Among the Boers; or, Notes of a trip to South Africa in search of health ... Illustrated

Front matter

I ■ I ■ NOW READY SECOND EDITION PARIS HERSELF AGAIN. By 0&JROG AUC-LV-TCa hJXA. With . NEW FREFACE. AN ADDITIONAL CHAPTER. a„d 400 ENQflA7INaS~ s vols , demynvc , L^iadsomelj bound, .263. The author's "round-about" chapters are as animated as they are varied an< sympathetic; for few Englishmen have the French verve like Mr. Sala, or so li^ht i touch on congenial subjects. He has stores of out-ol-t Le-way inform;. tion, a ver; many-sided gift of appreciation, with a singularly tenac-ous memory and on subject like those in his present volumes he iB at his beet. We may add that the volumes ar profusely illustrated with woodcuts after well known artists and caricaturists, wbic] are extremely realistic or humorously suggestive. — The Times. Such a pleasant mixture of anecdote, observation, experience, knowledge, intelli gence, and insight as none but Mr. fcala could supply.

The book is thoroughly indi vidual ; no one alive could have written it except Air. fcala himself. It contains i great deal of good sense, a great deal that is picturesque and novel, and a great deal tha is interesting and amusing, and is very well worth reading indeed.— Pall Mall Gazette. "Paris Herself Again " furnishes a happy illustration of the attractiveness of Mr Sala's style and the senility of Lie resources. For those who do and those who do no know Paris these volumes contain a fund of instruction and amusement which can b< "drawn " at alu-ost any page with the certainty of a " find." — Satuiday Review. Most amuting letters they are, with clever littlepictuieB scattered bo profuselj through the two solid volumes that it would be difficult to prick the ed^ea with a pl at any point without coming upon one or more, few writers can rival Mr. calai fertility of illustration and ever ready command of lively conimeut. — .Daily Hews.

Send to Mudie's for Mr. Sala's new book, "Paris Herself Again;" it is lnhnitel. more amusing than most novels, and will give you information which you can turn t( advantage, and innumerable anecdotes for th. dinner-table and the smoking-n om There is no style so chatty and so unwearying as that of which Mr. Sala is a master The book is illustrated with a wealth of engravings by Bertall, Cham, Gr^vm, Lafotse &c, all of which are apropos, while many are excellent specimens 01 art. — 'i he World. Mr. Sala wanders about with an artful artlessness and tells his readers what h. sees. Many things old and new, well known and little known, and not known at all, in Parisian life come in for cumment. On the whole tne humours of tbe capital of the Third Republic are well represented in " Paris Herself Again."— The Athenœ-m. This book is one of the most readable that has appeared for many a day.

Preface

. The following pages are intended for two classes of readers . — First, for the general reader, and secondly, and incidentally, for persons in search of a climate suitable for threatened, or actual pulmonary disease. This double purpose has led me into more than usual detail in apparently trivial matters, but I am not without hope that the very minnteness of the narrative may be appreciated by some of my healthy readers, as leading to a more vivid realisation of the lights and shades of life up country. The value of the work, as a book for invalids, is much enhanced by the kindness of Dr. Theodore Williams, who, at my request, has been good enough to peruse the proof-sheets of a chapter which I have inserted for their special benefit, and to make some valuable suggestions and additions. It is unnecessary for me to point out that the weight of such an eminent authority on chest diseases confers on the chapter a standing which I should not have ventured to claim for it otherwise.

I have studiously avoided referring to other works on South Africa, so as to give my readers the benefit (if it be so considered) of original impressions. The only portions which have been compiled from any books are the Chapter on the " Great Trek," and the Invalids' and Emigrants' Chapter. The illustrations are from photographs partly taken by myself, and partly bought en route. The issue of the book has been delayed hitherto for various reasons ; and it has been published at the last moment, under circumstances of pressure, occasioned by my having been ordered a second time to South Africa. THE AUTHOR. November, 1879.

Chapter I. England To Worcester

In the autumn of the year 1875, I took a walking tour across Tyrol. I had the bad fortune to drink some impure water and caught typhoid fever. I was laid up at a small village in the Dolomite Alps, and for a short time was in danger of life. Fortunately I weathered the attack and returned to England just before the winter began. I recovered from the immediate effects of the fever, and had begun to congratulate myself on my restoration to health, when in 1876 I was again struck down with inflammation of the lungs, the result of the fever poison. As soon as I got a little better, I was sent to Bournemouth, and afterwards to Davos Platz, an Alpine village in the Graubiinden in Switzerland, 5,000 odd feet above sea level, where the dryness and rarefied air did me good. The result of the experiment wras so encouraging, that my doctor advised me to try the dry air of the elevated plains of South Africa for the winter, and I resolved to take his advice.

The two inducements which determined me in favour of that country were the dryness and the elevation above sea level, which I was made to understand equalled that of Davos. B In addition to this it would be summer there when it was winter in Europe. Two or three weeks before I left England, a companion unexpectedly turned up in the person of R, a friend with hunting and shooting pro clivities, who had heard of my intention, and who, at a short notice, volunteered to accompany me. Our plans were soon completed, and on the 26th October, 1877, we left Plymouth by the Union steamer "American" en route for Port Elizabeth. "We had chosen that Port after some deliberation as being the nearest to Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State, but neither of us knew much about the road from Port Elizabeth, or in fact about South Africa in general, which was comparatively a terra incognita before the Zulu war attracted attention to it.

We were not alone in being unacquainted with the ordinary geographical features of the country. Several of my friends when I told them I was going to the Orange Free State asked — "And what is the Orange Free State?" The ignorance of ordinary English people on South African matters is not to be wondered at, when it is remembered that not so very long ago a government department gravely ordered a military chaplain to take duty at King Williamstown in the morning and Maritzburg in the afternoon. The joke will be properly appreciated when it is understood that one place is in Cape Colony and the other in Natal, and that they are about three hundred miles apart, the two colonies being separated from one another by the barbarous tribes of Kaffirland. We were not much behindhand therefore in not being over well informed about the country we were going to visit.

There are two lines of steamers between England and the Cape, which sail vid Madeira and the western side of Africa. It is also possible to reach the South African ports vid the Red Sea, Aden, and Zanzibar. The latter route is expensive, and takes a long time, and is consequently little used. The west coast steamers reach Cape Town in about twenty-three days from Plymouth. Some of the steamers lately put on have done the voyage in less time. The Union Company were the pioneers of steam navigation to the Cape. They despatch steamers from Southampton every alternate Thurs day, and from Plymouth the day after. The other line, which is owned by Messrs. Donald Currie and Company, runs from London vid Dartmouth on the other two weeks of the month. The competition between the rival lines is very keen, and has helped materially to cheapen and extend the means of car riage between the colonies and the mother country.

The "American" was laden with invalids. Some were bound for Madeira, and some to the Cape. Most had bad lungs. There were a few sound persons on board. Among these were several colonists returning to their homes in the Colony, and some Germans bound for Zanzibar. There was an Engineer on his way to a solitary camp up country, with whom I afterwards spent many pleasant hours. But I believe every saloon passen ger going out for the first time was an invalid, with the exception of my friend R, who was in what one of the invalids called " disgusting " health. AMONG THI. BOERS. We reached Funchal in the Island of Madeira on the morning of the 31st. Madeira is bathed in perpetual spring. The mean winter temperature is 60° 6 Fahr., and it has a rainfall of 20 inches in 88 days. A climate like this would seem to be the very spot for people with weak chests.

Unfortunately experience proves the contrary. Twenty patients were sent there from the Brompton Hospital in 1865, and of these only three derived benefit. One died and the rest returned home worse than when they went out.* The reason for Madeira being in bad odour as a health resort is not far to seek. Years ago the doctors had a theory that a warm and moist atmos phere had a soothing and beneficial effect in cases of lung disease. Patients were then sent to Pau and Madeira in quantities. Somehow the facts did not correspond to the theory, and now there is a decided revulsion in favour of dry climates, the drier the better. In fact the modern climatical treatment of consumption may be summed up principally in the words — dryness and elevation above sea level. I have discussed the subject at greater length in the invalid's chapter at the end of the book, to which I must refer any reader who is especially interested in the matter.

We did not go on shore, but we had a very fair view of the town from the steamer. Some of our fellow passengers who landed brought back a poor report of the place. It belongs to the Portuguese, * See " The Influence of Climate on Pulmonary Consumption," by Dr. C T. Williams, p. 81. and, in accordance with their usual practice, they have done their best to spoil it. Viewed from the deck of the steamer, the scene was very charming, and reminded me strongly of the Italian Riviera. The houses come down to the water's edge, and gradually thin off as they mount the hills, which rise abruptly from the beach to far above the town. The buildiugs are mostly white, with tiled roofs, and shine vividly against a background of emerald foliage. The blue sky above and the blue sea below form a fitting frame for the view.

In the fore ground is a picturesque mediæval castle, with Moorish battlements, perched on an isolated rock, which balances the picture. We were not long allowed to enjoy the scene in quiet. The deck was soon crowded with vociferous vendors of fruit, baskets, wickerwork chairs, and curiosities of various kinds. The fruit was superb, and we were delighted to be able to purchase mangoes, bananas, and custard apples. Around the ship were innumerable crowds of boats filled with men and boys yelling as if they had been let loose from Pandemonium. Some of the passengers amused themselves by throwing sixpences in the water, which the boys eagerly dived for. Below the vessel I noticed shoals of fishes, and the water was so clear that I could see their upturned eyes. Overhead were flocks of birds on the look out for scraps.

All — birds aerial, men terrestrial, boys amphibious, and fish aquatic — were intent on plunder. The vendors of the curiosities asked most outrageous prices, and then took less than BOEES. half what they asked. I saw an inlaid desk sold for nine shillings and sixpence for which thirty shillings was demanded at the commencement. I paid four shillings for a chair £pr which the dealer wanted seven. We were detained longer than usual by some of the steerage passengers who got dead drunk, and had to be hauled on board like logs of wood. They were young men on their way to join the Cape Mounted Police. Some of them had never been on horseback or fired a rifle. After we reached Cape town, I saw a paragraph in one of the papers, describing a mounted policeman in action. He was represented as riding furiously away from the Kaffirs, his face deadly pale, both hands grasping the pommel of the saddle, and his hat and accoutre ments flung to the right and left.

The recruits must have been splendid targets, and if the Kaffirs had only had the good sense to have used assegais, instead of old trade guns which they hardly knew how to fire, there would have been great slaughter of the Mounted Police during the war. It is only fair to say that my remarks are not intended to apply to the whole of the Mounted Police. There were many gentlemanly and gallant men among them who held their own bravely during the war. We sighted the Peak of Teneriffe the day after leaving Madeira. It is reported to be 8,000 feet above the level of the sea. It rises abruptly from the water, and looks higher. We steamed between it and Las Palmas, another island of the Canary group. The channel between was not wide, and the ENG1AND TO WORCESTER. sea was smooth and pleasant. It was almost like floating on a broad river between mountainous banks.

The air was soft and balmy to a degree. The passenger's had got over the effects of the Bay of Biscay, and were in the greatest good humour. The most pleasant part of the voyage to the Cape is in the neighbourhood of Madeira and the Canaries. On the other side of the Equator, the south-east trade winds are apt to blow unpleasantly strong. Here everything was peace, and we floated along in a lotos-like dream. Unfortunately things were too pleasant to last. In a day or two the air became hot and muggy. The minimum temperature at night went up to 80°, and it became too warm to sleep with comfort. Shortly after we left Madeira various plans had been propounded for breaking the sameness of ship life. Hints had been given of concerts and theatricals to come. These projects all gave way before the languor induced by the oppressive heat.

No one could be enlisted on the side of action, and little else was done but eating, sleeping, and gazing in a lazy fashion at the flying fish, who, I think, got to be mentally rated as fools for exerting themselves. A little feeble interest was manifested at mid-day when the run was an nounced, along with the name of the winner of the daily sweepstakes dependent on the distance covered. We crossed the line on Sunday, the 11th. The occasion was not marked in any particular way. Dire threats had been held out to us novices of baptismal services by Father Neptune, but we were too languid to heed them. On the other side of the Equator we fell in with the tr^de winds. They blew in our teeth, and, though they impeded our progress, they were at first welcomed with rejoicings, on account of their coolness.

The nearer we got to the Cape the more they grew in strength, and at length they became both cold and unpleasant. I caught cold, and was not at all well during the latter half of the voyage. On board the steamer I first discovered the bad feeling — afterwards illustrated in a thousand ways — between the eastern and western provinces of the colony. We had colonists from both provinces with us, though the representatives of Port Elizabeth and the eastern provinces were in a considerable minority. In the smoking room, on the deck, over the table, nay almost in the very cabins, we could hear the war of words going on. Port Elizabeth accused Capetown of being quite out of the way, situated at one end of the colony, and separated from the greater part of it by the Great Karroo desert. Capetown retorted by pointing to its docks and its railways.

Port Elizabeth said Capetown smelt — not altogether an unfounded accusation. Capetown replied that Port Elizabeth was blown almost out of existence by south-easters. Capetown being in the majority was able generally to carry the point by sheer weight of metal. We were somewhat misled by numbers, and were doubtful whether we had done right in making Algoa Bay our starting point. We were brought to a decision in favour of Capetown by the kind offer of a Cape gentleman to assist us in making arrangements for going up country, and by an invitation which S, the Engineer, gave me to spend a little time with him on the Karroo. Both these gentlemen were so good natured and such pleasant companions, that we felt convinced the route they recommended must be the right one. I may say that as far as they went we never had reason to regret the change in our arrangements ; and though it is not a route I could well advise anyone else to take, it enabled me to make many pleasant acquaintances, and to get a fair impression of a part of the colony not much visited.

About half-past four in the morning of Monday, the 19th November, I was awakened from sleep by the stopping of the throb, throb of the screw which had been our lullaby for so many nights. I got up and looked out of the porthole. A dark mass was visible looming through the dimness of the early morning, which could only be a mountain. I hurried on deck and found we were at length in Table Bay. We were out at anchor waiting for the tide to allow us to enter the docks. In front of us lay the huge bulk of Table Mountain, like a mighty flat-topped wall. At either end were two independent peaks, forming buttresses worthy of the central mass. The one on the left hand I found was the Devil's Peak, the other nearest the sea was the Lion. It is so called from its likeness to a lion couohant. The head of the lion overlooks the entrance of the bay, and is crowned by a signal station.

The back slopes in a graceful curve towards Table Mountaiu. Between the central hill and its outlier there is a depression called the Kloof par excellence, up which a most picturesque drive runs. The wall of Table Mountain is slightly concave, and within its bosom lie the houses and square streets of Capetown, backed by a surrounding of pines which run upwards in diminishing numbers towards the steep precipitous face of the mountain. The two buttresses form the two sides of the amphitheatre, and in the foreground are the blue waters of the Bay. Beyond the Lion's Peak is a low flat isthmus lying between Table Bay and False Bay, covered with bush and scrub. Round and at the back of the mountain are the beautifully wooded suburbs of Rondebosch and Wynberg and the vineyards of Constantia ; while beyond the flat, the Blaauwberg Mountains rise in a broken sky line.

At the back of the spectator are sand hills, and beyond them more mountains in the distance. On the right the entrance to the Bay appears almost blocked up by Robben Island, which is at once a hospital for lepers and a prison for rebel Kaffir Chiefs. A sky of intense blue appeared overhead, and the air was so clear that we could plainly discern the indentations, or kloofs as they are called, in the sides of the distant mountains. Altogether the scene was one to be treasured in the memory, and fully justified the half shy encomiums of the Cape passengers who seemed dubious about praising anythino colonial after having: been in England. O £_■ We had to remain in the Bay till nearly mid-day, the tide being against us. In the interval of waiting. and after I had gazed my fill at the panorama before me, I amused myself by watching the sea birds fishing.

The Bay is crowded with them, and they fly and swim between and about the shipping in a most unconcerned manner. I could see them hover ing in the air peering with all their might into the water below. Then came a dash, a deluge of spray like that caused by a cannon shot, and in a few minutes the bird quietly emerged with the reward of its energy in its beak in the shape of a fish. On leaving the ship we had to experience a most unpleasant scrutiny at the Custom House. The duties on goods imported into the colony form the chief source of its revenue, and the officials are consequently very strict. Strictness does not, how ever, excuse rudeness, and I cannot recommend the officialism of the Excise officers as worthy of imitation. They were more severe and more needlessly fussy than the officials of any customs I have seen; and I have been through many on the Continent and at home.

Capetown loses much of its fascination on a closer acquaintance. The houses present an un finished appearance, and the town has a somewhat dirty and neglected look. The main street, which is called Adderley-street, after a former colonial minister, is a fine open street and contains some good buildings. The square flat-roofed buildings, however, which one sees in other parts of the town, and which indicate the pressure of Dutch influence, cannot be called handsome by any stretch of the imagination. Government House is a mean erection quite unworthy of the representative of Her Majesty. The finest building in the place is the Public Library and Museum. The slovenliness which is seen in the arrangements of the streets extends to the interior of the hotels. There is not a good hotel in the place.

The Royal, which claims to be the best, would com pare very badly with a moderate-sized country inn at home. Our own hotel, the Masonic, was very dingy and dirty, and the bedrooms were plentifully stocked with insects. At another hotel I saw cockroaches nearly an inch long running across the floor up stairs. The great advantage of the Masonic was a raised stoep (pr. stoop) or platform in front of the house, which made a capital point of view from which to inspect the crowds of people passing below. Even this had its drawbacks. I soon found by nasal experience there was a small open cesspool just below the stoep, and the smell during the warm weather which prevailed after our landing was not agreeable. Sir Bartle Frere, the Governor, had been giving the City officials a sound scolding for their defective sanitary arrangements, and I can testify they deserved it.

It is only the purity of the atmosphere which prevents a pestilence. The hotel system in South Africa has most of the disadvantages of the American one without its advantages. There are fixed times for meals, and, up country, it is almost impossible to get anythinc. served out of the regular hours. The landlord is always an important individual, and takes care to let you see that you are the obliged person and not he. The rooms are generally bad, with the exception of the bar, in which seems to be concentrated all the resources of the house. The bar is an institution in South Africa. A " tot " or drink is an indispensable preliminary to meals. In summer it is " long," in winter " short." At all meals tea is generally served up — a curious cross between the American habit of drinking: water and the English one of taking wine.

Another peculiarity of meals at Cape inns, or hotels as they call themselves, is the appearance of curry at dinner. It is as inevitable as the poulet roti of Continental table d'hotes. The habit of taking curry has been probably intro duced by old Indian officers, who used at one time to make use of the Cape as a sanitarium. Another custom of hotel life in which there is great similarity to America is that of paying an inclusive charge per diem for meals and bed. The charges in Capetown varied from 10s. 6d. to 12s. 6d. per day, which was expected to be paid whether meals were taken in the hotel or not. It was very hot for two or three days after we landed. On the following day the thermometer marked 101° Fahr. in the shade. I had a walk before breakfast and found the sun warm even at seven o'clock.

I strolled round to the market-place and bought some oranges. They were different to what we usually get at home, having thick skins and being juicy beyond description. On taking off the skins the oranges fell into pieces almost without division. Truly one must get away from England to know what fruit really is. There were also strawberries and peaches and other fruits of which I did not then know the name. The middle of the day, while I was at the Masonic Hotel, was generally spent on the stoep observing the ever varying groups of passers by. Until the novelty wore off their appearance and costume formed a constant source of occupation. Hottentots, Malays, Hindoos, Kaffirs, Negroes from Mozambique and Saint Helena, Half-breds, Dutchmen, Germans and English jostled one another in picturesque confusion.

The cleanest and best looking among the colonial coloured races were the Malays. They were brought over by the Dutch from Batavia in the ante-English days. Since the abolition of slavery they have multiplied and thriven. The men do most of the driving and coaching work of Capetown, and the women are generally employed as washer women. The latter dress in gaily-coloured costumes with a superabundance of skirting, which makes them look as if they were wearing crinoline. They cover their heads and necks with brilliant handkerchiefs. All the primitive colours are to be seen, but so tastefully disposed that they do not offend the eye. The men wear short jackets, broad flow ing trousers, and large straw hats with a conical shaped roof, if I may use the expression. Many of them have European boots, but the majority still retain the native wooden patten, which is merely a thick sole kept on by means of a small peg held between two of the toes.

Some of the Malays are dressed in flowing Eastern robes and turbans ; but I understood that this dress was only permitted to those who had made the pilgrimage to Mecca or who performed some spiritual function. They are all Mohammedans, and have their own mosques and cemeteries, the latter being kept in a most untidy and disgraceful condition. The other nations were mostly dressed in tattered and dilapidated European garments. It is very rare now to see natives in their proper dress, or rather undress, in the streets of the town. One day I came across a number of Kaffirs belonging to the Gaika tribe, who had just landed from King Williamstown. They were in their native dress, and fine strapping fellows they seemed to be. They had been sent to the Cape Government by Sandili, the Gaika chief, to work on the railway in course of construction from Capetown to Beaufort West.

They were intended as an earnest of his promise to remain neutral — a promise which he belied two or three weeks later by breaking into open war, to the disgust of some of the Capetown papers which had been laughing at the notion of his uprising as a mere result of panic on the part of the inhabitants of the Eastern portion of the colony. Among the whites the most remarkable were the Dutch Boers and the German Jews. The Dutchmen who are seen in Capetown come from the western side of the Great Karroo and are better off and more civilised than their brethren further up country. They are almost without exception men of large stature. A Boer six feet high is by no means a rarity, and his breadth usually corresponds to his height. Capetown is much more amicably inclined to the Boers than Port Elizabeth.

At present its trade is practically limited by the Karroo, and the country between is principally occupied by Dutch settlements. In fact the town is itself very Dutch. Many of the leading families are Dutch or descen dants of Dutch. Its sympathies are consequently rather African than English. In political matters it leans towards the " patrioten,'' as they proudly term themselves, whose motto is " Africa for the Africander ; " Africander being the term for a person born in the colony. And yet with this strong tinge of colonial sentiment, it is astonishing how even Capetown people are anxious to show they have English blood in their veins. Many people will be grossly insulted if they are called Africanders. "My father or my mother was English," they will say : and it is necessary to be very careful before fixing a person with Dutch descent.