on its passage round Cape Lagullos, which I apprehend to be one of the greatest dangers on this part of the colony, and should be accordingly avoided, not only by coasters, but by all vessels. There is no reason why any should approach this dangerous point; on the contrary, they may generally insure a quicker passage by keeping a good offing; and as the coast, and the set of the currents are better known, the danger will vanish in a great measure.
“We were so much struck with the situation of this bay, as an outlet for the produce of the most valuable part of the colony, that we employed ourselves on each day that we remained here in making such observations, and obtaining such information as might direct our judgment in forming a correct opinion as to the possibility of its being adopted as a depôt. From the soundings we took, we became convinced that a mole carried out about one hundred yards to the N.E. from a point running off from the spot where the magazine is built, would give effectual shelter to as many coasting vessels as might be employed in taking off the produce, not only of the immediate neighbourhood, but of the Large Kloof. From two and a half fathom tothree and a half might be found the whole length of the mole, and this might easily be formed by rolling masses of rock from the elevated ground into the water without any artificer’s work. Such a mole might be increased to any extent, that the trade might demand. Such moles are formed in every part of the Mediterranean—witness Palermo, Messina, Naples, Civita Vecchia, &c. &c., and particularly Gibraltar, where a mole for refitting ships of the line is formed in seven fathoms water, exposed to the whole fury of a western gale. Hence it is evident that a mole in Mossel Bay of such immense value to the surrounding country, would be no idle or useless speculation.
“Thirty labourers under an active superintendant would perform a considerable part of this work in the course of a year; and the blocks of stone, lying at hand on the shore, would soon form the foundation.
“I believe that the opinion I have ventured to offer respecting the general fertility of the soil, and its adaptation to the growth of corn, throughout the whole extensive tract comprehended between the Swartberg and the sea, from the Gauritz to the Kayman on which the Capital of the district of George is situated, will be confirmed by the general voice of the inhabitants. It requires only an industrious and an increased population, with an outlet for the produce, to bring it into the most extensive and successful cultivation; for even the sour grass so destructive to sheep and cattle, I was every where assured disappears from the soil, when the plough comes upon it. With respect to manure, let those who have travelled into the interior of thecountry say, what immense heaps are collected in the immediate vicinity of the houses on all the farms, especially on the cattle farms; of which no use whatever is made; as the farmer prefers breaking up new land, which he is always enabled to do from the improvident system of granting farms of such an immense size. The consequence is, that the heaps of manure annually accumulate, and the heavy rains falling upon them, bring away noxious streams; which, where the ground is level, form into stagnant and fetid pools, to the great danger of the health, if not of annoyance to the eyes and noses of the inhabitants, accustomed to such objects.
“A considerable and a valuable fishery might also be carried on in Mossel Bay. There is a great demand for salted fish in every part of the interior for food for the slaves, and the Mahometans; and a very profitable traffic might be carried on in this article, and be the means of removing another great hindrance to agricultural progress; for the division of labour, which does so much in all other countries, by leaving to those who have been brought up to any particular calling the exercise of the skill and talents they have acquired in it, is almost lost sight of in this colony. The farmer, instead of devoting all his energies, his people, his capital, and his time, to the improvement of his estate, becomes his own carrier to a distant market, his own wood cutter, carpenter, wheelwright, fisherman, &c., and makes but a very indifferent figure in each capacity, when compared to those who confine themselves to one distinct branch. Fishing is another very great source of temptation tothe Boor, and suits well with his restless and migratory habits. Those even at a very considerable distance from the coast, will embark their whole family, labourers, slaves and all in their wagons, provided with seines, and other fishing gear, and salt; and proceed to the coast in the larder[25]season, where they will encamp and remain for weeks catching and curing fish, and at the same time enjoying all the pleasures of the chase where game abounds. This recreation and enjoyment is only censurable when the more important concerns of the farm and its produce are neglected, and the public interest consequently suffers from the high price of the necessaries of life, or what amounts to the same thing, from the very high rate of exchange on remittance bills to the mother country for want of the means of carrying on an expert trade. But upon this subject the Dutch farmer has views and ways of thinking peculiarly his own. In conversation with one of them upon the subject of the high price of grain, he said, ‘Why Commissioner, I would rather it even were at one hundred rix dollars a load than at fifty, although the high price might arise from a scanty crop, on my own farm, as well as on those of my neighbours; for in the former case, one wagon would take one hundred dollars worth to market, and in the latter case it would require two.’ This hereditary calculator never had taken it into consideration, that by superior talent and energy his farm might have produced its full amount, and that he would have shared in the high prices caused by the neglect of others.
“A few days before our arrival in Mossel Bay, a schooner belonging to Mr. Van Rienan had come in there, and he had disposed of a considerable quantity of iron, tea, sugar, wine, brandy, coffee, together with a large stock of European manufactures, by auction, for money only, at six months’ credit. A most ruinous system, holding out the strongest incentive to extravagance and intemperance. The profits upon these cargoes, or rather the difference between the original and the last prices paid upon them, were stated by the purchasers to be 100 per cent. and they were probably not above the fact in their estimate. The temptation of long credit alone induced them to buy under such circumstances, and the prices were farther supported by a monopoly in the trade, arising from a want of competition, leaving the whole in the hands of one enterprizing man.
“On the 11th of December we quitted Mossel Bay, at three p.m., on our way to the Gulbecks River, on the banks of which we were to halt for the night. The road winding round the N.W. shore of Mossel Bay, although very rugged and difficult in many places, might with a little exertion be rendered tolerable, if not good. Having ascended a gradual acclivity of about five miles from the Bay, we had a most magnificent view of the windings of the Hartebest River, through a beautifully diversified valley, with the Swartbergs in the back ground, their summits illuminated by and sparkling with the rays of the setting sun, catching upon the broken crags by which many of the heights were terminated. The house of Mr. Mayers, who wasto be our host for the night, stood upon a gentle eminence, sloping down from the mountain towards the sea, and commanded a splendid view of the valley, the river, and the sea, with the whole range of coast from Mossel Bay to the Kayman. Mr. Mayers is an example of what may be done by industry and exertion. His family and his house were highly creditable. Hospitality, neatness, and every appearance of domestic felicity, gave a relish to this scene which is not easily forgotten, and would have been a subject for admiration in any part of the world. All that struck the eye conveyed an idea of comfort and respectability, and shewed the effect of habitual attention to arrangement and cleanliness. A group of beautiful and orderly children gave promise that this valley would flourish in future generations.
“Mr. Mayers had long been afflicted with rheumatism, and had almost become a cripple, he still walked with a crutch, but was recovering. He appeared to have lost neither energy or cheerfulness. When one of our party remarked to him how fine a family he had, his answer seemed to come warm from his heart, and his feelings glistened in his eyes, while he said, ‘Yes, and that was the reason why I was so anxious to recover my health, that I might see them respectably brought up.’
“The most serious of all wants experienced by the colonial farmers in general, is the great distance from all means of religious instruction. I have already shewn how much property increases in value by lying in the neighbourhood of a church; and the people are generallywilling to make sacrifices, in order to have places of worship amongst them. From Caledon to George, a distance of a hundred miles, there is no church; and all the families in the intermediate space are obliged to go either to the one or to the other town for marriages or christenings; indeed they often, if not generally, availed themselves of their occasional journies to Cape Town with the produce of their farms, for these purposes. Impressed with the deplorable state of ignorance, and in too many cases of vice, in which some of the Boors’ families were living, for want of the care of a pastor, I subsequently wrote to the Bishop of London, and stating the effects produced by the exertions of the Moravians as an encouragement, I ventured to suggest that Ministers of the Church of England should be sent out, and located in different parts of the colony, where they might live comfortably and respectably, on a very moderate income, assisted by a certain portion of land; and I added, that were a clerk to accompany the minister, a man of well known good character, and skilful as a mechanic, particularly as a carpenter, mason, or blacksmith, it was certain that a village would rise up in a very short space of time, and that the religion as well as the language of England would rapidly spread throughout the colony.
“The scene round the country churches on sacrament Sundays, which occur about four times in the year, resembles a large fair, from the wagons coming from every part of the country within a day’s journey of the church, and sometimes even from a much greater distance. They remain the whole day, and not unfrequentlyfor several days together in the rainy season, from the country being flooded. The people upon these occasions also, as well as upon their more distant journeys, inhabit their wagons, with the exception perhaps of a few, who may find accommodation with friends residing near the church; but this general and periodical assemblage too often leads to conviviality and intemperance, which entirely defeat the religious intention of the journey, and render the sacred rite which was intended for their benefit an additional cause of iniquity. That there are many striking exceptions to this line of conduct, I have already endeavoured to shew; but the effect of such a state of things upon the great mass of uneducated people, must be evident to every one who knows the propensities of mankind. It does then become a most imperative duty on the mother country to administer to the spiritual wants of her distant population, and neither labour nor expense should be spared; though in this case, but little of either is required. The bare selection of fit persons as pastors, with a very moderate income, say £300 per annum, with a grant of land and proper encouragement to a pious and skilful mechanic, as a clerk, would be all that is required, for a considerable extent of this fertile wilderness, for such it may be well termed, both in a moral and an agricultural sense. The respectable character of Mr. Meyers, will at the same time account for and justify this digression.
“This is a considerable corn farm, called Hartenbosh Kraal. In tolerable years the return is about twenty bushels for one, which although it falls far below theproduce of many other parts of the colony, especially where new lands are brought under cultivation, is nevertheless a fair average, but here again the great want is a market. Mr. Meyers assured me, that could he procure forty rix dollars the load for his corn at Mossel Bay, he would employ every one of his people in cultivating his land, but that he could not afford to send it to the Cape. He had three hundred head of cattle, forty horses, and a large flock of sheep; the latter, however, were very subject to the rot, in consequence of the sour grass. The large cattle were in excellent order.
“On the 12th December we left this interesting family, deeply impressed with their kindness, and with all we had seen there. We were obliged to wait till ten o’clock, before we could proceed on our journey, in order that the tide might be out in the rivers we had to pass, and enable us to ford them; these were the Grilbeck, and the great and little Braake. The Grilbeck is a tributary stream to the little Braake. We crossed them both near the confluence, the first about fifty yards in breadth, but at the time not more than two feet deep; the latter is a considerable stream, and in some parts of our passage nearly five feet in depth. The country between these rivers is irregular, and sometimes precipitous. The valley between the great and little Braake had the appearance of much fertility. The road winds round the southern slope of a range of hills diverging from the great chain of mountains, which runs parallel with the coast, and stretches towards the sea. We crossed the greatBraake about a mile from its mouth, where it was lost at this period in a high ridge of sand stretching across it, but which of course gives way to the winter’s torrents. This blockade is of such constant occurrence, as to deprive the great Braake of all prospect of being made navigable. This river was not broader where we crossed it than the little Braake, but its banks were steeper, and the depth much the same. In winter it must be a tremendous torrent, from the great declivity of its bed, and the steep and precipitous ravines running into it. From the summit of a high hill on the eastern side of the great Braake we had one of the finest prospects we had as yet enjoyed. It comprehended a most magnificent combination of mountain, plain, deep wooded dells, the windings of the rivers, and a most extensive line of the sea coast, including the whole of Mossel Bay and Cape St. Blaize, the view extending and losing itself in the far western distance. This spot called forth a rapturous description and admiration from Lichtenstein, and well deserves both.
“We now approached the great forest of Uitenhage land, and already saw fine timber trees skirting the southern slope of the Swartberg, and flourishing in increased luxuriance in the deep ravines, where they derived nourishment from the alluvial soil continually carried down by the rains. The vegetation of these dells is rank and productive beyond expectation, especially when contrasted with the stunted production of the plains we had been so long traversing.
“From the great Braake to the Mudzikammer we crossed an elevated plateau, well cultivated in manyparts. The grass however is sour, and unfit for grazing; but this pernicious quality wears off after having been turned up by the plough. Here we had the first view of the rising city of George, the chief town of the district; also the new road into the Lange Kloof, made in the pass of a mountain called Craddock’s hing, after the Governor in whose time it was begun, Lord Howden.
“The traveller is greatly deceived in his estimate of the distance from his first sight of George, after having ascended the heights on the left bank of the great Braake; to all appearance he thinks he could ride it with ease to himself and his horse in an hour and a half; but the road is so crossed by deep ravines, no appearance of which present themselves, that we spent more than four hours in reaching that place.
“The banks of the Mudzikammer are most formidably precipitous, and here was the steepest pass we had met with over any river. On reaching it we found a wagon stuck in the bottom of the only narrow road which led across the river, and in such a manner as precluded all possibility of our getting over until it was removed. This is a circumstance that frequently occurs, and the driver of the arrested wagon bears his detention with the utmost degree of philosophy. He proceeds to light his fire, and cook his meals, and then goes quietly to sleep, well knowing that he is the master of the pass, and that none can proceed either east or west until he is extricated; he is sure therefore of the assistance of the first span of oxen or horses which may come. This extrication must have fallento our lot, had we not preceded our wagon on horseback and found a person waiting for us at this place, with information that a relay of horses had been sent for us to the pass of the Palmiet River, about a mile higher up the ravine. We accordingly turned off in that direction, and passed the Palmiet River, or more properly speaking the Palmiet bog, for no water was visible. This was not effected without great difficulty, even with fresh and vigorous horses, which had been kindly sent by Mr. Van Kemper, the Landroost of George. It is a deep slough, formed by the decayed roots of the Palmieto; and the waters oozing from the surrounding ravines, in dry weather not being in a sufficient quantity to form a stream, stagnate among the roots. The wagon sunk into the floating mass up to the axle-trees; but what increased the difficulty was the very steep height of the opposite bank, which was to be ascended after getting over. The ground is so unequal that it is almost impossible for the horses to draw together; but every effort is made by the whip and the voice to urge them to simultaneous exertion, and is generally successful. It was at length overcome, and we proceeded gaily on the road to George, where we arrived at half-past five o’clock, and were most cordially received and welcomed by our excellent friend the Landroost.
“The town of George is increasing rapidly under the animating and paternal direction of their excellent and amiable Landroost, Mr. Van Kemper. The streets cross each other at right angles, and the houses are built at such a distance from each other, as to placeeach in the midst of a garden. The principal street is nearly a mile in length, and is terminated on one side by the Landroost’s house, a comfortable and substantial residence. There is a neat little church, also a court house, surgeon’s house, and a gaol.
“The inhabitants of George at the time of our visit did not exceed six hundred. Their chief employment when not engaged in building, was in cutting wood in the forest of Uitenhage land, to send to Cape Town; some of them were engaged in cutting wood near Plattenberg Bay for the naval department.
“The expediency of Mossel Bay being made a port for the shipment of the produce of this district was the universal theme of conversation at George. It was justly considered that inestimable advantages would result from such a measure being adopted, not only to this part of the country, but to the Lange Kloof, and the whole eastern portion of the colony. All concurred in opinion that corn and every other essential of life could be raised to any extent were but the means of export open to them.
“The complaint of wanting manure was heard of for the first time at George, and this may be accounted for by the very few cattle which are kept in the vicinity on account of the sour grass; but the immediate neighbourhood of the forest offers a never failing resource from the abundance of vegetable matter in a state of decomposition and full of fertility. The sour grass also, as has already been observed, will disappear with cultivation.
“The church is a heavy building in the Dutch taste,but sufficiently large to contain the population of the town and immediate neighbourhood. It is kept in the neatest order internally and externally, and notwithstanding its grotesque architecture, forms a fine feature when relieved by the dark foliage of the forest in the back ground, with the Swartberg receding in the distance. The ground on each side the streets is marked out in building lots, ready for sale. A given time is allowed for building a house on an established plan, and after the period is expired, the owner is made to pay fifty rix dollars per annum until it is finished. The place is remarkably well supplied with water from springs rising at the foot of the Swartberg, and which is led in channels through every street and into every garden.
“The town of George was began in 1812, under the government of Sir John Craddock. Considerable progress had been made during the five years which had elapsed. Artificers of all descriptions find abundant employment. Carpenters, masons, blacksmiths gain from one and a half to two rix dollars a day, a much lower price than what is paid at the Cape, nor is the difference in the price of provisions such as to justify the reduction. Consequently none but people of a very common skill in their employments will remain there, as every thing finds its own level in this colony as elsewhere, employment only is wanting.
“No medical man had yet offered for the town of George, notwithstanding a house was provided for him. This was severely felt; a child was dangerously ill without the possibility of medical advice being obtained; weventured to prescribe such treatment as would have been adopted in our own families under similar circumstances, which was providentially successful.
“Amongst the new inhabitants of George, the saddler appears to be the most industrious, and deservedly the most flourishing. He not only carried on an extensive business in his own line throughout the Lang Kloof and the eastern parts of the colony, but was also a principal builder at George, and an improver of land. He had formed a large reservoir of nearly one hundred feet square, in the neighbourhood of his house, by which he is enabled to keep all his grounds under cultivation in the dry season.
“On the 14th December we went to visit a missionary establishment at Hoet Kraal, where we found a solitary missionary of the Presbyterian persuasion, who had been settled there several years before. His progress among the poorer classes and the Hottentots had not been rapid, nor with his limited means and unassisted efforts could it have been expected. He has by his own labour erected a building, which answers at once for a chapel and school house, and may contain from two to three hundred people. He has built a small cottage for his own dwelling, and has also a large and very productive garden, with abundance of vegetables. Nearly three hundred Hottentots with their families have settled near him, and many of them manifest much intelligence and industry; are increasing in comforts; and are following the example of their brethren in Genadendahl in their advance towards civilization;although they are in want of many useful articles which these obtain from the Moravians.
“Mr. Pachault, the missionary here, has the character of being a most worthy, pious, and consistent man; he devotes himself entirely to the performance of the duty he has undertaken, and appears to derive great happiness from the employment. His flock seem to reverence him with filial affection, and what is a still more striking proof of the mildness and the usefulness of his conduct, the inhabitants of the district are all loud in his praise. We attended divine service, which consisted of a hymn sung by the Hottentots, whose wild and untaught notes were still more delightful, or at least affecting, than those at the Moravian establishment. This was followed by a sermon in Dutch, which was received with very marked attention; and he then expounded the seventh chapter of St. Matthew, verse by verse, in a manner which appeared to my companions who were acquainted with the language, calculated to leave the most salutary impression upon the minds of his hearers.
“A Hottentot boy of twelve years old is Mr. Pachault’s assistant, and acts as schoolmaster. His scholars are said to make a great proficiency. This boy has an additional finger on each hand.
“From Hoot Kraal we visited Wyt Fonteyne, a beautiful spot upon the skirts of the forest, near the town of George, belonging to Mr. Van Kervel. He is building a house of some magnitude there, delightfully situated, and in the neighbourhood of the finest forestscenery in the world. A great variety of stately trees abound there, and a most extraordinary creeper, the wild vine, called by the natives the Bavian’s tew (or the baboon’s rope, as these animals climb the trees by them,) which having crept up the trunk, and over-run all the branches, hang down in all directions in a most extraordinary and picturesque manner, having sometimes the appearance of a large ship coming out of a severe action.
“We were delighted with our Sunday at George; the day was remarkably fine, and the inhabitants of the district had assembled from great distances to attend the service of the church. They arrived in numerous wagons, which were collected round the church. The clergyman, Mr. Harold, is a very respectable man, his congregation is always numerous, but particularly on sacrament days, which are once in a month; when all who can attend, make a point of doing so; a convincing proof of their favourable disposition towards religion. That there are many lamentable instances of this being confined to the mere external ceremony must be acknowledged and deplored, but the charge is not to be confined to the Boor. It is but too common under infinitely superior advantages of light, and knowledge, and education. The evil which appears most generally prevalent amongst this class of people arises from the want of education, and were this removed, they would stand high in their claim to the respect of their brethren. The fault I allude to is cruelty to their slaves; but this is the unavoidable consequence of slavery itself, which debasesthe mind of the master, whilst it lies like a deadly incubus upon that of the wretched bondman; too often extinguishing every spark of good feeling in each towards the other, less frequently however in the latter than in the former. The children of the Boor have in general been taught to consider the slaves as brute beasts, without souls, and to treat them accordingly; and hence comes the opposition so often made to every effort for instructing them, or for civilizing the Hottentot. Still we may hope that these feelings and these prejudices are fast wearing away, and that the intelligence of the rising generation both of blacks and people of colour, will shew the blessings of liberty upon the human mind, a liberty which will lead him to that state in which all shall be free indeed, to pure and life-growing Christianity, a state in which the labourer will work for love, and the master rule in kindness, and with a sincere desire that all around him shall be happy. This digression arises more from a desire to vindicate than to condemn the Boor, for it is too much the fashion to deny him any good quality.
“The benevolent and exemplary conduct of the Landroost, Mr. Van Kervel, is producing the happiest results as regards the situation of the slaves and Hottentots. It was delightful when driving through the town in his wagon, to see the slave children running after it, and climbing into it, some of them even accompanying him in his airing, uninvited, and unrebuked. The good man quite enjoyed their happiness.
“The country produces all the necessaries of life inabundance, but they must import their luxuries. The grapes will not ripen sufficiently to make wine, and this is brought in general from Cape Town, at the rate of forty rix dollars the pipe; thus adding greatly to the price; whilst the value of the wine must be greatly lessened by being shaken in a wagon for two hundred miles over the roughest roads than any wine ever travelled upon.
“Several large ponds are made in the neighbourhood of the town, in the centre of which are placed little islands for breeding rabbits and poultry, and for securing them from the devastation made among them when not so protected, by jackals and mooshunts, (the latter is a species of weazle.) The enclosures to the gardens are made of large blocks of blue clay, which becoming indurated by exposure to the sun, are very substantial and durable.
“We here saw the slave who had been discovered by Colonel Collins in a residence which he had made for himself in the heart of the Zitzakamma forest; and I give the story of this extraordinary man in the words of Colonel Collins, an officer who had been employed in ascertaining the resources of the Colony, and from whose most valuable reports, (copies of which I found in the Commissioner’s office in the dock yard,) much useful information had been gained respecting the forests. Colonel Collins says—‘Soon after we passed the Doll River, we found the former residence of a Maroon slave, a native of Malabar, who had been brought from it (the hut) a few weeks before in the hope of reward by the Kaffers, whom we had been in search of. Thepoor fellow had been six years in this unfrequented spot. A companion, whose grave we perceived at the distance of several miles beyond his habitation, for the first four months cheered his retreat, but he passed the remainder of his time without the company of a human being.
“‘The first hut he had constructed was concealed in the woods; the second shewed that he had built it with more confidence, for it was placed outside the forest, and an undisturbed residence of several years having given him reason to suppose that he might end his days in that peaceful abode, he had begun to build on a larger scale, but had only completed half his new mansion, when he was deprived of his possession. Whether he supposed the land under the large wood, better than that naturally without any, I cannot say, but he had cleared at least two acres, which he had converted into an excellent garden, containing vegetables, tobacco, and fruit trees, which his labour had appropriated to his own particular use. The dung of the Elephants and Buffaloes, which are both exceedingly numerous in that quarter, had served him for manure, a heap of their bones, and those of Elands, Boshbocks, and other antelopes, of whose skins he had manufactured good clothing, cut according to the European fashion, manifested his success in the chase, or rather his ingenuity in contriving pits and snares to catch these animals. His industry had even extended to the baking of earthenware; and this new Robinson Crusoe had contrived by his own exertion, to unite in his solitude all the comforts that are enjoyed in civilizedlife. Indolence had certainly no share in prompting his flight, nor had the fear of punishment been the cause of it, for he had never committed any crime.
“‘Desirous to obtain some information respecting the country I was about to enter, I sent for this extraordinary man. The fear of his escape, and the weight of his fetters, had made it necessary to bring him in a wagon thus chained. It was his master’s intention to avail himself of his future services, but observing to him that it was possible he might frustrate his vigilance, and draw other Maroons to the distant country he had lately inhabited, I directed that he should be immediately taken to the Cape, and there charged or otherwise disposed of.’
“In conversing with this energetic and interesting being, he confirmed all that Colonel Collins had stated, and gave us many additional particulars; amongst others, that he was frequently pursued by the Buffaloes, which often broke down his enclosure; and that his house was only saved by being built against a tree, and under the shelter of its low and protecting branches. He had carried with him a quantity of garden seeds, which produced all he required. After having been brought to Colonel Collins by the Kaffers as before stated, and sent by that officer to Cape Town, he received his freedom from the liberality of the Colonial Government, who directed that it should be purchased for him, and he became a resident at George. He appeared to be about forty years of age, stout and muscular, full of animation, and every way answering to the idea whichwould be formed of one capable of putting such a plan in execution as he carried through.
“On the 17th December we left George on our road to the Knysna. The scenery on the left was extremely beautiful and picturesque, from the truly Alpine appearance of the Swartberg, the base of which is richly clothed with a superb forest stretching in the plain, and exhausting itself in scattered clumps, which gave the front ground a very park like appearance. The yellow-wood tree rising to a great height without a branch, and covered to its summit with a light green moss was particularly conspicuous; and from its branches the Bavian’s tew hung in the wildest profusion, giving to the tree a most fantastic form.
“On the right, the plain stretched away to the southward as far as the eye could reach, sometimes varied with a gentle acclivity, or intersected with a deep ravine; though but little wood is to be seen in this direction. The grass is sour and hurtful to the cattle which graze upon it. The Swart River skirts the lower extremity of the forest, a small but beautifully transparent stream; a variety of trees grow so close to its banks as nearly to cross each other, and form by their reclining position the appearance of a rustic bridge. The foliage was broken into large masses of deep green, relieved by the brightest tints, and these with the catching lights as the sun emerged from flying clouds, presented one of the most captivating prospects I had ever beheld.