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VIA RHODESIA
A JOURNEY
THROUCxH SOUTHERN AFRICA
BY
CHARLOTTE MANSPHILD
WITH 144 ILLUSTRATIONS AND TWO MAPS
LONDON
STANLEY PAUL (2^ CO.
M3lv
I SHOULD like to give my heartiest thanks to all
those kind friends who have helped me with photo-
graphs, information, and hospitality. Words seem
so weak to express all that I owe ; I can only say
I owe a debt of gratitude which I can never hope
to repay. I must also acknowledge my indebted-
ness to the "Daily News" and "Daily Telegraph^"
in respect to letters quoted in this volume.
C. M.
1174199
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
Why?
PAGE
I
II.
The Mailboat
^5
III.
The Cape ....
22
IV.
Diamonds and Orchards
39
V.
BULAWAVO
48
VI.
Khami Ruins
59
VII.
A Granite Tomb
69
VIII.
Salisbury — -Umtali
75
IX.
Educated Natiyes
97
X.
A Lecture .
113
XI.
"Smoke that Sounds"
119
XII.
Livingstone
141
XIII.
Agriculture
151
XIV.
Mining
i5«
XV.
At Rail Head
160
XVI.
Cotton-growing
169
XVII.
The Machilla
172
XMII.
Sunset and Lightning
176
XIX.
Camp-fires .
184
XX.
Loneliness «^v,
193
XXI.
The MedicinetChest .
203
XXII.
Tobacco-growing
210
XXIII.
Native Villages
214
XXIV.
Serenje
226
VI 11
Via Rhodesia
CIIAFTER
FACE
XXV.
Caught in the Dark
236
XXVI.
Native Customs .
243
XXVII.
Chilonga Mission
254
XXVIII.
Lions
260
XXIX.
Chambezi River
267
XXX.
A Burlesque
276
XXXI.
A Court Case
284
XXXII.
Tanganyika
297
XXXIII.
Successful Cattle-breeding
3TO
XXXIV.
Judge and Hangman
320
XXXV.
The Witch-Doctor
327
XXXVI.
Lake Nvasa
339
XXXVII.
ZOMBA
354
XXXVIII.
The East Coast .
373
XXXIX.
Beware of Your Friends .
398
XL.
Back to Sunshine
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D . .
Index
405
411
415
420
421
423
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Author with her Caravan .
Map of Rhodesia
Moonlight . . . .
Breakers . . . .
Cape Town Docks
Mail Train at Cape Town Docks
Cape Town and Table Mountain
Adderley Street, Cape Town
Groote Schuur . . . .
Entrance to Michell Pass .
Paintings in Bushman Cave on Mt. Silozwane
The Author arriving in Bulawa30
Fowls in Rhodesia
Successful Poultry Farming near Bulawayo
Main Street in Bulawayo
Khami Ruins, Rhodesia
Khami Ruins, Rhodesia
Khami Ruins, Rhodesia
Tree Fern
Rhodes's Funeral
The Grave of Rhodes
Paintings in Bushman Cave on Mt. Silozwane
Archery Club at Salisbury
Lady Milton . . . .
Post Office at Marandellas
Umzingwame River
Twenty Miles from Bulawayo
A Matabele Kraal
ix
To face
PAGE
xiii
I
i6
19
23
27
31
35
41
45
49
53
54
57
60
62
64
70
71
73
74
76
77
78
79
83
86
X
\^ia Rhodesia
A Mashona Kraal
Goldminers' Camp
The "Old Days." Mail Coach starting from Bulaway
Salisbury . . . .
Catholic Church, Bulawayo
Medal designed by Mr. John Tweed
H.M. the King- of the Belgians at Victoria Falls
" Housemaids " at Mctoria Falls Hotel
Professor Beattie carrying out a Magnetic Survey
At Kandahar Island
Crocodile shot on Railway Bridge at Victoria Falls
Baobab Tree . . . .
In the Palm Kloof
Main Falls . . . .
Victoria Falls from Knife-Edge
Zambesi River above the Falls
The " Boiling-Pot"
Cream of Tartar Tree
The " Smoke that Sounds"
An Artist's Corner
H.H. the Administrator and Mrs. Wallace
Drilling . . . .
Preparing to drag the Coach through the Floods
Tlie Postmaster in Difficulties
Dragging the Coach through the Floods .
At Kafue Bridge
Mansfield Lodge, Broken Hill
Postilion d'Amour from Livingstone
The Author's First Attempt at Cleaning Mealie-meal
My Carriers . . . .
Little " Ugly" and the Friendly Donkey .
Where the " Plaque" Fashion originated .
Palm Trees . . . .
Traps for Catching Birds
Trap for Catching Small Game
Drawing Water from a Well
o for
List of Illustrations
The Cotton Plant
The Author's Medicine-chest
Crossing" Lusenfwa River
A Native Pipe .
Native Village, near Serenje
Post Carriers with Armed Escort .
Author crossing the Lukasashi River
Court House, Serenje
Serenje Residency
In the Garden at Serenje ,
Woman with Ear Ornaments
Barber's Shop in the Wilds
Chilonga Mission Station
Post Office, M'pika
Tiles Drying at M'pika
Preparing" to cross Chambezi River
Caravan crossing Chambezi River .
Chanda Makuba, Chieftainess of Chanda
Natives on their way to my Camp to trade
Rukulu River .
Klipspringer
Waterbuck
Kasama Boma .
Mr. Averay Jones with his Hunting Trophies
Sawing Mahogany
Awemba Girl
Awemba Dance, Chipalu Village
Native Bridge .
Indaba of Chiefs held at Kalungwisi, igo8
Native Group .
In the Sleeping-Sickness Camp
The new Carriers
A Successful Cattle-breeder in N.E. Rhodesia
Cattle-herd in N.E. Rhodesia
Fine Cows in N.E. Rhodesia
Building Barricades against Lions, N.E. Rhodesia
XI
PAGB
200
203
204
207
217
220
223
229
-33
245
249
257
261
263
269
271
272
274
275
279
281
285
286
288
291
-93
295
299
J08
;ii
j>'j
11;
315
317
Xll
\'ia Rliodesia
A Man-Lion
On the Banks of Rukulu River, B.C. A.
Armadillos
Natives runniuij to see Lion just killed
At Liwonde River, taking Hippo out
Place for offering" Sacrifices to departed Chiefs,
River
Native Village near Karonga, B.C. A.
Mr. Stuart Wells in Camp, B.C. A.
Sable Antelope .
Eland shot near Karonga, B.C. A.
Mr. \\'el!s' Piccanin
Native Hut, B.C. A.
The One-pole Machilla .
Between Abercorn and Karonga on the Rukuru Ri
My Sleeping-Sickness Certificate
Native Painting on Hut .
View from Government House, Zomba, B.C. A.
Bush-fire in Central Africa at Night
Trout snapping Flies, Zomba Mountain, B.C. A.
Cotton-plucking Shed
River Shire at Chiromo, Nyasaland
At the Saw Mills
River Shire above Murchison Rapids
Lighter with Natives
Natives Returning after dragging us off
Chinde Harbour, with River-boats
" Landmark " off Chinde .
A Living Lighter at Mozambique .
Entrance to Fort, Mozambique
Zanzibar Women hiding from Kodak
Native Divers at Zanzibar
Beautiful Door at Zanzibar
Road to Bu-U-Bub, Zanzibar
Native School in Zanzibar
The Bridge, Zanzibar
Lower
Shire
PAGE
325
329
331
334
340
341
343
344
347
351
353
355
357
361
3^3
364
365
367
369
371
372
j7j
374
375
376
377
379
380
381
382
385
List of Illustrations
xui
Native Merry-g'o-round, Aden
Port Doctor at Suez
Mohammedan Woman buying- Fruit, Zanzibar
Harbour of Tanga
Dccdalus Lighthouse
Sig-nal Station in Suez Canal
SelHng^ Coffee in the Street, Port Said
Tramway, Port Said
Mohammedan Women in Zanzibar
Fire-drill on board " Kronprinz "
W^anting- to Shoot Rhino off Cape V^erde .
Good-bye . . . .
Map of Rhodesia
PAGE
38S
389
393
395
396
397
406
407
410
A/ cinl
THE AUTHOR WITH HER CARAVAN
VIA RHODESIA
CHAPTER I
Why ?
VIA youth to experience, via sacrifice to strength,
via the offshoots of knowledge gleaned from
others to the permanent establishment of a
nation made happy through those pioneer efforts — how
long the journey sounds ! but every footstep of individual
honest endeavour must mean advancement ; and verily
via the Colonies must one go to knit closer the rivet-
work of the Old Country's supremacy.
Nor is supremacy all. It avails nothing to reach the
mountain-top if one finds loneliness and misery there.
The happiness of the multitude, the comfort of the
people, this is more to be desired than the glittering
uniforms of conquering armies ; the locked-up wealth
of a country should be, not jewels in coffers, but bloom
in the faces of that country's inhabitants, health in the
bodies, peace in the minds.
When one speaks of the people of one's Country, one
is so apt to think of just the Capital and its inhabitants.
One's Country means the whole — just as Great Britain
may be likened to a live human being with England for
its heart, the Colonies for its limbs.
Why did I wish to visit Rhodesia ? I had heard of
its vast, empty lands ; I lived for the greater part of
2 Via Rhodesia
the year in London, and felt too keenly the pressure of
human life around, daily noted the suffocation, hourly
became more and more conscious of the terrible octopus
which compressed life breeds, not only in London but
in all densely populated areas, an octopus with fas-
cinating eyes, far - extended arms, and death - dealing
jaws. Darkest Africa? — oh, how he who has been
there must laugh at this description ! Africa, with the
sun always shining, Africa, with the free air for all !
Darkest England, rather — yes, deadly dark, where
starvation, called by the authorities consumption, is a
shadow always at your heels — darkest England, with
its crushed, seething masses, whose ideas are crippled for
want of space in which to develop, whose bodies are
maimed for lack of room for growth, not only maimed
but murdered — darkest England, where death is ; where
the unwanted baby is overlain — there being too many
to feed already — the hungry mother refusing food — the
famished father sinking to crime, the woman sold,
why ? why ? too many for too little, London the
vampire, life the victim.
Dregs are ugly ; the lowest stratum of a city is mud ;
but it is in the rank above the gutter-wanderers where
real suffering bites with sharpest teeth, where the brain,
having received a little culture, knows contrast, and
the heart aches, not with selfishness but with pity.
There are three stages of contemplation for these
humans : the past — a memory of pain endured for self
and as a helpless witness of suffering in others ; the
PRESENT, a warfare with Fate, a clinging on like leeches
to the little earned, fear in the eyes, half turned for
ever towards that dread shadow, uncertainty, which
never leaves the half-starved underpaid worker, as to
how long the wage will continue, how long the strength
will endure.
Why ? 3
The FUTURE ? Ah, if one grain of wisdom kirks within
that tired brain, here contemplation ends ; one must
not think of the dread possibihties of the future, or
additional doubt and dread will rob the fingers of the
strength to earn now, and fear, torturing one's mind
with wasp-like stings, will make the eyes burn daily
without tears. The future ? Others have got through
— well, perhaps^why not we ?
Search the whole world over, the same condition of life
prevails — viz., whenever human beings live too closely
together misery, poverty, disease, and premature death
are the result. I know nothing of political economy, but
I have heard that one of its doctrines is, that population
is wealth ; I should imagine the quality of the popula-
tion counted somewhat, but in any case, how terrible to
think that the wealth of the nation depends on the
misery of the individual !
Population may mean in an abstruse way prosperity,
but population, to mean individual happiness, must be
planted out ; anyone who knows anything of gardening
will understand what I mean.
How is it possible to plant out the poor bruised human
plants of our great cities ?
There are hospitals, but no casual wards, for the lower
middle classes ; the dregs may cling together, and rot
or roam, and be fed at each workhouse, or beg from the
charitable, or steal from the rich — but for the lower
middle classes there is little charity, nothing but work ;
they must not leave it, they dare not, and they are
lucky if the work does not leave them. Then also they
must strive to save, knowing too well that saving will
avail little as an income for old age. Usually Fate is
kind, and kills off the worker before middle age is passed,
the few pounds saved going to the next-of-kin — a wind-
fall — yet only enough to keep him or her in misery and
4 Via Rhodesia
out of luxury for a longer period than the deceased who
earned it.
How little we can do in England with a hundred
pounds ! Yet in N.E. Rhodesia I stayed at one pros-
perous farm, owned by a man wlio started only seven
years ago with a capital of £50 and the loan of a hundred
head of cattle from the Government ; he now has 750
head of cattle — but more of this farm anon.^
W'itli each human being born into the world comes
with the breath of life a spark of hope ; how terrible is the
daily, hourly murder of that hope by the suffocation
caused by overcrowded existence! "Too many in the
field," is the cry for ever rising up as the many sink
down.
There is more real tragedy in the life of the poor
worker who lacks the extra sixpence necessary for an
evening bus drive on a hot summer's evening, than in
that of the actual penniless one who breaks stones for a
morning meal at a workhouse, and compared with that
of an African native — but no, there is no comparison, for
all natives are contented and happy, unless unnecessary
education has been forced upon them.
How drab is the existence of those workers, too, who
dare not walk in the parks because boots wear out too
quickly, and who rarely read, even cheap literature, be-
cause eyesight is so precious and must be guarded and
kept for work !
No sunshine, httle love, only a glimpse of what Hfe
might be, and the bitter knowledge of what it is not : this
is the life of the white worker in a white man's country.
What is the use of free education to people who have
no room in which to work after that education has
been obtained ? They must have space for develop-
ment, space for the growth of body and mind. It is
^ See page 310.
Why ? 5
demoralising to know that every situation one obtains
means disappointment and perhaps starvation for the
unsuccessful applicants. Such a condition of things can
only be termed the cannibalism of commerce.
Where to place the many humans who daily tread on
each other's heels and snatch each other's bread, and
how, is the question.
Socialists, I fancy, have grotesque ideas of turning
palaces into doss-houses, and wish to divide up the
accumulated wealth of past workers. This also would
be demoralising ; one must work, not thieve. If social-
ists wanted really to help their fellow-creatures, they
should preach the doctrine of pioneering ; let them
teach how to make bricks and build palaces for oneself
in the open spaces of the world. If the energy they use
in denouncing ground landlords, and enviously slandering
capitalists (who after all help the world considerably by
employing labour), could be used instead to denounce
the wasted wealth spent annually by foreign missions on
happy blacks abroad, while the whites at home are
starving, then funds might be raised wherewith the
needy white could reach those open spaces where
sunshine, health, and the possibility of living, await
him.
One Sunday afternoon I listened to a Hyde Park
orator denouncing South African millionaires. He was
a fat, lazy-looking man with envy and malice writ large
all over him ; his speech was silly, but he obtained a
hearing, and pride of publicity is usually all a street-
orator desires. Sneers against riches were probabh*
all that was left for him ; the man at the next pitch
had cornered royalty, while religion, atheism, politics,
and servants' privileges had their exponents a little
further on.
The man expressed the wish to annex the gold and
6 Via Rhodesia
diamond mines, and reduce the owners to the level of
miners, " just to show them what work meant," with a
move of his fat hand, that knew nothing of manual
labour yet. " Pay off the National Debt and then give
every working man free beer." The connection between
the different propositions and results was vague, but the
hearers, fancying something might be got for nothing,
liked the suggestion, and as I turned away and walked
down Park Lane (which has by some been renamed
High Street, Johannesburg), I thought, the man is right
on one point : wealth can be and has been made in
South Africa. Now, if a few have made so much, surely
there is room and opportunity for many to make a
little !
It is quite erroneous to suppose that everybody wants
to be rich, the majority only desire sufficient for the
present and a small certainty in the future.
Africa is usually associated in the mind with only
three things : mines, murders, and missionaries — gold
and diamonds, slaughter of game, and pennies collected
by sleek gentlemen who tell funny stories in Sunday-
schools on Sunday afternoons about the conversion of
the poor blacks in Darkest Africa.
Now when the Hyde Park orator spoke in millions,
breathed gold and airily washed a regiment of soldiers,
" not in blood, friends, not in blood, but diamonds," with
many waves of his fat hands, then how I wished back in
my pocket again the few pennies taken from me in my
youth wherewith to buy Bibles for blacks, for I con-
cluded that here indeed was a land to which might be
sent the miserable whites, and I always had my doubts
about the necessity of Bibles as an aid to the well-being
of the blacks. I thought then, as indeed I now do more
than ever, that what was really wanted was, not a
Missionary Sunday, but an Emigration Sunday in ad-
Why? 7
dition to a Hospital Sunday, and perhaps some day the
latter might be abolished, for the planting out of the
many must mean improved health for both those who
go and those who remain.
There are many organisations dealing wdth emigration.
The Salvation Army is doing splendid work with regard
to emigration of a certain class, and its aid is not re-
stricted to members of the Salvation Army. It arranges
for a great number of emigrants to go to Canada at
reduced fares ; but Canada has bitterly cold winters, and
to many who have lived in poverty in overcrowded areas
cold means worse than death, for it promises a seemingly
endless misery.
Africa offers sunshine, but Africa is far away, and
when I made inquiries as to the cheapest way to get
there, how one could live when one got there, in short,
what prospects this vast land of sunshine held out to
the small capitalist who wished to emigrate or the
penniless worker who needed the sunshine and space so
badly, I found that very little literature to throw light
on the subject was obtainable, because the books on
Africa dealt chiefly with sport, war, or mission enter-
prise.
The more I thought of the subject, the stranger it
seemed to me that England should own such vast tracts
of land abroad about which the average man knows so
little, while at home a huge population was herded to-
gether with less food and in a more confined area than
was allowed the heathen Chinaman in his comfortable
quarters on the Rand.
Why is it that in England there exist so many so-
called charitable persons who, instead of helping the
poor at home, are only willing to put their hands into
their pockets to assist people of another colour and a
different race ? Or, again, so many others who, in-
8 Via Rhodesia
different to the crying needs of the multitude around
them, spend all their indignation on the atrocities sup-
posed to be committed in a land with which they have
no concern, or base their political quarrels upon foreign
or colonial subjects about which they know nothing at
all, and which should be left to the men on the spot —
many of whom are our own flesh and blood — and are in
the best position to judge ? Have these people become
cruel slavedrivers because they have emigrated, because
they are building up the real foundation of Empire in
hard, steady work ? It seems to me that people in
England do not see the irony and sarcasm of their ideas.
The answers to the above questions are difhcult to
find, and cannot be traced in the region of either common
sense or humanity.
After thinking over the question of Rhodesia as a
possible settling-place for the middle classes who find
life such a struggle in England, I decided that it would
be a good thing to go — not for sport, but to try to gather
together those little details which perhaps would help
intending emigrants, and from a woman's point of view
ascertain the possibility of Rhodesia as a good settling-
ground for women. I read both Grogan's and Mary
Hall's book on a Cape to Cairo journey, and found that
neither of these travellers had given the reader any idea
of what lay beyond the railway terminus ; both had in
fact somewhat neglected Rhodesia, and neither had
accomplished the trip from Capetown to Cairo in one
journey, which feat I felt I should like to try to accom-
plish. The scheme was certainly ambitious, and rather
savoured of an amateur starting by playing Hamlet,
for I had never been inside a tent in my life, or spoken
to a native, while both of the travellers I have mentioned
spent much time in Africa preparatory to commencing
their long journey.
Wh)' ? 9
I mentioned my thoughts on the matter to a certain
poUtical celebrity of South African fame, when he called
on me, and instead of ridiculing my ambition he said :
" Well, why not ? it is no more than Mary Kingsley
could have done, and you would be certain to get on
with the natives. I would not let the idea slide if I
were you."
And I didn't.
Then began the making of preparations, which was no
small matter to one whose longest sea journey had been
a journey of twelve hours, and w^ho knew nothing of camp
life. I asked the advice of those who did and those who
did not know% the result being some unnecessary luggage
and the omission of many simple but extremely useful
articles. I shall never forget how Selous laughed when
I afterwards related to him how I went away without a
tin-opener and regretted the number of spears spoilt
over Hunter's useful, but securely closed, tins of food.
Cameras, of course, would be essential, and I purchased
two Kodaks : one postcard size and the other a No. i A
with Goerz lens. I had so far never taken a photo-
graph in my life, and started straight away practising
on the ducks in Regent's Park ; but November light in
London is not encouraging, and I looked forward to
making better pictures when I should reach the land of
sunshine. I found the Kodak easy to manage, but the
instructions one receives in England witli regard to
time, stops, etc., are of little value when one gets to South
Africa, for there the light is constantly changing and
cannot be depended on to the same extent as in Egypt.
I would advise the purchase of a No. 4 or 4 a with a good
lens and a stand. Films should be taken in small tins,
and it is important to see that the sticking-plaster pre-
vents air or moisture getting in between the lid and the
tin itself. It is a very useful little tip to have a roll of
lo Via Rhodesia
half-inch and a roll of one-inch sticking-plaster always
handy for similar purposes.
I wished to keep the details and plans of my journey a
secret until I was ready to leave. But put not your trust
in journalists ! Having given some particulars to one
man, with a promise to grant an interview before leaving,
I found, to my amazement, that every word I had said
was printed with fantastical additions in the next morn-
ing's paper ! Then I was besieged with interviewers, while
cameras blocked the staircase and flashlight horrors were
forced upon me.
Apropos of this, I must relate an amusing little in-
cident that happened at this time. I was travelling to
the City in the Tube, when an elderly woman opposite
me nudged her companion to look at an illustrated paper
she was holding, and observed in audible tones: " This
woman is going to try to get from the Cape to Cairo
without any white companions with her. Well, with a
face like that I should say she would be safe anywhere."
It required an effort not to laugh outright. How sur-
prised the good soul would have been had she discovered
the identity of her vis-d-vis.
Although not ambitious so far as the shooting of big
game was concerned, I decided that it would be useful,
both for protection and to fill the pot, to know something
of fire-arms, and I therefore had some practice at Mr.
Lancaster's shooting grounds near Wembley Hill. I
used to start off by an early morning train from the
Great Central Station, at least it was early for a winter's
morning, but I found the cold walk from Wembley Hill
to the shooting grounds delightfully exhilarating, and
only growled when fog or rain made shooting an im-
possibility. I practised with a Webley revolver, and
a 20-bore double shot-gun, -303 rifle and -470 cordite.
My practice with the latter was purely experimental, as
Why :
> II
I had no intention of taking such expensive weapons
with me.
Naturally all my friends tried to dissuade me from
attempting the journey. One kind Major who had been
as far as Mafeking talked of the horrors of camp-life for
an hour, and both acquaintances and strangers wrote and
warned me, quoting every crime that police news has
or has not reported or hinted at. Some dear women's
remarks were very quaint. At a certain farewell dinner-
party one lady observed in a very agitated manner :
" But if only you had a squint you might be safe, if
only you had a squint ! But of course with your coloured
hair all the chiefs will want to marry you ! "
The word "chief " is suggestive of a gorgeous poten-
tate in silken robes and glittering jewels, but the only
chiefs I met affected cloth made from the bark of trees or
mouldy-looking skins, and seemed quite contented with
their dusky brides.
Women who had lived in India, and knew only natives
who had been contaminated by education and made
criminals through too many privileges, bade me good-
bye as if I were going to certain death.
Very amusing were some of the letters received from
men who wished to accompany me. Some sent medical
certificates and chest measurements, others clergymen's
references ; one, a butcher, wished to come to cut up
rations for my carriers. As the only cutting up that
had to be done was the cutting up of limbo (calico) which
they received and which they exchanged for food, I
do not quite see how I could have availed myself of this
kind butcher gentleman's services. One woman wrote
offering to go with me " to fold my dresses "; she requested
me to address my reply to "Post Office, ", adding
that she was married, but hoped I would regard her letter
as strictly secret and confidential. Needless to say I did
I 2 Via Rhodesia
not assist in this domestic tragedy by accepting her
brilliant offer.
Another mysterious woman called, and refusing to give
my maid her name, insisted on seeing me. It seems she
thought I was connected with an Emigration Society,
and had come with the intention of seeking my advice
and telling me the story of her life ; but when she saw
me she concluded I w^as too young to be told, and after
thanking me for seeing her she went away, and I am
still wondering what that story was.
Perhaps the prettiest letter came from a little boy in
Detroit, U.S.A., who wanted me to take him to see an
African jungle. He said he would ask his aunt for the
money, and he seemed convinced he would get it, but
if I could not take him, would I accept a belt ? The
offer of a belt as a consolation prize for the loss of his
companionship was droll.
Then, the number of firms who wanted to use me as a
sandwich board for the advertising of their wares ! The
correspondence was colossal, and my flat small — one
enterprising shipbuilder wanted to send me a dozen
different samples of collapsible boats.
In fact, so much inconvenience did I suffer from
would-be generous donors, that I positively fled from
London long before I otherwise should have done, being
advised that the rains were falling in South Africa and
that in consequence travelling by caravan would be
practically impossible for at least another two months.
I came to the conclusion that while waiting in South
Africa for the rains to cease I should have an oppor-
tunity of studying Southern Rhodesia before proceed-
ing north, and therefore booked my passage by the
Union Castle liner " Briton," advertised to sail on
January gth.
One of the most amusing farewell telegrams was
Why ?
I
a reply -paid one from the Editor of "Pearson's
Weekly " :—
" Reply paid 36 words
" Charlotte Mansfield
" Could you persuade leading suffragettes to go with
you ? Please reply."
I replied that I should be sorry to deprive the English
of their most exciting topic of conversation. Requests
from other editors were even more amazing : one made
the proposition that I should contrive to be lost for
six weeks and let him have the first wire on being
" found," while another one was willing to pay a big
price for stories, " preferably of an exciting and peculiar
nature." While on my journey, the only English papers
to which I sent any contributions were the " African
World," the Manchester " Daily Despatch," and the
" Grand Magazine." To no paper was I bound.
As a free agent, able to give unbiassed opinions, I set
forth on my journey armed with introductions from the
Chartered Company, from the courteous editor of the
" African World," and from many private friends.
It is very dull for strangers to be forced to look
through family albums, or read descriptions of merely
social functions in which they took no part, so I will
pass over the day of my departure. Not that I was not
proud of the many evidences of good wishes, displayed
not only by the presence of so large a gathering of
friends to see the train leave Waterloo, but also by
the many beautiful flowers sent me by my friends the
Piccadilly flower-girls, for which my heart was full of
gratitude.
Cutting off a dog's tail by degrees is a painful and not a
pretty action, and prolonged partings are to be deplored.
Therefore, soon after lunch on board the " Briton,"
1 4 Via Rhodesia
and long before the signal was given for departure, my
friends bade me adieu, and I was left alone on that
mighty vessel, knowing not a soul, and full of wonder
as to what the future held.
It is a great saving clause in one's nature to have a
sense of humour. Perhaps a tear would have fallen had
not the remark of one of the passengers turned a sigh to
a smile. A young woman near me observed to a man
by her side, " What a long way out of the water the
boat is ; I suppose it is low tide."
The afternoon was grey as only an English afternoon
in January can be, and the spectators on shore shivered
with cold as they waited what seemed an endless time,
until the heart of the boat began to beat and the " Briton "
moved slowly, majestically out into the unknown waters,
unknown at anv rate to me.
T
CHAPTER II
The Mailboaf
I RED out with the many fatiguing preparations
I had made, I found the rest on the "Briton"
an absolute godsend. Nowhere in the whole
world is there such a rest to be found as on a big liner
when the sea behaves, except perhaps among the wilds,
three or four hundred miles from a railway, where there
is absolute freedom from the fetters of society.
The second day at sea the steward came to me to
know if the boxes of Cerebos salt amongst my luggage
were for use during the voyage ! I told him if any of
the passengers required salt-water baths I should be
only too pleased to place the salt at his disposal ; but
the steward must have been Scotch ; he didn't smile as
he said " Thank you." The genial captain, however, was
much amused when I related the incident to him.
The boat was by no means full, but everyone seemed
bent on giving a good time to the others. An amusing
play was written by the editor of a Johannesburg paper,
who, with his pretty bride, was returning to the Rand.
The performance of that piece (on the only rough night
of the journey) gave great pleasure to many. Then, too,
there were the usual sports, with heaps of prizes, and
one and all joined in throwing rope rings into a bucket,
or tried to chalk the pig's eye. How many people there
are who, wherever they go, must have some sort of
active amusement, and have no appreciation whatever
15
i6
Via Rhodesia
of peaceful passive pleasure, as, for instance, at night.
Surely one can play cards and dance sufficiently on
land ; at sea it seems almost a sacrilege to mar the
serenity of such won-
drous peace. How-
ever, each one is free
to do as he or she lists,
and it is possible to
leave the chattering
crowd and artificial
lights, and, wandering
to a deserted part of
the deck, feast on the
sumptuous glory of a
silver night at sea —
the ever-moving, ever-
shining phosphorus on
the waves below, the
glitter of the stars
above, the clean cool
air filling one's nos-
trils, and the exhil-
arating feeling that
one is riding through
the ocean, yes, riding
rather than being car-
ried. Space is ours
and eternity dwells near ; for myriads of years the
waves have been lapping, and for centuries to come
the waters will continue to roll. How great is the
grandeur of perpetual motion ! and the waters are that
and more ; their power is omnipotent ; life dances
around, but life continues only at the will of those waves,
death lies beneath that glittering moonlit surface, death
and the buried hopes of many.
MOONLIGHT
The Mailboat 17
I must confess to a great disappointment in the
Southern Cross. I had expected the dazzhng splendour
of a perfect cross formed of many brilhant stars, instead
of which one sees only four, with sometimes an intruding
fifth. It was only later that I learned its fascination,
when in the wilds it seemed to create a homely feeling,
a feeling of knowing where you are. Whenever you
look to the stars, which in the southern hemisphere seem
much brighter, you always turn again unconsciously to
the Cross. Yet still, never do I see it without associating
it with Mr. Dick's kite in "David Copperfield " ; espe-
cially when it lies on its side, one wonders who holds
the string.
It is not within the power of all to take a long sea
voyage, but it seems incredible that so many people
should year after year flock to France for a holiday
instead of occasionally taking a trip to Madeira or
Teneriffe. The sea voyage affords such a complete
change, and is therefore more restful to mind and body
than an hour on a choppy channel followed by the many
hours of a tedious train-journey.
And what a gem of earth set in the sea the beautiful
little island of Madeira is, with its fairy mountains topped
by fleecy clouds, the perfume of the flowers coming out
to the sea to greet you, as though the land were waving
a scented handkerchief of welcome, the valleys sug-
gesting that they have dug their way into the hill-sides
with flower-sheathed swords, purple shadows hovering
near, while high above is a wonderful canopy of blue.
The sky seems happy to look on so lovely a land ; smiles
of sunshine are everywhere. Dame Nature appears in
her happiest mood.
Quite early in the morning small boats put off from
the shore, filled with men and boys who for small change
thrown from the steamers are willing to turn themselves
1 8 Via Rhodesia
into acrobatic fish. How swiftly they dive, and how
much better looks their smooth golden-brown skin than
the silken and spangled hose of land acrobats ! Their
limbs are exquisitely shaped. So clear is the water,
they quickly find sixpence. For a shilling the smallest
boy will climb up the side of the ship and dive from the
upper deck.
Madeira is not modern in appearance. Only one small
motor-car plies for hire by the shore, but many bullock
carts with curtains of gay cretonne are waiting to convey
people to the mountain railway.
It is a good plan for passengers who wish to visit
Madeira to purchase the tickets which are sold on board ;
they cost ten shillings, and include a boat to and from
the landing-place, railway fare up the mountain, and
breakfast at the charming cafe on the top. If you do
not wish to avail yourself of this ten-shilling ticket, but
only desire to go ashore, arrange before leaving the
liner for return boat fare, and stipulate that the full fare
will be paid after return.
The streets one passes through en route for the moun-
tain are narrow alleys, and the smiling women, with their
gaily-coloured shawls, look like the chorus in a romantic
opera ; quite pretty, too, are the children who so grace-
fully toss flowers into your lap as you drive past.
And then as one travels upward in the mountain car,
how wonderful it is to turn one's head and behold the
vast panorama of restful valleys, while far away on the
glittering sea the stately ships are standing still and
rigid as mighty sentinels under a dazzling sky. Arrived
at the top of the mountain, of course everyone is hungry,
or ought to be, and breakfast — what a feast for the gods
it is ! eaten in the open in the hotel garden. What
matter if the waiters fall over each other in their hurry,
so long as they do not smash the baskets of eggs which
The Mailboat 19
seem to turn by magic into omelettes ? Everyone off
the ships in the harbour seems to have arrived at the
same moment, and the meal is a scramble ; coffee, wine,
fish, and fruit ordered by you goes to someone else.
BREAKERS
But the sun shines, the view is glorious, and nothing
counts save that.
After breakfast one visits the Falls. It is doubtful if
any water will be falling, but again the view is grand, so
one excuses the lack of water and goes off to toboggan
down the mountain, a mile and a half of bumping from
side to side on a wooden sleigh, guided by ropes and
drawn by shouting men, who ever and anon pause sud-
denly and demand money for wine. What a pity the
toboggan does not end in a watershute ! that and a
final swing on to the liner would indeed be a brilliant
termination to a delightful morning.
In the meantime, the passengers who chose to remain
on board have been well entertained by the boat-loads
20 Via Rhodesia
of would-be traders who have come on board with wicker
chairs, lace, and many other articles for sale. Do not
buy any canaries, you can get them cheaper and better,
and without all the trouble of transport, in South Africa.
The divers, seemingly never tired of their damp pro-
fession, continue to ply for sixpences.
You leave Madeira wondering why it is that you hnd
so many beggars in the most artistic towns. True, the
Portuguese are a poor race, and you do not seem to mind
the itching begging palm held out when, instead of
being greeted with the cry " Clean your boots, sir ? " or
having a handful of commercial matches thrust before
you, your eyes rest on a smiling face and a hand proffer-
ing a bunch of flowers.
Artists and poets should find Madeira a paradise on
earth in which to dwell, but the man on 'Change would
doubtless make many complaints, and smell dirt while
others inhaled only the perfume of flowers and felt the
artistic atmosphere which makes pictures of the very
walls, and songs of peasants' cries.
How many people there are in the world who find no
companionship in their own company and are hopelessly
bored when alone for any length of time, as though one
could be really alone with the ever-moving sea around
and the many winds singing their mysterious messages !
But so it is, and thus on board ship acquaintances are
made which would be regarded as little short of scandal-
ous on shore, and friendship springs up with mushroom
growth. The ship becomes a sort of floating boarding-
house, and concocting scandal rivals woolwork. The men
are as great at gossiping as the women, and the passengers
who take the least exercise grumble the most at the
food. How tired the officers must get of the sameness of
the daily questions : —
" Will it be rough to-day ? "
The Mailboat 21
" How is the wind ? "
" When do we pass the next boat ? On which side ? "
One old lady persisted in daily asking how far we were
from land, and at length received a fitting reply : —
"Well, madam, I should say, reckoning straight down,
about a mile ! "
CHAPTER III
The Cape
TO-MORROW we shall see land ! How delicious
is an unopened book, with what eagerness you
look forward to a picture to be seen to-morrow,
a singer to be heard to-morrow — and to-morrow always
comes to the impressionist.
To-morrow had come. The mops were busy swabbing
the deck ; a grey light peeped in through my cabin win-
dow and beckoned with frail, ghost-like fingers ; it was
only four o'clock, some time must yet elapse before
the monarch of day would rise from scarlet sheets of
light and with sceptre of gold gladden the hours.
The approach to an unknown shore is a wonderful
experience. It is more than wonderful, it seems crea-
tive ; every nerve is strung up to a high pitch of ex-
pectation. For many days our outlook has been limited
to the ocean ; now we are to see not only land, but a
new land, and upon it to enter a new life.
Of how little consequence seem the details of recent
intercourse with fellow-passengers ! Only a few hours
ago they peopled our world, for seventeen days we were
in that world, and now, looking back, how narrow that
world seems and how wide the sea !
The boat, too, feels the emotion of the minute, she
has ceased to gallop over high-crested waves, no longer
she flirts with the wind, but is serious, creeping slowly,
as though cautiously making certain of her welcome.
The Cape
^3
The pilot has come on board. And how strange it seems
that such a smaU rope should go out, the little rope with
the leaden weight, the " blue pigeon," to measure the
depth of the water so that the stately dame who has
carried us securely on her bosom, still holding her head
majestically aloft, may enter the harbour in safety.
" Eat an apple when approaching Cape Town," one
passenger had advised. " The dull grey city under the
shadow of the overhanging mountain will give you melan-
cholia, but you can't eat and cry at the same time."
But only links with the land left behind can make one
sad on entering so lovely a bay. Table Mountain does
CAI'E TOWN DOCKS
not overshadow, but instead seems to shelter the city
lying beneath, and with its Lion's Head it is indeed a
fitting monument to stand at the gate of Africa.
24 \^i<i Rhodesia
One can learn little of a land by the study of geography
and nothing of a people by hearsay, and therefore elec-
tions in England are often won by dramatic misstate-
ments about conditions abroad. We beat our own dogs
but object to our neighbours chastising theirs, and so,
regardless of our poor starving whites, a certain set are
always ready to stand up for the so-called rights of the
supposed-to-be ill-treated blacks.
The subject of colour equality had more than once been
discussed during the voyage, and one youth, decisive
through ignorance, had pompously announced the fact
that, despite the colour of the skin, red blood ran through
black and white alike. This gentleman did not appre-
ciate my reply that cows and pigs also possessed red
blood, but I should not care to kiss the former or feed
with the latter. It so happened that as the " Briton "
lay in Table Bay, this same youth saw a slight skir-
mish going on between some porters near the quay,
and with indignation he exclaimed, " Good Heavens,
how disgraceful, the black boys are beating a white!"
"Why not, if the white deserves it ? " asked a passen-
ger teasingly, " what about your ideas of colour
equality ? "
" But it looks so much worse when one sees it than
when one thinks about it," the young man replied.
" Well, it happens to be a Cape boy and not a white ;
however, your indignation floors your argument," the
passenger observed, and I do not think the young man
with the beautiful violet socks will talk so much about
equality of red blood on his return journey.
Soon after breakfast, when visitors from the shore
were allowed on board, Mr. Olive, the courteous Secretary
of the Chartered Company, came on deck, and handed
me a letter of welcome from Dr. Jameson, and I did
not feel I was quite a stranger in a strange land.
The Cape
25
The quay is some distance from the Mount Nelson
Hotel, where I elected to stay, and I shall never forget
the drive : wharf buildings are not beautiful, but to look
ahead at the beetling crags of distant mountains, and
to feel the kiss of the warm sunshine as one left the
song of the sea behind and approached the town, was to
enjoy blissful unconsciousness of the proximity of the
sordid. How pretty the houses seemed in their un-
evenness ! One was covered with deep blue convol-
MAIL TRAIN AT CAPE TOWN DOCKS
(By kind permission of C.G. Railways)
vulus, which gave an added touch of happiness to my
stay in Cape Town, for blue is my favourite colour.
There are no beggars in Cape Town, at least I saw none,
and I spent ten days wandering about the town and
suburbs. It is true that in the wonderful avenue of
oak trees which runs upward from the House of Parlia-
ment, giving an impression of a ladder framed by foliage
leading to the sky, one occasionally sees a few loiterers,
who may be out of work, but they are usually sucking
2 6 Via Rhcxlcsia
peaches or toying with a bunch of grapes, looking well
nourished and quite happy. What a contrast to the
cities of Europe !
Cape Town is something more than a terminus whence
one visits other parts of Africa. The mines have made
other parts famous, but that which is on the earth, not
under it, makes Cape Town endearing. Everywhere you
feel the strange fascination of Nature in her various and
most picturesque moods. In the streets the coloured
girls are selling the most beautiful heather to be ob-
tained in the whole world ; neither Scotland nor the
northern counties of England can produce such varied
hues in so many forms of feathery grace. Malays pass
with their simple head-coverings and stately mien ; at
the street corners are groups of natives of various types ;
a foreign, almost Eastern, atmosphere prevails, and
although English is spoken on every side, it seems hard
to believe that Cape Town actually belongs to the English,
it has so little been boasted of ; and yet, to be proud of
such a possession would only be to do justice to this
fairy city. The suburbs are lovely beyond description.
The air is full of whispers which come from the silver
trees on Table Mountain. The deep blue of the sky
melts to a paler shade of hlmy blue mist on the sides of
the mountains, midway between earth and heaven, again
to sink into a softer shade of blue in the pale plumbago
flowers which skirt the roads, and All the gardens with
azure poesy. It is said that plumbago was the favourite
flower of Cecil Rhodes ; at any rate, Cape Town keeps
ever flourishing — perhaps in memory — these dainty blos-
soms. And what a contrast to the pale plumbago is the
scarlet probiscus, with its flaunting notes of floral ex-
clamation to arrest the attention of the passer-by !
The air is so clear everywhere, the warmth of the sun
invigorates rather than oppresses ; in a word, the air
The Cape 29
is clean. One remembers in contrast a warm day in
London, with its stench of sour streets, and shudders at
the recollection. I thought of the words of a Colonial
who, after a few minutes' experience of the Strand,
observed: ''Can't say that I like to eat air after half
a million other chaps have tasted it ! "
In Africa there is enough to go round. Truly, health
is in the air and wealth in the land. In all parts of the
world progress is impeded by irresponsible grumblers,
and many emigrants are kept away from Africa by those
who, regardless of diet and clothing, have condemned
the climate, when in reality they themselves were to
blame for any inconvenience experienced.
" You are going into the African summer, you will
never be able to stand the heat," many said to me before
I left. But neither in Cape Town nor Kimberley, neither
in Bulawayo nor further north, did I find it necessary
to incommode myself with the burden of a sunshade,
wearing instead a shady leghorn hat or pith helmet.
Heavy or uncomfortable headgear should be avoided.
Before continuing, I should like to insert here a few
hints for arriving passengers.
The cheapest and best way (cheapest because they
have all facilities) to get your luggage off the boat and
to the hotel or railway station, is to tie to each package
a label with your name, and, when the various clearing
agents come aboard, to hand over the lot with the keys
to the one you fancy, at the same time giving him a full
declaration of all goods liable to duty. Fire-arms and
ammunition cannot be imported without a permit from
the Colonial Secretary. As a rule these articles remain
in bond in Cape Town until you can produce the necessary
permits, which, if you are up country, must include
permit of removal and a further permit of import to the
place where you are staying. You further inform the
30 Via Rhodesia
clearing agent, who gives you a receipt, exactly what
you intend doing, and then you can drive away either
in a hansom or by train. If you have to leave Cape
Town as soon as possible, the best plan is to meet your
agent again at the train, if you leave in the evening, or
to receive from him only the small things you require
during the day, and meet him next morning for the day
train. This train goes to Kimberley and the north,
and has a portion for Johannesburg ; the evening train
goes through the Free State to the Transvaal, and com-
municates with all eastern parts of the Cape and with
Natal.
The cheapest way to deal with vour luggage is to
send all you do not immediately require per goods-
train to your destination, and only take the absolutely
necessary things with you. The luggage excess rate is
rather high. In the first class you are allowed lOO lbs.
free, and in the second class 75 lbs. You must reckon
that per goods-train your things will take about eight
days to Kimberley, about ten to Johannesburg, and
about twelve to Bulawayo.
Dining-cars are provided on all trains, so that it is not
necessary to carry provisions with you. Fixed tariffs
at moderate prices are in force.
If your journey includes a night, it is advisable to
procure a set of railway bedding at 2s. 6d.
My strong advice to everyone is, stay a few days in
Cape Town and see as much of the Peninsula as possible,
which can be done with very small expenditure. I am
convinced that no one will regret it. A useful pro-
gramme is given later on.
The colonial women look happy and healthy ; they
have none of the fifteen-hours-crushed-into-twelve ex-
pression about them. It is a pleasure to go shopping in
Cape Town, to see the cheery girl-assistants with their
The Cape
31
sunburnt faces, and hands free from chilblains. Their
hours are from eight until six, except on Saturdays,
when they leave at half -past one. They are allowed to
wear white blouses, and never " live in," either residing
with their families or boarding out.
if
ADDEKLEY STREET, CAPE TOWN
(Bj' kind permission of C.G. Railways)
At Cape Town quite a number of young girls live at
the Young Women's Christian Association, which is one
of the best - organised branches in the world. It is
managed by Miss Welch, a gentlewoman who gives her
whole time and income to the cause of furthering the
comfort and happiness of young women and girls.
A very pretty bedroom, with full board and the use
of all the public rooms, can be obtained for five guineas
a month, or a very pleasant cubicle for four. Taking
into consideration the excellent quality of food served,
32 Via Rhodesia
tliis is remarkably cheap. There is a reading-room
with an ample supply of papers and magazines, a library,
a fine music and drawing-room (adorned with a signed
portrait of Paderewski), also a large room for lectures
or concerts. The dining-room, when I lunched there, was
gay with fresh flowers, and the serving put many a
smart restaurant to shame. A wide balcony runs the
whole length of the building, where tea can be partaken
of, if desired. The library was started by a legacy left
for that purpose by Cecil Rhodes, and many bedrooms
have been furnished by different people at the small
cost of fifteen to twenty pounds, the room bearing the
name of the donor.
A special feature is made of meeting at boat or train
any girl or young woman whose parents or friends have
sent word of date of arrival.
There can be no doubt that Cape Town is shaking
itself free from the much-discussed depression of recent
years ; a boom always brings in its train a reaction,
and far more satisfactory will be the future state of
affairs if normal success be the order of the day. Life,
like water, levels itself ; there can be but little doubt
that the dissatisfaction was caused only by a forerunner
of extravagance. One is apt to ignore the indiscretion
of the individual, and blame instead the country in which
that individual lives, which is unfair to the country.
It is true, men have been withdrawn, but this was
necessary ; too many men did too little and received
too much for it. Economy practised by a Government
must eventually benefit the people governed. Further,
during the war skilled labour was paid for at a ridiculous
rate, and naturally workmen receiving three pounds a
day grumbled when the amount was reduced to three
pounds a week, and talked about depression, but prob-
ably they will save on the latter figure, while the former
The Cape 33
only induced speculation and extravagance, and should
the price paid for labour rise again, the lesson has been
learnt. Cape Town will show substantial progress rather
than jerry-built fortune.
The sittings of the Convention were nearing an end
when I was at Cape Town, and on every side one heard
of little else, most people pretending they knew more
than their neighbours, but that the hinted-at information,
having been received in confidence, could not be divulged,
and everyone knew that everyone else was lying, but
continued to pervert the truth himself. The question of
the Capital to be selected gave rise to the most numerous
rumours, and apropos of this I discovered a most ardent
supporter of women's suffrage. When at Muizenberg, a
pretty seaside place about fifteen miles from Cape Town,
I inspected the simple little cottage at St. James, where
Cecil Rhodes breathed his last, when Mr. Campbell, the
caretaker, gave me some of his political views, and one
was that if only the women in Cape Town had the vote
there would be little doubt that Cape Town would be
the capital.
I have already advised, and again strongly advise,
everyone arriving in Cape Town to remain there at
least a few days before proceeding to their ultimate
destination, for this is possible without great outlay.
There are hotels of varying prices to suit different
pockets, and the most beautiful drives may be taken
on the tramcars.
I will mention a few.
Take the Campsbay tram for the Kloof direction in
Adderley Street; from the top of the Kloof either continue
down with the tram or take the delightful walk down
to the Pagoda, where you can get a good cup of tea.
Then take again the tram for town via Seapoint.
Take the Wynberg tram at Adderley Street corner,
34 Via Rhodesia
and walk through the beautiful new park, beginning at
the Observatory.
Take the Tamboers Kloof tram, and from the top
terminus walk up Signal Hill, whence you have a
magnificent view of Cape Town.
All these drives cost only a few pence.
Somewhat more expensive, but most fascinating and
interesting, is a drive round Constantia to Houtbay,
and back over the beautiful Victoria Road along the
high mountains, with the dark blue sea far beneath
you.
Of course everyone will wish to visit Groote Schuur,
formerly the residence of Cecil Rhodes, and still the
hospitable meeting-place for all visitors of distinction
who pass through Cape Town. To give a description of
this fine house of old Dutch design and its innumerable
treasures is not necessary, because every guide-book
contains this information.
The impression made upon me on the day I lunched
there with Dr. Jameson as my host and Mr. Walton as a
fellow-guest, will never be effaced. It is not often that
an occupied house reminds you of a cathedral, but so it
is in the case of Groote Schuur ; memories have sanctified
it, and the perfect taste of its beautiful possessions made
it holy. I was quite in sympathy wdth a lady I m.et
later who remarked : " When I dined there I felt I must
only speak in a whisper."
Perhaps nowhere in the world exists such a wonderful
vale of hydrangeas — people come many miles to
picnic within sight of these lovely blossoms. The house
also is always filled with fragrant flowers, and writing
of flowers I am tempted to tell a little story. The day
I was at Groote Schuur the table was very daintily
garnished with Eschscholtzia, and I admired the deep
yellow of the petals very much, and asked for the name.
The Cape 37
" Ah," said Dr. Jameson, " that is the only flower
whose name I always remember, it is . . . " and then
he had to ask the servant to ascertain the name.
Mr, Walton was kindly solicitous as to whether I was
taking with me any antidotes against snake poisoning.
How right he was I afterwards realised when I was in-
formed at a French Mission Station in Northern Rhodesia
that the Fathers there had collected over two hundred
varieties of poisonous snakes in that locality. I was not
molested by these reptiles, which at times become very
troublesome, and fortunately there was no necessity
to make use of a very handy little pocket instrument
which Burroughs, Wellcome & Co. supply, which con-
sists of a lancet at one end and a receptacle with per-
manganate of potash at the other.
I think at Groote Schuur I wished more ardently than
ever that I possessed a poet's pen and an artist's brush.
It needed a Morland to paint the picture of Robin, the
old horse who persisted in putting his head in through one
of the open windows during lunch, while Whistler should
have etched the beautiful interiors of Groote Schuur.
After being shown the house and all its treasures, a
Cape cart was placed at my disposal, with Bob and Violet,
the horses Cecil Rhodes used to drive. How glad I was
that I had not been offered a motor-car ! Marny, the
Capeboy who drove, and who had lived many years at
Groote Schuur, seemed so much more in the picture
than an up-to-date chauffeur would have done, while the
power of petrol surely would have disturbed my dreams !
The site chosen for the Rhodes Memorial is one of
grandeur, on a height, as all memorials to idealists should
be, and commanding the view of a vast panorama. One
is used to hearing the burial-place of Cecil Rhodes in the
Matoppos spoken of as the World's View, but rather
should this name be given to the view obtained from
^8 Via Rhodesia
this hill, for here is the World's View of life, there is the
World's End — death. Here, on a seat, not far from the
foot of the present monument, the world's greatest
modern Imperialist sat morning after morning. Maybe
the vastness of this wonderful panorama, embracing two
oceans, the Indian on one side, the Atlantic on the other,
with the wealth of a verdant world between, inspired
him, developed his ambitions, and gave birth to his
ideals.
Nature here gives so much that the soul of man must
sw^ell in response. As one stands where he once stood,
imagination gives one the vision of a seer, and one sees
the greatness of the past revealed in the present, a
strange living presence is in the atmosphere, each leaf
of the silver trees is a page holding unwritten thoughts,
the winds from the mountains whisper as they pass, a
fierce light burns from the sun — God's golden eye — and
one knows the truth is mingled with the mystery.
Surely every human being who descends from this
hill-top takes with him the wish to do great deeds, or, at
least, no paltry ones.
CHAPTER IV
Diamonds ami Orchards
PEOPLE who travel in Africa from Cape Town
northwards, and look at the earth rather than
at the sky, are apt to think of it more or less as a
dust-heap, a dust-heap on which herbage sprouts in
places. Certainly one gets this impression when travel-
ling through the Karoo. Looking out from the train, you
wonder when signs of habitation will appear, and when
at length you pass a homestead, or see it nestling amid
green trees in the distance, it is so small in comparison
with the vastness of the land, and looks so lonely, you
marvel where the people registered in the census live.
No wonder the Boers have the reputation of being good
horsemen ; one imagines also that the horses must be
supernatural to travel so many miles. The distances,
according to English ideas, are colossal, and the monotony
of everything, the eternal blue of the sky, the gold-brown
and red of stones, rocks, and earth, is as though one
has opened a book but is unable to turn the page. The
sameness of Africa almost frightens one, until its fascina-
tion grips you, and then the monotony is restful, that
is, the monotony of the land. For change in the sky,
one must get away from the blue of midday and see
what varying pictures sunrise and sunset can offer —
never two alike and each seeming to possess a greater
beauty. Truly in Africa the sky is a brilliant kaleido-
scopically-coloured domed roof above a sanded floor.
39
40 \'ia Rhodesia
The trains are all supplied with dust shutters. They
are greatly needed, because at times one encounters a
duststorm, even when not passing through a sandbelt,
and one eats grit, breathes grit, and feels decidedly gritty.
A motor- veil for the hair and a bottle of eau-de-Cologne
wherewith to refresh the face are all one craves for at
such a time, and it is well to take no further interest in
the scenery, but retire within oneself behind the shutters
until the spiteful dust fiend proclaims a truce. There
is always dust where there are mines, but if you have
no particular interest in diamonds or gold it seems unfair
that you should have just as large a share of dust as
your financial neighbours.
An American lady visiting South Africa was very dis-
gusted to find, instead of tropical forests, karoo-bushes,
stunted trees, yellow grass, and exclaimed : " Waal, I
guess it's a good thing the Lord put plenty under the
earth, for thar is a mighty poor crop on top."
How much I to-day regret that I WTut from Cape
Town direct to Kimberley ! But unfortunately nobody
advised me to make a detour and visit the George
district. The programme for this tour would be arranged
best in the following way.
Train from Cape Town to George, leaving 8.30 p.m.
Book your seat early to ensure a place in the through
coach, fare first class £4 17s. 3d., arriving in George at
9 p.m. A good hotel is the George Hotel.
The second day arrange for a drive to the Wilderness,
and thence walk to the Kaymans River, where there is
a very interesting waterfall. At the Wilderness is a
very good little private hotel, and you can enjoy either
a sea or a river bath within a minute's walk.
The third day hire a Cape cart with a good team to go
to Oudtshoorn via the Montague Pass. During this
drive you will see some of the finest, if not the finest.
Diamonds and Orchards 43
scenery in the Cape Colony. You first come upon
Blaney, a spotlessly clean village, and after leaving the
Toll you make for the Pass, crossing a small river over a
picturesque, very old stone bridge. The ascent to the
summit is at times most exciting, when waggons loaded
with heavy timber pass you on the edge of a precipice
hundreds of feet deep. On the other side you pass the
Doom River twice, and in the afternoon you reach Oudt-
shoorn. The Queen's Hotel seems to be the best. Do not
take the postcart, which leaves at wrong hours to enable
you to enjoy the beauty of the country. If the railway
is finished, avoid also this more comfortable means of
travelling, because you cannot see the Pass to advantage
from the line. After arriving in Oudtshoorn, arrange at
once at the hotel for a Cape cart with a good team to
take you to Prince Albert next day.
The fourth day, in the early morning, first see Oudt-
shoorn and leave at half-past eight, immediately after
breakfast. You very soon pass Schoemanshoek, and
the scenery becomes more beautiful. You will now also
see some ostrich farms. Drive on to the Cango Inn,
where you partake of lunch, and then proceed to the
caves, about two miles off. These caves are now pro-
tected and looked after by the Government, and they
alone are worth the journey. A courteous caretaker, or
rather one of his sons, acts as a guide, and shows you
the beauties of these immense caves. At the entrance
there are a few bushmen paintings. To visit the caves
takes several hours. Return to the inn, where you
remain the night.
The fifth day, continue the journey along the Croco-
dile Valley and over the marvellous Zwartberg Pass
(Black Hills) to Prince Albert, where you arrive in the
afternoon.
The sixth day, you leave by postcart at 11.30 in the
44 Via Rhodesia
morning for Prince Albert Road, where you join the
train to Kimberley.
The distances by cart are :
George to Wilderness and return, 23 miles.
George to Oudtshoorn, 42 miles.
Oudtshoorn to Prmce Albert, 60 miles.
Prince Albert to railway, 28 miles.
Take as little luggage as possible with you, and send
the rest as parcels per passenger train to your next
stopping-place.
Or, if you can afford the time and the money, hire a
good motor-car in Cape Town, and proceed by train to
Prince Albert Road, from where you journey in the
opposite direction. From George you can easily visit
Knysna ; then proceed through the Prince Alfred Pass to
Avontuur and return over the Long Kloof Road to
George, where you travel via Mosselbay, Riversdale and
Swellendam to Caledon. The next day you proceed via
Houw Hoek and Sir Lowry Pass to Cape Town.
After a journey of twenty-eight hours Kimberley is
reached. Here I was met at the station by the Crown
Prosecutor, Colonel Tamplin, an amiable giant, and by
Captain Tyson, one of the Directors of De Beers. These
gentlemen kindly escorted me to the Sanatorium, which
was the home of Cecil Rhodes during the siege and has
now been renamed the Belgrave Hotel. Here also was
staying Mr. Oats, the Chairman of De Beers ; the latter
gentleman, by the way, spoke to me most severely about
the folly of my intended trip, and prophesied extermina-
tion or worse at the hands of the natives ; but being a
fatalist, advice of this nature counted little — one must
die, when or how does not matter so much as morbid
contemplation of it. However, the advice w^as offered
in a kindly spirit.
While in London I received a letter of introduction
Diamonds and Orchards
45
to Captain Tyson, and the friend who gave it said :
" Be sure you ask to see his bath ! " Now it seemed to
me a queer request, but I was assured that he would
show no surprise, in fact expected it, and when I went
to the " Workman's Cottage," Captain Tyson's residence,
I made the request, to discover that his bath is a very
r^aP?*'^''
r^-:^^^^
PAINTINGS IN HUSHMAN CAVK (iN Ml. >l 1 ,< i/W A M-,
(By kind permission of Messrs. Mennel and Chubb)
beautiful marble one. I believe it is the only one of its
kind in the country besides the one in Groote Schuur.
An amusing little story is told, that once upon a time,
in the early days in Mashonaland, Captain Tyson and two
other men were out trekking with waggons, and finding a
suitable place to camp, outspanned, and decided to bathe
in a small river close by. Part of the river was fenced
in with wire, in fact there appeared to be many large
pools all fenced, but as the water looked especially
tempting in one of the deep pools, they took their bath
46 \^ia Rhodesia
there, afterwards returning to the waggons, to find the
other men of the party also arrived. Dr. Jameson, who
was present with Mr. Rhodes, asked Captain Tyson and
his companion if they had bathed.
" Yes," answered they, " in that fine pool down there ;
but why on earth is the wire round it ? "
" Because that is one of the most dangerous crocodile
pools in all Mashonaland, and the wire is to prevent
cattle from drinking, and being caught by the reptiles,"
was the unexpected answer.
In the old days Kimberley bore the nickname of
" Tin Jerusalem," because of the material from which
the shanties were made and the race who chiefly popu-
lated the diggings, but now Kimberley is a very fine
town, and has historical associations which will make
its memory live long after the mines have ceased to
yield their wealth and are silent as empty tombs.
Kimberley is usually associated in the mind with
diamonds, and very few know of it as a practical and
enduring monument to the work and unselfish thought of
Cecil Rhodes — his consideration for the public during
the siege, his foresight and wisdom in utilising the un-
employed in making the fine roads which lead from all
directions to the monument of the honoured dead, his
designing and planting of the beautiful orchards which
have turned an arid plain into a garden of fruit-trees.
There is one avenue of vines, a mile and a quarter long,
under which a carriage and four can drive.
The orchards seem to cover endless space and hold
countless trees. What becomes of the fruit ? Is it sold
for profit or exported for gain ? No, the fruit is for the
thousands of natives who work in the mines. " The
white man's slaves" (not natives, but whites 7000 miles
away invented this miserable lie), as the native labourers
have been misleadingly called, may eat to repletion
Diamonds and Orchards 47
fruit of a quality that would be far beyond the purse of
the white toiler in England.
I visited the Wesselton Mine and went through the
compound, where live 4000 natives, to whose health
and comfort every consideration is paid. The hospital
contains a fine operating theatre, and the wards are
both light and airy. I found them almost empty. The
British workman wT)uld doubtless prefer, instead of the
cleanliness and order of the compound, the squalor of a
room in an overcrowded area and the freedom of a gin-
palace, and when the native is educated he will probably
require the same. In the Kimberley Diamond Mines the
natives sign on for a period of three months. And in
these three months they can earn sufficient to remain
the rest of the year in their native kraal, basking in sun-
shine and idleness. Where is the white man who can
w^ork for a few months a year and then afford to loaf
the remainder ? And yet I met ignorant people wiio
said the natives must not be urged to work for the
whites. Every man of every colour should w^ork ; we
have stopped the natives' natural occupation, war, and
therefore should find him other labour, and since at
home his only idea of work is watching women doing it,
it is as well he should be induced to do a little work
away from his kraal.
A
CHAPTER V
Buhrtuayo
FRICA has one great fault, it is too large ; half
one's time seems to be taken up with travelling
from place to place. Nature has been too generous
in her gift of land, and too niggardly in clothing it ;
one hnds a great many samples of trees, flowers, birds,
beasts, and butterflies, but they, like the people, are
too far apart from each other. It was evidently intended
to be a huge garden, with plenty of space for the speci-
mens to take exercise, and the humans who have adopted
the land have to experience, and, let us hope, some day
overcome, its disadvantages. Perhaps when airships
make rapid transit possible the markets of Africa will
no longer seem so far removed from each other. And
what an ideal land for aerial transport ! the climate a
certainty, the light so powerful, very few mountains or
lakes, but hundreds and hundreds of miles of plain open
country where one can see forty or fifty miles ahead
with the naked eye.
At present there are trains, comfortable trains, but,
oh ! such slow trains. One hears stories of passengers
leaving the train to pick flowers or to walk across country,
to join it again at a distant point, where the train has
to pass sharp curves and climb steep gradients. One
must regard railway travelling in Africa in the light
of a rest-cure, and learn patience accordingly. The
carriages are very comfortable.
Bulawayo 49
Travelling by caravan is not nearly so monotonous as
travelling by train, for one enjoys daily new adventures cr
discovers one of Nature's surprises, but those who have
to travel much by train must wish that Kimberley wa3
only three hours' journey from Cape Town, and Bula-
wayo but half a day's journey further on. And under
these conditions, how
much richer the in-
habitants would be !
Yes, Africa is too
large, but as com-
pression is not pos-
sible the best thing
to be done is for
people to go out and
fill it up.
But I should be
the last to grumble
at the train service
in Africa, for not
only was every con-
sideration for my
comfort paid me,
both by the Cape
Government and the
Rhodesia and Ma-
shonaland Railways,
but I was allowed to
journey on the en-
gine for some dis-
tance, which was a novel experience, and I do not mind
confessing that until that day I had had a vague idea
that trains were steered somewhat after the fashion of
motor-cars ! The engine-driver refused a tip, but asked
if I had such a thing as a postcard with my face on it
THE AUTHOR ARRIVING IN BULAWAYO
50 \^ia Rhodesia
for his daughter's collection. I suppose I must be Hke
Peter Pan who could not grow up, for I really think I
enjoyed sounding the whistles most of all. There was
no dangerous traffic ahead, but a few gangers on the
line made a good excuse for a whistling display. I do
not think I should recommend stoking on a train as a
pleasant or lucrative profession for women.
Then how delightful it was to sit on the cow-catcher
of the engine, motoring with no motor in front, the
earth passing rapidly away under one's hanging feet,
and the fresh air kissing one's face with the keen fillip
of swiftness and sweetness, for we were approaching
Rhodesia, and the air came to greet us laden with the
fragrance of the promised land.
The "kopjes" had the appearance of huge rockeries,
quite unlike in appearance to anything in England.
Kopjes in different parts of Africa vary very much in
appearance and size ; some are Lilliputian hills covered
with grass and short bush, others oblong heaps of earth
topped with trees. But quite the prettiest are the giant
rockeries, the stones supporting each other in a marvellous
way, as though poised by giants, while tufts of grass and
flowers peep out in unexpected places.
From Plumtree to Bulawayo the air was so charged
with exhilarating crispness that it seemed almost im-
possible to believe that one was really in Africa. The
train behind was forgotten, and on wings of fairy light-
ness I entered Bulawayo, the prosperous commercial
centre of Rhodesia, which stands on a site formerly
known as " Place of Slaughter."
There is so much of interest in and around Bulawayo
that it becomes difficult to know which to speak of
first, the beautiful, the romantic, or the commercial.
However, perhaps bread and butter is a substantial
start, and in life one must have the wherewithal to
Bulawayo 5 1
enjoy the delights of nature or the accompHshments of
man.
I was told that I need not book a room in advance
at the Grand Hotel, as there were a hundred bedrooms
and at least twenty empty ones would be offered me
to select from. I found, however, that the hotel was
packed, and I had to wait two hours before a room was
vacated by a man leaving by the two o'clock train, and
then it was only a back room, and there seemed no
prospect of obtaining a better one for at least three
weeks ! I found that not only every hotel was full, but
men of good social standing were satisfied with a cubicle
in a superior doss-house if they could get one, and yet
there was no extra rush of visitors to the town and
nothing of unusual importance going on.
If one desires to stay some time in Bulawayo, special
boarding terms can be arranged at the Grand Hotel
for the moderate sum of £17 los. a month, or one can
obtain room and board from 17s. a day.
Owing to the exceptionally heavy rains I had to
remain in Bulawayo ten weeks, and long before I left
I had come to the conclusion that a fortune awaits the
man who will build a substantial hotel with restaurant
and grill-room attached. He must cater not only for
those passing through, but by offering comfort in the
way of private sitting-rooms and good public rooms,
he must induce visitors to remain in Bulawayo some
time before proceeding north. Two new theatres are
being built, but what is wanted is a good open-air
restaurant some little way out, so that visitors may have
an excuse for, and an object in, a drive. At present
there are three drives : to the Matoppos, the Khami
Ruins, and Government House.
A restaurant at the Matoppos would be a profanity,
but there are good sites on the road or at Khami. And
52 Via Rhodesia
if Bulawayo wants more money, Bulawayo must cater
for the moneyed people, who prefer comfort to art and a
good dinner to historical associations. People who have
made their money in Africa must have occasion not
only to spend it, but to display it, or they will go on
parade elsewhere.
In Bulawayo, as in all parts of Rhodesia, or in fact of
South Africa, one has to look to the Roman Catholics
for the best-built churches and well-organised schools
for whites. These schools are attended by Protestant
and Catholic children, and I was assured by many
parents that at no other schools could they obtain so
thorough an education. Rhodesia is an English pos-
session : why is it that the English Church is so behind-
hand ? Is it that English funds are only forthcoming
for the unnecessary education of the native ? or has
lack of interest in England in the education, secular and
spiritual, of the white, so undermined the ability of the
Church of England's representatives that they no longer
care ?
I was in Bulawayo ten weeks, and during all that time
only one clergyman called upon me, and he was a priest
of the Roman Catholic Church, Father Nassau — and yet
I am not a Catholic.
But those who work deserve success. Never shall I
forget visiting the convent schools at Bulawayo, and
seeing how the extension was being carried on. One
sister was on a ladder, whitewashing a ceiling, another
was painting a door, and so on, all cheerful, smiling,
and happy, and seemingly delighted with their change
of labour as a recreation from teaching their many pupils.
The nuns have charge of the girls and infants, while the
Fathers take in hand the education of the boys.
This teaching order is the outcome of the pioneer
nursing sisters who did so much good in the old days
Bulawayo 53
when hospitals ^ and trained nurses were unknown in
Africa.
I cannot write a scientific paper on the prospects of
farming in Rhodesia, because I am not an expert, but
perhaps a few remarks from personal observations may
interest.
Rhodesia wants more poultry and dairy farms,
especially near the towns. Imported eggs and tinned
butter and \ cheese
seem ridiculous in
a country where
land can almost be
had for the asking.
Fresh eggs some-
times cost five shil-
lings a dozen, not
only in Bulawayo
but also in Salisbury
and in Umtali. I
know of one woman,
the wife of a farmer,
living not far from
the Matoppos, who
makes £150 a year
by keeping fowls for
laying ; and I came
across another wo-
man near Umtali
who had made £18
in a few weeks.
I visited a poultry-
farm quite near Bu-
lawayo where I saw
700 fowls, on a ten-acre plot, which bring their owner
a nice little income. They are fed with soft meal
FOWLS IX RHODESIA
54
y\n Rhodesia
food in the morning and eat sunflower seeds during
the day, the sunflowers being specially grown for this
purpose. All the chickens are reared in incubators, the
stock birds having come from England.
SUCCESSFUL POULTRY FARMING NEAR EULAWAYO
In proportion to its white inhabitants I do not think
any country in the world imports such quantities of
tinned foodstuffs — meat, jam, butter, cheese, fruit,
biscuits, pork, flsh, lard, etc. — as does Africa. When
Africa can emulate America by producing enough food
to " eat all it can and can all it can't," then the land
will have yielded the wealth which now lies hidden in its
agricultural resources, and be a land of richness indeed.
At present everyone wants to discover mines (even
people who immigrated with the intention to farm),
but those who work in the mines must be fed, and here
is where the agriculturist steps in ; certain markets
and assured profits await him. ]\Iost of the illnesses
credited to the climatic conditions would vanish if fresh,
cheap, clean nutritious food could be obtained in sufficient
Bulawayo
:):>
quantity. All the tinned food consumed represents
profits taken away from the country instead of profits
kept therein. To live on food grown in the country is to
ensure the prosperity of that country, and the mines
offer great opportunities to the farmer by importing
wage-earners with appetites, paying them high wages,
and leaving the farmers to make profits out of the
appetites.
One of the first laws Union Parliament should pass,
is a provision whereby every inhabitant in South Africa
of the age of twelve should be compelled to plant at least
two trees somewhere near his habitation. What begging,
borrowing, and stealing of trees would go on to be sure,
but with what delightfully shady results ! Even a thorn
tree fetched from the veld would hide a corner of a tin
shanty, and in many prosperous towns there are still
many tin shanties which would be the better for the
hiding. It is so easy and so cheap to plant fruit trees
that I am astonished at not finding more orchards ; I
have passed many a homestead with abundant water
yet without any fruit trees, and the only reason I could
find for this astonishing fact was that the occupants
were probably born tired.
Main Street in Bulawayo is lined with pepper trees
(Schimts molle), but the street is so wide that they
afford very little shade. The width of the streets is a
source of annoyance to the taxpayer on account of the
lighting. The original idea in having such wide streets
was to allow a waggon with sixteen oxen to turn with-
out the necessity of unyoking.
In Main Street, facing north, stands the statue of Cecil
Rhodes, the work of John Tweed. When you look at
the natural and (those who knew him say) lifelike
attitude, you seem to hear him say his often repeated
words, " The north is my thought."
S6 Via Rhodesia
Further up the street, and not far from the band-
stand, where good music is played by an adequate band
on Sunday nights, is a monument erected to the memory
of the two hundred and fifty-seven pioneers of civihsation
who lost their lives in the 1896 Matabele Rebellion,
and a story is told that the original intention was to
place a lion on the top of the pedestal, but when the
one ordered from England arrived it proved to be a
very diminutive lion, indeed some say not larger than
a toy terrier. However, it was placed on the pedestal,
much to the amusement of local hunters. Then one
night a wag collected hoops of iron off tiny barrels and
muzzled the poor little beast. After that the lion was
seen no more, and a gun now stands in its place.
Bulawayo has a very good water supply, a large dam
having been built some distance away, whence the
water passes twice through a filtering process before it
reaches the consumer. A walk to the dam is well worth
the trouble, a sunset viewed from the vast expanse of
water being very beautiful, the brilliancy of the colour-
ing finding a reflection in the artificial lake. It is ad-
visable when walking to the dam to wear boots rather
than shoes, for the grass seeds cut like needles, and ticks
are not pleasant companions to carry away with one.
There are good shops and stores in Bulawayo, and
here in fact is the place where purchases should be made
by those who intend travelling into the wilds, because
the stores elsewhere cannot be relied upon to supply
even simple articles which may be required ; it is
therefore better to pay a little extra for luggage than
go on and find that just what one wants most is not
procurable. Taking into consideration the distance
from the coast, the prices are not high. All goods bought
should.be packed in cheap tin boxes or tin trunks (which
can be purchased locally), because everything keeps
Bulawayo 57
better if packed in tins. When finished with, the trunks
are not difficult to seh at a good price up country, but
if the purchaser should be a settler, not a traveller, he
will cling to these trunks. Not only will they preserve
one's belongings from ants, but they form useful pieces
of furniture where tables and chairs are scarce.
Writing of tin, I never realised how valuable tin cans
could be until I visited Rhodesia. Biscuit tins should
be spoken of with reverence ; they are handed down
MAIN STREET IN BULAWAYO
(By kind permission of Father Nassau)
from generation to generation, so to speak, and paraffin
tins — well, outside quite swagger residences one sees
rows of these, cut in halves and painted green, utilised
as flowerpots. All tins the whites have hnished with are
eagerly sought after by the natives. My men used to
put pebbles into Hunter's small potted-meat tins and
tie them to their legs, combining ornament with (to
them) musical sounds.
At present, certainly, a tin can of some sort is your
58 Via Rhodesia
constant consort, but, as I remarked before, times will
change when more land is farmed and fresh food is
obtainable. How absurd it seems that in a country
where citrus trees grow in the open with abundant
crops, lemons are imported ! If you require a lemon-
squash in a hotel a horrible decoction out of a bottle is
offered ; then again, fruit, instead of being grown locally,
comes from the Cape. Fruit-growing is another in-
dustry well within the sphere of the small capitalist,
because fruit-growing and jam-making offer a quick
and lucrative return. While waiting for the young trees
that have been planted to grow, poultry-farming will
keep one easily above water with a very small outlay.^
In Rhodesia one meets few snobs. The right kind of
men have been the pioneers, and the result is that one
succeeds on one's own merits and personality. The
beginner on a ten-acre plot has as much chance socially
as the owner of many thousand morgen.'^
There are very few two-story houses in Rhodesia.
I saw one in Bulawayo and one in Umtali, and a few
palaces of that height belonging to missionaries, but
otherwise everyone is on the same level so far as struc-
ture goes, and in Rhodesia perhaps more than anywhere
else in South Africa grit and personal charm count higher
than mere money.
^ The British South Africa Company are issuing free a very interesting little
pamphlet on the possibility of Rhodesia as a citrus-growing country. 7 his
pamphlet, which is full of valuable information to intending emigrants who wish
to take up fruit-growing, can be obtained from any information bureau of the
B.S.A. Company, for instance, from 138 Strand, London, W.C.
^ A morgen is a measure of land equal to about two acres.
CHAPTER VI
KJuDiii Ruins
IN Ireland it is said the rain descends on at least
360 days out of the 365. In Africa one can usually
reckon on having about nine consecutive months
of sunshine, but in the other three months it seems as
though one gets the accumulation of the whole year,
because when it rains, it rains, not in half measures, but
each drop seems heavy enough to fill a fair-sized bucket ;
at least this is the impression one gets when caught un-
awares and without shelter. Crossing the road means
getting soaked through, and the roar as the torrent of
rain falls on the corrugated iron roofs is better imagined
than described. The early months of 1909 will long be
remembered in Rhodesia as having the heaviest rainfall
for over twenty years, and unfortunately this caused
much alteration in my plans. I had hoped to be able to
visit the celebrated Zimbabwe Ruins ; the great authority
on these ruins. Professor Hall, who has written two
very interesting books on the subject, called on me
soon after my arrival in Bulawayo, and expressed the
hope that I should hnd time to visit Zimbabwe and to
see many results of his researches. It was, however,
not so much a question of time as of the weather, and
it was impossible for me to see the ruins, because in
consequence of the heavy rain the road from Victoria
had become quite impassable. For the convenience of
travellers who are more fortunate with the weather, I
59
6o
Via Rhodesia
will give the route. Travelling from Bulawayo towards
Salisbury, you have to change at Gwelo, about six hours'
journey from Bulawayo, whence a branch line runs to
Selukwe (where is situated the Wanderer Mine), and
from there to Zimbabwe, via Victoria, is a coach journey
of ninety-seven miles.
The ruins are about seventeen miles from Victoria,
which was the first township established after the occupa-
tion of Mashonaland. If one may not see the greater
then one must perforce be contented with the lesser.
As a visit to Zimbabwe was not possible I determined
to visit the ruins on the Khami River. At the worst it
^^
||||3
KHAISII RUINS, RHODESIA
(By kind permission of Father Nassau)
could only mean a few hours' soaking, if the gods of the
weather were not propitious.
On inquiry I found that I could hire a Cape cart with
four mules and the driver for two pounds. Armed with
a waterproof coat, some sandwiches, and a kodak in its
Khami Ruins 6i
waterproof tin case, I set off one morning from the
Grand Hotel at eleven o'clock. The sun was shining
in a tempting, alluring kind of way, and I felt quite
important as I started on my journey of solitary ex-
ploration.
My equipage was by no means elegant. The mules
looked sorry specimens, by no means lit for exhibition
purposes, the harness had seen better days, and the
driver — well, the driver ought to have a chapter to
himself.
Jacob, for that was his name, had one of the ugliest
misarrangements of features that has ever been dignified
by the name of face, complexion of a sickly yellow, the
tint that tells of the white man's error. His clothing
would have brought tears of shame to the eyes of a scare-
crow, but there was an air of distinction about his straw
bonnet, tied with a string round the back of his head,
and decorated with the fading likeness of a tailless
pugaree of a pastel shade of navy blue.
Asked if he had any " scoff," he replied " No."
On any occasion, except when asked if he possesses
food, a native invariably answers " Yes."
A man up country one day asked his native servant,
who only brought in meat and bread, *' Are there no
potatoes ? " " Yes," said the servant, and disappeared.
The white man, assuming that the potatoes would be
brought, waited a considerable time. He then called
the servant back again and said, " Where are the
potatoes ? " whereupon the boy shook his head. The
white man then again told the native to bring the
potatoes, but he again shook his head. Then the white
man told him, " But you said just now there were
potatoes." The boy smiled and said, " Yes, Baas, no
potatoes."
I climbed into the back of the cart, and off we went.
62
Via Rhodesia
All traces of the town were soon left behind, and we
were in the open country.
Jacob's conversation certainly could not compare in
quantity or quality with a London bus driver's ; to
KHAMI KUINS, RHODESIA
(By kind permission of Father Nassau)
all my inquiries he had but one reply, " Yes, missus."
In fact, he must have been the human descendant of
the Raven of poetical fame. Occasionally he made
strange noises, which, however, the mules seemed
thoroughly to understand, and he rarely, very rarely,
used a prehistoric whip, the handle of which reminded
one of a worm that hac been ruthlessly cut by man and
joined by nature.
In England we boast of the fresh green of the country.
Perhaps South Africa may wear tints of gold and bronze
longer than her northern mother, but during that drive
to the Khami ruins the green of the foliage of the trees,
and the delicate freshness of bush and herb, could not
Khami Ruins 63
have been beaten in England or her sister Emerald
Isle.
Then the wild flowers — there were acres of dainty
fancy grasses with millions of pale wedgwood-blue
blossoms peeping forth, and here and there a single
flower, the shape of a primrose, only much taller and in
colour a bright vermilion, while for ever dancing near
the flowers were swarms of tiny yellow butterflies, and
overhead, swiftly flying through the blue, were many
birds of brilliant plumage. One little bird in particular
I noticed, and named him " Robin Red Back," on account
of the streak of crimson running from the top of his
head to his tail.
The road was villainous. The recent rains had much
to answer for, but surely the roads to the few show-
places round Bulawayo could be kept in better con-
dition ; it would pay in the long run. I was very soon
one mass of bruises, through being thrown from one
side to the other as the cart fell into ditches and scrambled
over ruts ; the mules were positively acrobatic and did
not slip once.
Several times we left the road altogether and found
it better to drive through the tall grass. The effect was
very pretty, because for many miles the grass was quite
a foot above the mules' ears. What a waste it seemed,
all this lovely grass and so few cattle. That is what
strikes you so forcibly in Rhodesia — the terrible waste
of good material, so much fertile land and so few in-
habitants. During the whole drive to and from Khami,
in all about twenty-three miles, we met only five natives
and not one white ; there were no farm-houses, no
kraals, no huts, only the land and its abundant growth
of grass and flowers.
We must have been about a mile from the Khami
River when Jacob suddenly left the road and turned
64
Via Rhodesia
the mules off to the right, and we travelled so far into
the grass, and in a totally different direction from the
road, that I began to wonder if Jacob was merely
driving to exercise the mules or show them rural scenery,
when he abruptly stopped, and pointing with his oft-
mended whip in the direction of a far-away kopje, ex-
claimed :
" Think ruins there, missus."
I thanked him adequately for these voluminous direc-
tions, and alighted. The sun was sheltering behind
grey clouds, and I thought it wise to change my alpaca
•^ !». ^jI "S*^
U 'J*^if ^^^^^S.^.-%;gi^^ -< .o':fe^"S^
KHAMI RUINS, RHODESIA. WALL SHOWING A MORE INTRICATE DESIGN
(By kind permission of Father Nassau)
coat for the mackintosh slip-on ; then, slinging my kodak
over my shoulder, I set forth to find the ruins.
It had sounded extremely easy when the obliging
clerk of Mr. Zederberg, from whom I hired the turnout,
had hinted that I might have ten minutes' walk and a
Khami Ruins 65
bit of rough climbing after I left the cart, but without
a guide, and having absolutely no knowledge of the
country, it proved a trifle perplexing. The English
aspect of the land had changed, and instead of flat
country with waving grass I was surrounded with small
kopjes of the giant rockery order. These seemed posi-
tively to mock me by imitating each other when I strove
to take landmarks. Jacob naturally was soon lost to
view, and the mules became an unknown quantity.
Then I reached the river, which I had been told must
be crossed, no difficulty being experienced in dry weather;
but, oh ! obliging clerk of Zederberg, this was not dry
weather. For some time past the river had been im-
bibing freely of the rain, and in parts looked uninvitingly
deep ; but in some places huge stones stood boldly forth,
showing, if put to the push, what an excellent builder
of bridges nature may be. Creeping from stone to stone,
I reached the other side, and here huge flat stones, more
like the surfaces of rocks, suggested that Africa must
at one time have been the bed of a mighty ocean ; and
then, in the midst of long damp grass, I found myself
at the foot of a kopje. This I climbed, and when near
the top espied above me huge stones, so enormous that
at first I thought they must be the tops of huts, so round
were they and of such huge dimensions. Arrived at the
top, I beheld the remains of a ruined wall. Apparently
I had reached at least a portion of the Khami ruins.
As I photographed that wall I could not help thinking
how small and puny are the remnants of man's work
compared with the stone creations of nature. If man's
work shows signs of endurance beyond even a century,
or advances into the chronicles of three, then it is made
a place of pilgrimage, while the stone boulders shaped
by unseen hands are strong beyond the ravages of time,
monuments of eternity.
66 Via Rhodesia
Then it began to rain.
I knew there were other walls further on, better walls,
walls of more intricate design, but the rain damped my
enthusiasm for walls and I wanted to go home ; home,
for the moment, meaning Jacob and the mules.
The intention was all right, but the carrying out of
my purposes was another matter. I looked back and
realised how to an untrained eye one kopje is the duplicate
of another, and high grass such a disguise to Mother
Earth that it is impossible to know if one has wandered
a hundred yards this way or that.
However, I found the river again, but struck it in
quite a different part from that where I had previously
crossed. I may at once admit that I have no bump of
locality, in fact in all my journeying the special provi-
dence supposed to guard children and drunkards must
have taken me in charge.
The stones on the banks were higher, the water was
deeper, and the tall grass was very wet and infested with
strange insects and beetles, though I did not see a single
snake. I found a large bone, and, securing it, deter-
mined if ever I reached Jacob or other specimen of
mankind again, I would ask to what species of animal
the bone belonged. The rain was treating me kindly
and was only descending in a gentle introductory man-
ner, and gazing through the dampness I beheld on the
opposite bank of the river, far away to the right, foot-
prints on a patch of sand. They were large, and I
seemed to recognise them as my own, which conclusion
held more comfort than flattery. I must have been in-
toxicated by those footprints, for when I ventured to
cross the river I slipped and fell ; down I sat in mid-
stream, having cut my leg against the sharp face of a
stone in the process.
vSo unexpected was the proffered seat, I did not rise
Khami Ruins G^
for a moment but let the water flow over me while I
laughed. Oh, I know I ought to have cried, for the
pain in my leg was bad, and the footprints in the dis-
tance had vanished, and doubtless I was lost.
There being not a single policeman on either side to
help me, I then arose unaided and struggled on, but again
only to pause and wonder if I should make for the right
or the left. It seemed so silly to be lost only eleven miles
from Bulawayo, and yet perhaps it was not so silly
after all, for afterwards I heard of a man who was lost
and died from starvation within three and a half miles
of Kimberley, and another man up country, thinking
himself lost, fired into the air when he was only a few
hundred yards from his companions, the grass between
being so high that for aught he knew they might have
been many miles away. After wandering about for
some little time longer I suddenly felt a glow in my heart
despite the soaking wet clothes on my back, for, oh,
joy, I beheld the grotesque form of Jacob in the dis-
tance ! I shouted, but he took not the slightest notice
of me ; a native cannot think of two things at once, and
he was busy leading a hobbled mule to the water to
drink. I went forward then as quickly as possible,
determined not to lose sight of the straw bonnet. I did
not suspect him of spite, but as he led the mule away
again he seemed to walk through the longest grass he
■could find. At length I gained his side, and gasped :
" I have been sitting in the water."
" Yes, missus," he replied indifferently.
" I got lost," I continued, trying to be impressive.
" Y£s, missus." His tone showed no emotion.
Sympathy not being obtainable, I became practical :
" I think I will have lunch," I said, for the rain had
suddenly ceased and a few sunbeams were struggling
out from behind the clouds.
68 Via Rhodesia
" Yes, missus," he answered, in exactly the same tone
in which he had received my saved-from-drowning in-
formation, and led the way to the cart, taking quite the
opposite direction to that which I should have selected.
Jacob was sufficiently polite to take a cushion from
the cart and place it under a tree for me, and then,
forgetting to give me the luncheon-basket, went off to
a stream running near. I watched him, in amazement,
remove his straw boniiet carefully and, kneeling down,
wash his face in the bubbling brook. I had been led
to believe that natives never washed. This action
seemed to proclaim the white blood in him, but I was
hungry, and his toilet was therefore only a secondary
consideration, so I yelled for the basket, having been
instructed never to do myself that which a native could
easily do for me^ — an excellent maxim. My drenched
garments added weight if not dignity to the feast, and I
conclude cheerfulness is an antidote against chills, for
though I wore those garments for four hours I did not
take cold.
And the bone ?
Oh, yes, I remembered to produce it, and asked Jacob
from what kind of animal it came, and when I got his
answer, I concluded that in addition to being a good
driver of mules Jacob was a very fair liar.
" Lion," he said ; " Yes, missus, lion."
I did not contradict ; I had been a very short time in
Africa.
CHAPTER VII
A Granite Tomb
SILENCE and solitude ; no greatness was ever
yet achieved without them, nor, without them,
was the just reward of greatness, perfect rest,
ever attained.
The concentrated silence and solitude of all time
seem to hover over the Matoppos. Surely since creation
first caused those rugged mountain-tops to rise, no one
has laughed in their midst ! Or, if puny human voices
rose in mirth or derision, did not the solemn voices of the
winds turn back unto themselves the frail echoes of the
sounds of fools ? Granite, hard, inflexible as fate, under
one's feet, granite, towering above one's head till its
apex seems to pierce the blue vault of heaven, on every
side granite, and a feeling from the moment one leaves
behind motor or cart that one treads upon consecrated
ground.
One feels the presence of Rhodes's life on the hill-side
near Groote Schuur where his memorial stands, one knows
that the spirit of the dead has risen from those bones
which lie at rest under the granite slab, and involuntarily
one looks upward, almost expectmg to see a spirit face
looking down from space, watching and still guarding
Rhodesia.
I was glad I visited the Matoppos with a man who
had been an intimate and trusted friend of Rhodes, a
man who knew that the situation called for silence, and
69
o
Via Rhodesia
who showed due reverence for the dead. No other
human being was there on that Sunday morning. Tiny
green lizards darted across the granite pathway, while
far off a number of baboons walked in solemn single file.
TREE FERN
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
their grotesque figures looking like black shadow^s, but
they also seemed to belong to the picture, evidence of
the wild solitude of the place.
Around, as far as eye aided by glass could reach.
A Granite Tomb
/ J
stretched pinnacle after pinnacle of nature's grey monu-
ments to the dead, granite mountains from which vegeta-
tion seemed expelled, a world's end of death, " calm and
deep peace" reigning everywhere, a fitting place wherein
to lay the body to rest, waiting for resurrection of spirit
to reawaken life elsewhere. Rhodes's life had brought
day to many ; this mountain Walhalla is the night into
which his body passed ; but the influence of a great life
brings for ever the sunrise to those who follow his un-
selfish ideas, and though the body of Cecil Rhodes should
lie buried in darkness in these granite hills, yet will his
THE GRAVE OF RHODES
(By kind permission of Father Nassau)
spirit rise with each sun and continue to shed a light
over Rhodesia.
Looking to the dark wall of granite, one can imagine
the spirit of the mighty dead brooding over the land he
had conquered, and one recalls the words of Rudyard
4
Via Rhodesia
Kipling in the beautiful poem which was read by the
Bishop 'of Mashonaland at the burial service of Cecil
Rhodes.
" There shall he patient make his seat
(As when the Death he dared),
And there await a people's feet
In the paths that he prepared."
PAINTINGS l.\ KL.sH.MAN CAVE ON MT. SIL02WANK
(Bj' kind permission of Mess s. Mennel and Chubb)
CHAPTER VIII
Salisbury — Unit all
THE train journey from Bulawayo to Salisbury is
full of interest, owing to the scenery, which in
parts is very beautiful when the kopjes are green
and the wild flowers are in bloom. Especially lovely
is the wild fancy grass, which can only be compared
to coral mounted on graceful stalks ; the colour varies
from palest pink to deep crimson, all the shades are to
be obtained on a single spray, and when the wind sweeps
through the grass truly one has a vision of waving
jewels.
One quaint feature in the table appointments of the
railway dining-cars is that the tracing of a map of
Rhodesia is woven into the linen serviettes.
Doubtless some Rhodesians will be very vexed with
me when I call Salisbury, the seat of the Government
for Southern Rhodesia, a glorified village. But why be
angry ? What could be more fascinating as a poet's
dream of a city ? Judged, however, from a practical
point of view, it is rather like a children's game of
pretence and hide-and-seek combined. / will be the
Government Buildings, and in solitary grandeur they
appear ; you pretend to be a big bank, and go far away
and sit over there ; Tommy shall keep a store, so he
must hide at a considerable distance, then we shall not
be worried with the odour of commerce ; and as Maude
needs exercise, she must walk for an hour and then sit
75
76
\^ia Rhodesia
down and pretend to be the Public Library ; if George
is to be the General Post Office he had better take a
basket and pick flowers by the way, because he must
move quite two miles in another direction ; and as the
Drill Hall is a place where all public meetings are held,
we will make everyone walk a bit, so James must go
right away from everybody else and we will hope to
find him.
And that is Salisbury.
Or perhaps it would be more correct to say that was
Salisbury, because building is going on at a very rapid
rate, owing to the recent finding of further mines and
the taking up of land by fresh settlers. I hear that two
new hotels are being built, and they are badly needed,
ARCHERY CLUii AT SALISRURV
the hotels in the town being far from adequate as re-
gards both room and catering — so far, the hotels in
Rhodesia seem to have been in the hands of amateurs,
Salisbury — Umtali "i"]
or the managers have been men who have abandoned
some other trade or profession for that of hotel-keeping.
The hotel I stayed at in Salisbury previous to enjoying
LADY MILTON
the kind hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Hole, was
one kept by a poet, and on my door were pinned two
poems, composed by mine host, one on " Solitude " and
the other on " Fortitude."
On inquiry I found that the poet had also been a
printer.
In Salisbury what one loses on the cocoanut shies
one makes up on the roundabouts ; one may complain
of the unnecessary space between the public buildings
for a busy man or woman, but no one can find fault with
the delightful sports grounds, which are quite the finest
in Rhodesia, if not in South Africa. Polo, cricket,
croquet, tennis, footbah, each game has its spacious
grounds screened off from the other by high banks of
/
8
Via Rhodesia
green turf and flowers. The effect produced, as may
well be imagined, is not only picturesque but it makes
one forget the fierce heat of the sun. Here, daily,
pretty women in dainty costumes, and civil servants in
flannels, but looking by no means fools (pardon, please,
Mr. Kipling), deport themselves in pleasant sport and
social intercourse.
Lady Milton is a great advocate of archery, and every
Wednesday afternoon holds an archery meeting for
ladies at Govern-
ment House.
^ When I was there
^^^.^^ they were compet-
''' ing for a diamond
brooch.
His Excellency Sir
Wilham Milton, the
Administrator, is
very fond of croquet,
and rarely misses a
daily round.
Umtali is only
eighty miles distant
from Salisbury as
the crow flies, but
the journey by rail
is 175 miles. It is
amusing to look from
the train and specu-
late as to which
roundabout way the
engine is going to
take next.
At Macheke, some few[miles from Salisbury, the engine-
driver obligingly stopped the train while I made a wild
'1 I K. 1. A I \l \RANDELLA~
5 Z
Salisbury — Umtali 8 1
rush across grass and bush to take a snapshot of some
bushmen paintings, which were on stone and were sup-
posed to be sixty years old.
Unfortunately the light was not good, and the film
was spoilt.
About forty-live miles from Salisbury on the Umtali
line is Marandellas, with its quaint round hut post office.
Here also still stands the huge shed used by Lord Methuen
for the supplies for his men during the war, and now put
to the peaceful purpose of a railway store.
At one point of the line, on a clear day, it is possible
from the train to see the mountains eighty miles away.
This seems difficult to believe, but in Africa the light not
only appears to bring objects into prominence, but also
considerably to shorten the distance, making it im-
possible for anyone not accustomed to the country to
give mileage at a guess.
It would need the pen of Dickens to describe the
hotel at which I stayed in Umtali. There are two hotels
in this town, and both are so arranged that they may be
used as theatres, if necessary. In my hotel the dining-
room was the theatre, and at one end of the room
there was a stage with a faded back cloth and tired-
looking footlights. I breakfasted at a table in the
stalls on the right aisle. The butter was vile, and I
wondered where, oh where, were all the dairy farmers
who grumbled at competition yet continued to live in
England, with such a good market waiting for them in
Southern Rhodesia. This hotel was kept, or rather one
should say graced, by the presence, a very large, spread-
ing presence, of an ex-opera singer, a lady of ample figure
and abundant smiles. She could flirt in several languages,
and had an affection for parrots, which rested on her
once yellow-golden hair, and cooed on her affectionate
breast. One day in particular she seemed covered with
82 Via Rhodesia
them ; green, also grey and rose-tinted, fowls literally
swarmed all over her, and yet she had room for tears
in her eyes as she begged me to write something to keep
all the yonng men of the neighbourhood from drinking
themselves to death on the credit system.
I don't quite know which troubled her the more, the
degrading effects of the liquor on the young men's
morals, or the credit terms on which it was obtained.
However, she was a good-natured soul ; Heaven send
that her shadow may never grow less, or become lonely
through lack of parrots.
Umtali is situated among the most charming scenery
in Southern Rhodesia, for all round the hills rise up and
proclaim the splendour which a flat country, however
pretty, never gives. One of the most fascinating drives
is that which goes from Umtali over the Christmas
Pass through the Valley of the Ancients, so called
because of the evidence of ancient mines, to Penha-
longha.
The drive has just the faint element of danger which
gives a hllip to the romance of the surroundings ; one
needs sure-footed mules. Also the presence of lions in
the neighbourhood is not infrequently heard of, and
only a fortnight before I drove through, a party of four
men travelling in the dusk had beheld a lion taking an
evening repast off a donkey who had strayed too far
out of bounds.
Half-way between Umtali and Penhalongha, as a rule,
one rests at a little wayside hotel to change horses or
mules, n one has the time, a night can be spent to
advantage here, for the sunrise from the top of the
mountains within the shadow of which the hostelry
stands, is a wonderful sight.
At Penhalongha there is a very good little hotel,
where I obtained an excellent lunch. I then set off
TWENTY MILES FROM BULAWAVO
(By kind permission of Umtali Railway Institute)
Salisbury — Umtali 85
to see the mines, the hotel dog attaching liimself to me
by way of bodyguard.
I called at the manager's house and introduced myself,
asking the courteous wife if I might see her husband.
He soon appeared, accompanied by an Inspector of
Mines, a man about seven feet in height, with umbrella
in proportion. I know I ought to have remembered
the output of that mine, and various details given me,
but no — my lumber-room of a brain carries only the
huge umbrella. It was my first experience of a stamp
battery, and the noise seemed to me the most dreadful
I had ever heard. It in no way daunted the courage of
the dog, however ; he followed me everywhere up the
wooden steps and along the various platforms.
In Rhodesia, it is said, every mine is unlike another,
though there may be some similarity in the Transvaal
mines. There is certainly a great likeness about mine-
owners. A book-keeper at one hotel explained to me
how he found a gold mine and had it jumped from him ;
he was a 'Varsity man, and seemingly of too trusting a
nature to deal with the not-too-scrupulous men one finds
hovering near the world's wealth. Another man of
diminutive, shrunken stature, quite uneducated, was
drawing £1500 a month as his share in another gold mine.
This man had been selling vegetables previously, and
had to borrow £10 to pay for his first claim licence.
The ups and down of men in a new country are a strange
study. " See that barman over there ! " said a man to
me one day ; "he was a colleague of mine at Glasgow
University."
And what does it matter what a man works at, so
long as he works his hardest at what lies within his
reach ? There is always comfort in the thought that
something better may turn up. The only sin is sloth.
A very sensible custom is, to make convicts work
86
Via Rhodesia
out of doors ; they make or repair roads, and in some
places can be hired out at one shilling per head per day
to work in private gardens or at making pathways.
As a rule they are in charge of armed native police boys.
A MATABELK KKAAI.
(By kind permission of Umtali Railway Institute)
In North-Eastern Rhodesia I saw convicts working
in gangs of three and four, chained together. Up-
country, white prisoners are found to be very undesirable
by the magistrates of remote districts, as it is difficult to
feed and keep them, European prison accommodation
being either inadequate or entirely lacking. A white
man gets passed on from pillar to post, and in fact I
was assured that if I only committed a crime I could
travel through Africa free of cost, as no one would
want me.
Southern Rhodesia is the very place for men and
women who wish to live the simple life with profit, and
Salisbury — Umtali Sy
offers a wider scope than does Chelsea with its brown
serge affectations and Christian Science hysteria.
It is an oft-proved fact that half the earth is suffering
from not knowing the requirements of the other half.
In England there are hundreds of women with just
sufficient capital not to know what to do with it, not
enough to keep them, a something which on account of
its inadequacy is almost worse than nothing.
In France every girl is taught some trade, business,
or profession, and it is considered no disgrace to have a
practical knowledge which will enable her to help her
husband should she marry, and to keep herself if she
does not.
In England, to-day, women are realising the necessity
of this, and prejudice is giving way to common sense.
But in England there are so many women, too many
women, and hence the distant thunder, always growing
nearer, of the war of the sexes.
Rhodesia wants women, needs women ; in fact, women,
and women only, can ensure its future prosperity. Some
few dozen men, and half a dozen women, have been
pioneers ; they are past their first youth, but they still
work ; however, new energy, new enterprise, and,
greatest of all, young courage, are needed to-day. The
pioneers have paved the way, and many young men
have gone out and reaped the benefit of the early efforts
— but, and this is a very grave but, the element of great
danger having been surpassed, the element of self-
sacrifice has to some extent passed with it, and self-
indulgence of a depraved nature seems likely to step in
if the hand of women do not arrest it. The average
young man of to-day expects rather to live by the success
of others than the sweat of his own brow.
How can this be altered ? My advice is, treble the
tax on whisky, and import women free of charge.
88
Via Rhodesia
The young man on the farm grows lonely, and so he
either speculates and gambles, losing all with the idea
of getting rich quickly and going back to England and
women — or takes to whisky and loses all through lack
of women.
But the right kind of women must come out ; Rhodesia
is no place for the tin-cup and plate immigrant ; Rhodesia
is not a gift, but a safe investment. Women of the servant-
girl class are no good, and this is at present where
many mistakes are made. The young farmers out here
are men of birth and education ; they should meet their
equals of the opposite sex in friendship or marriage, as
A iMASHONA KRAAl.
(By kind permission of Umtali Railway Institute)
the case may be. Men and women need each other to
keep the balance of life gracefully as well as decently
poised. There is one point I must touch on, and that is
the horrible (though near the town usually hidden)
Salisbury — Umtali 89
liaisons between white men and black women, the result
being a sickly-coloured progeny which, growing up in
all directions, will at some future time be a terrible
menace to civilisation and a grievous subject for legisla-
tion. To give men their due, they begin by intending
to be adamant, wishing to be decent ; but day after
day the dark girl goes and sits outside the lonely man's
hut ; she is not always ugly if she is very young, and
though her lips are thick, her body is beautifully formed ;
and then, too, she has an eye for colour ; the lonely man
has grown a few flowers round his hut, just the flowers
perhaps he loved at home, and one day he sees her at
sunset, when the gold and crimson of the sky makes
the whole world seem beautiful, and in her hair is a red
carnation, plucked from his garden. Then the lonely
man forgets he is white.
The chess-board of life must be furnished with an
equal number of pieces each side, then fate will play
the game. White men settlers are there already, the
white women must now be induced to come, and this is
where the woman who is a small capitalist has her chance.
How can white men expect natives to have respect for
white women while they, the same white men, lower
themselves to the native's level by living with native
women ?
In England women are daily proving more and more
their self-reliance and capability, but England is so
densely populated that with the increasing capability
will come increasing competition.
Out in Rhodesia there is room for all comers ; let the
women who are cramped at home prove that they can
carry on the work of the Empire in the Colonies ; they
will then not only find scope for themselves, but help
their fellow-creatures.
The presence of sincere women must ever raise the
90 Via Rhodesia
moral tone of a country in which they Uve, while they
in turn will have their ideas of life broadened and their
sympathies developed by coming into contact not only
with nature's wonders but with men who have known
life in the rough. One thing I can promise women, and
that is, that go where they will in Rhodesia, hotel, mining
camp, or farm, they will meet with nothing but courtesy
from men of all ranks, if they merit it.
True friendship one gets from Colonial men, not the
veiled insult which too often lurks in the polite attention
proffered in the cities and towns of so-called civilisation.
The cities of the future spring from the villages of to-
day ; if women go to new countries they must be pre-
pared to start at the beginning ; the present progress
of the world is being impeded by the tendency to expect
to begin where those who have been successful have
left off.
One must start anew on a fresh plot of ground.
It would be well if the women who have been studying
agriculture at the various farms and colleges were to turn
their attention to Rhodesia, where land can be obtained
near the railway at a very moderate price ; for instance,
near Umtali very good land is to be had at £5 an acre.
I have already mentioned that I am of opinion that
poultry-farming would pay handsomely. I will now
give a few details for the practical help of women who
might care to try their luck, and want to begin on a
very small scale.
Supposing twelve acres of specially selected land were
chosen, not too far from the railway for transport, the
top price would be £60.
Two moderate-sized huts could be obtained for £25
each, one for day and one for night ; then, a small
settler's hut at ;fio would be large enough for a kitchen.
These huts can be made to look quite pretty when hung
Salisbury— Umtali 91
inside with Liberty washing stuffs. They are also cool
and dry, the lower part being built of either corrugated
iron or mud bricks, and the roof is thatched. A camp
bed takes up little room, while folding-table and chairs,
such as one uses when trekking, are very useful, as they
can easily be carried outside should one wish to feed
in the open.
The boys engaged would not cost more than 5s. a
month if they were raw boys ; boys with a little experi-
ence would cost los. to I2S., while good farm hands get
even more. Four acres of land sown with mealies will
keep them in food, two crops being obtainable in a year,
and they would build their own huts with the grass cut
down.
The boundary line of the twelve acres could be marked
by a small heap of stones here and there, while near
the huts about 150 feet of good iron fencing could be
erected for about £9. Outhouses and hen-houses cost
little where timber is plentiful and labour cheap.
Orange, lemon, or banana trees grow quickly and bear
abundantly, and they would make a pretty and pro-
ductive border to the little farm, while a couple of acres,
if devoted to potatoes and onions, would not only
afford additional food, but the produce would sell weh
if not required. Potatoes, when plentiful, sell at 2|d.
a lb., but the price often goes up to 6d. when the supply
runs short.
Special care must be taken to keep the fowls clean,
otherwise they suffer from the ravages of a small flea,
which is best got rid of by spraying with paraffin.
Settlers' huts, incubators, iron fencing, and anything
of a similar nature, can be obtained at Salisbury, and
therefore no one need incur the expense of bringing
them out from England. The floors of the huts can be
made quite watertight and durable if dagga is used.
92
Via Rhodesia
which is a kind of cement made from mud. Across the
window of the hut (which should open outwards), inside
the glass, place a fine wire netting; it lets in the air and
keeps out insects.
A great number of flowers grow wild in Rhodesia,
and the honey obtained from the wild bees is delicious.
GOLDMINERS' CAMP: SHOWING HUTS FOR DWELLING
(By kind permission of Umtali Railway Institute)
Women who would add to their income could start bee-
keeping ; there would be a continuous and ready sale
for honey in the towns, and since so many flowers grow
wild so easily, how great w-ould be the wealth of bloom
with a little cultivation !
Hives are not expensive, and there is no need to
import bees. The care of bees is not a difficult study.
Some people have an idea that bees should not be kept
in conjunction with poultry, but there is no reason why
this should not be done, onty the hives must be placed
at some little distance from the fowl-houses, and from
any roadway or any place where the bees would be likely
to be disturbed, because they dislike noise and unex-
pected blows to the hive ; they wdll sting when so dis-
Salisbury — Umtali 93
turbed. Bees also dislike the smell of tomatoes, and
they will sting you violently if you have patted a sweat-
ing horse, the busy little brown insects being very
sensitive to certain odours. On the other hand, they
are quite harmless when properly managed.
June is a good month for the intending small settler
to start, because, though at that time the country does
not wear its most beautiful appearance and thus offer
the best of encouragement, the climatic conditions are
good, and one is able to get all in readiness in order
to plant as soon as the rain comes ; and when the rain
does begin, " Well," as one lady remarked to me, " you
just watch things grow ! "
This lady, who, with her three daughters, has nine
huts and twelve acres near Salisbury, is justly proud of
her garden. It seems impossible to believe that all was
uncultivated veld only a year ago.
The land having been selected, all could be prepared
in a month, during which time one should live not too
far away, so as to be able to superintend.
No expensive outfit in the way of clothing is necessary,
ordinary English clothes being suitable, with the addi-
tion of a few plain print frocks, some thin, easily washed
blouses or skirts, and large shady hats of the cheapest
nature. The climate of Rhodesia is delightful in summer,
and in winter not so cold as in England, so that the
question of fires need not seriously enter into one's
calculations.
If the young settler cannot afford a mule and cart to
begin with, then a bicycle will be found very useful.
In Rhodesia everyone cycles, from the Administrator
downwards, for, when the roads are bad, the Kaffir
paths are usually navigable if one is on a wheel.
With regard to the safety of women, it must be re-
membered that the country is young, and the nature of
94 Via Rhodesia
the native differs from that of a white. It is a great
mistake to imagine for one minute that you can trust
to their lionour or gratitude ; they do not possess any ;
they appreciate firmness and justice, but regard leniency
as weakness. Also for generations they have regarded
women only as workers and as bearers of children, so
that white women must take a firm stand from the
beginning, not only insisting on obedience but never
showing the slightest fear.
In the wildest and most remote parts of Rhodesia
w^omen need fear no harm from the native, but near
the towns and mission stations, and with other natives
who have received education, the case is different. With
so-called education they acquire vice and put off their
native virtue.
It would be wise for any women living quite alone to
keep a dog and acquire some knowledge of shooting.
Of course if two or three friends started a small colony
of huts together, the isolation would be less and thus
danger would be eliminated. There are many young
unmarried w^omen with private means in England who
share rooms and study art together. Why should they
not have a hut each and farm together ? Their com-
bined incomes would render existence a pleasant one,
and having boys to do the rough work would leave them
plenty of time to turn into pictures the beautiful scenery
around.
The Loyal M'omen's Guild is doing fine work in
Rhodesia by forming committees in the various towns
to investigate all matters concerning the welfare of
women and children, and to render help when needed.
It speaks well for the prosperity of Umtali that, since
the branch was formed in that town a year ago, only
one case of real need has come under their notice, and
this w^as a case of desertion, the husband going away
Salisl)urv — U mtali
95
and leaving a wife and four cliildren, a matter of in-
dividual sin not to be imputed to the country — needless
to say the woman and children have been taken good
care of. There are no workhouses in Rhodesia, and let
us hope there never will be. Each town looks after its
own poor, if there are any, but considering the con-
trasting poverty of our towns in England, it seemed
almost incredible that at Bulawayo ladies should tell
THE "old days." ZEDERBERG'S MAIL COACH STARTING FRO.M
BULAWAYO FOR SALISBURY
(By kind permission of L^mtali Railway Institute)
me they did not know what to do with their old clothing,
there being no women sufficiently poor to need it.
In England there are many women, young and healthy,
who are wasting their vitality by striving to compete
with thousands of others in an overcrowded area ; they
have usually a little money — why should they not use it
in seeking and cultivating pastures new instead of wish-
ing the little was much, and losing all eventually in a
race so handicapped by too many entries.
One may live in a hut and yet be well within touch
of civilisation. At Salisbury, Bulawayo, and Umtali,
96 Via Rhodesia
there are libraries ; the museum at Bulawayo contains
nuich of interest, while the sports grounds at Salisbury,
as I have already stated, are certainly the finest in
Africa.
The life on the few acres will be rough in contrast to
the city left behind, perhaps, but the delight of assisting
creation by cultivating one's own little plot, will far
outshine the wretched treadmill of existence in the
dark dreariness of bricks and mortar, where the streets
are usually lined with hypocrisy and paved with want.
Turn to the sunshine for happiness and to the land for
peace.
CHAPTER IX
Educated Natives
RHODESIA at present has no cathedral, although
funds are being collected to build one at Salis-
bury. The present tin edifice is a standing dis-
grace, a colossal example of the little interest shown
in England to the white man's soul in the Colonies.
If ever one speaks about the absurd squandering of
money by the Missionary Societies upon the so-called
conversion (which in very many cases is only perver-
sion) of the black, one usually receives the answer that
direct orders have been given in the Bible to spread
the gospel. This is quite correct, but nowhere have I
read the order that it should be spread chiefly amongst
people of another colour. Perhaps the Christian religion
is suited to the whites ; many think so, and I will not
dispute it, but if so, then its influence and teachings
are needed as much in Africa as in England ; yet the
English Church seems sadly to neglect her children in
the Colonies. One lady remarked to me, " It is so easy
to collect money in England for the blacks and so
diflicult to obtain anything for the whites."
Throughout Africa there are white children in large
numbers who can neither read nor write, and who know
very little of religion of any kind, while money is con-
tinuously pouring into the country for the education of
the native. What does this mean ? It simply means
that, if this continue, the day will come when the black
H 97
98 Via Rhodesia
will try to predominate, and the misguided philanthropists
of Europe will be responsible.
In 1892 a full-blooded native, Mokone by name, who
styled himself a Wesleyan Reverend, started a Church
of his own for blacks only, which he called the Ethiopian
Church. It did not take long before the greater part of
the other native churches, which are all united in the
hatred of the white man, affiliated in some way or other
with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is
partly financed from America, whence native bishops
and priests have poured into South Africa, where they
have to-day firmly established themselves. It is also
from them that the motto, " Africa for the Africans,"
originated. Their missionaries are all over the country,
practically teaching a religion of revolt. They also
control a number of native newspapers which are
circulated broadcast all over South Africa. In " Naledi
Ea Lesotho " (Basutoland Star) I have seen the follow-
ing :—
" May the white in South Africa know that unless
and until the natives are satisfied on this all-important
question of native chieftainship, then good-bye to peace
between blacks and whites so long as the sun fulfils the
Almighty's decree."
In " Voice of the Missions " I have seen : —
" Drive the British into the sea from whence they
came."
And in another issue of the same paper : —
" If the Anglo-Saxon cannot mingle his blood by
wedlock with the natives of this country, which he
grabs, why does he not keep his heels in England on
the fenders of his hearth ? "
Educated Natives 99
The " Imvo " ^ is a similar paper, edited by Mr.
Stead's friend Tengo-Jabavu, a full-blooded native of
whom Stead said he would prefer him as a guest at his
table to many an English M.P.
It was also for this paper, which has been preaching
the doctrine "We shall boss the whites in Africa," that
Mr. Stead appealed in his " Review of Reviews " to
people in England for funds and assistance, to enable
the poor oppressed natives to voice their so-called
grievances.
We must always bear in mind that the native is well
aware of his vast numerical superiority, and that he
regards education as a big help to attain his racial
ambition : " Africa for the Africans."
His desire for education knows no limits. Statistics
show that all over South Africa native education has
made greater strides than the education of the whites.
That this should be allowed is disgraceful, because all
open threats as to the future fate of the whites emanate
from these highly educated Christian natives.
If only the English would not be so keen to assist the
stranger " that is without the gate," there would be
more salvation at home and a better state of satisfaction
abroad.
There seems to be little doubt that the next great
African war will be one in which the native will try to
become supreme, in fact, the Master of Africa, and for
the bloodshed which then will take place the main
responsibility will lie with the missionaries and those
who assist them, because to these missionaries must be
given the blame of forcing education upon the black
before he is sufficiently civilised to receive it. Cleanli-
ness is said to be next to godliness ; it may come next
in relative importance, but it ought to come first in point
' Zabatsundu (Native Opinion).
I oo Via Rhodesia
of time ; let the native learn to take decent care of his
body, and acquire some knowledge of the dignity of
labour, before he is packed with conceit by being told
that he has a soul of equal importance to a white man's.
And not only is his mental balance disturbed by what he
is taught concerning this hitherto unknown soul about
which his ideas are, and for generations naturally must
be, vague, but his hitherto unused brain is suddenly forced
into activity, and, as is only natural, unable immediately
to turn from a lower beast into a philosopher of higher
intelligence, he becomes possessed of a little knowledge
which, in his case, is a very dangerous thing. His instinct
of cunning turns what he learns to criminal use ; to
acquire the white man's knowledge is not only to rival
him in fair competition, but, not being possessed of the
white man's conscience, to use this knowledge against
him whenever opportunity occurs. To learn to write is to
learn to forge passes and even cheques, and the native
who reads of crime is the one who not only copies, but
adds refinements of brutality, and the spiritual teaching,
not correcting these instincts, only makes the criminal
more cunning. These are not only my opinions, but
they are also the opinions which I have heard from
every white man in any responsible position, and from a
large number of others I met during my tour. One cannot
doubt that amongst the missionaries there are many
noble and wise men, to whom South Africa owes a great
debt, because they were pioneers in exploration, who
have made enormous contributions to our knowledge
of folklore, botany, zoology, geology, geography, etc.
Many of them have also done good from a medical
point of view, but let us not forget that from a spiritual
point of view the mission " amongst the heathen " is at
its best only undesired interference with old-established
practice, and often even leads to real evil.
Educated Natives loi
As a first example let me mention Bishop Colenso and
his daughters. His absurd views about natives have
done great harm. Cetewayo, a powerful native chief, who
had been perpetrating wholesale murder amongst other
tribes, was preparing for a war against the whites, but
fortunately for these Sir Bartle Frere dealt pretty
quickly with this ambitious gentleman. In John
Martineau's " Life and Correspondence of the Right
Hon. Sir Bartle Frere," Vol. II, one can read how Sir
Bartle Frere corresponded with Colenso, who had taken
up the case of the Zulus in a most enthusiastic way : —
'' Colenso printed and circulated this correspondence,
not at the Cape or in Natal, where it would have been
promptly criticised, but in England, where the facts
were little known."
In the same volume, on page 430, is a letter of Rev.
H. Waller, Bishop MacKenzie's companion in Central
Africa : —
'' Colenso and Chesson, Secretary of the Aborigines
Protection Society, are the greatest burdens under which
South Africa labours. . . . When the whole history of
the troubles of Africa comes to be wTitten, Colenso and
Chesson ought to be credited with the loss of thousands
of lives and millions of money."
This severe criticism is the opinion of one who knew
something about missions. Bishop Colenso, and his
daughters lately in the same way, took up the view that
the natives were a glorious race and that their destiny
was to guide and absorb the whites.
Miss North, in her " Recollections of a Happy Life,"
Vol. II, describes a visit to the Colensos : —
" Doctor Colenso's conversation was delightful, but
he gave me the impression of being both weak and vain.
I02 Via Rhodesia
and very susceptible to flattery. His two elder daughters
were perfectly devoted to him and his Zuluism, which
governed everything. The dear natives were incapable
of harm, the whites incapable of good. They would, I
believe, have heard cheerfully that all the whites had
been eaten up and Cetewayo proclaimed King of Natal.
His portrait was all over the house, and they mentioned
him in a hushed voice as a kind of holy martyr. . . .
It would have driven me mad to have stayed long in such
a strained atmosphere."
For the benefit of those who would like to have a few
more examples of intolerance, I can recommend Miss
Colenso's " My Chief and I," published in London in
1880, and "The Ruin of Zululand, an Account of British
doings since the Invasion of 1879," by the same author,
published in London in 1885. By " invasion" is natur-
ally meant the British occupation.
Why is it that so few people have anything to say in
favour of missionaries ? Mainly, I think, on account of
the way in which the natives have been treated by
missionaries, the way they have been made " pets " of.
Only those have been guilty of this unnatural partiality
who could not realise that kindness means to a native
purely and simply weakness. I will admit there are
reasons why missionaries should have acted in this way^
"petting" the native. One reason is, perhaps, that they
saw what they believed to be hardships inflicted on the
natives, and they then considered themselves to be the
protectors.
The " Review of Reviews," May, 1905, on page 483,
affords very interesting reading, where Mr. Stead relates
an interview with the late Mr. Paul Lessar, Russian
Ambassador at Pekin : —
"Certainly," said Mr. Lessar, "all our recent troubles
Educated Natives 103
had their origin in two things — the attempt to scramble
for China and the attempt to convert the Chinese. Let
me deal with the latter question first. ... I would
say at once that when a man becomes a missionary he
should cease to belong to any nationality. Jesus Christ
should be his only Consul, the Kingdom of Heaven his
only country ; and if he should have the misfortune to
be slain then he will become a blessed martyr, and his
blood will become the Seed of the Church. If this
principle be carried out it is possible that Christianity
might make great progress in China, progress which I
don't expect so long as the present system continues, in
which men become missionaries as a kind of business
and women go into it as a kind of excitement and from a
love of travel, knowing that if they get into trouble there
is always the Consul and the gunboat."
Mr. Stead protested against this very low estimate of
the motives which prompted missionary endeavour, but
Mr. Lessar insisted that he was right, and went on to
expound an even more startling theory as to the nature
of Chinese converts : —
" The fact is, it is all the rascals who become Christians.
When a man has got into trouble, when he has stolen
some of his neighbours' goods, or has done some other
villainy and the place seems likely to be too hot to hold
him, he becomes a Christian and acquires the protection
given to converts. It has happened so everywhere. I
have seen it myself so often at the Persian frontier. . . .
Hence we have a most undesirable colony of rapscallions
who have all become Christians in order that they may
become criminals with impunity."
Professor Cory, in his " Rise of South Africa," next
to the monumental work of Dr. McCall Theal the most
I04 Via Rhodesia
important work on Soutli African history, and no doubt
a model of thorough and accurate research, condemns
very strongly indeed the Exeter Hall view, and in sup-
port of his attitude he gives a multitude of instances
in his book where the missionaries were at fault, where
they spread exaggerated reports of cruel treatment of
the natives, and where much mischief was the conse-
quence : —
'' In England there soon came into existence a pre-
vailing tendency to regard the majority of the white
inhabitants of Cape Colony, whether of English or
Dutch descent, as lost to all sense of justice and humanity
— missionaries alone being imbued with any feeling of
philanthropy — and the blacks as the innocent and
harmless victims of constant oppression. . . . The
statements of political missionaries came to be believed
in preference to those of the highest and best-informed
officials in the Colony, and were, unfortunately, acted
upon. Thus in a measure Downing Street became
subordinate to Exeter Hall. Through a long series of
years the principal results of the machinations of pseudo-
philanthropists were the devastation of the Eastern
Province by assegai and firebrand, the driving forth of
thousands of the Dutch inhabitants to seek new homes
in South Africa, and the establishment of matters w^hich
shocked the sense of natural justice and lacked the sup-
port of any considerations of sound policv." ^
A typical example of these pseudo-philanthropists was
that pohtical firebrand, the Reverend Dr. Philip, the
first superintendent of the London Missionary Society's
South African Missions. Nicholas Poison describes him
as : " one whose talents and powers of persuasion would
^ "The Rise of South Africa," by George Edward Cory, p. 170.
Educated Natives 105
do honour to the most glorious cause, but whose conduct
would disgrace the worst." ^
In his " Researches in South Africa," this same Dr.
Philip wanted to make people believe that not only the
Boers but also the English Colonial Government cruelly
oppressed the natives. He described Bushmen and
Hottentots as a race of high civilisation, and even went
so far as to say that he had seen Bushmen make waggons
and ploughs.
This is an absurdity similar to that which S. Bannister,
in his " Humane Policy, with Suggestions How to
Civilise the Natives," brings forward, when he tells us,
for instance, that the Bushmen are capable of any
degree of refinement, and when the chiefs are painted as
men of high character. It is similar nonsense in which
the Rev. Stephen Kay, in his " Travels and Researches
in Caffraria," indulges, when he describes all white men
who are not missionaries as '' ruffians " and " murderers."
But let us return to Dr. Philip, who in many instances
contorted the truth to make the episodes suitable for his
purposes.
When his book appeared, everywhere in South Africa
its accuracy was denied, not only by English but also by
Dutch, and even many missionaries differed from him.-
In England, however, this book was well received by a
large section of the people. And what did Dr. Philip
further do ? Sir Benjamin D'Urban, probably the most
popular ruler South Africa ever had, refused to be led
by Dr. Philip and his small party, who naturally, in
consequence, entirely disagreed with their Governor's
policy. Philip's party consisted only of a few men, but
they had powerful support from England. They de-
' "A Subaltern's Sick Leave ; or, Rough Notes of a visit in search of hcalili
to China and the Cape of Good Hope," by Nicholas Poison.
- See McCall Theal's " History of South Africa," \'ol. II, pp. 11S-9.
io6 Via Rhodesia
sired, says Dr. McCall Theal, in his " History of South
Africa"—
" the formation of states ruled by Bantu chiefs under
the guidance of missionaries of their own views, and
from which Europeans not favoured by missionaries
should be excluded ... as the readiest means of
opposing the Governor, Dr. Philip visited England, taking
with him two men named Jan Tshatshu and Andries
Stoffels. The first — a son of the captain of the Tinde
clan — had been educated at Bethelsdorp and was a pro-
fessed Christian, the last was a Kat River resident of
mixed Xosa and Hottentot blood, a clever individual,
who had been strongly suspected of treasonable inten-
tions during the war.
" A Committee of the House of Commons was at the
time taking evidence upon the condition of the Ab-
origines of British Settlements. . . . Jan Tshatshu,
whose father's clan was composed of less than a thousand
individuals of both sexes and all ages, was represented
as a powerful chief who could bring two thousand
warriors into the field. He and Andries Stoffels were
examined by the Committee, and spoke in accordance
with their training. Dr. Philip then went on a tour
through England with these men, everywhere attracting
crowds of people to see and hear the converts from
heathenism and enlisting supporters for this cause. In
stirring addresses in which the most sublime truths were
mixed with fantastic theories, he appealed to those
feelings of English men and women which are most
easily worked upon. His eloquence was amply rewarded,
his tour was described by his admirers as a triumphal
procession, in which such incidents were not omitted
as Tshatshu and Stoffels taking ladies of rank to the
dinner - tables of houses where they were guests, and
the enthusiastic cheers with which they were greeted on
Educated Natives 107
appearing before public assemblies. The cost to the two
Africans seems never to have been thought of. Stoffels
speedily contracted consumption, and died at Cape
Town on his way back to his home. Tshatshu became so
conceited and so fond of wine that he was utterly ruined,
and we shall meet him hereafter expelled from Church
membership and fighting against the white man." ^
In another volume Dr. McCall Theal tells us that —
" In this attempt to get possession of Fort Peddy the
Tinde Captain, Jan Tshatshu, took part. After his
return from England with the Rev. Dr. Philip he was
puffed up with pride and self-importance, and as he had
acquired a fondness for strong drink his career thence-
forward was most unsatisfactory." -
Speaking of Dr. Philip elsewhere in the same volume,
Dr. McCall Theal also says : —
" Yet . . . the man whom he had exhibited in Eng-
land as a model Christian Kaffir was in arms against the
Colony and taking part with the murderers of helpless
Fingo women and children." ^
I do not think any mission society will accuse Dr.
George McCall Theal of being biased or unfair, and
therefore his statements must carry weight. Speaking
of the Rev. J.J. Freeman, who published " A Tour to
South Africa," he says : —
" The author of this work was Home Secretary of the
London Missionary Society, and was deputed by that
body to visit its station in South Africa. A single
quotation from this book will show how distorted were
the views of its author. ..."
^ " History of South Africa,"' Vol. II, p. 136.
- /did., Vol. Ill, p. 4. ^ Jduf., Vol. Ill, p 60.
1 08 Via Rhodesia
Of the Rev. E. Casalis he says : —
" He and the French missionaries in the Lesuto must
be regarded as the champions of the wildest pretensions
of Moshesh."
Of the Rev. Stephen Kay, also a political busybody,
he says : —
" he regarded white men who were not missionaries as
little better than incarnate fiends," and " the accounts
given by Mr. Kay . . . were investigated by the Govern-
ment and found to be strikingly incorrect."
And there is a great deal more to the same effect.
Even Livingstone, of whom I am a great admirer,
has in his " A Popular Account of Missionary Travels
and Researches in South Africa," given a false colouring
to the portion of his work which refers to the immigrants
and settlers, and some of his statements have over and
over again been proved to be incorrect.
After I returned to England, in August, 1909, I ex-
pressed my view that I had not a very high opinion of
the good of the missionary enterprise, and gave several
reasons.
Needless to say, I was denounced at Whitefield's,
Tottenham Court Road. The Rev. Charles Abel de-
livered there on the 22nd August, 1909, an address with
" applause " (see " Daily News," August 23) which
was supposed to be a denial of my statements, and in
which he said : —
" . . . we had recently read of a lady who . . . had
stated that missionaries had no good influence on the
natives. He believed the lady meant what she said,
and he was perfectly willing to admit, that if she went
to New Guinea she might come back to this country
and make a similar statement. ..."
Educated Natives 109
A Miss M. Blunt, b.a.lond., writing to the "Daily
News " on August 19, from Cricklewood, says : —
" Having had a year's residence amongst the native
people of South Africa, I should be glad if this further
protest against Miss Mansfield's opinion, a protest based
on personal observation of missionary work, may be
allowed to appear in your valuable space.
" . . . it must be remembered that it is often the
least worthy subjects of missionary influence who be-
come known to the traveller or the casual observer.
The lazy and conceited Christian native, through his
natural self-assertiveness or conspicuous failings, brings
an undue proportion of discredit on his teachers."
But who else than the teacher is to be blamed ?
Natives without Christian education are quite different.
Rubbish like Miss Blunt 's is cheap.
In the " Daily Chronicle " of August 18, 1909, the
Rev. H. Cecil Nutter has a highly interesting letter in
which he challenges me with regard to the morality of
Africans. From this letter I see that this member of the
London Missionary Society states : " I am not sur-
prised to read that she has not a high opinion of the
results of missionary enterprise." He goes on to state
that I quite truly describe the natives as big, strong, and
happy, but he considers they are not always happy,
and he then makes a long statement about morality and
immorality. There is unquestionably a good deal of
truth in what he says, but I have heard of more im-
moral proceedings in London, Paris, Berlin, etc., amongst
the whites, than I have heard of during my travels or
afterwards amongst the natives. It is well known that
the moraUty of the Zulus, Swazies, Pondos, etc., is
beyond reproach, and to quote again the authority on
South African History, Dr. McCall Theal : —
I 1 o Via Rhodesia
" Another question which has been put to me is
whether there are any traces of phaUic worship amongst
the Bantu of South x\frica. To this I can reply : none
whatever. . . ." ^
In the " Daily News " of August 23, 1909, I saw : —
" Missionary Influence.
" To the Editor.
" Sir, — Rev. E. W. Davies, in answer to Miss Mans-
field's on the above question, quotes Sir H. Johnston
against her contention that ' missionary influence is
not really a good thing for natives.' Sir H. Johnston,
in the ' Nineteenth Century,' November, 1887, writes : —
" ' . . . In many important districts where they
[missionaries] have been at work for twenty years, they
can scarcely number in honest statistics twenty sincere
Christians. ... In other parts of Africa, principally
British possessions, where large numbers of nominal
Christians exist, their religion is discredited by num-
bering amongst its adherents all the drunkards, liars,
rogues, and unclean livers in the colony.'
" Prof. Max Muller, in the ' Nineteenth Century,'
January, 1885, cites the speech of ' a grand Maori chief,*
who condemns the influence of the missionaries on the
natives.
" Mr. Joseph Thompson, the African explorer, who
writes in the ' Contemporary Review,' December, 1886,
' as one having the interest of Christianity deep at
heart,' speaking of East Central Africa, noticed ' a sort
of veneer of Christianity, which made a show and looked
satisfactory only when described in a missionary maga-
zine.'
^ " History of South Africa," Vol. Ill, p. 457.
Educated Natives 1 1 1
" I don't know if the writers are novel writers, or if
they made a hurried journey for sensations, but let us
have fair play. ,, ^r
^ -^ Yours, etc., k x r-
A. COODE.
" Swansea."
That really kind woman, Mrs. Moffat, at Chitambo,
whom I asked what good she thought Christianising of
natives did, answered me : " If we do not teach them
Christianity now, they will fight in the future ! "
In Kimberley quite recently some native " prophets "
were tried for sedition and sentenced. One was a
kitchen-boy from Mafeking, who with some followers
went round preaching in the Taungs District that he was
Jesus Christ, and that he had come to summon his black
brethren to kill the whites.
And only a few weeks ago, further " prophets " "of
the blood " appeared with the same seditious language
and necessitated strengthening the Bechuanaland Police.
Several severe sentences were passed upon the main
mischief-makers .
If this is going to be the blessing derived from Chris-
tianity, then I say, stop it as soon as possible.
Is not, perhaps, Mohammedanising the native much
preferable ? Reliable people, old residents of Uganda,
have told me that this latter course is much more de-
sirable than Christianising.
The best way to civilise the black is to improve and
maintain the position of the white. Example means
much in the teaching of children ; the example of
whites means everything in the development of the
native, and therefore surely it behoves everyone in
England who has the interest of the natives at heart to
send out in the first place money for proper schools and
churches for the whites.
I I 2
Via Rhodesia
If some of the many Mission Societies in England, who
all have the one idea of saving " heathens " in their own
particular way of salvation, would look more to the needs
of people of their own colour, then the civilisation of the
black would follow in natural, though slow and steady
course. Let the natives become good servants before
the responsibilities of masters are thrust upon them.
The old proverb of the beggar on horseback still holds
good.
To sum up, I should like to say : Missionaries, do not
take up politics, do not interfere with natives, but de-
vote your great knowledge, your powerful resources,
your organising talents and your many other abilities
to the welfare of those of our own colour, of your own
brothers and sisters, many of whom are in great need
and would be pupils who would remain thankful to you
to their last days !
CHAPTER X
A Lccfitre
ICi\NNOT speak too highly of the kind hospitahty
of the people I met, among whom were many
interesting men and women of culture and charm.
A visit to the police camp at Salisbury, and tea with
pioneer Colonel Bodle, afforded the opportunity of seeing
a line display of a lightning drill by the Black Watch.
One of the native soldiers whistled, in lieu of a band,
and very smart the men looked with neat uniforms and
bare, glistening black legs. Near the parade-ground
are the huts where live the wives and children of the
native police, and what Apollos must seem these soldiers
to their adoring dusky brides !
For three days while at Salisbury I stayed with Mr.
and Mrs. Marshall Hole, who were very kind to me.
Mrs. Marshall Hole enjoys the distinction of having been
one of the first women to enter Rhodesia in the pioneer
days, and tells a quaint story, showing how women can be
dainty even under difficult circumstances.
It seems that she arrived by waggon at a certain spot,
clothed in a blue serge dress, happy in the knowledge
that a promise had been given that her luggage, with
clothing, etc., would arrive by the next waggon transport.
She naturally expected this w^ould mean living in blue
serge for three days, but it was three months before
those boxes arrived, and towards the end of this time
the settlers decided to give a dance. There were only
I 113
114
Via Rhodesia
three ladies, but still they decided to dance and be cheer-
ful. Then came the question of clothes. Of course the
men could not dress, that was out of the question, as
there was only one black coat in Salisbury for many
years, and that was the one owned by Dr. Jameson in
his dignified position of Administrator. But could a
woman dance in blue serge when that serge had had so
CATHOLIC CHURCH, BULAWAVO
(By kind permission of Father Nassau)
many weeks' wear ? No, certainly not ; and into Mrs.
Marshall Hole's pretty little fair head there crept a
scheme. Saying no word of her secret, she bought
white limbo (calico) and made herself a dress, draping
around the low V some of her husband's white silk hand-
kerchiefs. The night of the dance arrived, and when
the other ladies saw the confection they both exclaimed,
" Oh, your boxes have come ! "
Another story which shows the ingeniousness of
A Lecture i i 5
women is told of a lady who had lost all her hairpins
and used long mimosa thorns instead.
While in Bulawayo, I was asked to give a few of my
impressions to a representative of the " Rhodesian
Journal." I did so, and the B.S.A. Co. have widely
circulated these impressions in leaflet form.^ I was both
surprised and flattered when I returned to London to
find that they had done so, and am pleased that my little
effort was thus appreciated, for I now feel I have thanked
them for the kind attention I received throughout
Rhodesia from their representatives.
Before leaving Bulawayo I was also approached by the
President and Secretary of the Loyal Women's Guild
and asked if I would give a lecture in aid of their funds.
As I had never given a lecture in my life, I was at fi.rst
frightened at the idea and then perplexed as to the choice
of a subject. I eventually decided however on Word
Pictures,- and was delighted that the lecture resulted in
obtaining about £20 for the Guild, which Guild, by
the way, might with advantage now be called the United
Women's Guild, in view both of the union of the States
and the supposition that at the present moment all
women are loyal and that therefore there is no necessity
to differentiate.
1 am very proud of the fact that I was the first woman
to lecture in Rhodesia, where women even as public
speakers are up to the present practically unknown.
The audience was most appreciative. I hope other
women will come forward to assist the numerous funds
required for purposes of public interest by lecturing on
various topics, and thus help also the literary talent
now lying dormant in Rhodesia.
' See Appendix A.
2 The report of the lecture, which appeared in the " Rhodesia Journal," is
,1,'iven in Appendix B.
I t6 Via Rhodesia
At the lecture I offered a medal for the best Word
Picture on a Rhodesian subject, the writer to be a
resident of Rhodesia. I regret that only nine contribu-
tions in verse and prose were sent in.^ I obtained from
j\Ir. John Tweed, the eminent sculptor, a promise to
design the medal, and seven months were allowed for
the composition of the pictures. However, everything
has a beginning, and the nine competitors at any rate
made a better attempt than did the members of the
Lyceum Club (over 3000) when some time ago I offered
two prizes for a poster design. David Murray, r.a.,
promised to judge, and wrote saying he would place
two days on one side for this purpose. But alas, only
one poster was sent in !
The time I spent preparing the lecture was very en-
joyable, and possessed of a particular charm. By the
courtesy of Mr. T. Stevens I experienced the quiet and
inspiring hospitality of Government House, a house
built by Cecil Rhodes, and a modest imitation of Groote
Schuur, some three miles out from Bulawayo.
Here, on the stoep, looking out on the Dutch garden
of green lawns, sheltered by orange trees, one could sit
and dream, with no sound save the songs of the doves ;
and with the blue sky above and the golden sunshine
everywhere, one felt indeed that the earth and every-
thing thereon offered rich colour schemes for word
pictures.
I am grateful to " Jack Stevens," as he is endearingly
called in Rhodesia, for these two days.
^ The two contributions which were found to be the best by the President ot
the Poets' Club are given in Appendixes C and D.
CHAPTER XI
''Smoke that Sounds''
IT was on St. George's Day that I left Bulavvayo for the
Victoria Falls, and very beautiful were the roses pre-
sented to me at the station. His Majesty King Albert
of Belgium, then H.R.H. Prince Albert, travelled by the
same train, and I had the honour of being presented
to him. At the Falls we took each other's portraits.
His Majesty speaks English perfectly, and has a charm-
H.M. THE KING OF THE BELGIANS AT VICTORIA FALLS
ingly simple manner. One of his A.D.C.'s, a handsome
Baron, looked as if he had stepped out of a romantic
play produced at St. James's Theatre. I wondered if I
was taking part in the " Prisoner of Zenda," or " Rupert
119
I 20
Via Rhodesia
of Hentzau." At the Falls we were met by H.H. Mr.
\\'allace, the Administrator of North-Western Rhodesia, ^
and his amiable Secretary, Mr. Francis. Here also I met
HOUSEMAIDS ' AT VICTORIA FALLS HOTEL
Dr. Beattie, of the S.A. College, and a very pleasant
companion I found him. Every day he spent many
hours in his tent, pitched on the veld some short dis-
tance from the Falls, busy with a magnetic survey. He
was good enough to show and explain his wonderful
compass to me, and one day I took his photograph, with
his collar off, by special request, because I explained to
him that he looked so much more interesting without
the stiff linen badge of civilisation. Prof. Beattie had
mapped out for himself a tour from the Cape to Cairo by
nearly the same route as I intended to go. He after-
wards changed his plans, and I had not the pleasure of
meeting him again, but I am glad to say he accomplished
^ N E. and N.W. Rhodesia have now been amalgamated, and Mr. Wallace
is Administrator of both portions.
"Smoke tliat Sounds"
121
\\
that which I failed to perform, for he travelled from
the Cape to Cairo in one journey and in one year, a
feat never before accomplished by man or woman. I
have since heard from him that he walked about two
thousand miles. One day, I remember, when the Professor
and myself went by
boat to Kandahar
Island, taking our
lunch with us, we
spent seven hours
together, and he re-
marked that such a
test meant that if
we met up country
we could travel to-
gether without quar-
relling. Most tra-
vellers, it seems,
quarrel when only
two are in the wilds
together. I have
heard many in-
stances of this. At
Kandahar Island,
which is up river
about five miles from
the Falls, and which
was so named by
Lord Roberts during
his visit in Septem-
ber, 1904, there is an abundance of rich tropical growth,
and we amused ourselves by making up stories of ad-
ventures with elephants, which might have happened,
and I promised I would not tell the newspapers any
fatter lies than invented that day.
Pkoi-Kssok HEAiiii': (.\KK^l^l
A MAGNETIC SURVEY
12^
Via Rhodesia
Now, the joke is that we really thought adventures
with elephants an absolute impossibility on that island,
and I afterwards heard that only a short time previously,
when the river was low, a herd of elephants had broken
down the trees on many parts of the island, and also that
the bobbing up and down in the river through which we
rowed, and which I took to be huge lumps of weed, were
in reality the heads of hippopotami, so we really might
have had an adventure. Rowing-boats or a motor-
launch can be hired at the Falls for the day. We
chose a rowing-boat, preferring to be rowed by dusky
oarsmen.
AT KANDAHAR ISLAND
The accompanying photo is of a crocodile which was
shot by the toll-taker from the bridge over the gorge
just below the Falls a few weeks before I arrived. The
photograph was also taken by him. Writing of this toll-
taker reminds me of a very quaint incident. One morning
"Smoke that Sounds"
12
I left the hotel, saying I would probably not return for
lunch, and taking some biscuits with me. I further gave
instructions that if a telegram should come a messenger
would find me somewhere in the Palm Kloof. Arriving
CROCODILE SHOT iiN KAILWAN IKIIiGE AT VICTORIA FALLS
(By kind permission of the shot, Mr. Sloper)
at the bridge, I gave the same information to the toll-
keeper. He showed me some wonderful walking-sticks
he was making out of hippo hide, and told me the
crocodile-shooting story. I then passed on, crossed the
bridge, walked some distance along the edge of the cliff
till I reached a big baobab tree, then turning to the
left entered the steep, narrow zigzag pathway leading
down to the wonderful Palm Kloof, which lies at the foot
of the Falls by the side of the gorge.
On the way down I saw some natives with picks ;
they respectfully stood aside to allow me to pass, and
^4
Via Rhodesia
further down the pathway, where the beautiful palms
rising to the height of forty feet grow densely together,
I met several more natives. Evidently they had been
BAODAB TREK
(By kind permission of Father Nassau)
removing debris from the pathway, and having finished
their^work were going aloft. It was rather eerie meeting
these black men in the dim light and far from any sound
IN THE PALM KLOOF
(By kind permission of Mr. Percy M. Clark, photographer, Victoria Falls)
''Smoke that Sounds" 127
save the distant rushing of the water, and this was my
first encounter with natives. They took off their hats,
and I said " good morning " in much the same tone, I
fancy, as that in which I should liave said " poor dog "
to propitiate a strange cur of whose temper I was un-
certain. Arrived at the bottom of the somewhat steep
path, I found so much water had accumulated from the
recent heavy rains, that it was quite impossible to
remain in such a damp atmosphere, and therefore, after
a few minutes spent in admiration of the wealth of
foliage around, thrilled with that sense of awe which the
roaring waters near must ever bring, I began the ascent.
The native workmen had by this time all disappeared,
and when I reached the top I gave the biscuits to a
native police boy who seemed to be guarding the baobab
tree, in the shade of which lay the workmen's tools, and
I returned to the bridge.
The toll-keeper was about to mount his bicycle to
ride to the hotel for his midday meal. He informed
me that no telegram had come for me, and rode away.
I walked some distance along the pathway leading
from the bridge, the spray from the distant Falls moisten-
ing my face as a cool mist, and then I saw to my sur-
prise that the toll-keeper had dismounted from his
bicycle and was looking in my direction, apparently
waiting for me to come up, and when I reached him he
said :
" Do you mind. Miss, if I walk by you as far as the
hotel ? I don't like the look of a man over yonder."
The man " over yonder " was a white man of tramp
appearance, and I was amazed that the toll-keeper
should find it necessary to shield me from a white, while
he had uttered no word of warning with reference to
the natives at work in the Kloof. A low w^hite is cer-
tainly more to be feared than an ignorant black, and this
128 Via Rhodesia
the toll-keeper knew. He explained that the white
man in question was apparently waiting to " jump "
the bridge, tliat is, cross without paying the necessary
shilling, while the toll-keeper was at dinner.
It is said that when the British Association visited
the Falls a year or two ago, one learned professor looking
forth from the bridge determined to drop a stone and
time its fall. After a space of solemn silence he dis-
covered that he had dropped his watch and still held
the stone.
This bridge is on the boundary between North-
Western and Southern Rhodesia, for though Livingstone
is only seven miles from the Falls, that town is the seat
of the Administration of North-Western Rhodesia, while
the Falls are claimed by Southern Rhodesia and will
doubtless prove more and more one of its best paying
means of revenue.
The relative beauties of the Victoria Falls as com-
pared with those of Niagara are constantly discussed,
and a story is told that one day an Englishman and an
American stood side by side and gazed with speechless
admiration at the Main Falls of the Zambesi. The silence
was broken by the American, who observed :
" I guess it's fine, but Niagara knocks spots out of it ! "
Now it happened two years later that the Englishman
visited America, and meeting the American before-
mentioned, they together visited Niagara Falls, and as
they stood and looked at the rushing waters the American
observed :
" Fine, but I guess your Victoria Falls just beats this
hollow ! "
" What ? " exclaimed the Englishman. '' But when
we were there, you gave the palm to Niagara."
" Yes," answered the Yankee, " but I hadn't seen
Niagara then."
3 ^
^ i
"Smoke that Sounds" 131
Without the slightest wish to be disloyal or lese-
majestic, I must confess that the name of the Falls
seems to be its one drawback. The name Victoria sug-
gests solid English comfort and stolid dignity. How
much better would it have been to retain the native
name Mosi-oa-tunya (" Smoke that sounds "), for truly
such a name gives in a short sentence a graphic descrip-
tion of the spray rising many thousands of feet, to the
far-off traveller appearing as smoke from a gigantic
veld fire. And the sound, the distant thunder of the
water's music, a roar of triumph. Nature in her deepest
notes proclaiming her omnipotence ; what organ built
by man ever gave so grand a tone ? What trumpet so
majestic a herald ?
When the waters move with so much force, man seems
but a puny monster, a monument of conceit, and to
the Falls one looks, and there is but one thought within
the heart : God is great, for God and nature are in
accord. Near the Falls should stand, not an hotel, but
a temple, a hall of silence into which one might pass
from sound to prayer.
The frame of a great picture had better be of thorns
than tawdry in design, and so it is with nature ; leave,
oh, leave, a big margin to the Falls, a space, a some-
thing of indefinite grass, tree, or bush, let the paths
lose themselves in underwood and let no notice-boards
desecrate the spell. What though many, when the
Falls are better known, will rashly venture too near the
fatal brink or long to float on the foaming, onward,
downward vehemence of the milky surface of the Devil's
Cataract ! Better sacrifice of human life than rails to
mar and bar the way.
Such a world-wonder, so beautiful, will ever and
should ever claim a percentage of human sacrifice. To
die in Nature's arms must give something of complete-
I ^2
Via Rhodesia
ness even to a commonplace life ; beds are stuffy at
their best, though considered by many (chiefly the un-
imaginative) respectable receptacles to be born and to
die in.
With what a feeling of awe amounting to dread must
Livingstone, in November, 1855, have approached these
Falls ! One can picture him, not standing upright, but
creeping, crawling nearer and nearer, the spray on his
face, the sound of the rushing of a thousand oceans filling
his ears, and every heart-beat a throb of expectation.
xA.las that it should have been in November, when the
Falls are not in full flood ! and yet perhaps better so, for
otherwise there would have been too much unexpected
marvel.
Africa, having so decidedly a wet and a dry season, is
almost like two different lands, so altered is its aspect
before the rains begin and after the clouds have yielded
their liquid wealth. If one would wish to see the wonders
of the framework of the Victoria Falls one should visit
Rhodesia between September and December, when it is
possible to examine the walls of the great chasm ; it is
also possible at this period to walk across to Livingstone
Island and, in fact, to approach to the brink of the
naked edge of the Main Falls. I met one man who had
crossed " Knife-edge," but he declared that to his last
day he would never forget the awful experience, and
often now he awakes from sleep imagining he is back
there again. This Knife-edge is a depression with narrow
surface which has at one end a dripping grove of palms
and at the other the termination of the promontory
which faces Buttress Point across the cauldron. Once
this spot is reached, one has a splendid view of the bridge
and gorge, but a slip on the Knife-edge might easily
mean death, for the rocks are slippery and crumbling,
and a gust of wind would quickly render balance uncer-
^~J^
:V?S?^-' 4<f >. -X
^; .
VICTORIA FALLS. VIEW FROM "KNIFE-EDGE," LOOKING WEST
(By kind permission of Father Nassau)
'* Smoke that Sounds" 135
tain. It is quite possible to enjoy the full beauty of the
Falls without risk of any kind whatever.
It is quite impossible for any photograph to give
even a shadow picture of the great reality of the Victoria
Falls, for when they are at their best photographic re-
production is impossible on account of the clouds pro-
duced by the spray, the damp atmosphere, and the
constantly changing light. Truly one passes through a
fairyland even when one only ventures on to the bridge,
which, like a lace pocket-handkerchief thrown across
the gorge, binds the two shores together, for beneath,
above, around, and across one's very person are rain-
bows of exquisite colours. At the Falls Nature has her
own cathedral, with arches of luminous colour and an
ever-sounding anthem of praise.
Imperishable the Falls, and alike imperishable the
memory of them. One feels a httle nearer God for
having been privileged to see so much glory. Each man
or woman who listens to the spirit of the waters must
marvel anew at the world and its wonders ; less do we
seem than the very flies who come to life in its vicinity ;
one feels inclined to ask, why need the sun worry to
shine on our little homes when she has also this ? and
why should the moon ever light our dark pathways,
when she can make lunar rainbows by smiling upon
these waters ? Surely none of us are sufficiently grate-
ful to life, for every human being has a big share of many
marvels.
No one who visits the Falls should omit the Rain Forest.
South Africa, on the whole, is so disappointing with
regard to tropical verdure that one should cherish every
possible gUmpse of it. Many visitors imagine that Rain
is only a name for this tiny forest, and smile at the idea
of going forth clothed in mackintoshes, but the man or
woman is wise who wears little else, because the damp
136 Via Rhodesia
has a way of penetratini^ and spoiling garments, while
the spray runs down one's neck and renders collars of
linen a certain producer of sore throats. Better go forth
in pyjamas and mackintosh only, walk to and from the
VIP:\V of ZAMliESI RIVER ABOVE FALLS
hotel, and have a hot bath as soon as possible after the
excursion is over. In that way chills and colds are
avoided.
The forest gives one the impression of a fern-clad
borderland between the world of dreams and the world
of reality, for everywhere the dainty fronds of maiden-
hair ferns peep forth, and as one walks through the
strip of forest, knowing that quite close on one side is the
veld, one feels that one is for the moment in a dream,
and that regaining the veld will be awakening. For the
nonce the fascination on the other side will claim and
frighten, as with the curiosity of the beauty-loving one
ventures up the narrow paths leading to the boiling,
seething waters, which fall into the abyss just at one's
feet, only to run back like timid children trying to re-
member that the safe hand of the veld is near.
THE "boiling-pot"
(By kind permission of Father Nassau)
" Smoke that Sounds "
139
The spray gathers itself into a column, and then,
spreading into a white canopy, covers the forest and
sheds its tears of rain, drip, drip, until every leaf is but
a lip to suck the moisture in, and beneath one's feet the
earth has become a pool before one has realised one has
walked so far.
Then one becomes brave, the fascination is so great,
and for a few minutes the shelter of the forest is left, the
veld forgotten, and one stands and clings to the moist
stones on Danger Point and sees a sight it is worth all
one's life journeying to see.
Not away from us, but a part of us, seems the moving,
living stream. The Falls here, the Falls over there, the
Falls beyond — the mighty masses of scarce-divided and
CREAM OF TARTAR TREE AT VICTORIA FALLS
88 ft. 6 in. round trunk outside curves
yet disjointed perpendicular oceans rushing with deter-
mined haste, running a race with time, as though eager
to overtake eternity, and the chasm beneath, the boiling,
seething whirlpool, the seemingly bottomless pit into
140
Via Rhodesia
which the waters leap as though fighting an emptiness
determined to fill, yet powerless to overflow.
It is too much, one weeps, yet need feel no shame for
those tears.
THE "SMOKE THAT SOUNDS" AS SEEN FROM THE HOTEL
CHAPTER XII
Livi]igsfojic
PROFESSOR BEATTIE left the Falls for Broken
Hill a week previous to my departure (I having
accepted the kind invitation of Mr. and Mrs.
Wallace to spend a few days at Government House,
Livingstone), and laughingly he assured me that he
would jump all my carriers should they be waiting for
me. That week the new train service began whereby
it was possible to reach Broken Hill spending only one
night in the train instead of two en route. This train
did not contain a dining-car, and the picnics which used
to ensue may well be imagined. Also, to enable the
engine-driver, fireman, and guard to sleep, the train did
not travel during the night, and camp-fires used to be lit
by the side of the raihvay line. But the old order
changeth, and now the run is made in a much shorter
time. I really thought the amiable professor would
have a good laugh at me when, immediately after his
departure, I heard that the Kafue River had risen to
such an extent that no more passenger trains would
be allowed to pass through. It seemed I was to be left
behind altogether. When I arrived at Livingstone,
however, the Administrator kindly said he would see
what could be done, for I urged that at the close of
my visit I must go over the floods by boat if no other
way was possible.
Livingstone is to a town what a heading is to a chapter,
141
142
Via Rhodesia
a hint of wliat it will become, and doubtless before many
years have passed a prosperous town will be established.
The inhabitants are ambitious and surprisingly up-to-
date in their ideas. The great thing in settlements is to
have the right kind of leaders, and in Rhodesian towns
it is a noticeable fact that the officials are cultured men
and their wives charming women. Sport is naturally at
AN artist's corner
(By kind permission of Mr. P. M. Clark)
present the chief pastime, but as opportunity arrives art
too will hold her own. Everyone reads, many are
musical, and conversation has as much and often more
of interest in it than the bored talk in European towns,
where too often one depends on the footlights for topics
and newspaper scandals for wit. There is only one
drawback to Rhodesian society, there are not enough
women. Often a dinner-party consists of eight men
and two women in North-Western Rhodesia, while
Livingstone 143
further north — well, in 540 miles I saw only one white
woman, and she was a missionary's wife, to see whom I
went twenty-five miles out of my way.
Everyone has read " Alice in Wonderland," and will
H.H. MR. WALLACE, ADMINLSTRATOR OF NORTHERN RHODESL\,
AND MRS. WALLACE
remember the Cheshire cat that was all smiles — well,
Government House resembles that cat in that it is all
verandah and very little house. One afternoon while I
was there Mrs. Wallace gave an " At Home " garden
party, and over seventy people were given tea at little
T44 ^^'^^ Rhodesia
tables on that verandah. The Secretary, a positive
Admirable Crichton, arranged the tables, and I volun-
teered to do the flowers. While thus occupied a murder
case was being tried in a room close to me in the house.
This verandah was a charming sight, for many flowers
and creepers festooned the archways, through which one
had glimpses of the garden beyond. The women wore
pretty frocks, and a native band of drums and fifes
discoursed music on the lawns below.
According to arrangements wliich had been made,
H.M. the Queen would have stayed at this house during
the King's shooting trip, on His Majesty's visit to South
Africa, as Prince of Wales, to open the Union Parliament.
While I was there a wild dog entered the larder at
night and eloped with a ham. This ham w^as intended
to be turned into sandwiches for my journey further on,
so I felt specially grieved at the theft.
But a stolen ham is nothing compared with a lost
mail bag. Before Mr. and Mrs. Wallace came to Living-
stone they were at Fort Jameson, N.E. Rhodesia, and
Mrs. Wallace gave me a copy of the following notice,
that was issued from Fort Jameson on the 9th of Septem-
ber, 1907 : —
"Postal Notice No. 8 of 1907.
"Missing Mails
" It IS HEREBY NOTIFIED for general information that
the carriers conveying the European and Colonial Mail,
due to arrive at Fort Jameson on the 8th September,
1907, were attacked by lions near Mlflo's vfllage, Peatuke
Division, on the evening of the 2nd, and in consequence
abandoned some of the bags and fired the grass.
" The mail_^bag despatched from Southampton on the
3rd August was partially destroyed by lions and fire.
The bag despatched from Salisbury on the 21st August,
Livingstone 145
one of the bags despatched from Livingstone on the
24th August, the Kalomo bag of the 24th August, and
one bag from Broken Hill of the 26th August have not
been recovered, and it is feared that they have been
almost totally destroyed.
"(Signed) H. A. Baldock,
"Comptroller of Post and Telegraphs."
In Livingstone one either drives mules or, if a visit
to the Falls is desired, hires a little trolley, when no
train is running, and travels along the rails. On a clear
day the spray from the Falls is discernible as a distant
misty cloud in the sky, and the roar of the water can
be distinctly heard when the wind blows from that
direction.
There is a charming little hospital at Livingstone ;
the verandah around is mosquito-proof, and one imagines
one is observing a human Zoo when looking through the
network at the patients lounging on low chairs reading
or dreaming the hours away. All hospitals throughout
Rhodesia have a staff of trained nurses.
At Livingstone there is also a well-equipped hotel, but
what are really needed are good ready-money general
stores, not only for Europeans, but also for natives. In
fact, throughout Rhodesia one should meet more shop-
keepers of English blood with the sound principles of
commerce for which so long the English have been noted.
One meets too often the Jewish, Indian, and German
trader ; they reap the profits, and the country does not
benefit because most of the money goes out of the
country.
" English Traders for English Colonies " would
not be a bad motto, but the Government is powerless
to act ; a trading licence is applied for, and, no criminal
record being produced against the applicant, is granted
146 Via Rhodesia
on payment of the recognised fee. It is not a question
of preference, for up to the present the Englishman as a
trader has practically put in no appearance. Everyone
wants to be a mineowner and to become quickly a
millionaire. This is naturally absurd. On the other
hand, there is a great future for the Englishman of brains
and conscience who will not regard trade as beneath his
consideration.
With regard to the stores, I have no grudge against
the Jew or the foreigner, but I should like to see a few
Englishmen make money. At present the Jew and the
foreigner seem to be collecting all the plums. Great
credit is due to them for their energy and enterprise in
superintending labour, and building their own fortunes,
but, oh, you Englishmen, what a chance you are losing by
leaving the trading to others !
It is time that the tin shanty in Rhodesia should
vanish from out the land, and in its place well-built
stores be erected, and business carried on with less
credit and with more sound business principles.
Not only a fortune, but the thanks of the whole com-
munity await the individual who will start the first
ready-money store. Of course, a separate building will
be necessary for the native trade. Only where there are
no blacks the black is your brother.
With ready-money trading copper coinage could be
introduced, making the condition of things better.
The Kaffir stores at present in existence are not only
unsightly, but also in many cases a snare to the native.
The Government is powerless to interfere in a matter
of private commercial enterprise, but the credit system
as existing is not a good one. A native wishes to obtain
a tin trunk ; he pays a deposit and is presented with
the key ; he must not take the trunk away, but may
come when he likes and deposit his belongings there and
Livingstone 147
lock them up. Then comes a day when he cannot pay ;
the contents often make good compensation for an un-
paid debt. And who is to prevent stolen articles from
being hidden there ! Then, supposing a man wants to
buy one yard of limbo (calico) and the price is 4d.,
there being no coppers he must buy three yards for is.
or pay 6d. for the yard, as the smallest coin in circula-
tion is the " tickey " or threepenny-bit. I am glad to
say I have not seen such a store kept by a countryman
of mine, but how much better it would be if the English
would take more kindly to trade. Why should these
others step into our Colonies and reap the benefits ?
There are at present no motor-cars in Livingstone,
but the late Administrator, Mr. Codrington, had a motor-
bicycle, with which he thought the natives would be
very much impressed ; they, however, evinced no sur-
prise at its speed or its machinery, so thinking to im-
press them, he explained that one day flying machines
would be in vogue. This information, however, also
failed to impress.
" What white man wants white man gets," was the
reply. A very simple contrivance will often impress a
native far more than an intricate one, the latter being
as much beyond the limits of his comprehension as the
stars are to one who knows nothing of astronomy.
Mr. Codrington had a favourite native boy, and on
one of his visits to England he took the boy with him
and asked the man who afterwards told me the story, to
take him to the Hippodrome.
Instead of enjoying the entertainment, however, the
native begged with tears in his eyes to be taken out,
and he said : " There are lions over there (pointing to
the stage), and I am the only black man here." It is a
well-known fact that a man-eating lion will make a meal
off a black in preference to a white man if it is a question
148 Via Rhodesia
of choice. Perhaps the flavour is stronger and the taste
for white flesh (hke caviare) has to be acquired !
No penniless person is allowed to enter Livingstone.
I heard that the awkward predicament of not having
enough money was often averted by a crafty money-
lender, who for half-a-crown would lend the necessary
£10, w^aiting for the would-be borrower outside the
boundary and receiving back the money as soon as the
examination terminated.
It is quite easy to walk from Livingstone to the
Falls along the railway line, and a delightful walk it is,
but not without danger, for the river is full of hippos,
which often come to land for a stroll along the banks,
and if one leaves the rails for the river one should
beware of holes in the soft turf, as the spoor of a hippo
is a deep and dangerous trap for unwary ankles.
If large and unusual beetles are trophies to be desired,
very fine specimens can be found in the early morning,
for at night these black creatures fall into the space
between the rails of the railway and, being unable to
return, die from exposure.
Every year a regatta is held at Livingstone, and some
very fine cups are competed for. There is also a very
good cricket team, and there are rifle clubs for both men
and women.
Clergymen visiting the Falls often extend their visit
to Livingstone, and by kind permission of the Adminis-
trator hold services in the Court House ; it is hoped,
however, that soon a church will be erected ; nearly
£1000 have already been collected, and only £3^^ ^.re
yet required. Here, again, is a suitable opportunity for
those in England religiously inclined to help their white
sisters and brothers in the wilds.
One morning during my stay at Livingstone a dress
parade of native troops was given ; the light was good,
Livingstone 149
and I was able to take some snapshots of this most
interesting and smart display.
Civilisation leaves nothing alone ; natnral talent and
patient persuasion give way to trained efforts and uni-
1^
liiniiilli^^
DRILLING
form practice. The native band of drums and fifes will
soon become but a memory, for brass instruments have
been introduced to the camp, and the tunes, so varied
and learned entirely by ear, are to be replaced by ortho-
dox music. Oh, those early morning efforts to play five-
finger exercises on cornet and trombone ! How they
worried the performers and harassed the hearf;rs !
Doubtless more melody has been introduced by now,
and future royal visitors will be met by a fully equipped
brass band.
Livingstone possesses a newspaper of its own, which
is published, if I remember rightly, twice a week. A
charming pictorial Christmas Number is also issued.
150 Via Rhodesia
There is also a circulating library, which, as weh as the
newspaper, is the outcome of an enterprising chemist,
who further has claim to public appreciation by giving
gramophone concerts on the stoep outside his shop on
Saturday nights.
CHAPTER XIII
Agriculture
TO succeed in Rhodesia you should be Jack of many
trades and master of all — have the pride which
produces enterprise, but not the vanity which
cripples work.
It would be wise for the small capitalist who wishes
to make a living in Rhodesia by trading or farming, to
take first a situation of some sort at a nominal wage,
and study the outlook and gauge the requirements. I
have a bone to pick with the Chartered Company on
this matter. At the stations, or bomas, throughout the
parts of Rhodesia sparsely populated by whites, natives
are taught and employed by the officials of the Company
as typists at salaries which, though small from a white
man's point of view, are large for natives. Would it
not be advisable in a country where more white popula-
tion is required, to reserve every kind of work of a nature
capable of being done by white men or women for white
men or women ? These small salaries would be a boon
to the wife or daughter of a small farmer, and would at
any rate keep from starving the white man on the look-
out for something better. It would, in fact, in the long
run pay the Chartered Company to increase the salaries,
or at any rate provide housing room free of charge to
enable white men to fill these minor positions, and at the
same time keep the native at his natural work, which is
manual labour.
151
I =;2
Via Rhodesia
One man told me that for some time he received by
messenger letters from the office of another man wlio
lived some distance away, and though he was certain
that these business letters were written by the native
typist he could not understand why at the end of the
letter the initials " N.C." came after the native's name.
He sent a private letter to his friend asking for an ex-
planation.
When the native gentleman was asked why he added
these initials he replied conceitedly :
" N.C. may stand for Native Commissioner, but it
also stands for Native Clerk ! "
Twelve pounds a month, a free house, meat and birds
to be had for the shooting, and enough vegetables grown
as the result of a few hours' labour, is not a position a
young man should despise as a beginning. It is better
than starving on a pound a week in a London office.
Neither whisky nor expensive Egyptian cigarettes can
be bought on ^f 12 a month, but the boy is better without
it, and around him is the land, which he has the op-
portunity to study, above the sunshine, and every-
where freedom ; there is no one to care if his clothes
are new or old, there is no rushing to catch the early
morning train, no eating of stale buns at tea-shops, when
his hunger cries for meat, but a chance, a great chance,
that the land around may one day be his, it is so cheap,
so easily acquired, and needs so little as a start to end
in a prosperous farm.
Just a free passage out, and the Chartered Company
have another white man on the land, and every one
counts in a country where one can travel a hundred
miles at a time and not meet more than two whites.
N.W. and N.E. Rhodesia have since my visit (1909)
become amalgamated, with Mr. Wallace as the Adminis-
trator of both. This country, the size of France, forms
Agriculture 153
the whole of Northern Rhodesia, and is practically the
property of the Chartered Company. That it has a great
future before it, there is little doubt ; neither its mineral
nor agricultural resources have been sufficiently tested
as yet. There is much scope for the prospector, and still
a greater certainty for the agriculturist.
Of course, when the small capitalist decides to try
his fortune in Rhodesia he must first make up his mind
as to what he wants most, a quick return with a get-at-
able market or a slower result and more sport. Rhodesia
is of such huge dimensions that this must be decided
upon before taking up land. In the south, the railway
assures a quick and certain market, but on the other
hand the land is more expensive and labour is dearer.
For example, the native pays 5s. a year hut-tax in the
south and 3s. in the north, and the cost of the white
man's living can be reckoned accordingly. There are
expenses in the south not to be met with in the north,
but then again cattle produce can be more easily dis-
posed of in the south, whereas in the north one has to
wait. But in the north there is plenty of sport, there
are no social expenses, and there is the hope that some
day the railway will come.
Farmers can obtain a supply of native labour for an
average wage of los. to 12s. 6d. per month in the north,
and 15s. to 20s. in the south. As a rule a food allow-
ance of about 3 lbs. of mealie-meal a day is added, but if
it is possible to procure sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and
similar vegetables, the allowance is naturally shortened.
Good drivers are more difficult to get, and local boys
who have been trained for this work often receive 30s.
a month, whereas the Cape drivers often receive £3 a
month and their food. All household work is per-
formed by natives, who receive from 15s. to 45s. per
month, with food. They readily adapt themselves
I 54 Via Rhodesia
as houseboys, cooks, and " nurses " to look after the
children.
I read with great interest the report on Rhodesia of
Mr. Hannon, Superintendent of Agricultural Co-opera-
tion in the Cape, and think that his remarks should be
more universally known in England. I will append a
few extracts, from which can be seen this expert's
opinion on a few questions of vital importance to an
intending settler : —
" Notwithstanding the fact that my opportunities for
observation were limited and that I visited the various
districts when the season was at its best, I have still
no hesitation in stating that from an agricultural point
of view it is perhaps the finest country I have ever seen.
I have from time to time during the past thirteen years
been employed to investigate the conditions of agricul-
ture, and the circumstances affecting farming economics
in almost every country north of the equator, and I
cannot remember having seen anywhere so remarkable
a combination of all those qualities of soils that in the
hands of capable and intelligent people are the essential
elements of agricultural prosperity. . . .
" I was astonished to find some of our most valuable
English grasses, such as Timothy, growing with great
vigour among the rich natural herbage of the veld. In
some of the beautiful stretches of valleys I saw arable
land in many respects not inferior to the Carse of Stirling.
Many of the large tracts of flat country resemble the
great wheat and maize-carrying areas in the middle and
Western American States, and I have seen no portion of
the country which did not lend itself to the conservation
of water and to what has come to be known in modern
agriculture as dry-soil farming. . . .
" In my opinion the outlook for the farmer settler who
Agriculture 155
is energetic and has a fair amount of capital is more
hopeful in Rhodesia than in any part of the British
Empire. . . .
"Water is always near the surface, and facilities for
small irrigation schemes and for the use of the water-
drill are obvious almost everywhere. . . .
" In many parts of Rhodesia which I have seen,
economic fibres, pineapples, ramie and rubber, could
probably be introduced as paying crops, but these should
be in the hands of a competent expert having experience
in tropical culture. . . .
" I am satisfied that the most profitable way in
which the large volume of surplus milk, which, it is
stated, is available on many farms during half the year,
can best be dealt with is by conversion into cheese. . . .
" Especially cheese-making seems to me to offer an
enormous field of development. There is no reason
whatever why Rhodesia should not become a cheese-
exporting country, as with the existing opportunities of
feeding with hay and ensilage properly bred cows may
be kept in milk for the greater part of the year, and the
cost of production would certainly be as low as in any
other part of the world. . . .
" With the increase of cattle and the possible en-
largement of flocks of Persian and other sheep, the dead
meat industry will shortly become a subject to be dealt
with on a large scale. There seems to me no valid reason
why, in the course of a few years, Rhodesia should not
secure at least a portion of the dead meat trade with
British markets through the port of Beira. . . .
" There seems practically no limit to the extent to
which mealies may be cultivated in Rhodesia. . . .
" I have gone very carefully into this question of
mealie cultivation, and, after thoroughly discussing the
matter with the best farmers in the country, the average
156 Via Rhodesia
crop may be taken as ranging from six to ten bags per
acre, and the cost of production may generally be esti-
mated at about, under existing conditions, 3s. 6d. per
bag. Many farmers put this figure much higher, but
no evidence has been submitted to me sufficiently con-
vincing to show that excellent crops cannot be produced
at the figure given.
" In the present state of European markets the de-
mand for maize is constantly increasing, and the output
both from Russia and America has a constant tendency
to diminish, and therefore it need not be anticipated
that a farmer may sell his bag of mealies at a lower price
than from 6s. 6d. to 7s. delivered at the nearest station or
siding. With anything approaching fair production, this
return ought certainly to be regarded as highly profitable."
Surely these extracts form a most valuable testimonial
to Rhodesia.
In Rhodesia, the Cape land measurement is used, land
being surveyed and sold by the morgen. This measure-
ment is slightly different from English measurement,
1000 Cape feet being equal to 1033 English feet, and a
morgen of land, consisting of two Cape acres, is therefore
equal to 2'ii654 English acres.
The short ton of 2000 lbs. is used.
I have been informed that since Mr. Hannon wrote
the report from which I have quoted the above extracts,
the Rhodesian railways have undertaken to receive
mealies at any station between Bulawayo and Umtali,
and to dispose of the same at market prices on account
of the sender on arrival in England, and to remit the
amount realised by the sale less 2s. 6d. per bag to cover
railage, shipping, wharfage, insurance, etc. This is
similar to the arrangements which have been made in
the Transvaal and the Free State, and many instances
Agriculture i 5 7
have come to my notice where farmers in these countries
received as much as lis. 6d. per bag at the station.
As I have already said, he who wants more sport must
go further north. Probably the Game Laws of Northern
Rhodesia will shortly be modified, but for intending
settlers I will give a summary of the present regulations,
which, however, does not in any way profess to be a
full statement of the law. Intending hunters must care-
fully read the various proclamations.
All game is divided into four schedules : No. i consists
of birds and small buck, which may be shot by anyone
for a £1 annual licence. No. 2 consists of the ordinary
big game which may be shot by residents for £5 annually,
with the limitation to three eland-bulls, one koodoo-bull,
five bulls and three cows of the sable antelope, and three
zebra. Game which may not be shot except under an
Administrator's licence, which costs £50, is contained in
Shedule No. 3.
A game licence does not cover the sale of game, for
which a special licence must be taken out.
Vultures, secretary birds, owls, and rhinoceros birds
are protected on account of their usefulness, and may
not be hunted at all.
No licence is required to kill noxious animals, such as :
lion, leopard, hyena, wild dog, baboon, snake, crocodile,
and birds of prey.
The duty on guns intended for Rhodesia is : for a single
barrel, £1, for a double barrel, £1 los., and in addition
an ad valorem duty of ten per cent, which is payable
at the first Administration station in the territory.
As I have already stated, special permits are required
to take arms into the country.
The Cape Dutch names for lion, leopard, and spotted
hyena are leeuw, tiger, and wolf ; and the native names
in Rhodesia are tau, n'kwe, and setongwani.
CHAPTER XIV
'.b
BEFORE proceeding with details of my further
journey north I should like to give a few notes
on mining, from which intending settlers will
be able to see for themselves what markets there are
at present in Southern Rhodesia, and what immense
possibilities the near future offers, not only for this
portion, but for the whole of Rhodesia.
The production of gold continues to show an increase
over previous years, the output for 1909 being £2,623,708,
or a total since 1890 of £14,455,233. The total output
of a few other minerals has been : silver 991,235 ozs.,
copper 216 tons, lead 4596 tons, coal 757,622 tons,
chrome iron 50,642 tons, zinc ore 13,156 tons, and, further,
asbestos, antimony, scheelite, wolframite, and diamonds
have been produced.
In the early days very little systematic prospecting
was done, and people only acquired and prospected
reefs on which the ancients had worked. In consequence
very few virgin properties have yet been touched, and
surely no one will assume that the ancients had dis-
covered all the paying gold reefs. The recent discoveries
in the Abercorn (S. Rhodesia) District have attracted
much attention, even from the large Transvaal groups,
and the finding of payable values in this formation, which
is unique, may lead to many more valuable discoveries,
as similar formations are at present being properly
prospected in other districts.
Mining 159
The Chartered Company's Resident Mining Engineer,
in his report for the nine months ended September 30th,
1909, states : —
" In reviewing mining matters in Southern Rhodesia,
the most pessimistic must confess that the industry
to-day is on a much sounder footing than ever before
in the history of the country. This position to a very
large extent has been brought about by serious hard
work among the small workers or individual prospectors,
who are responsible for several valuable discoveries,
amongst which may be mentioned the Shamva and
Lonely Mines. There has also been a marked improve-
ment in some of the large mines, and the proving of
some extremely good values at comparatively great
depth has undoubtedly established a feeling of confidence
that has never existed in the past. There has been a
marked increase of new-comers to the country, and an
increased activity in all mining centres is to be noticed."
What better inducement can be held out to an enter-
prising, energetic farmer than the markets created by
the mines ? In September, 1909, these already existing
mines employed 34,308 native labourers, each of which
it roughly costs 14s. a month to feed.
I know nothing about mining, with all its intricacies,
but I have seen in Southern Rhodesia that the so-called
small worker has had a most successful career. I there-
fore think that a large number of such men will make a
home in Rhodesia, meaning naturally that a further
demand will be created for agricultural products.
CHAPTER XV
At Rail Head
THERE appeared in the Press, local and otherwise,
the official notification that on account of the
height of the floods of the Kafue River no
passengers or parcels would be carried beyond this spot
until further notice. What was to be done ? A wire
came stating that my carriers had arrived at Broken
Hill and would be ready to take me north as soon as I
f
PREPARING TO DRAG THE COaCH THROUGH THE FLOODS
could get there. Mr. Wallace kindly wired for further
information, and then arranged that I might go through
1 60
At Rail Head
i6i
with a coach if natives could manage to drag it through
the floods — as a letter ! for mails were to be taken if
possible. I am quite certain that I have the distinction
.^...
THE POSTMASTER IN DIFFICULTIES
of being the most weighty epistle yet carried by the
Rhodesian mail.
With a feehng of deep gratitude to H.H. the Adminis-
trator and Mrs. Wallace for their great kindness and
hospitality, I left Livingstone and boarded the train
bound for Kafue. Although the ham had disappeared in
so cruel a manner, yet I went forth armed with a tea-
basket filled with plenty of food for the journey. On
the train was a Native Commissioner, whom I had
previously met, and we decided to join food forces and
picnic together; he had fish and I had fowl, and so the
journey was enlivened with a veritable feast.
At Kalomo Station I saw a herd of tame elands stand-
ing with some cattle close to the railway ; they looked
quite happy, and were as tame as the cows. Kalomo
was at one time the seat of the Administration for N.W.
1 62 Via Rhodesia
Rhodesia, but the site proved so unhealthy that the
officials were transferred to Livingstone. The advocacy
of Kalomo as a health resort is said to have been the
only mistake ever made by the great explorer Living-
stone. It proved to be quite the reverse, and it was at
considerable cost that the change of the seat of the
Administration was made.
The Native Commissioner who travelled by the same
train was accompanied by a bitch and litter of pups,
and when we arrived at his destination, I said I should
quite miss the wee beauties, and he replied :
" If I thought you wouldn't throw him away, I would
give you one."
** But I should love one," I cried, as the train was
moving, and the result was that a little black pup was
thrust back hurriedly through the carriage window.
After that the little mongrel was my constant com-
panion. I named him "Ugly."
Rarely have I seen a more beautiful sight than the
floods around Kafue. The river had overflowed its banks
to such an extent, that for considerably over a mile
the land had become transformed into a beautiful lake,
a huge surface of water covered with water-lilies. These
flowers, of exceptionally large growth, were of the most
delicate shades of pale mauve and white ; their long
stems, like tubes of india-rubber, could be seen deep
down in the clear water.
Kafue Station was quite unapproachable. The station-
master, armed with the mail bag, bravely set forth on
a raft to deposit the letters on the coach, which, mean-
while, had been detached from the engine. I stood on
the front platform, and was keenly interested in w^atch-
ing the arrangements for dragging the coach through
the water to the bridge, on which another engine was
waiting.
At Rail Head
163
A very stout rope was fastened to the coach, and a
hundred natives, Hke athletes in a tug-of-war, seized
the rope, and with much shouting pulled with all their
might. The funniest sight was the head-boy cracking
a long whip and beating, not the boys but the water, as
with wild gesticulations he urged them on. It took
over an hour to drag the coach through the mile and a
quarter of water-lilies.
In front of us the bridge, a structure of thirteen spans,
and each span a hundred feet, but around on either side
water glistening in the glory of the African sun, above
the blue of the sky, a canopy of azure edged with flame-
tinged clouds, away in the far distance green trees and
DRAGGING THE COACH THROUGH THE FLOODS
verdant land, and, flying across the space between a
radiant heaven and a beautiful earth, large birds with
white and grey plumage — it was a sight to dwell for
ever in one's memory.
164
Via Rhodesia
On the bridge the waiting engine was attached, and
also the white coach of the doctor, who twice a week
journeyed down from Broken HilL I was kindly invited
by the doctor to join him and another man for dinner,
AT KAFUE BRIDGE
and later, in dense darkness, we arrived at Broken
Hill.
That night I made my first acquaintance with a hut,
for a very comfortable one was given to me to sleep in.
This hut, I learn, is hereafter to be called Mansfield
Lodge in honour of my visit.
I remained three days in Broken Hill, and during that
time received much consideration from all the officials.
And what a jolly party they were ! I used to take my
meals at their united mess, and one day they proclaimed
a half-day's holiday so that I might tell all their fortunes.
What a picture they made, seated round the table, so
eagerly watching the cards !
At Rail Head 165
The tall, handsome sergeant was called Maude because
his name was Allen, and another man was called Lottie,
his surname being Collins ; in fact, all had nicknames, but
unfortunately I have forgotten them. One man played
the piano quite well and sang many songs. The Magistrate
was the best banjo player I have heard off the profes-
sional platform, and the cheery Government Agent, well,
he is universally known as a man who is only unhappy
when he is not helping someone. He even tried to find
me some reliable doves ! but it was not to be.
Doves seem to be the musical sparrows of Africa. How
plentiful they are, how tame, but yet how elusive if
one is on shooting bent ! The cooing of the doves is a
sound as much associated with Africa as the humming
of the veld beetle, the singing of the crickets, and the
croaking of the frogs.
Wherever there are trees, there are doves, graceful
birds of soft, pale grey plumage ; their voices are sweet
and low yet very distinct as they coo to each other at
sundown, that sweet, brief period between flaming day
and starlit night. When out in the wilds one wishes to
find water ; the doves will lead you there, for thither
they fly every evening. There are doves everywhere,
near the towns, in the gardens, and again hundreds of
miles away from the railway — truly the doves are one's
most constant companions, and yet how wild they are !
Armed with a gun, and dreaming of a possible pie,
you follow the cooing of a dove. Now it is on the right,
you are quite certain, and turn in that direction ; then, as
though playing a game of touch-about, "coo coo" sounds
far away on your left ; then you fancy, in fact you are
sure, that you see two fly to a tree in front of you, you
throw up a stick to dislodge them, for it isn't good sport
to shoot a bird on a bough ; "coo coo " sound the gentle
mocking voices behind you, and you decide that shooting
i66
Via Rhodesia
doves may be good exercise for your legs, but you need
not overburden yourself with cartridges !
Quite a number of people, I find, are under the erro-
neous impression that the recently opened railway into
Congo territory, of which Broken Hill is the terminus,
is another link in the original route of Rhodes's scheme
of a Cape to Cairo railway, and that the Tanganyika
>' -^j
MANSFIELD LODGE, liROKEN HILL
Concessions Mines are situated near Lake Tanganyika;
they are even further distant than is the Victoria Falls
Power Company in Johannesburg from the Victoria
Falls — with which it has no connection whatsoever save
that it has usurped the name.
The rails, when they leave Broken Hill, branch off to
the north-west instead of to the north-east, and lead
no nearer Cairo from the Rhodesia end than before.
At Rail Head
167
This new railway is certainly of benefit to Rhodesia,
because it brings more traffic through, but what would
really put N.W. and N.E. Rhodesia on the same com-
mercial footing with Southern Rhodesia would be a
railway from Broken Hill to Tanganyika, or as near
the lake as sleeping-
sickness regulations
permit, taking the
route past Serenje,
Mpika, Kasama, and
Abercorn. The last-
named place must
not be confounded
with the Abercorn in
the Salisbury district
of Southern Rho-
desia, which has
recently acquired no-
toriety on account
of newly discovered
gold finds. Aber-
corn, in N.E. Rho-
desia, is within a few
miles and within
sight of Lake Tan-
ganyika.
Doubtless one day
the railway will em-
brace these 540 miles,
and then, indeed,
will the country prove a rich harvesting ground for
farmers ; the land is so cheap now that it should
prove a good investment for those who can afford to
wait.
At Broken Hill there is a very interesting bone cave,
POSTILLON D AMOUR FROM LIVINGSTONE
1 68 Via Rhodesia
discovered only witliin the last two years ; it contains
remains of animals which are supposed to have existed
before the Stone Age.
Excavations are being made, and developments are
watched with interest, by Dr. McKnight, w'ho is very
enthusiastic about the subject and quite an authority
on the relics, a number of which he has examined. So
far no human remains have been discovered, but many
bones of animals now extinct have been unearthed.
The cave probably became at some time hermetically
sealed, and the teeth and bones have been preserved
by the proximity of zinc, this same zinc which
is the despair of the shareholders of the Broken
Hill lead mine, for so far it has been impossible to
separate the two minerals, and the lead is therefore
impure and cannot be smelted. Experiments are still
being made, and hopes are entertained that a successful
process may yet be discovered. A fortune awaits the
man who finds it, because at present these mines are
worthless.
CHAPTER XVI
Coffon-gro7C'iiig
RHODESIA should appeal to Manchester, the
home of the cotton industry, perhaps more
than any other British Colony, for the limbo
(calico) is money, and a yard of white or blue calico will
often purchase a meal where silver is refused. I have
offered a shilling for two small fowls and been asked
instead for two yards of limbo, worth about 8d. here and
costing probably less than 4d. originally — thus one is
forced to trade and save money against one's will.
A man once told me he had a dreadful dream, he
dreamed he was in hell, and his special task was to
wheel a heap of refuse from one place to another and
fetch the same back again. I know little of commerce,
but it seems to me that to grow cotton in Rhodesia, send
it to Manchester, and after it has passed through the
mills receive it back again, is as useless and senseless as
that man's imagined task, especially as Rhodesia is just
the place where mills should be erected ; the cotton is
grown there and thousands of acres are awaiting further
cotton cultivation ; the land is cheap, there are plenty
of rivers and waterfalls for power ; labour is cheap,
and, above all, the material, when finished, is saleable
on the spot. When I was at Broken Hill the Government
Agent showed me 250,000 yards he had in stock, and
said his last order had been for a quarter of a million,
and this not for a trading company. Millions of yards are
» 169
IJO
Via Rhodesia
imported every year. The African Lakes Company must
sell an enormous quantity, and every trader throughout
the country simply must have it. I should strongly
advise one of the
leading cotton mill
owners in Manches-
ter to send a re-
sponsible man to
Rhodesia fully to in-
vestigate the matter.
Not only are soil
and climate believed
to be very suitable
for the production
of Egyptian and
American upland
cotton, but this
cotton is stated to
represent a type for
which the demand
is increasing more
rapidly than the pro-
duction. Last year
something like 300
bales were shipped,
and of a recent con-
signment from the
Experimental Farm
near Kafue, twelve
bales were sold in Liverpool at 13d. per lb. I was told
that it is expected that this year fully 100 tons will be
exported, and I understand the Government contemplate
erecting a central ginnery at a convenient site on the
raihvay as soon as the expansion of this industry warrants
such a step.
'-^^yiik
THE AUTHORS FIRST ATTEMPT AT CLEANING
MEALIE-MEAL
Cotton-growing 1 7 i
The question of coal will doubtless interest anyone
who may think of introducing mills into Rhodesia.
An important discovery has recently been made not
sixty miles from the railway at Broken Hill ; the area,
which covers about forty square miles, is now being
developed.
Good coal is also obtainable from the Wankie Collieries,
the owners of which are at present improving and ex-
tending their plant, so that in future they will be in a
position to produce about half a million tons a year.
With regard to the price of native labour in the Kafue
district, the wage paid is 4s. to 6s. a month, with food ;
two yards of limbo a week would be sufficient for each
man to buy his own meals with. The labourer's only
expense is his hut tax, which in N.W. Rhodesia is only
5s. a year ; his hut, of course, he builds himself, and
he has his land free. In N.E. Rhodesia the hut tax is
only 3s. a year — which, considering the productiveness
of the land and the lazy lives the able-bodied men lead,
is, I think, far too small.
A
CHAPTER XVII
The Mac J III la
T Broken Hill the African Lakes Company have a
store ; there is also a small hospital ; the Court-
house is a round hut near which are the police
boys' quarters, and the homes of their wives and numerous
children. At Broken Hill the caravans are made up for
those who wish to travel further north if on hunting or
pleasure bent. Some travellers take this route for Fort
Jameson, a matter of eighteen or nineteen days' journey
by machilla, and the Government Agent superintends
the despatching of the carriers.
My men were camped about two miles out from
Broken Hill, so as not to receive contaminating influence
from other natives, because the forty-nine which were
to form my caravan were of the Awemba tribe and had
come many miles to take me many more.
They were absolutely without education, and there-
fore considered honest, as indeed they also proved to be.
Some were of very fine stature and all were unencum-
bered by much weight in the way of clothing.
I shall never forget what a weird sensation I experi-
enced when I first saw the herd. It seems their chief
or head boy, the capitao, had been asking the Govern-
ment Agent on their behalf if I was very fierce.
To be candid, I felt somewhat smaller than the smallest
worm I had ever seen.
First of all the machilla team were sent for, to carry
172
The Machilla 173
me from my hut to the store, so that I should have my
first experience of this, to me, new kind of vehicle. I
found the machilla, a hammock slung on a pole and
carried by a boy at each end, very easy to get into. I
got in, and off we set.
How those savages shouted and yelled ! The first
sight of me, I thought, made them angry, they looked so
fierce, but I was assured that they were really pleased,
and sang, " They had to carry me a long, long way, but
did not mind, as I did not weigh much."
Their next song and chorus consisted of the informa-
tion that they had to take me to Tambalika, and if any
harm came to me there would be trouble with the
tribe. I befieved in the veracity of the translation at
once^ — it was so comforting.
I did not feel quite so happy at night though. It
happened thus : the doctor, the Government Agent, and
I, were invited to dine with a man who lived some little
distance from the boma (boma means stock-head or
home, and is usually a station for white people). The
Agent was to go on his bicycle, and my boys were again
to be sent for to take me in the machilla.
It was quite dark when I came out from my hut,
ready to start. Dusky forms were squatting all around
on the grass. I got into the machilla, and then, just
as my men were told to start, the Agent had to stop to
read a letter. A minute afterwards I knew that the boys
had left the road and were making for the open veld,
and I thought they had not lost much time in running
away with me. The darkness lifted, suddenly the
machilla stopped, and in the faint starUght I saw one
dusky face after another peering into mine. I had,
thanks to my morning ride, grown accustomed to two
men carrying me and ten others shouting round, but
now there seemed to my excited fancy to be dozens of
^74
Via Rhodesia
men. Still they came, and how they stared ! Their
shouts suddenly turned to silence and only their great
dark eyes seemed to speak, but what they wished to
say I could not fathom, I felt too frightened. For a
moment or two I really thought that they had bolted
with me ; I wore no hat, and my hair seemed to attract
the most attention ; the boys holding the machilla did
not attempt to lower it, and so I concluded that after all
this host of men had stared their full I was to be carried
M\ CARRIERS
To author's right the michilla, to author's left the tanga-tanga boys
on elsewhere. Then I heard in the distance a loud
whistle ; a voice shouted, off started the boys at a
quick trot, and I was soon joined by the Agent. It
seems my boys had concluded the way across the veld
was a short cut, and then found they did not know
the way. I had, of course, only been a short time alone
with the dusky cavaliers, but it had seemed long, for
it must be remembered I had never been in such close
proximity to natives and had never spoken to one, and
the first experience was the worst. The crowd of men
The Machilla 175
was accounted for by the fact that all my carriers had
escorted the machilla team, so anxious were they to
see the white Donna. How I wished I knew their
language ! One boy would start a few words in a
sing-song chanting way, and then the others take the
last two words and make a refrain of it, and so they
sang and shouted till we reached the house where we
were to dine. The Agent bicycled by my side all the
way, and seemed at times amused by the song. They
sang about me the whole time, and it seems that
though they had seen one or two white women before, I
was the first sample of a fair one they had come across ;
the fact that a woman was to be their bwama (master)
also interested them greatly.
Concluding that we had had sufficient noise for one
night, the boys were dismissed at the house, for, a moon
seeming likely to put in an appearance, we decided to
walk back to the boma later.
After dinner mine host played the mandolin, and then
we all walked together to the doctor's house, to look
at his collection of bones from the wonderful cave, and
I was given a huge tooth, supposed to be of some gigantic
species of pig, as a souvenir.
After bidding the doctor and his friends good night,
we walked back to the boma, arriving about i a.m.
En route I had my first experience of listening to the
sickly cry of a hyena singing to the moon. I did not
sleep much that night, the surroundings were so novel,
and my mind was full of the many hunting-stories I
had heard during the day.
CHAPTER XVIII
Sunset and Lightning
REALISING how difficult it would be until I had
acquired the knowledge of a few words of the
native language to make my men understand
me, I consented to having a youth as interpreter when
first I left Broken Hill, on the understanding that as
soon as I wished to dispense with his services I could
do so.
This boy had been assisting in prospecting near the
new Rhodesia-Congo Railway, and was anxious to know
more of Rhodesia, so he brought his small tent and
bicycle, and I saw him often during the first few days
out from Broken Hill, and quickly learnt to shout
" Hema " when I wanted my tent put up or down, or
order " Chy " if tea was desired. Before I left Broken
Hill the natives had christened me " Donna Chabwina "
(Lady all right), and the name stuck to me throughout
the journey, only being changed further north into
" Mama Chasama," which has the same meaning. I
do not know if the spelling is correct ; native words are
all spelt phonetically, thus " c's " and '' k's " are used
by different people for the same word, and both may be
equally correct.
Just as my caravan was ready to start, and the tanga-
tanga boys (carriers) had marched ahead with the
baggage, it was found that the boy who had been en-
gaged as cook had run away. Another boy, an Angoni,
176
Sunset and Liohtninij
177
who was to be gun-bearer, said he could cook, and so,
hoping that at one of the bomas I might chance on a
cook-boy, the Angoni was told off to be the chef. This
meant at once engaging another boy to carry the Angoni's
blanket, for a cook is a man of dignity and carries only
himself. This gentleman, by the way, started the
journey in a grey suit and cuffs, the only boy who had
any complete garments, but within twenty-four hours
his suit had disappeared, and instead he wore a woman's
MY LITTLE " UGLY " AND THE FRIENDLY DONKEY
white chemise and trousers, the chemise hanging down
like a skirt over the trousers.
Everyone at Broken Hill mustered in force to say
good-bye ; photographs were taken, and amid much
shouting off we went. When in Salisbury, Mr. Marshall
Hole had told me that after leaving Broken Hill I must
not fail to visit Mr. Christian's farm, about six miles out.
We arrived, however, to discover that Mr. and Mrs.
Christian were unfortunately away. A friendly donkey
came and looked at me, and the man in charge showed
178 Via Rhodesia
me his two wives, who made excellent pliotographic
models. They wore flat, round plaques at their necks,
special tribal charms, the kind of jewellery which since
my return has come into fashion — dear, dear ! to think
that in such matters North-Western Rhodesia should
lead the way ! But the world is small, and afterwards,
when I saw the henna-plastered heads in North-Eastern
Rhodesia, I thought, after all women are strangely
alike.
The Boers have a saying, " Cross the river before
you camp," and they are wise, for one never knows
how much higher it will rise during the night, the African
rivers being mostly narrow but swiftly flowing. I had
my first experience of crossing a river when w^e reached
Mulungushi, which had become much swollen by the
recent rains. I looked at the deep rushing water in
dismay ; no bridge, no huge stones, nothing but the
tallest of my machilla team kneeling down and pointing
first at the water and then at his head. Never shall I
forget that acrobatic crossing ; I can truly say my heart
was in my mouth.
Men on either side supported my carrier, for the water
was swift enough to carry him off his legs, stahvart as
they were. I clung on to the wool of his head, and
wondered how many hours would elapse before I found
myself back in Broken Hill Hospital. No, I do not
like neck-riding, and, if the water is shallow enough,
much prefer a " pick-a-back," although the natives do
not quite understand the latter and will flock round to
push up your feet in front, which gives a feeling of un-
certainty to the spine. On the other side of the river
was pitched my first camp. I sat on the veld and
watched the sunset, while the tanga boys collected wood
for fires and the machilla boys put up the tent.
And what a wonderful sunset it was ! Clouds had been
Sunset and Li^htningf
i>'
1/9
gathering during the afternoon, and now waves of grey
were transformed as if by magic into waves of vermiUon,
in a few minutes to be changed again, broken up this
time into countless separate jewels ; all colours seemed
WHERE THE "PLAQUE" FASHION ORIGINATED
there, purple of the amethyst, yellow of the topaz, the
pink of the carnelian and a gathering veil of deep blue
sapphire, a jewelled shelter for the night through which
soon diamonds would sparkle as stars crept out.
Worship within stone walls ? Not when the glories
of the sky made the stained-glass windows of cathedrals
seem but faint echoes of memory, so faded are they in
comparison, and we thrust back recollections, fearing
lest the imitation of the past should steal somewhat
from the splendour of the real and present glory.
The next morning it was nearly seven o'clock before
the boys were ready to march, but later on I managed
to get away earlier.
A camp looks dismal in the morning, with the grey,
sullen remnants of dead hres, and if the morning is cold
and misty the boys seem as incapable of movement as
1 80 \' ia Rhodesia
flies in winter, nor do they begin to sing until the sun
has warmed them and the day again is bright.
I had been given a Ust of names of villages and rivers
I might pass, unless I left the mail route, which I did
for some days. Villages have a way of getting shifted ;
for instance, Kawai, formerly about thirty-five miles
from Broken Hill, I discovered had come to town, so
to speak, and resided only seventeen miles out. On
this second day out I sighted a reed-buck, and leaving
my men, who became silent as the grave the moment
they saw a possible meal ahead, started off to walk
through the long wet grass, one boy coming with me.
I really think that the eagerness in that boy's face, the
glitter in his dark eyes, and the grace of his silent,
crafty movements, interested me more than the buck.
We had a long and tiring walk, for the buck darted
away just as I took aim ; however, when up to my
knees in swamp, and feeling that shooting was an over-
rated game, the buck ran back right across my path-
way only about fifty yards off, and stood still to listen.
I fired, but only wounded a leg, so I quickly fired again,
and victory ! at the price of tired legs, was mine, for
I had not yet become accustomed to the long grass,
and the rain-soaked land was hard to walk over.
The men were delighted, and quickly found the buck,
waving green branches of trees, and loudly singing and
dancing, as they carried their bleeding burden to their
companions. To be candid, I don't much like killing
things, but I did enjoy the liver for dinner that night.
At first one is astonished at the manner in which
natives not only find their own way, but know so much
as regards locality and distance. It is never wise for a
white person to go even a short distance from a camp
without a native in attendance ; he will guide you back
to camp, no matter if he knows little or nothing of the
Sunset and Liuhtninij i8i
country, and, as I said at first, you are astonished, and
then you realise that for generations these men have
had Nature's lessons, and they are far more happy in
their knowledge than they will be when books will
contradict and education mystify.
Removed from civilisation, one quickly learns some
of Nature's simple lessons. I never went even a few
yards away from my camp alone without observing in
which direction the sun cast my shadow, knowing that
to return safely I must reverse that shadow, and I met
a man once who always used his shirt button as a sun-
dial and glanced at it when he wanted to know the time.
But the sky is the finest timepiece of all, and in the open
you soon can read its news.
The second night, it had rained just before sunset,
and no gorgeous colours swept the sky, but a still greater
marvel occurred. The rain had ceased, and in grey
veils of clouds the sun had sunk, when came the still,
silent, short period which in Africa divides day from
night; a clear and yet not a brilliant light of palest amber
lit up one portion of the sky, and stencilled against it
in bold, perfect outlines appeared a gigantic statue of a
man ; it seemed to be a colossal statue of Cecil Rhodes,
a far less imperfect statue than is the one seen in a
certain direction when driving to the Matoppos, which
has not been carved by man but is a curious develop-
ment of the stones. Just then the white boy interpreter
bicycled into camp. I pointed to the sky and asked
who was it. " Cecil Rhodes," he replied. And then
I saw that many of the carriers were also looking and
pointing to the sky. The picture was in reality formed
by the dark trees against the light, which soon faded,
and the statue was no more. That night a thunder-
storm burst forth over the camp ; it was my final adieu
to rain, for I saw no more in Africa that year.
1 82 Via Rhcxlesia
One gets quite accustomed to lightning in Africa, it
is one of its chief characteristics, and I think attrac-
tions ; it comes sometimes with an organ accompani-
ment of thunder, when the Hght flashes and the earth
seems to spht beneath one's feet, while one expects to
see the heavens open and reveal all their hidden wonders,
but more often the lightning is dancing or gliding across
the sky without sound to herald its approach, with
movements more beautiful perhaps because of the silence ;
we must look and watch, our ears are resting, the music
of motion is enough.
It is night, and suddenly you see, behind a bank of
dark clouds, a shining silver snake running along on
its belly, trying to wriggle out, or as a silver rocket the
light leaps upward and cuts the clouds with a shiver and
a spring, and the sky is like a cracked looking-glass.
Sometimes the lightning comes in spreading sheets,
and illuminates the sky behind the grey clouds and turns
them to curtains of rose-pink beauty, or the night is
cloudless, and you have an uninterrupted view of the
whole of the horizon, and then the wonder of travelling
flashes of lightning will astonish and hold you spell-
bound. From east to west, from north to south, no
matter which direction the living light has chosen to
travel, it will cross the entire archway, rivalling the
travelling stars in speed and beauty, for it is a long,
luminous serpent, a gigantic comet, with a quivering,
moving tail.
Lightning, as well as stars, will appear in or change
to various hues and colours. I have seen both lightning
and stars of yellow, pink, and blue, and the illuminating
power of lightning is wonderful, for on a dark night,
when neither moon nor stars appear, it is not only
possible but pleasant to walk across the veld, saved
from pitfalls, knowing that the constant flashes of
Sunset and Lightning 183
lightning will guide you, so incessantly they come,
seeming not to leave the sky at all, but as revolving
lights to continue their luminous movements.
Truly not the works of man, nor the fertility of the
earth, but rather the marvels of the sky proclaim the
nearness of the gods.
CHAPTER XIX
Cainp-fij^cs
A MODE of letter delivery which might be pro-
ductive of many romantic adventures prevails
in the unpopulated parts of Rhodesia. A hears
that B has been seen by some natives camping fifteen,
twenty, or thirty miles away. A sends a letter by
native bearer, and that letter is shown to every white
person the impromptu postman may meet. It is un-
likely that a stranger will be in those parts, but on the
other hand two or three might be travelling through,
and during my journey I was twice stopped and shown
letters. The first really was for myself. This letter
came from a man engaged in collecting hut tax, who
had camped at Shayiwira's village ; it stated that he
had heard that I, or someone resembling me, had camped
at a stream near ; would I come to tea, and would I
bring my own cup and saucer ? It was quite exciting,
this letter in the wilds, and I directed the police boy who,
having delivered the letter, stood at salute, to show my
boys the way to his " bwama."
When I reached the white man's camp I found him
seated — or should I say enthroned ? — on a substantial
chair at an important-looking table ; round him, squat-
ting on the ground, were groups of natives, all of whom
had come either to pay their tax or to offer produce for
sale. This produce is often called a present, but in
that light has a Gilbertian meaning, for no white man
184
Camp-Hres 185
receives presents from the natives, and one has to give
money or hmbo in exchange. If called a present one
feels one cannot refuse, and so buys unnecessary meal
or unwanted sweet potatoes, but if the native in the
beginning offers to sell them, it is much better, for then
you can give a downright refusal.
The Native Commissioners lead very lonely lives when
out collecting hut taxes ; not infrequently they have
to travel in all directions round their own boma a
radius of several hundred miles. All the Native Com-
missioners in Rhodesia are well-educated men, often
coming from universities and public schools, yet such is
the fascination of the land, they would not change their
lives for that of a town d\veller.
This particular Commissioner expressed his regret
that I had not come by the mail road, as then I should
have seen his wife and little boy, who were settled in a
small boma about eighty miles from Broken Hill.
Another man joined us, and pitching my tent near
theirs, I spent a very delightful evening. Our dinner,
produced by the combined efforts of two cooks, was
quite a success, and the flames from the camp-fire round
which we afterwards sat, seemed to spring up with notes
of exclamation at the stories told. How I wish I could
remember only half the stories I heard on my journey,
but they have faded as did the camp-fires by which I
sat listening to them.
Here is one which is not fiction but fact : —
" Knew man of same name, a surveyor, eh ? Well,
I never knowed Mickey Currie survey much except the
points of a horse or the chance of a haul, or — well, yes,
he could survey a bottle of whisky in half the time it
took any other man.
" Mickey was fine. He stood six foot two in his socks,
and had a big heart. He was always the first to pass
I 86 \^ia Rhodesia
liis ' British warmer ' to a pal, and never let anyone
else take the blame if he was in the wrong. I remember
one day he was standing on a cart, trying to blot out
Boers, when he says to me as how he was short of
ammunition. I says, I would fetch some if he would
take charge of my carbine, and, if I did not come back,
see it was brought in. ' Right you are,' says he, and off
I went. Now I hadn't gone far before I saw a rough
Tommy lying on his stomach. I stooped down to find
out what was the matter with him. Not dead, not ill
neither, nothing but funk, sheer funk. He laid there
with fists doubled up, like a sick puppy ; then I met
the Major, and told him how the land lay. He soon got
that Tommy up, and ordered him to walk to the most
exposed portion of the line or be shot w^here he then
stood in double quick-time. Fine man, the Major ; he
knew how to cure nerves. Well, I got that ammunition
and went back, but by then Mickey had moved away,
and so I had to return to camp, but not a sight of my
carbine could I see, and when the counting began I
was in a pretty fix. One carbine short and that mine !
Awful disgrace ; yes, and the order came rapping out
that I must go up for court martial next day. However,
Mickey got wind of it, and came and spoke up for me, and
then as the carbine was found and could be counted in,
nothing came of that court martial, but it seemed to make
Mickey and I greater pals than ever, and a few nights
later Mickey came to me, and, says he :
" ' Tom, are you game for a share in a loot ? '
" * Rather,' says I ; ' what's on ? '
" ' Get my horse through the guard-line to-night,'
says he.
" ' A tough job, but I will try,' says L ' What are
you after ? '
" ' Tell you later,' says he, laconic like.
Camp-fires
i8
/
" Well, that night fortunately there was no moon ; I
ain't much of a man as to size, as you see, and I just
wriggled myself
through that guard-
line flat on my
stomach like and
going slow. I knew
Mickey's horse well
enough, and once
through I just un-
hitched him and he
was free. Mickey,
t'other side of the
line, gave a low
whistle ; the horse
pricked up his ears,
he knew that whistle •
sure enough, and
galloped through the
line to Mickey, who
mounted him bare-
backed and rode
away, right past the
sentries, and then
on and through the
Boer lines. A brave
thing ? Rather ; I
told you Mickey was
no ' stiff.' Well, to
make the story short,
Mickey tethered his
horse to a tree and
walked bang into a
farmhouse where seven men were seated at a table ;
they had charge of £380 of the Commandant's money.
PALM TREKS
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
iSS Via Rhodesia
How Mickey got scent of it, the Lord Almighty knows,
I don't ; but, ' hands up,' says Mickey. You see, they
had the money, but Mickey had his gun and six foot two
of soUd flesh behind him. Well, they handed over that
there bag of gold, and away went Mickey. I was waiting
for him, for the horse must be put back. Yes, it made
me sweat a bit, but I did it, and Mickey handed over
the share of the plunder.
" Next day, though, we nearly got found out, for
Mickey put his ' oof ' into the stufhng of his saddle, and
going over a bit of rough road, a few quid slipped out
and fell in the path. The Major saw it and called a halt.
" ' What's that ? ' says he.
" ' Why, blowed if I haven't gone and broke the bank,'
says Mickey. ' My savings, sir,' he added, saluting, and
the Major, good sort the Major, says, ' All right,' and
on we went."
" And what became of Mickey eventually ? " asked
a man, tapping his pipe against a half-burnt log.
'' Ah, Mickey, he went into the Colony for a bit, but
there was not adventure enough for him there, so as
there was a row on in German East Africa, off went
Mickey, and a bit of trouble he gave those Germans, I
can tell you. He and two other men used to raid horses ;
well, they — they caught him in the long run, and poor
old Mickey was shot, he and the other two. Oh, but
he was fine, was Mickey ; no fear, and six foot two in
his socks. Yes, thanks ; I won't say no to a drink."
Sometimes one hears a different kind of story, one of
folk-lore, such as the following, which savours of ^Esop : —
" Once upon a time a Lion met a Rabbit. The meeting
took place in N.W. Rhodesia, so the authenticity of this
story cannot be doubted.
" * Good morning, Mr. Lion,' said the Rabbit timidly.
" ' Good morning. Master Rabbit,' replied the Lion
Camp-fires 189
with a patronising tone in his voice, adding with mocking
cruelty, ' I intend to eat you.'
" ' Dehghted, I am sure,' quavered the Rabbit, trying
not to show how his knees were shaking.
" ' If you have any message you would like to give
to your mother, you can tell the breeze,' continued the
Lion, with the air of conferring a great favour.
" ' Thank you, Mr. Lion ; thank you very much ;
but first won't you let me show you what a clever little
Rabbit I am ? '
" 'All right,' said the Lion ; ' I shall probably be bored.
The performances of others usually bore me, even the
roaring of other lions.'
" ' I don't doubt it,' said the Rabbit, with just the
glimmer of a smile in his left eyelid.
" ' What can you do ? ' asked the Lion, placing his
imperial body beneath the shadow of a tree.
" ' If, Sir, you will deign to walk to the top of yonder
granite kopje and roll down the biggest stone you can
find there, I will catch it in my mouth,' said the Rabbit,
and then he nibbled a few leaves off a shrub near.
" The Lion smiled when he saw the Rabbit eating,
and thought of the story he had once heard of the custom
amongst civilised people of allowing a man to choose
his breakfast before he was hanged.
" ' Certainly, I will do so ; the little walk will sharpen
my appetite,' he observed, moistening his lips with his
long pink tongue, and then away up the kopje he walked.
" Now the Lion's sense of humour w^as well de-
veloped, only in developing it had acquired a cruel
strain, so when he saw at the top of the kopje a stone
three times the size of the Rabbit, he thought to him-
self : ' Ha, ha, if I roll this stone down, how surprised
Mr. Rabbit will be, it will certainly crush all the conceit
out of him,' so he pushed the stone and set it rolling.
1 90 Via Rhodesia
" Now kings of men have not always shown their
monopoly of all the human brains, and kings of beasts
often fall short of that same commodity, and so it
happened that the little Rabbit had been allowed by
some beneficent fairy to become possessed of quite a
fair share ; his body was small but his thinking pro-
found, and when he perceived that the Lion had left
him he crept behind a bush and waited for the stone
to arrive.
" At last it came crashing down the kopje, disturbing
the peace of sundry pink grasshoppers and brown
Hottentot gods, and the Rabbit stood out of the path-
way of the stone until it was quite still, then quick as
lightning he darted out and licked the stone, covering
it with the green leaves he had been chewing and moisten-
ing it with the saliva of his tongue ; then he waited for
the Lion to arrive.
" With his nose in the air and a superior snort in his
voice the Lion came, and then found to his intense sur-
prise that the Rabbit, instead of being crushed, wore the
expression of a serio-comedienne when she is taking a
' curtain.'
" ' What,' cried the Lion, observing the green leaves
and saliva on the stone, ' you have done it ? '
" ' Yes,' answered the Rabbit, adding, ' but not until
to-day have I had the honour of performing before
royalty ! '
" The Lion swallowed the compliment as though it had
the flavour of a youthful buck, and said :
" ' And I suppose you think you are the only one
who could do it ? '
" ' Craving your pardon, I am afraid I do think so,'
answered the Rabbit.
" ' And I will quickly prove you are wrong by doing it
myself,' replied the Lion loftily.
Camp-fires
191
"Now that was exactly what the Rabbit wanted, but
he tried to look crestfallen instead of pleased.
" ' Go to yonder kopje and roll down the biggest stone
you can find/ ordered the Lion, waving his tail in lieu
of a sceptre ; and Master Rabbit ran away to obey the
imperial command.
" Now the Lion really believed that the Rabbit had
caught the stone previously rolled down, and having
been told so often by travellers (who had never travelled
y isw-
■^f^^-JM^'^--M^
■m
TRAPS FOR CATCHING DIRDS
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
further than story-books) that he was king of beasts,
he decided that what a mere Rabbit could do would be
easy work for him, so when a huge stone came rolling
down the kopje he lay down and caught it in his mouth ;
but, alas ! for his imperial pride, the stone knocked out
all his teeth, so that when the little Rabbit came down
he had the laugh against the Lion, for the Lion was
unable to eat him.
" And ever afterwards the little ' Kalulu ' (Rabbit)
was regarded as a hero for having saved from certain
death all the other rabbits in the neighbourhood."
192 Via Rhodesia
I was told that quite a number of the native stories
resemble ours ; for instance, our story of the hare and
the tortoise is closely related to theirs of the " duiker "
(a species of antelope) and the tortoise.
" A tortoise met a duiker and challenged him to race
to the next water. The duiker started off with a bound,
then lay down within sight of the water and went to
sleep. After a while he was awakened by a loud laugh ;
the tortoise had quietly passed and stood triumphant
by the side of the stream."
Natives have a way of remembering white men by
incidents or descriptions rather than by the white man's
name. The first man to open a store launched by the
African Lakes Company wore spectacles ; the natives
named him Mandala, the man with the double eyes, and
to this day they speak of the stores as the Mandala
stores. It is also interesting how a name given by a
native spreads amongst tribes who have never met.
Tell any native in or near a Rhodesian boma to take
you to Mandala, and you will find yourself at the store.
A white man died, and one native, to whom the white
man was known, asked another native as they sat by
their camp-fire over their evening meal : " Do you re-
member so and so ? " mentioning the white man's name,
but the boy addressed shook his head, and then the
other boy explained :
" He is the baas who took out his teeth and put them
into a cup without any water, and the rats came and
took them away, and he never had any teeth after."
Then the other boy grinned broadly and replied, " J ah,
jah," he remembered !
CHAPTER XX
Loneliness
WHEN I returned to England, the two sentences
I heard most often were : " But were you
not frightened ? " and " How lonely you
must have been ! "
I confess I was often frightened. One morning 1
particularly remember ; it was a few days after I started.
We found water at about twelve o'clock, and so I cried
" Linda," which means stop, and decided to wait there
with my machilla boys until the carriers should catch
us up, bringing food, cooking utensils, and other things
with them.
I alighted from the machilla and sat down on the grass ;
it had been too hot to walk during the last hour, so hot,
in fact, that I had loosened my coat and taken off my
revolver and belt, which I forgot all about when I got out
of the machilla, leaving them under a cushion. The men
sat round me in a ring and stared at me. I was still
a new and I suppose a strange specimen to them, and
they sat nearer than I quite liked ; I did not know
how to tell them to move away, and I would not myself
get up, determined never to appear frightened, even if
I felt so. Then one of the men fetched me a cushion,
and in doing so discovered the revolver. He took it
out, I feeling the while somewhat clammy with fear as
I watched him, for the men — eleven of them — were
moving ever nearer me, and all their dark eyes were fixed
upon my face. They saw me look at the boy standing
o 193
194 ^^^^ Rhodesia
holding the revolver, and glanced at him, then looked
back again at me. The boy pointed the revolver to me
as though to show he knew how to hold it — and I
managed to smile and held out my hand for him to give
it to me. He at once gave it to me, and I then pointed
it at him, and all the men laughed ; the tit-for-tat
seemed to them a joke. Then I got up and pinned a
piece of white paper out of my pocket-book on the trunk
of a tree, and showed them all that I was able to hit it.
No one ever touched my revolver again — in fact, I took
good care always to have it with me, in my belt by
day and under my pillow by night — but I soon ceased
to have any feeling of fear \^hen with my men, or appre-
hend any ill-treatment from them when alone in ni}'
tent. They were all, with the exception of the Angoni
cook, Awembas, and mutilation for generations has
been the pet pastime of this tribe, but they have their
own system of crime and punishment by cruelty, and at
any rate behaved to me — an unprotected woman — with
the greatest chivalry and kindness. I met more than
one man when in the Awemba country who had had
his hands cut off for running away with another man's
wife, or for theft, and who dare say the punishment
was not just ? It certainly was more effective as a pre-
\'entive of future error than our civilised action for
damages. Honour with us is compensated for by money,
with them by blood.
The Awembas on this point are to be congratulated.
If more blood were shed in Europe there would be less
dirty linen washed in the divorce courts.
At the native dances a man does not dance with a
woman until he has asked her husband's permission.
Women, to be thoroughly happy, m.ust be properly
protected or entirely free. In Europe they are neither,
and hence the unrest.
Loneliness
195
With regard to the conchision that I must liave been
very lonely, let me hasten to say that I don't believe
loneliness and life on the veld have any connection with
each other. Many have written on the loneliness one
experiences in crowds, but I never met a man or woman
who had really lived a veld life who considered loneli-
ness a bar to happiness. In fact, in Africa, if any dis-
content exists amongst women it is usually found in the
towns, where the social obligations of European cities
are aped and too much gold dust has turned otherwise
TRAP FOR CATCHING SMALL GAME
(P>y kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
decent folks into snobs. The woman who in the true
sense of the word is her husband's chum, loves the life
of the lonely farm or the out-of-the-world boma.
In cities I have met men and women who could not
196 Via Rhodesia
endure their own company unless asleep. How little
such people know of themselves, unless indeed they have
no inside to read ! Maybe they are human covers, that
is all, frames whereon are hung the fabrics invented by
others, and their lips speak only the little learning their
feeble memories have retained of the teachings or lives
of others.
To be alone is first to criticise oneself, to be almost
startled at the thoughts that come from dusky corners
of the mind into which one has not had time to peep
while surrounded by the noise of the world. Perhaps
one may even become morbid, but only for a very short
space. The balm of nature is very healing, and one
forgives not only oneself but others, and steps into peace,
a dreamland, where no disturbing voices come to argue
that life is different from that which it now appears to be
— a harmony.
The moment one has to touch oneself, so to speak,
and feels that nothing is real, and yet that all is real and
memory a dream, from that moment the joy of solitude
has entered into one's heart, never again to be dethroned.
A tiny flower chanced upon unexpectedly is more than
a flower, it is a fellow-traveller by the wayside, and one
greets it before one passes on ; the clouds travel with
one, the wind, and animals, and birds are our talkative
travelling companions, for everything is travelling with
us across the earth, we are all going on and on and on
to see the sun rise to-morrow, to see it set to-morrow
night, to see it rise again the next day.
We are travelling through life, and the whole earth
seems to be ours to travel across, so long as no human
habitation is seen and no voice speaking the language
we spoke in that other world comiCS to disturb our
dreams.
Autumn is beautiful in England, with its glory of
Loneliness 197
fading leaf, but it comes only once a year, lasting but
a few months, and then its colours turn to ugliness and
decay. In an African sunset you may behold the splen-
dour of autumnal tints of scarlet and gold every night,
both when the veld beneath your feet is green and when
it is dry and harsh. The sky is yours, no season robs
you of that, and no vast stack of chimney-pots hides
the picture.
Open the tent door, peep through, and behold! the
world is yours. Perhaps it is early morning, and the air
is cold, as yet unkissed by the sun ; a heavy mist still
shrouds in soft vaporous garments Dame Nature, yet
beauty is around, a cold beauty w^hich you admire, but
treat as an hors-d' CEitvre of human life ; this chilly white
dame will please you little, but you smile contentedly,
knowing that soon a rosy liue will embrace the earth
and a glad smiling dame will appear, wdth hair of golden
sunbeams, a voice of singing birds, and a garland of
flowers. All the earth is yours, for no one shares its
picture with you ; you will rejoice, and life will become
a warm glad thing.
Monotony in miles and miles of the veld ? There is
monotony nowhere save in the minds of unimaginative,
unappreciative people.
Gather at random a handful of grass ; each blade
has some slight deviation from its neighbour. Yes, the
veld varies, if one examines it closely, almost or quite
as much in colour as the sky above. True, one does
not so easily see the gorgeous reds and purples. Some-
times the flowers are hidden, the tiny blossoms must be
searched for. Those wee, violet, velvet pansies, little
faces hardly larger than threepenny-bits, with tiny
yellow eyes — how those flowerlets cling to the earth,
those baby faces so tenderly laid on green leaves closely
gripping Nature's bosom ! There are daisies, too, in
I 9S
Via Rhodesia
Rhodesia, exactly like the English daisy, only much
smaller.
Natives here have no love of the beautiful as we
understand beauty. They value only those vegetables
and trees that yield
food. They plant
no flowers near their
huts. At first my
boys were surprised
to see me gather
flowers, and they
seemed to imagine I
liked them for their
colour, and so, to
please me, began to
gather scarlet or yel-
low flowers if any
grew in our path-
way, and presented
them to me without
stems ! I shall never
forget the first time
I was offered a flower
on a stalk. I was
walking slowly one
morning, for I had
just seen a herd of
zebras grazing near
and I wanted to see
more of their quaint
stripes and pretty heads before they scented the pre-
sence of strangers and trotted off. My men were all
walking quietly behind me. I turned and signalled for
them to stand quite still, for we were very near the
zebras. I had no intention of shooting ; I had been told
IJRAWING WATER FROM A WELL
(By kind permission of C.G. Railways)
Loneliness 199
their meat was tough, I had nothing with nie wherewith
to preserve their skins, and shooting just for the sake of
taking hfe never appealed to me. The picture, however,
of a peacefully grazing herd soon turned to one of
scampering zebras — how those creatures ran, seeming
to have the winged heels of Mercury !
Then I gazed around and with difficulty kept from
laughing ; my biggest, burliest, most savage-looking
boy, clad only in a sly expression and a small loin cloth,
was advancing towards me, holding out at arm's length
one small scarlet flower on a stem, in fact two of his
fingers held the stem much in the same way as one clasps
a flea before consigning it to a watery grave ; I accepted
the offering with thanks, wishing my friend Hassall
could have been present to sketch the scene and label it.
The next day no flowers were given me, and I won-
dered what I had done to offend my followers ; however,
when I dined in the evening the mystery was solved.
The flowers gathered during the day had been hidden,
and appeared on my dinner-table stuck through holes
pierced by spears into condensed milk-tins. I was quite
proud of my solitary banquet that night, for, as the
Press would doubtless have put it, the floral decorations
were in excellent taste.
Surely everyone who has once experienced the fascina-
tion of a camp-fire, must for ever cherish a longing to
return to the wilds and live again through a few of those
fascinating night hours.
I remember once in Milan entering the cathedral at
dusk, when the whole of the beautiful interior was lit up
in a weird way as though to exhibit shadows rather than
display light. Tiny crimson lamps were burning on the
many altars, but otherwise there was no illumination ;
human shadows moved softly up the aisles, entered con-
fessional boxes, and then as silently glided away —
200
Via Rhodesia
evening, and rest, and the crimson glow of a wonderful
religion were there, the scent of incense recently burnt
came to one's nostrils, and the fascination of beauty
only half seen gave to the interior of the cathedral a
peculiar charm, impossible to be attained in the full
light of day.
I have only seen that scene equalled in a large camp
at night. The boys who have come from different villages
THE COTTON PLANT
have separate fires, call themselves brothers, and sit
round a mutual pot of cooking mealie-meal. Sometimes
we had twelve fires, including one in front and one at
the back of my tent, and when the natives in the villages
had given my boys warning of the near company of
many lions, we had as many as twenty fires.
How^ beautiful those fires looked in the dark hours !
each group of brothers forming a ring round their blazing
logs, burning crimson on a moonless night ; how im-
Loneliness 201
possible it is to give any adequate description of the
mystery, the warmth, the music of the scene ! the glow-
ing colours seeming to strike upon one's brain in full
triumphant chords and the shadows to be full of the
low soft notes of poetry.
Dark hands stretched out to the pot of food show clear,
brown cameos stencilled against the firelight. The faces
are Rembrandt pictures. There is stillness in the world
around. Is there a world ? No, only the veld and bush.
The men are silent, and will not sing till they have fed.
Afar off one hears now and again the cry of a single bird,
perhaps a keevit. The hyenas have not yet begun their
sickly chant, nor has the deep breathing of lions, who
grunt as they walk, come within one's hearing. Here
is a psalm of colour, a poem of satisfaction.
Away, afar off, the world lies, so far away it is only a
memory in the back of one's mind ; one brushes the
memory aside as one would brush away a stinging,
buzzing fly, for in that world there is a chaos of noise
and bitter striving — a long ladder leading from poverty
to riches, and a screaming, fighting mob trying to climb ;
there is blood on the rungs of that ladder, cloud all
around — a vale of tears for all.
Here there is fire, food, rest, no movement save the
natives' gesticulations, which must be graceful, for they
are unstudied and natural ; the half-naked bodies are
beautiful, unencumbered by unnecessary clothing, un-
weighted by a harassed mind within, a critical, cruel
scrutiny without.
We are near to nature, and nature is kind when not
bothered b}^ human exactions. Life is here and we love
it, death is a bogey we do not fear ; those others fear it,
that striving mass on the ladder, for with it they will lose
all they are striving so hard to attain. Here we have
little, so little that nothing counts except the warmth
202 Via Rhodesia
t)f the camp-lire, the meal we are eating, the song we
will sing, and the sleep which must come, for our bodies
are pleasurably weary and our minds lulled by con-
tentment to oblivion.
There is incense, too, the scent of burning wood,
and perhaps the perfume of tobacco flowers, pink and
white blossoms which open only at night, steals through
the air, the gentle breeze having wafted this delicious
odour from the nearest native garden. Mother birds
are covering their young. The earth grows drowsy.
The dark forms around the fire are now crouching low,
their songs have ceased, even their chattering voices
grow one by one silent, the forms stretch out perilously
near the burning logs, but theirs is the faith of children.
The flames will guard, the warmth give comfort, and
soon they are asleep, fire worshippers all. Here there is
no mocking memory of past days to haunt one's dreams,
no harassing anxiety for to-morrow to disturb one's
rest.
A contented sigh, then sleep and forgetfulness.
THE AUTHOR S MEDICINE-CHEST
CHAPTER XXI
The Medicinc-chcst
TWENTY-EIGHT swamps and four swollen, rush-
ing rivers in three days ! It seemed as if fate
had conspired to give me enough of rough travel-
ling as a start to make me turn back — however, I learned
to " hang on by the skin of my teeth."
The swamps were really a trial of patience. They
were too deep in parts for me to be carried through in
the machilla, and sometimes they were very wide and
uncertain. I had enough of the game of pick-a-back to
last me to the end of my days. My boys were really
very good, and the only subject of quarrel amongst them
appeared to be as to who should carry me over. The
longest man seemed to me preferable to the broadest
back. At first I was afraid of grasping the wool on the
top of my Centaur-head too tightly, but I soon found
that no grip, however hard, could give the slightest pain
— truly a native's head seems harder than the heart of a
miser. I once saw a glass bottle fall many feet on to tlie
head of a native and smash ; he just flicked his wool as
though a fly had annoyed him.
204
Via Rhodesia
The Liisenfwa Iviver, about lifty-seven miles from
Broken Hill, pi"o\'ed an ordeal ; swollen by the unusually
heavy rains, it was about 600 feet wide, though divided
in the middle by huge stones. There were bridges from
the sides to the stones formed of trunks of trees lying
in single and uninviting file — looking even for my eight
stone too fragile to be trusted. However, with my
natives at each end stretched out to help me, I got
across, and then
waited and watched
the carriers with
their loads, and felt
I had been a miser-
able coward to care
at all, when I saw
them coming over.
Then my revered
and esteemed medi-
cine-chest fell into
the water, and great
was the consterna-
tion, for of all my
possessions the boys
prized that most.
Natives love to be
physicked — and if
one pats his " tum-
my " and in response
to his sad groaning
receives a pill, many
others will at once
develop pains. I wish Messrs. Burroughs, Wellcome and
Co. could have seen all my other goods and chattels
deserted while the tanga-tanga boys, joined by the
machilla boys, one and all waded in the river for that
CROSSING LUSENFWA RIVER, RHODESIA
The Meclicine-chest 205
precious case. They would have felt pride stealing
through their minds and joy warming their hearts.
Throughout my journey this wonderful case had the
monopoly of attention.
The current of the river was strong, and boys and
case seemed likely to disappear, when with a joyous
shout it was rescued, and to my relief not one bit the
worse for its ducking.
I think the fact that I knew very little about medi-
cine made me specially proud of possessing a real medi-
cine-chest, and so carefully were the directions given on
the labels that all danger arising from a possible over-
dose was eliminated. Certainly the very possession of
it seemed a protection against illness, as one takes an
umbrella out with the conviction that the trouble of
carrying it will cause the rain to hold off, such is the
perversity of weather and the superstition of mankind.
If you want to amuse a bored native, open a box.
Nothing interests or attracts him more. However tired he
may be, curiosity will throw off fatigue and he will come
near and stand or crouch with eager interest, and should
it chance that the occasion is the opening of the " muti "
(medicine) box, then the curiosity turns to avarice, and
if pills are to be given to one man, why, then, the one
who looks on must have pains and " muti " too.
If a native asks for " muti " for a child, usually castor
oil is the safest to give. I once saw a native mother
dose her child. She held out her hand for the oil, then
covered the poor baby's face with it, held cup-like, and
though the child gurgled, struggled, and seemed choking,
the hand was not withdrawn until every drop had gone
down the red lane.
My men had a very simple way of telling me what ailed
them. They patted head or stomach, or wherever the
pain located itself, or held out sore feet. For the latter
2o6 Via Rhodesia
I found the compressed bandages of great use, while
the compressed cotton-wool made excellent dressing,
sprinkled with iodoform.
One really requires a very small assortment of medi-
cines on South African travel. Half a dozen in all is
sufficient, but these should be of the most reliable make ;
it is therefore best to buy an outfit before starting,
consisting of a case of medicines in tabloid form.
How many times my precious medicine chest was
nearly lost in swamps by the stumbling of the carriers I
do not know, but I shall always remember its adventure
in the Lusenfwa River.
Once only the white Donna's " muti " failed to have
effect, and surely that was not the fault of the medicine,
for was not the cook-boy lame on account of the path
being bewitched? Only blood could cure this, and so the
poor cook-boy was bled, becoming in consequence more
lame than ever, and finallv having to be left behind in
a native village. What weird witchcraft was used here
as a healing power I know not, but to my surprise the
cook turned up again three days later smiling, and
cleansed from the power of the evil one. I noticed,
however, though the others ignored it, that he walked
with a limp.
This cook-boy had only one fault — no, two : he could
not cook, and he got drunk every night. At first I
thought he made himself drunk with alcohol, but found
later that the cause was tobacco. However, as he merely
slept and was harmless, I did not take his pipe away.
Tobacco-growing is very much on the increase, in
both Southern and Northern Rhodesia. Amongst the
natives, both men and women smoke. They have strange
large pipes made out of dried gourds, and they use water
with the tobacco, which has the effect, if carried to excess,
of making them drunk like my cook. The native to-
The Medicine-chest
20'
bacco is very strong, as if over-cultivated. It is done
up in cones, in shape like a cottage loaf. The natives
also grind it up very finely and make snuff of it. They
make a cigarette with bamboo round it, having hollowed
A NATIVE Pll'K
out the latter. The women seem to smoke more than
the men.
A large quantity of native tobacco is grown at Khoni,
N.W. Rhodesia, a native kraal about io8 miles, or
according to others 114 miles, from Broken Hill. At
this kraal also English peas and kidney beans are
grown, splendid samples of which I saw, which proves
not only the wonderful possibilities of the land, but
the increasing enterprise of the native, this being en-
tirely due to the Native Commissioner of this district,
who supplies the natives with seeds.
Enormous outcrops of coal are known to exist on the
Lusenfwa and the Mulungushi, near the junction of the
two^^^rivers.
It was at the little village of Tsingulo I bought my
2oS Via Rhodesia
lirst lot of eggs, and so small were they, I was reminded
of a story I once heard. A lady, missing an ostrich egg
from a cabinet in the drawing-room where it usually
stood, afterwards discovered it in the little hen-house,
where her son kept his bantam fowls. It was suspended
from the roof by a string, and above it, written in large
letters, were the words :
" Look at this and do the best 3'ou can."
The native fowls are called cuckoos, and are not much
larger. One should obtain three for a shilling, but the
natives often ask for more.
I have bought even nine eggs for sixpence. They are
tiny, but quite good when fresh. The best means of
ascertaining whether they possess this most desirable
quality is to put them into a bucket of cold water, w^hen
the bad ones will rise to the top.
Goats seem to be the staple small stock of the country,
and they make good eating when game is scarce. The
average price of a goat is about 3s. 6d., though once I
purchased one for 2s. 6d. The natives often prefer limbo
to money, in fact they will refuse the latter and take
a piece of limbo worth about 4d. in preference to 6d. in
silver. Thus one is sometimes forced to make a profit
against one's will, but I usually added a few beads. It is
not advisable to pay the natives more than what their
produce is actually worth, as it not only spoils them for
the next traveller, but is most annoying for those who
are residents in the country and whose incomes are not
any too large.
A source of annoyance to the genuine hunter is the
rich amateur, who persists in petting natives and chiefs
— sometimes the gifts of such men are ridiculous. I
heard of one man who presented prawns in aspic, mar-
malade, and sardines to a chief. The gift was regarded
with suspicion as being "muti" of a questionable order.
The Medicine-chest 209
and was promptly buried. The same chief afterwards
met a man with a load of condemned meat, and begged
as a great prize that this putrid, odoriferous delicacy
should be given to him. It was ; and every morsel was
eaten by him and his favourites ! The traveller of aspic
fame used also to break a bottle of champagne over the
head of every specimen of big game he was able to
secure, and imagined he had shot — but the story goes
that spears or a knife were responsible for the kill.
CHAPTER XXII
Tobacco-gnrd 'ing
I VERY often asked if the tobacco industry was
not going to be overdone, and I was invariably
answered that as far as low-grade tobacco was
concerned this would probably be the case, but as re-
garded the Virginian and Turkish leaf excessive produc-
tion would hardly be possible, because not only were the
best markets of the world open to the growers of these
types, but the prices which had been paid were more
than satisfactory. I was informed that during the six
months which elapsed up to the time I left Rhodesia,
nearly 100,000 lbs. of Virginia leaf had been received at
the Salisbury warehouse, and that the whole of this
crop, to which was further added a large amount which
was brought in after July, 1909, was sold at a public
sale at an average price of is. 2d. A small lot even
fetched 2s. 4|d. per lb.
The Chartered Company has erected a tobacco ware-
house at Salisbury for the handling of the Virginia leaf,
and another warehouse at Bulawayo for Turkish tobacco.
Every facility is given the grower who delivers his tobacco
to the warehouse, where he receives an advance of
fifty per cent of the value. The tobacco is then graded,
packed, and sold, when the balance is paid to the grower.
Through this arrangement the buyer is sure not to sus-
tain any loss through bad grading or packing, and in
consequence Rhodesian tobacco has gained the reputation
Tobacco-growing 2 i i
of being uniform and reliable. At present there is
already in South Africa a very large demand for tobacco
and for the excellent cigarettes. The latter could, how-
ever, be improved if better paper were used. The pro-
duction has not yet been sufficient to allow of an exten-
sive sale in Europe, but with the rapidly increasing pro-
duction it probably very soon will be.
To the farmer or settler tobacco-growing in Rhodesia
offers very profitable employment, but my attention
has been particularly drawn to the fact that it is un-
wise to expect a profitable return in the first year,
and that it is just as unwise to undertake a too exten-
sive culture until after two or three years' experience
on a small scale. It is quite natural that to do anything
with success experience is required, and I was assured
not only by officials but also by actual growers that the
experience to grow tobacco with success can be acquired
very easily, and practically depends upon the intending
grower's intelligence and faculty of observation. I met
a man who once was a plumber, but who to-day is an
experienced grower of very superior Virginia, and he
was very proud to show me some fine bright leaves
for which he confidently expected to get 2s. 6d. a pound.
The summary of a large number of inquiries is, that a
man with a general knowledge of agriculture can learn
the principles of tobacco-growing within two years.
With tobacco-growing it is exactly the same as with
cotton or citrus-fruit growing, it would be a great mis-
take to make the one produce the sole source of income.
The right way to do it is to make this special crop a
branch only of the general farming, and I found that
on these principles several people are to-day doing very
well indeed.
The average cost of growing tobacco, drying, pressing,
etc., in fact, the outlay until it is ready for delivery at
2 12
Via Rhodesia
the warehouse, is something Hke £cj per acre, and the re-
turns vary from £15 to £40, giving a very substantial
profit. If one takes into consideration that the annual
consumption of tobacco throughout the world is roughly
a million tons, of which about one-fifth is of the Vir-
ginian and Turkish varieties, it is quite clear that there
is a great scope for increased activity in the produc-
tion of these two types, and in Rhodesia there is sufficient
scope for more growers. As this seems a very lucrative
and very interesting side-line to the farmer, I collected
a good amount of information and will give just a few
hints for the intending settler.
The best soil for Turkish tobacco is the soil which
contains a large percentage of sand, and therefore the
sandstone area of Matabeleland must contain ideal
places. Where the rainfall is sufficient, the Virginia
leaf will also do well. The large stretches of granitic
soil are not quite so fertile, but this defect can easily be
corrected by the use of fertilisers. Some of the finest
tobacco I saw had been grown on some of the reddish
sandy loam. The heavy black and dark red soils grow
a leaf which is too coarse and heavy, and so-called " brak
veld " should be avoided as totally unsuitable. Good
natural drainage is an essential for tobacco soil, and it
is also very important to see whether the granitic soils
are underlaid with an impervious subsoil. I should
highly recommend intending growers, when in Cape
Town, to see the most interesting collection of the Cape
Agricultural Department relating to soil which the
Department has compiled, and to study the statistics.
The land on which it is intended to grow tobacco must
naturally be fenced, and the preparation of the soil
should be done as early as possible. The fields, when
worked up into garden tilth, must be kept so by harrow-
ing well after every rain. I have seen some fields where
Tobacco-growing 2 i 3
the growth of the tobacco seemed checked, and it was
explained to me that the soil did not contain sufficient
moisture, as the conservation of the full rainfall by care-
ful tilling had been neglected.
What cannot be impressed upon a tobacco-grower
too strongly is the fact, that cultivation is one of the
great secrets of success.
In case the land is full of insects, which will injure
the crop, an excellent way of cleaning the land is to
keep flocks of fowls which follow the plough and eat
caterpillars and grasshoppers.
Curing barns are essential, and I am informed that the
Chartered Company provide plans for a kind of ffiie-
curing-barn, which has proved to be the most satis-
factory for this country. One farmer was greatly
annoyed by losing all the bricks he had made because
he had waited too long and had begun making them
after the rains set in.
The main advice is, to get the very best seed obtain-
able and thereby not run the risk of obtaining only low-
priced crops. And it is also advisable to have fertiliser,
needles, twine, and baskets ordered in good time so as
to save disappointment when wanting them.
CHAPTER XXIII
Ahitive I lllaiyes
'.b'
IT is never advisable to pitch one's tent in an old
camp, for jiggers are usually to be found there.
These insects are small and annoying ; they usually
bury themselves under the toe-nails and may poison the
foot if left in too long. It is advisable to ask a native
to extract either jigger-flea or tick for you, because they
are very clever at taking out the little creatures whole,
instead of leaving part in, which, if it contains eggs,
may cause serious trouble.
Nor should one camp too near a swamp, for fever may
be caught from the rising mist ; on the other hand,
do not go too far away from a stream, but just near
enough to have water easily fetched. In the deep valleys
it gets much colder than higher up.
The boys drink with their evening meal, but they do
not usually drink during the day. The water is carried
in large calabashes, which look very pretty, covered at
the top with leaves, which prevent the water from spill-
ing as the carrier walks.
One of the most useful things to carry on ulendo
(travelling) is a large zinc bath. Cooking utensils can be
packed in it during the day, and a few buckets of water
heated over the fire soon fill it for one's bath at night.
A pole through the handles makes it a good load for
two boys.
Boys do not carry more than 50 lbs. weight each,
214
Native Villages 215
and the packages should be made up accordingly. With
the load they travel usually at the rate of about 2^
miles an hour, whereas the machilla boys do as much
as 3^^ miles, going from 15 to 20 and sometimes 25 miles
in a day. The most I ever accomplished in one day
was 38 miles.
By the time I had left Shayimbira (a native village),
about 102 miles from Rail Head, I had crossed forty
swamps. After that I grew tired of counting ; the num-
ber seemed to increase alarmingly if I paid the swamps
too much attention. I had been given, before leaving
Broken Hill, a list of approximate mileages and names
of villages as they had stood about a year previously.
The white man who had then travelled that route had
taken great pains to chronicle details, and I was much
obliged for the MS. guide — but quite the opposite con-
ditions prevailed when I travelled, and where he de-
scribed water as being scarce, I was nearly drowned.
At M'lembo River, over which there is a bridge of a
sort, between 120 and 126 miles north of Broken Hill, is
the N.E. boundary of Rhodesia ; one then comes upon
a very small village, Kasowa, and some three miles
further on is Kapenda, which is a very large village.
I camped about two miles further on and then walke^.
back, while my tent was being put up and fires were
being made, to look at the village.
What struck me most about the villages was the
atmosphere of sloth ; to quote Gilbert, " The house of
lords did naught at all and did it very well." The natives
sat about in groups and rarely seemed even to pretend
to work. They were thoroughly and consistently lazy.
Apparently enough for the moment is their motto,
and young and old, upright or weighted down by years,
one and all appeared happy.
The women of the M'lala tribe have a hideous custom
2i6 Via Rhodesia
of inserting large round pieces of liorn or tin into the
upper li]). They begin when young with smah round
roHs of thin bark, and then the ornament (?) increases
until the end of the nose is entirely hidden and the horrible
protruding upper lip becomes the chief feature of the
face. I did not inquire, but I fancy kissing is not in
vogue, because under the circumstances the performance
would be one of peculiar enterprise.
Even to N.E. Rhodesia the mania for red hair has
apparently spread, or did natives first set the fashion ?
In lieu of henna the women cover their hair with a thick
red paste, made from the red bark of a tree, or, if that
is not obtainable, they gather a sediment from the water
that runs over ironstone ; this, mixed with monkey-
nut oil, gives the desired tint.
The teeth of the men are filed to very fine points, and
amongst some tribes the four front teeth of a boy are
extracted when he reaches the age of puberty.
From Broken Hill to Serenje, the first white man's
boma one enters north of Rail Head. I did not always
travel on the mail route, and therefore saw native
villages off the beaten track, and they were interesting,
though in some cases not of a savoury odour. The
pigeon-houses on long poles were pretty, the storage
places for meal being built in much the same way, thus
keeping damp and rats away from the precious grain.
Needless to say the people in the villages were all
surprised to see me, for very few women pass that way,
and so far not one unaccompanied by friends had ven-
tured to stroll through their midst. The children cer-
tainly had never before seen a specimen of a white
woman, and were not at all pleased with my appear-
ance. They howled and screamed, but they could not
hide their heads under their mothers' aprons as they did
not wear any, so they disappeared into the huts, some-
Native Villages 219
times tumbling over fowls and goats in their mad haste
to get away from me. Weird-looking dogs barked furi-
ously, my little black " Ugly " answering back, while
my boys always yelled as they entered a village, so the
musical honours witli which I was received can be
imagined.
The elders were usually more friendly than their
children, and they shouted and clapped a welcome, often
kneeling when I approached a village, and sometimes
running by my side for miles when I left.
Honours were divided between my hair and my boots,
I really do not know which interested the people most.
I always wore my hair down, tied with a ribbon, and
the women would point to it and talk excitedly. Its
fairness seemed to perplex not only them, but also my
boys, for at one boma my boys asked the servants of a
magistrate if they could ascertain what muti (medicine)
I took to make it the " colour of the sun."
I found the best time to walk was in the early morning,
rising at half-past five o'clock, if it was light enough,
and, after a cup of " hyglama " (cocoa), getting away
from the camp at half-past six or seven, hoping to find
water and have breakfast and luncheon combined at
about eleven. Sometimes on damp, cold, misty mornings
the time for leaving would be later, for when the boys
are cold they will not hurry, but seem only half alive.
The grass was so high (sometimes twelve to fourteen
feet) that before one had gone far one was soaked to
the skin unless clad in waterproof garments, and I was
thankful for my Burberry cloth. However, the sun
soon gives heat as the day dawns, and one is not un-
happy long.
Chiwale had been given me as the name of Stephen's
old boma, but it is now Chibori. As the names are
frequently altered it is practically impossible to make a
220
\^ia Rhodesia
proper list of tlie villages. The M'lala tribe live at
Chibori, which is about 145 miles from Rail Head, and
near here is a beautiful waterfall surrounded by some
tropical growth, palms and ferns, making a picturesque
oasis in a not otherwise particularly beautiful country.
Chibori is situated on the watershed between two rivers,
I'OVr C\RRIKRS WITH ARMED ESCORT, NORTH RHODESIA
the Pamparway and the M'lomwa, and lies about 4800
feet above sea-level, and the air is invigorating.
Two days' journey from here I met a post-bov with
armed escort, and gave him some letters wrapped in
limbo to take to Broken Hill to be posted. Post-boys
travel throughout N.E. Rhodesia once a week, taking
letters and parcels to the different bomas. They wear
scarlet cloth clothing and a scarlet fez. They travel very
quickly, buying their food at the villages and either
Native Villages 221
sleeping in native huts or, where there are none, making
huge fires to keep off the wild beasts. All the letters and
tins of films I sent by these boys found their way safely
to England, which speaks well for their honesty and
care. I usually gave a post-bo}^ a knife or some other
little keepsake for a present, and often he would join
my camp for the night with his escort, mioving on at
daybreak.
Most of my boys carried spears or sticks of sorts.
One day I passed the remains of a native foundry for
making axe-heads. It w^as round and formed of clay,
originally an ant-heap, the blow-pipes being also of
clay. When in use a bellows, made out of a bladder of a
buck, is employed. The iron ore is obtained locally.
The natives make very fair steel from hematite, which
is found in many places all over Rhodesia. Later on
I saw natives at work at a forge. They were squatting
on the ground and working slowly but quite adequately
for their simple weapons.
A few miles beyond Chibori the Muchinga Highlands
begin along a spur, and even when I was there water
was not very plentiful, as the rains run away from the
hard hill-sides and there are no dams to catch the
water ; in the dry season one must not expect to find
a good supply of water until the Lukasashi River is
reached, some seventeen or eighteen miles further on.
The air is wonderfully crisp on the top of these hills,
and well it might be, for one is about 5800 feet above
sea-level. A splendid view of the country around is here
obtained, and some of the granite kopjes seen in the
far distance are of a very curious formation. I did my
best to take some photographs, but the distance was
too great. What a large empty world was around !
No signs of habitation, very little herbage, a strange
silence as of a derelict earth, while above was the blue
0-7
Via Rhodesia
sky, whose vast dome, dipping down to the horizon,
seemed to lose itself in ethereal mists of bine on the
distant peaks.
It is a good plan, when being carried np a steep slope,
to reverse the machilla, face your boys, and thus travel
head upwards — otherwise your feet are in the air.
At the Lukasashi River, about 170 miles from Broken
Hill, there is a canoe ferry. The canoes are trunks of
trees hollowed out and are called "dugouts"; one sits
on the bottom of the boat, usually in a pool of water,
and is paddled across. When one has many carriers
and packages considerable time is occupied in crossing,
as the canoes hold very little. These canoes are kept
by a family of natives, who live by the water-side, and,
in consideration of taking the post-boy across every
week, have a certain concession from the Government.
From casual travellers a present is expected, or, as they
term it, prize. After the whole of my ulendo had
crossed — fifty persons and a large number of packages
— I tried to ascertain what my bill was. An aged man
rubbed his right thumb across his left hand and thus
graphically illustrated his craving for matches.
By this I knew there must have been a recent birth
or death in the neighbourhood, as the natives keep
fires perpetually burning in their huts, except when
someone dies, when the fire is allowed to go out, and it
must not be lighted afresh from another fire, but after
the hut has been cleaned an entirely new fire must be
made, which must be lit either from a match or, if one
is not available, from a spark obtained by rubbing one
piece of stick swiftly in the hollow of another. Matches
are therefore highly prized by the natives. A new fire
must also be lighted to make the first drink for a new-
born babe.
I presented the desired box of matches and added
W^H w^
S II-
Nativ^e Villages 225
sixpence by way of toll. Truly, in some parts of Rhodesia
one could live like a king on an old age pension, that is,
if one would live as a peasant and be happy merely in the
possession of health. Some people would say, " Yes,
but think of the monotony of the life of a native, living
and eating, marrying and dying ! " Well, many a poor
white has more of pain and less of pleasure and some-
times not even enough of the eating — a starved native
does not exist.
CHAPTER XXIV
Sereujc
ELEVEN days out, and only one white man met
on the road, the Native Commissioner before
referred to ; and yet Rhodesia belongs to the
English, and, so far as productive land and glorious
climate can make it, is certainly a white man's country.
So far I had not met a lion in the flesh, although I
had been presented with a lion's tooth in N.W. Rhodesia
and had seen several fine skins in S. Rhodesia, and had
met a man who had shot ten lions. In Rhodesia lions
really are called lions, but leopards are usually called
(after the Cape Dutch; tigers, and the hyenas are gener-
ally spoken of as wolves. The flowers, too, suffer from
topsy-turveydom. Forget-me-nots are often mauve or
pink instead of blue, and grow in clusters of four on
one stem. There are also pink gladiolas, and corn-
flowers of a much paler blue than in England, in fact
Cambridge instead of Oxford blue, and the trees put
forth their first leaves with autumn tints of crimson
instead of the delicate green we associate with spring
in England.
One often comes across bushes of proteas, beautiful
flowers about four inches across, both pink and white
varieties being found on the veld. A pale yellow flow^er
somewhat like a small thistle is more abundant than
any other kind. Then there are tiny white and violet
flowers, with only three petals, all of which grow on one
226
Serenje 227
side, like the one-sided spiders, and bright geranium-
coloured flowers, which grow singly and are not unlike
the japonica blossoms. There are also some very pretty
grasses, but ferns are scarce.
On May 23rd I reached Serenje. The boys made
noise enough on approaching native villages, but the
word noise in no way describes my majestic advance
to a white man's boma. For several days the same
song had been sung, growing in strength of sound and
ardour, and the words of the chorus became engraved
on my memory. I afterwards ascertained that they
meant, "Come nearer, Serenje, you are still far away;
come nearer, Serenje." The idea of telling a place to come
nearer to you as you travel closer to it is quaint, and
savours rather of a fairy tale.
The shouting of my boys could be heard far away, and
soon it was answered by the yelling of the people who ran
out from the village. The young men drove away my
machilla men and insisted on carrying the white Donna
themselves to the white man's boma. My arrival caused
great excitement, as no lady is resident (or was then)
in Serenje, in fact, the only white woman in that part
of the country is a missionary's wife living at a new
station twenty-five miles away.
A young, bearded white man came forth to greet me,
and after we had shaken hands he informed me that
Mr. Cholmondeley, the Assistant, or rather Acting Magis-
trate, was away elephant hunting, and would not be
back until the next day. He had, however, left a
message to the effect that, if I arrived during his absence,
the Post Office was to be placed at my disposal. I
therefore had my camp furniture carried into one of
the empty rooms, and my boys were allowed to camp
near.
The Post Office was a quaint little brick cottage, with
2 28 Via Rhodesia
a thatched roof, but, strange as it may seem, I always
felt more secure when sleeping in my tent, surrounded
by fires, than when taking temporary shelter for a night
or two under a real roof.
The Post Office opens one day a week, when the mail
passes through. There is no telegraphic communica-
tion at the bomas between Broken Hill and Abercorn,
but telegrams can be sent from Broken Hill to Abercorn,
N.E. Rhodesia, via the Trans-Continental Telegraph
Line, which runs through British Central Africa.
Serenje is certainly the prettiest little boma I have
seen. It stands in a picturesque position amid charming
surroundings, and is about three-quarters of a mile
distant from the native village. Range after range of
beautiful hills can be seen, the farthest visible to the
naked eye being about eighty miles distant.
The bearded white man who had come out to greet
me was living in a tent, having come many miles to see
the Magistrate wdth regard to the accidental shooting
by one of his boys of another boy. He said he would
ask me to dinner if some fowls he was expecting arrived,
and meanwhile regaled me with tea, informing me that
he had seen only three white women in six years,'!
being the third.
Afterwards, when walking round the outskirts of the
boma, I met a boy carrying several small cuckoos
(fowls), so I knew the invitation would hold good, and
taking an offering from my stores I went forth to dine
with the bearded man by a huge fire outside his tent.
The boys from both camps prepared the feast, and
how they chattered ! thoroughly enjoying the enter-
taining of " company." All w^hites up here share not
only each other's food but also each other's goods and
chattels, and often at a dinner-party one recognises one's
own plates or glasses or cutlery mixed up with the table
berenje 229
appointments of others, for the servants would lend
without thinking it at all necessary to ask permission
first, well knowing that in the wilds what is mine is
also my friend's.
C(.)URT HOUSE, SlORKXjK
The next morning, while seated outside the Post
Office busily engaged in mixing a chocolate pudding (for
I was determined to offer a change in diet that day),
I suddenty saw a vision ! Not an Itahan brigand,
though he looked very like one's idea of one, but the
Magistrate, rode up on a bicycle. I heard later that he
had intended changing his clothes before I saw him,
but I am glad he had not the opportunity, I should have
been sorry to miss the picture he presented. I hope
that if he ever reads these lines he will not blush at my
description. He was wearing, I think "smalls" is the
correct term, and had a scarf round his throat in
lieu of a collar, and a felt hat on the back of his head
with a tiny feather in it. Not a Bond Street turn out,
but truly a good-tempered, rollicking, handsome man
from the " back-of-beyond " the Magistrate looked,
2 :;0
Via Rhodesia
and he hospitably invited me to hinch and dine with
liini, I liaving decided to continue my journey the next
day.
The Residency at Serenje boma is a very comfortable
house, as will be seen from the photograph. It was
built by native labour and the furniture is made of
native wood. The garden is delightful. Roses blossom
in profusion, while sweet violets and many carnations
perfume the clear air. In one corner of the garden is
a huge native banana tree.
Serenje seems to be clasping the hand of her mother-
land by holding so charming a bouquet of English
flowers.
At this place there is also a tiny Court House, and
ten native police-boys guard the boma. It was pleasant
at sundown to see the herds of cattle and goats returning
to the boma for the night ; they were very tame, and
appreciated an offering of salt.
I thoroughly enjoyed the two days I spent at Serenje.
There is something fine about Rhodesian men ; they
seem to imbibe the clearness and strength of the atmo-
sphere and the sunshine, and give it back in sincerity
and kindness ; and how fascinating it is to listen to
their adventures — so little of boasting, so much of
appreciated grit.
Now I must tell a story of a man who came to lunch.
His visit was a great surprise, as was also his appear-
ance, which was quite unlike one's usual idea of a settler.
His name was Needham, and he had a farm of 10,000
acres close to Serenje, which had the beautiful name of
Luangala, which means the " River that dances."
Now for the story.
Very frail he looked when he alighted from the piece
of sail-cloth in which he had been shaken for seven miles
by four natives. He apologised for being in his shirt-
lerenje
231
sleeves, remarking that he did not know the Magistrate
was entertaining a lady, it was an unheard-of event.
But the lady ignored the toilette and at once secretly
admired the long, thin lingers of the most beautiful
hand she had ever seen. Round his neck the frail man
wore a black ribbon ; to this was attached a whistle,
with which he was in the habit of summoning his boys.
The lady thought it should have been a cross, and was
not surprised to hear later that he was a Roman Catholic.
A priest, or a poet of the exquisite school ; yes ! that
was what he suggested.
Connect him with sport ? Never !
Yet he had killed a lion. It happened so : the man
had returned for the night to his hut ; the night was
t«<#*
SERENJE RESIDENCY
very dark, there being no moon ; he was tired and soon
asleep, when, as he thought in a dream, he heard a
tapping at the door. The tapping continued, it was no
dream ; he roused himself and, sitting up, listened.
2^2 Via Rhodesia
Outside were two or three boys calling " B'wana,
B'wana ! " (Master, Master !) Their voices held fear,
and the man jumped up quickly.
On opening the door he could discern the outlines
of shaking forms. He lit a candle, and whilst doing
so the boys explained that they had run from their hut,
which was next to the cattle kraal, as a kanga (lion)
was in the hut, and had already attacked one of the boys
they had left behind.
The man listened, but not a sound came from the
cattle kraal, which was extraordinary, as cattle scent
lions quicker than human beings as a rule, and give the
alarm, but in this case the cattle remained silent.
The man looked round for a lantern. There was not
one to be found, but his gun, only a shot-gun, was at
hand here ; so he seized that, and holding the gun in one
hand and the flickering candle in the other, proceeded
to the hut, the boys, with true native cowardice, re-
maining behind.
Arrived at the hut, he summoned all his courage,
and entered — and there, straight in front of him, he
saw the lion. The first thing that gleamed at him in
the darkness were the lion's eyes, round, yellow rings
of cold cruelty. For one second the lion looked up
from his spoil, the native he was eating, then continued
his meal. The man placed the candle on the floor and
pulled the trigger of his gun. In the excitement of the
moment he forgot to cock it, and missed fire. He remedied
his error, and pulled. The lion rolled over. The man
tried the second barrel, but had forgotten that he had
only cocked the other side, so without waiting to see
if the lion was dead or not, he seized the mangled body
and carried the boy out of the hut. At the report of
his gun the cattle had been roused, and they stampeded
to the opposite side of the kraal.
Serenje
20 '->
JO
The boys came creeping forth when they heard the
man returning with the wounded boy, and then they
told him that two boys had been left in the hut, not
one.
Then came the most terrible moment of all, the moment
that broke the nerve
of a strong man and
made him frail. He
knew he must return
to the hut, he could
not leave that other
boy there, and he
did not know if he
had killed the lion
or not.
I noticed those
delicate hands trem-
ble when his friend,
the Magistrate, who
was telling the story,
came to that point.
He entered the
hut for the second
time, with the rem-
nant of that flicker-
ing candle, and,
thank God, he found
the lion was dead !
The shot had evidently penetrated a vital part. But
dead also was that other boy ; he must mercifully have
died quickly, for apparently one blow had smashed his
head.
The next day the father of the dead boy came from
the village and brought with him a crowd of other men,
who one by one passed the lion's skin and spat at it.
IN THE GARDEN AT SERENJE (RHOIJESIA)
2 34 ^^i^ Rhodesia
Not one touched the Hon, for it was considered unclean,
and a boy of another tribe had to skin it.
Five days after, the rescued boy succumbed to his
thirty-four wounds.
This happened in N.E. Rhodesia in the year 1909.
I felt proud to Iiave shaken the hand of that frail man,
and when, many months later, in fact only quite re-
cently and long after my return from Rhodesia, I heard
that this same man had died from the bite of a mad
dog, I felt very grieved, for the man was brave, and what
made the death more pathetic, he had only recently
been joined, I hear, by his mother and an aunt, two
sweet ladies who had decided to share his life in the
lone wilds. To be spared from a lion and die by a dog —
such is life with its sledge-hammer blows on butterflies
and escapes of criminals from earthquakes. Fate may
be just, no one knows, but methods often seem clumsy.
Good-bye, Serenje, a pleasant memory, with your
flowers and the stories at night, this time round a
blazing fire indoors. Wonder of wonders, there was an
American organ at the Residency, and many were the
accompaniments I played while the Magistrate sang, his
lusty voice w andering forth, doubtless surprising the birds
asleep in the garden.
One incident I heard during my visit which shows
how magisterial command may be aided by native
prompting.
A native arrived at the Residency and informed the
Magistrate that that day a cow-elephant had been shot
by a white man.
" Where ? " asked the Magistrate.
" Two days from here," replied the native, but would
not say how the news had travelled.
True enough, in two days' time a white man turned
up at the boma.
Serenje 235
" So you have come to report that you have shot a
cow-elephant ? " said the Magistrate.
" Quite so ; but how on earth did you know ? " rephed
the man, in surprise.
" You have travelled two days, and the weight of the
tusks was so much," continued the Magistrate.
" That is true," answered the white man, who had
come to pa}/ his fine, it being illegal to shoot a cow-
elephant.
Then the Magistrate explained that a native had told
him.
It is quite extraordinary, the way in which news travels
from native to native and from village to village. Some-
times news is signalled from many miles by the beating
of drums. My approach to a native village was known
long before I got there.
Even without the aid of drums news travels quicker
than man can carry it, though by what means remiains a
secret. In Matabeleland the natives knew two days in
advance of the news reaching the white of the relief of a
siege, or the casualties of a great battle, during the
recent war. It seems as though a sort of human tele-
pathy between natives is a powerful existing force.
CHAPTER XXV
CaiiQ'hf ill tJic Dark
'<i>'
A T Serenje a letter was awaiting me from Mr.
/ \ Moffat, of missionary fame, inviting me to visit
■^ ^ the new station he was making about twenty-
five miles away, whither he had gone from Serenje,
taking his wife and children with him. In Southern
Rhodesia I had met his sister, a very kind, amiable
lady, the wife of the Attorney-General, and I promised
her that if I could manage to visit her brother I would
do so.
The old village of Chitambo, into which Livingstone
was carried, and where he died, no longer exists, and
so Chitambo is the name given to the new station, which
is off the main road from Serenje to M'pika.
Mr. Moffat would ^Try much have liked to start a
mission station near the spot where, amid silence and
solitude, the brick memorial to Livingstone now stands,
and where the heart of the great explorer is said to be
buried, but the country around is very unhealthy, and
so the new Chitambo is two da\^s' journey away from
the place where the great man fell.
It is said that the natives, after they had disembowelled
the body and buried the heart, filled the body with salt to
preserve it until they could reach the coast, but, hunger
overtaking them on the road, they were forced to trade
with the natives in the villages they passed through
with handfuls of salt taken out of the body.
236
Caught in the Dark 237
I arrived at Chitambo late in the evening, sending a
messenger in advance with a note, and Mr. Moffat had
already, with great kindness, erected a tent for me in case
my carriers should arrive late.
After supper I was asked if I would give the children
a treat by playing on my banjo, and I naturally con-
cluded that the offspring of my kind host and hostess
were to be m\/ listeners, but very soon the room was
crowded with native children, who had been invited in.
They were treated absolutely as equals, which to me
seemed a great folly, although kindly meant. I went
to sleep that night amid the serenading of Moody and
Sankey's hymns, chanted around me by many natives,
who seemed to sing for their suppers and doubtless found
it profitable.
Although Mr. and Mrs. ]\Ioffat had only been at
Chitambo a few months, I must say to their credit that
they had in that time taught the natives to make bricks,
and sixty thousand had been made already for the house,
which was in course of construction.
The material for these sixty thousand bricks was taken
from one ant-heap, and I was assured there remained
enough to make a hundred thousand more, so the size
of some of the ant-heaps in N.E. Rhodesia ma}' be
imagined. The clay obtained therefrom is mixed with
water and stamped smooth by the feet of the natives,
being afterwards moulded and baked. I went over the
site of the station in the morning and saw the roads
being made. The school-house was nearly finished. It
was all for the natives, who are happy in these parts
without education, while whites are starving in other
parts for lack of it.
I remarked to Mrs. Moffat how happy and contented
looked all the natives living around.
" Oh, but," she answered, " they are so immoral."
238 Via Rhodesia
" In what way?" I asked, and, believe me, the examples
quoted were no worse than the immoralities committed
amongst the white people who herd so closely together in
our over-populated cities, where incest is not an unusual
crime and where infanticide is a daily occurrence.
But there is this difference, the whites sin more often
through sheer misery and lack of Ught, physically and
mentally ; the natives are merely animals with a super-
abvmdance of health and the power of a butterfly of
living in the pleasure of the moment. And there is this
to be said for the natives, female children live as a rule
in a separate hut from the male ; but for the unhappy
white children of the poor there is usually only one
room, in which the parents sleep as well.
I could not help pitying those happy natives when I
thought of the tears that would be shed if ever they
realised that what seemed to them natural was black
sin — pocket-handkerchiefs must be given with knowledge.
I would not care to have the responsibility of the sorrow
caused by awakening, or, what is more probable and
worse, the double sin involved by continuance in evil-
doing in spite of knowledge.
No, no, m\^ good missionaries, leave the natives and
their customs alone. Morality is often merely a question
of climate and geography. Turn your attention to
those of your own colour who sin and know it to be sin,
whose lives are empty of sunshine and whose bodies
are unfit through lack of care. At Chitambo Mission,
as well as at other mission stations, the same thought
always came uppermost in my mind : What a fine
place wherein to plant out some of the waifs and strays
of Dr. Barnardo's Homes in England, the orphans and
semi-orphans, the gutter-snipes, the poor, not-wanted
white children of England — but in Africa it is a case
of "to those who have, shall be given."
Caught in the Dark 239
No one can say that the African chmate does not
agree with white children, for the three sturdy sons
at Chitambo have not had a day's iUness ; everybody
and everything seems to flourish in Rhodesia. At
Chitambo about sixty chickens, which had been reared
without the aid of incubators, were running about,
while forty head of small native cattle with humps
looked in a very fine condition.
All the natives round here turned out to see me, for
I was the second white woman they had seen, Mrs.
Moffat being the first. Some ran beside my machilla a
great distance, or when I walked, walked by my side,
playing on little musical instruments of three notes, and
singing songs in a monotone.
Throughout Rhodesia the natives are very fond of
music, and more than one instance has been known
of a boy who sang better than his neighbours having
his eyes put out, so that he could not leave the village.
I left Chitambo later in the day than I should have
done, for in May the days are short and cold, and dark-
ness comes with sundown at six o'clock. My carriers
and cook-boy had started off many hours in advance,
and I had instructed the head-boy in charge that they
were to wait for me at Kawanda, where I wished to
camp that night.
Kawanda lies about half a mile off the mail road, in
fact the road stops altogether here and begins again
about four miles further on. It must be remembered
that the "mail road" is the native path usually taken
by the post carriers, and, though fairly broad in places,
it is often for miles no wider than an ordinary native
path, the breadth of which is usually about fifteen or
eighteen inches. When part of the carriers in advance
come across paths which cross each other, or lie almost
parallel, they lay twigs of trees or even long blades
240 Via Rhodesia
of grass across the wrong path after they have ascertained
the correct one, so that the ulendo fohowing may know
which way to take.
The journey from Chitambo to Kawanda took much
longer than I had estimated, and I soon gave up walking
and urged my machilla team to go as quickly as possible,
for, on an unknown road, and off the main track, travel-
ling at dusk is uncertain and not very pleasant, and
when the sun has set, an hour seems eternity, so quickly
the darkness comes, and with the appearance of the
first star one shivers with cold. I hugged my little dog
"Ugly" and kept the little black mongrel warm, but I
was cold and tired and not inclined to enjoy the attention
of the natives of the little villages we passed through.
The shouting youths who insisted on driving my men
away and taking turns in carrying me were too zealous
or very careless, for I w^as dropped four times, and every
bone in my body ached.
It was an eerie night, too, for after the shouting mob
had left we entered some woods, and I seemed to feel
that my boys were getting nervous. The moon was
only at its lirst quarter, and we had no torches. The
diamond fields of the skies did their best, and the stars
were luminous and beautiful, but there were shadows
on every side, shadows dark and mysterious. Every
now and then the boys would suddenly howl and imitate
the cries of wild animals with, I presume, homoeopathic
ideas of keeping possible wild beasts away. Then there
would be silence, save for the footsteps on ground and
grass, and the deep breathing of the boys as they moved
onward as quickly as possible.
I kept the sail-cloth covering of my machilla up, and
looked eagerly from side to side, wondering if I should
see gleaming in the darkness those cruel yellow eyes
the lion-hunter looks for and the natives dread.
Caught in the Dark 241
The Awemba tribe, to which my carriers belonged,
consider themselves unclean if they even touch the
skin of a dead lion, and should they have done so they
must not enter the kraal until they have been cleansed,
so when my boys began quite suddenly whistling,
groaning, growling, and even hysterically laughing, I
thought to myself : it isn't the one who whistles the
loudest who fears the ghost the least.
Then the path became so narrow that we had to ad-
vance in single file, for the trees entwined above, and
there was much undergrowth. The path ahead, seen
by the starlight, seemed to wind away in the distance
as the spectre of a snake, while the patches of light
through the trees looked almost worse than darkness,
and suggested that the ghosts were hanging out their
washing.
Poor little " Ugly " grew very restless, he whined and
shivered and seemed very unhappy. I held him tightly,
afraid lest he should jump out, for leopards soon scent
out dogs and make short work of them. The road after
a while grew wider, and the boys came nearer together ;
then suddenly they stopped their noise, for without any
warning we had stepped from the shelter of the trees
into a long, deep swamp.
By daylight swamps are not pleasant, but at night
and when the moon is hiding three-quarters of its face,
they are, to say the least of it, speculative. One of the
boys slipped and went in up to his waist, another one
caught him, while two others seized the side of my
machilla, shouting to the others to help. They managed
to raise me to the level of their heads, and so, wading
through water, mud, and slime, we struggled on and
out.
Again the wild shouting and whistling began, only
quite suddenly to stop, for it seemed the calls were
242 Via Rhodesia
answered, and I was about to congratulate myself on
the fact that my camp must be just on the other side
of the rise, when it dawned upon me that the answering
shouts and yells were only echoes.
The boys did not resume their noise, but w^alked
cautiously, and seemed like wild animals to be sniffmg
the air, and then they broke into a glad shout, for the
scent of burning wood was wafted to us, telling that a
kraal was near, and we entered a narrow pathway
leading between high-growing Kaffir corn.
We approached a large native village, and evidently
we were expected. My carriers had passed that way
early in the day, and doubtless sang of their Donna
Chubwina, for crowds of natives were standing outside
their huts. One huge ruffian dashed forward and seized
one end of the machilla pole, the front end, before the
one at the back was aware of his intention, and I had
the worst fall of the day. Oh, that hard ground ! My
spine shivers at the memory. I was already fairly
bruised, but that last tumble was the last straw\ I
hadn't a laugh left in me, I wanted to howl. I was
soon up, however, and on the boys rushed, carrying me
with rapid strides past the shouting men and inquisitive
women. About a mile we went, and I was wondering
how much more I could stand, w^hen I saw in the dis-
tance the welcome sight of a dozen fires blazing, and
knew that my camp was gained at last. How beautiful
seemed the clouds of smoke, and how savoury the goat
roasting for my supper !
CHAPTER XXVI
Native Custiviis
I HAVE omitted to mention before, that when I
started away from Serenje I was amazed to find
what I thought were new bo3's in my ulendo, but
I soon discovered them to be the old ones transformed ;
several had taken advantage of the two days' rest to
have their heads clean shaved, and instead of black
wool I saw what appeared to be mahogany eggs with the
shells off. Others, preferring more fancy styles, had
shaved each other's heads in patterns ; one man, in fact,
looked as though his head was fastened from the nape
of his neck to his forehead by tiny buttons, for about
an inch apart from each other were tufts of hair the
size of a tickey (threepenny-piece) left on the otherwise
bare scalp. The boys shave each other's heads with
pieces of glass or flint or hard sharp stones.
The Awemba tribe, to which the majority of my
carriers belonged, boast of being an unconquered tribe.
They are by no means ugly, comparing very favourably
with other tribes, both in stature and general appear-
ance. Some have quite good, regular features, fine eyes,
and long, upward-curling eyelashes.
The chief tribes of Southern Rhodesia are the Matabele
and Mashona. North-west dwell the Barotse in Barotse-
land under King Luwananika, and the Mashukulumbwe,
the latter extending from the Kafue northwards. In
N.E. Rhodesia are the M'lala, M'Senga, and Awemba.
243
244 ^^i^'^ Rhodesia
The M'lala women in the north are ugly in face and
stinnpy in form, while the Matabele women in the south
have beautiful hgures and often pretty faces.
The Awemba women (N.E. Rhodesia) are almost as
good-looking as the Awemba men. Unlike the M'lala
women, they do not disfigure their mouths by wearing
unsightly lip ornaments, but instead affect ear-rings of a
painful though not so disfiguring nature.
Some of the past history and native customs as still
practised by the Awemba tribes are most interesting,
and I am indebted to Mr. West-Sheene, the Acting
Magistrate at Fife, N.E. Rhodesia, and others, for in-
formation on the subject ; it is impossible in this book
to give lull details, as in like manner one must not
describe many of the customs of the whites appertaining
to matters medical.
When a child is born, only the Nakimbusa (nurse) is
present, and the mother usually confesses to her all
the sins of her life, thus going through the ritual of the
confessional, and for the honour of the nurse let it be
added that the seal of secrecy is not often broken.
The nurses are always old women and are held in high
esteem, songs being sung and dances given in their
honour at feasts and on all festive occasions.
A newly born child is first washed, and then a little
salt is placed in its mouth, after which the nurse hands
it back to the mother and invites the father to enter the
hut. The child is given to him, and after he has looked
at it he returns it to the mother. If the birth has
occurred during the day, he then goes out immediately
to inform the neighbours.
If the baby is a man child he says, " Wa kanando "
(he is for the hoe), and if a girl he says, " Wa mpero "
(she is for the mill). Then the wife's friends come and
say, " Samalale mukwai " (congratulations).
Native Customs
24s
If the mother and child die at child-birth then the
bodies are buried at cross-roads, as the natives think the
mother must have sinned greatly, and when women pass
that way to draw
water they say over
the grave " Wapo-
leni " (is it well with
you?), andthus strive
to conciliate the dead
woman's spirit.
Some time after
the birth the old men
of the village come
together before the
hut. The child is
placed on a goat-skin
facing the door ;
then the ' ' musonga ' '
(first drink) for the
child is cooked. The
mother is present,
leaning on an axe if
the child is a male
and on a hoe if
female.
Then the medicine
man places on the
mother's right toe
some ointment pre-
pared for this cere-
mony, and with this
the mother anoints the child, beginning with the right
thigh and rubbing in the ointment up to the neck ; and
holding the child between her knees she anoints in the
same manner the left foot and up the thigh to the neck.
WOMAN WITH EAR ORNAMENTS
246 Via Rhodesia
By this time the " musonga " has been cooked, and a
young child relative of the baby must give it, a ycnmg
child being chosen because a child, being a virgin, is
considered holy. The child having onh^ just touched
the lips of the baby with the pap, then hands the baby
to the father, who returns it to the mother saying, " Na
bweshya mvana obe " (I return your child).
Then the medicine man, who has been consulting
the lots drawn by the old men, comes and proclaims
before all the name of the child ; the doctor, who be-
comes thus the name-giver, is regarded as a sort of
godfather of the child, and this relationship is known
as " M'bozwa."
If the baby is a firstborn, the father and mother are
henceforth called by the name of their child preceded
by the particle Si — father, or Na — mother. Thus the
parents of a child named Chanda would henceforth be
Sichanda and Nachanda. No wife may call her husband
by his proper name until she has borne a child by him ;
she must content herself by saying " uyu " (him) or
" mwini wandi " (my master) or " munandi " (my com-
panion).
When the first tooth appears, the baby's gums are
bared. The relatives, when satisfied that the lower
teeth are appearing first, congratulate the mother. It
is considered ill-omiened for the upper row of teeth to
come first, so much so that on the latter event occurring
the baby is often made away with by drowning.
The mother is responsible for the safety and good
conduct of her female children, and very strict are the
Awemba ideas on this point, though differing from
English custom somewhat — for a betrothed couple may
live together until the actual marriage takes place,
though during this time platonic friendship is insisted on.
The marriage is arranged by a third party. The cere-
Native Customs 247
mony of betrothal is called " Kisungu " and the nuptial
rites are called " Bwinga." These are the two most
important ceremonies in the lives of the natives.
The giving of presents or dowry is considered a pledge
and not as a selling of their daughter, and the giving of
the "impango" does not constitute marriage but is only
one of its conditions.
When the time for the marriage has been settled,
the girl leaves the hut of her fiance and returns to her
mother, and rites and dances then take place which
last for several weeks ; but the bride-elect has a sorry
time, for she must remain in the seclusion of her mother's
hut and go through many ordeals, the meaning and
ultimate utility of which are difficult to understand ;
they certainly appear to be both silly and useless.
A crown of thorns is placed on her head, and she is
made to jump over stools, while at night she is frightened
by a man outside the hut imitating the roar of a lion ;
all these tests are called " Mbusa."
When the end of the mionth draws nigh, the bride-
groom appears at the door of the hut with bow and
arrow, saying, " Nunshye nama yandi " (where is my
game ?). He peers round, and finds a small target with
a dot of black in the centre ; he shoots, and if he scores
a bull he dances, but if he misses the women assembled
pinch him.
This custom certainly seems more sensible, for it at
any rate encourages sport, and at times must be rather
amusing and not unlike our game of " touch about."
Not until another month has passed do the joint lives
of bride and bridegroom begin ; then they are shaved,
and after having bathed at the village stream they return
to their hut, and the villagers bring presents of beads
to the bridegroom and flour to the bride.
But for still another two days the marriage ceremony
248 Via Rhodesia
lasts (no quick ten minutes* registry rush is permissible
with the Awemba).
Tlie bride shuts herself into the hut and the bride-
groom visits surrounding villages begging beads and
arrow-heads with which he must pay the parents of the
bride. When he returns he puts a maize cob at the end
of his spear. The bride, having been warned of his
approach, appears at the door ; he rushes at the maiden
with the weapon in his hand ; she backs into the hut
and closes the door ; he beats upon the door, and then
goes off to more dancing and feasting.
The next day the bridegroom must again be shaved,
and this time most of his curls are cut, and brushed
aw^ay with a zebra's tail, the cut hair being placed in a
basket and hidden safely away.
The ceremony of shaving and hiding the hair is re-
peated four times. At the end of each shave the groom
turns to the bride, who then stands up (she having left
the hut for a space) and places his foot on her extended
foot. He then takes a stick from his mother-in-law and
touches the bride W'ith it ; the mother-in-law then takes
off his head-dress and stretches a mat for him, on which
the bride sits supporting the bridegroom on her knees ;
the father-in-law then makes a long speech, and gives
his son-in-law an arrow. This arrow is kept, and re-
turned in the event of divorce ; it therefore seems to
point to some legal significance or certificate.
Although the maiden is now a bride she does not
speak in the bridegroom's presence until the next day,
when he gives her a present to break the silence.
And who can say that these ceremonies rival in tedium
the months of trial preliminary to a fashionable marriage
at St. George's, Hanover Square ?
With so many ceremonies attached to marriage, no
wonder a man goes through them only with his first
Native Customs
249
two \vi\'es. Sliould he afterwards wish for more female
society in addition to his two legally wedded wives, he
must provide a separate hut for each lady.
Divorce is not easy, but separation can be arranged.
Very few widows exist, as a widow is theoretically the
wife of the next heir, who is the elder brother. Nor is
a man a widower for long. If his wife dies, her sister
or nearest relation must take her place. Should the
sister be too young, the father-in-law provides another
^..<<r^./v
A BARBER'S SHOP IN THE WILDS, N.E. RHODESIA
housekeeper (or should one say hut-keeper ?) until the
sister-in-law has grown up.
The widowTr places beer on his wife's grave, then
walks in the garden with his new w'ife, who, on entering
his hut, sits down on a mat, taking the man on her
knees (as in the " Bwinga " ceremonious marriage), to
show that she is henceforth his, and the people dance
round, thus acknowledging the new wife.
The sources of native law are to be found in the
decisions of the old men, who are the councillors to
the Chiefs, and in the utterances of their M'ganga as to
250 Via Rhodesia
what was " fas " or " nefas," pleasing or displeasing, to
the gods.
In the past the Awemba Chiefs, while assiduously
attending to their judicial duties (one Chief died at his
post as judge), defied the code they themselves enforced
on others by the most bloodthirsty acts against their
own subjects, merely to strike terror into their hearts.
Many, instead of having recourse to the law to right
their wrongs, sought relief in suicide, which habit the
Awemba derived from the Bakongo, from whom they
migrated.
Under the Awemba Kings the head-village at Kili-
amkulu was divided into thirty-three quarters and
superintended by Kilolo, who were responsible for the
peace of the village. They acted as assessors in all
cases with the King, and decided questions of peace
and war. They may be compared to the Greek Gerousia.
At the King's death, the Wakabiro were consulted as
regards the succession. These Wakabiro, or divisional
head-men, were put over the various provinces conquered
by the Awemba, collected dues, and lived on their
subjects.
The Simuperva, or guardians of the gates, were custom-
house officials, usually posts occupied by the King's sons
or his powerful brothers.
When any Ainamwanga wished to put themselves
under the protection of the province of Abemba, they
had to pay their toll by giving a woman to Chipakula
or Makasa, the guardians.
If the Kilolo thought that the Awuvu were not paying
enough toll, they sent a Simuperva with a spear as a
sign of war. Kafwimbi, who was a man of peace, would
send back the most beautiful of his daughters, with a
hoe on her head as a token of submission, and his old
men with presents of cattle and food.
Native Customs 251
If the King accepted the girl as his wife, then the old
men called him their father-in-law, and he told them to
tell Kafwimbi that his people might hoe that year as
their crops would be safe.
Every poor native, if free, tried to marry a free woman,
so that his children should not be called "anamushya,"
sons of a slave, afterwards marrying a slave woman
when he acquired more wealth.
Exogamy children take the clan name or token from
their mother and must not intermarry with their mother's
relations.
An Awemba w^ho married into his mother's clan was
shunned by all in former times. Nowadays this rule
seems elastic, although marrying with first cousins on
the mother's side is still strictly forbidden.
The wives of the Chiefs had less power than the
mothers of Kings, the succession being handed down on
the distaff side.
The sister of a King could choose as many husbands as
she wished, and they had to call her husband, the men
being the wives.
The women take no part in the government, but by
the selection of good-looking husbands they have raised
a splendid race.
The Awemba still wrap their dead in a blanket and
pray to it, saying they will put beer on the tomb and
look after the children. Then one of the mourners gets
into the grave and cuts a hole into the blanket just over
the ear, so that the dead can hear God speak.
About forty-five miles from M'pika there is to be seen
a huge field of skulls. This is where the Awemba fought
the M'lala with axes, and conquered them.
The Angoni claim that the Awemba have never beaten
them, but this is disputed.
The system of matriarchy was followed so that those
252 Via Rhodesia
whose mothers were of royal blood could inherit ; thus
M^^•a^lba would be succeeded by his brother, who would
take over all his wives, and failing the brother, the nephew
by Mwamba's sister w^ould succeed.
The ceremonies at the death of a King used to take
nearly a year, and one of the horrible customs was to
place above his grave a high heap of maidens who had
been stabbed, and not until the blood from the top one
had trickled down to the bottom of the grave was the
Chief supposed to be satisfied. This practice, however,
has been stopped by the Chartered Company, who at
once on assuming possession prohibited the taking of
life, and a story is told that wlien the last Chief died
(about a hundred miles north of Chanda, N.E. Rhodesia)
the natives were at a loss to know what to do with the
body. They were afraid to bury him without the usual
ceremony, and equally afraid of having to account to
the Native Commissioner for any bloodshed, conse-
quently they decided not to bury him at all, and made a
case of beeswax in which the body was placed.
Then a new difficulty arose. It was impossible for a
new Chief to be installed when the old one remained
above-ground, and so for some time they had no Chief
at all, and the body of the old Chief remained unburied,
embalmed in the beeswax.
But the Native Commissioner got tired of settling
their petty affairs and domestic differences for them,
and came to the conclusion that they must elect a new
Chief — but what was to be done with the body of the
old one ?
The influence witch-doctors and witchcraft used to pos-
sess is now fast disappearing from the country, outwardly
at any rate, and the natives are punished if they encourage
or practise it, and this is probably the last story on
record of a Native Commissioner holding a candle to the
Native Customs 253
devil. But something had to be done, so the white man
in charge of the district sent for the witch-doctor and
told him that unless the bod}^ of the old Chief was buried
without bloodshed within a fortnight, and a new Chief
elected, he, the witch-doctor, would answer for it with
his life. History does not relate what spells the witch-
doctor used to appease the spirit of the old Chief, but
suffice it to say the body in the beeswax case disappeared
and has not been seen or heard of since, and a new
Chief reigns.
CHAPTER XXVII
Chilonga Mission
WHEN about eleven miles from Kawanda there
is a near cut to M'pumba by turning off the
road to the east. All over this part of the
country there is plenty of water, there being many
small streams which even in the dry season still flow.
About half a mile from M'pumba one rejoins the road
again, and about three-quarters of a mile further on
one comes to a high hill which must be climbed.
The road from Serenje onward, north, is very good, far
better, indeed, than many in N.W. Rhodesia, but one
thing should be insisted upon all over Rhodesia, and
the neglect made punishable, and that is, each chief or
head-man of a village should be compelled to keep in
some sort of order the approach on either side to his
village. As it is, one finds as a rule the worst path-
ways nearest the villages.
Soon after the high hill is passed the end of the Serenje
boundary is reached and that of M'pika begins, and
about twenty miles further on is the Kilonga, or, as it is
more usually called, the Chilonga, Mission, where live
the French White Fathers.
But before I reached there, and wirile near the Lum-
batwa River, I began to feel very ill, and discovered I
had a temperature of nearly 105°. After an absence,
I was here again joined by the white boy who had
first started wdth me as interpreter. He now seemed
254
Chilonga Mission 255
bent on a combination of prospecting and studying the
chances of labour recruiting. Although I no longer
required his services, finding the few words I knew
quite sufficient, I was glad of his company, for when
one is ill, it is good to see someone of one's own colour,
and he was very kind.
Malarial fever takes about nine days to develop, and
on thinking backward I remembered I had camped
about that time rather near a big swamp, and further-
more, tired out after a rather fatiguing day, I had gone
to sleep without first covering my hands and arms wdth
Muscatol, a delightful preventative against mosquito
bites, which I generally used, besides always sleeping
under a mosquito net.
One's hands and wrists are apt to get bitten, if nothing
is rubbed on them, while one takes one's evening meal.
I took a big dose of quinine, and camped early that day,
that is, as early as w^as possible, for though the boys
knew I was ill they did not behave with their usual
obedience, but deliberately took us about five miles astray
in order to visit a small kraal where some of their friends
lived. If I had known who the ringleader was, I really
should have felt like cutting off his ears or performing
some other pleasantry of the kind, which he would have
appreciated. Then another boy, in order to lighten his
load because he had obtained a bargain of some sort
for himself, deliberately threw aw^ay a number of tent
pegs, and naturally on that particular night the wind
was exceptionally high and the cold crept into my tent
in a cruel way. I had been told before I left England
that if I were really ill all the boys would desert me,
which was a comforting reflection to go to sleep upon.
The next day, however, my temperature went down,
and I felt less weak, but still, I was very glad when we
arrived at Chilonga. It was noon on Sunday, May 31st,
256 Via Rhodesia
and the three Fathers, in their robes of cream serge,
came to greet me ; with them was Mr. Melland, the
Assistant Magistrate of M'pika, who had bicycled over
to spend tlie Sunday with the Fathers.
The mission buildings stand on the top of an eminence,
and command an uninterrupted view of country for
forty miles around.
I was very glad that Mr. Melland was present, for
the Fathers do not speak Fnglish, and my French is
rather weak. A dainty dejeuner of soup and eggs was
prepared for me, and as I sat in the refectory, unable
really to do justice to their kind hospitality, everyone
was much concerned that I was ill, and my heart was
full of gratitude for their kindness. It seemed quite
impossible to imagine that one was really in an English
colony ; the Fathers with their robes, bronzed faces and
dark beards, speaking either French or the native
language, in which they are very proficient, the white-
washed walls of the refectory, on which hang coloured
prints of the Saints, the views of other white buildings,
bathed in vivid sunshine through the open door, and of
goats strolling about untethered, and the sky so blue
above, combined to create the impression that I could
not be in Rhodesia, and I almost imagined that I was
in Italy.
These Fathers came from Algeria, and had been in the
country forty-two years.
Both the church and the domestic buildings are
foreign-looking in design, and are entirely the outcome
of their teaching the natives to work, and I must say,
that of all the missionaries, the Roman Catholic do
the least harm, for they never preach equality nor allow
the natives to approach the level of familiariiy in any
way. They teach them to work and be clean and above
all to respect the white man. Therefore, politically as
Chilonga Mission
257
well as socially, the Roman Catholic missionaries may
be congratulated, standing as they do at the head of
the religious orders engaged in training the natives.
That it is possible to live in Rhodesia on very little
money while yet observing all the rules of cleanliness,
comfort, and hospitality is shown by these teaching
Fathers. The buildings were spotlessly clean, the table
was loaded with good things to eat and home-made
wines to drink, and the gardens were filled with vege-
Hrjui
CHILONGA MISSION STATION, N.E. RHODESIA
tables, and yet each Father has an allowance of only
twenty-five pounds a year to live upon !
I begged the Fathers, if they were in the habit of
holding afternoon service, not to give it up on my
account. It seemed that they usually had a service at
two o'clock, but in order that I might have a little rest,
and then attend the service, the bell was ordered to be
rung to summon the natives at three o'clock.
I shall never forget that service. It really was very
impressive. Two chairs draped in scarlet were placed
opposite each other in the chancel near the altar. I
258 Via Rhodesia
sat in one, the other being given to Mr. Melland. The
whole of the aisle was filled with natives. The mass
chanted by the congregation was led by one of the
Fathers, who played a harmonium, and then another
Father walked to the chancel rails and preached a short
sermon in the native language. A few unruly black
babies, who accompanied their mothers, yelled at
intervals ; but nothing can upset the eloquence of a
Roman Catholic priest who is in earnest.
At the conclusion of the service came a dramatic sur-
prise, and a great compliment was paid to me, an
Englishwoman, for the Father Superior requested the
congregation to sing the National Anthem, and kneeling,
they sang one verse.
The whole sea of black faces turned towards me, and I
fear the thoughts of these people were more with the
strange white woman present than with the King they
prayed for. Their voices were harsh, perhaps, and the
final notes a little uncertain, but that detracted nothing
from the emotion that verse of the National Anthem
stirred within me.
The verse had been learnt for Empire Day, and on that
Sunday only two white subjects of the vast English
Empire were present to listen — the Magistrate and I —
while around us Rhodesia, with its empty acres, a vast
uninhabited land, craved the presence of the white people
who own it. Here was space unlimited, while the poor
w^orried Motherland over the sea had hardly room and
food for her overcrowded children.
After the service I sat with the Fathers for a little
while on the verandah, at the top of a long flight of
steps, and the natives were allowed to come and look at
me, but all showed the greatest respect and no one was
permitted to come too near or to be seated ; they either
knelt or stood. The Fathers seemed to enjoy both
Chilonga Mission 259
affection and reverence. There was none of the hail-
fellow-well-met air which is so deplorable about many
mission stations and which, without elevating the native,
leads to the deterioration of his respect for the white
man.
Then, feeling tired and faint, I retired to my tent,
which had been erected near, and went to bed until the
next day, still feeling the effects of the fever. At sunset
I heard the beating of many drums, and I was after-
wards told that this drumming had accompanied the
many men from the native village, who had come to dance
before the Fathers to show their appreciation of kind-
ness received.
Being too weak to dine with the Fathers, I remained
in my tent, and was greatly refreshed by the huge mug
of fresh milk brought to me. How strange it is what tiny
details get impressed upon one's memory ! I remember
that mug so well ; it was of blue enamel covered on one
side with pink flowers, and in my dreams the drums all
turned to blue mugs, and the whole world seemed to
join in a war-dance, while the perfume of all flowers, no
matter what colour or kind, was that of incense.
Truly, every thought and every action of these French
Fathers carries not only an odour of sanctity with it,
but emanates from unselfish hearts, for these priests
do not amass wealth by trading with the natives as I
have heard many missionaries of other denominations
accused of doing, but give their lives and their own
possessions to the cause of helping others.
One lady, the wife of a Government official, said to
me :
" When I was ill with smallpox, no one offered to
help me but a French Father, and he came and was
willing to nurse me."
A
CHAPTER XXVIII
Lio]is
BOUT sixteen and a half miles from the Chilonga
jMission is M'pika. It is not such a pretty boma
as Serenje, but then Serenje has many natural
advantages in the beauty of the surrounding scenery,
and so it is hardly fair to compare the two, and as a
boma M'pika is certainly very well arranged. The
buildings have been erected round an open square space
where an armed police-boy patrols at night ; the roads
in the vicinity of the boma are well made and lined
with trees, while as for the garden, of which Mr. Melland
is justly proud, it is perfectly wonderful. The following
is a list of fruit trees and vegetables which are grown in
this garden :■ —
Fruit Trees : peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots,
apples, pears, cherries, tangerines, oranges, limes, lemons,
citrons, figs, mangoes, mulberries, vines, Cape goose-
berries, pineapples, strawberries, raspberries.
Vegetables : peas, haricot beans, broad beans, cab-
bage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, onions, carrots, beet-
root, parsnip, leeks, shallots, tomatoes, salsify, celery,
mint, parsley, cucumber.
Various : coffee, rubber, wheat, oats, lucerne, pota-
toes; and furthermore, a hundred rose trees and a large
number of other ffowers.
I had my first taste of strawberries for that year,
and at night we had broad beans for dinner ! Some
260
Lions
261
people may prefer asparagus out of season at 35s. a
bunch, but let anyone travel 300 miles, very little of
which is cultivated, and then unexpectedly be offered
fresh beans, that man will certainly say grace in his
heart even if his lips are silent.
POST OFFICE, M'PIKA
I wish space permitted me to give an adequate de-
scription of this garden. The arrangements both for
draining and watering w^ere excellent, and I could have
spent many pleasant hours walking through the narrow
pathways and stepping across tiny streams, only to
discover again and again surprises both in fruit, vege-
tables, and other plants.
There are trees in Rhodesia which I have never seen
elsewhere, but, of course, that is not to say that they
are not to be found in other parts of the world. I refer
to the beautiful trees having leaves of a dark green
colour, whose tops are covered with crimson flowers,
262 Via Rhodesia
which give, in the distance, the idea that a giant damask
rose tree has blossomed forth. The trees are not large,
as people in England think of timber, but they are
much bigger than the average Rhodesian tree, and the
effect is very beautiful when one sees many such trees
on a hill-side. On closer inspection the flowers seem to
be more like tiny clusters of leaves than actual flowers.
Many of these trees grow in the vicinity of M'pika.
A guest house is to be built as soon as possible, but I
was given some offices which had just been completed
and were afterwards to be used for Government work,
the Post Office then serving for magisterial purposes as
well.
A prison has been built at the cost of £80, to afford
night accommodation for twenty. No day rooms are
required, as criminals work out of doors in the day-
time, unless ill.
I regret to say the gentle sex out here are often un-
ruly, too. I saw one coloured lady, engaged in pound-
ing corn, who was doing time for being drunk and dis-
orderly and biting a policeman. Female prisoners are
never flogged.
Nowhere in the world, I suppose, is there such a beauti-
ful brickfield. In the tile-sheds the rafters overhead are
covered with ferns, beautiful trees edge the sheds, and
near by a running stream makes music. After moulding,
the bricks are dried in the open and the tiles under the
sheds. Bricks cost only 3d. a 1000 to make, and tiles
lod.
When I was there Mr. Melland lived alone in " The
Residency," and Mr. Waterall, who was introduced to
me the first night as the Postmaster-General, and the
second night as the Chief Commissioner of Public Works,
has a house some distance away, while the offices placed
at my disposal were at the farthest side of the open
Lions
263
space (it can hardly be called a market square, for there
are no markets). After dusk set in, however, I was
given ample escort to cross the square, going to and
from dinner, the police-boy carrying his rifle with
bayonet fixed, another boy holding a lantern, and Mr.
Waterall accompanying me with loaded revolver. These
precautions were quite necessary, on account of the
daring and ferocity of lions, who had only recently been
in the neighbourhood ; in fact, Mr. Waterall said it
was the first time he had walked out at night without
his -470 rifle.
It seems that, about seven weeks previous to my visit,
six lions had visited M'pika and on dark nights would
come right into the boma and howl outside the Magis-
trate's house, and news came from the village that
twenty-eight natives had been eaten by them.
TILES DRYING Al M PIKA
The guards, though doubled, refused to cross the
square, sitting instead on the stoep outside the Magis-
trate's house. Special lights were arranged, and the
Magistrate and his Assistant rested during the day
264 Via Rhodesia
so that they might have a good chance of shooting
the brutes, if possible, at night. They were successful
in killing three, but knew by the spoor that the
other three were still at large and might return at any
time.
Lions usually travel in ones and twos, but these
creatures were specially uncanny beasts, and entirely
exploded the idea that a lion will not touch dead or
carrion food. Just previous to the visits of the lions
several natives had died of pneumonia, and instead of
being buried in deep holes (natives are always buried in
a sitting posture) they were apparently only sprinkled
over with earth, and the natives declared that the lions
smelt out the dead bodies and, digging them up, eat
them !
One hears many strange stories of lions, and the crea-
tures seem almost human in their varying characters.
At one place a lion was killed and his entrails were
buried. At night a lioness was seen to be prowling
about. The next day a goat was tethered to a tree near,
to tempt the lioness back again, should she be in the
neighbourhood. At night the lioness returned, but the
goat slept peacefully, for apparently she was only
interested in finding the body of her husband. The
entrails she seems to have found, for the ground all
round was rooted up, while her spoor told the story
of the object of her visit, for having satisfied herself as
to her lord's death the lioness went away, leaving the
goat untouched, and never returned. Another widowed
lioness took a more tragic view of life, for she, finding
the unburied body of her mate, who had died from
poison, deliberately took a bite out of his flesh and was
found dead by his side ! The Administrator (the late
Mr. R. Codrington) was told of this, but he at first would
not believe it ; however, after visiting the spot and
Lions 265
examining the carcases he was convinced of the truth
of the story.
Some natives worship hons, beheving them to be the
returned spirits of departed chiefs who at death are
turned into these " kings of beasts," and even should a
hon destroy a whole herd of cattle, no attempt is made
to kill it, as to them it means that the chief has come
back to earth.
The unused offices had been given me to sleep in,
but I fear I did not sleep much the two nights I was
there. Somehow I do not care to be in an empty room,
knowing there is another empty one beyond, and the
lion stories were not calculated to calm my nerves.
There was a fine moon, and the whole of the empty
space was cloaked in silver, and I knew that the dark
shadow now and again appearing was only the guard
on patrol, but still I wished that little " Ugly," the httle
black puppie, would wake up, and not sleep in that un-
sympathetic way, rolled up like a ball of black silk, and
I kept a candle alight for company.
I have a horror of the dark, and when I first started
living in a tent I was most extravagant in the way of
candles. The first night after going to bed I burnt
three candles, and on the second two and a half. I
then made a calculation which horrified me, for I found
that, going on at that rate, I should require about
200 candles before I reached Tanganyika. Forced
economy made me brave, but I always kept the matches
within reach.
The night after leaving M'pika I camped about
seventeen miles away, and ordered that extra fires
should be made. The hour after sunset was very beauti-
ful. The veld seemed filled with singing beetles and
crowned with a wonderfully sheltering sky. She was
bending down over the camp with arms of gold^and
2 66 Via Rhodesia
hair of silver, and soon showed many, many eyes of
sparkhng hght.
Little " Ugly " was asleep on my lap. I didn't want
to go to bed, for sleep holds dreams, and to awake in an
enclosure is to be alone. Out there by the camp fire,
who could be lonely with the whole world for company ?
Then I sang to my banjo, and all the men stopped
their chattering and turned to listen. No, I am not a
musician, but there are snatches of songs which take
beauty from the surroundings and make harmony of
one's thoughts.
And then one by one the men stretched themselves
out and went to sleep, only the fires and I were awake,
and it was some time before I crept away to my tent,
the cry of hyenas in my ears and in my heart the fear
that soon other sounds might come, sounds holding even
greater horror than darkness.
Selous has since told me that he loves to be surrounded
by the calls of wild animals. I, too, felt a weird, awful
fascination, but alas ! I must be a coward, for fear was
there too, like a damp cold hand on my forehead.
CHAPTER XXIX
Chanibezi River
SO good were the native crops round Serenje and
M'pika in 1909 that I was assured that if the
natives had no more harvests for two years they
would not starve ; that is to say, if they could be in-
duced to store more ; but immediately the native has
stored what he thinks is sufficient for the needs of his
family, the remainder of the meal is placed on one side
for conversion into beer, so the greater the harvest the
greater the drinking at festivities.
Beyond M'pika there are not any villages calling for
special notice, but the road is good and there are native-
made bridges over the rivers.
About fifty miles from M'pika the Tsetse Fly belt
begins, and stretches for about thirty miles. Nothing is
obtainable here, and with the exception of the ffies
there is practically no sign of animal life. There is no
sleeping sickness anywhere in this district, and there-
fore, though the flies are irritating, their bites are not
harmful to human life, but they mean death to animals.
I kept little " Ugly " in the machilla, and we were
both wrapped up in green mosquito netting, but it is
impossible to keep the flies from biting a dog even
when great care is taken. I bade " Ugly " adieu later
at Blantyre, and have not heard since if he survived
or not, as a bite from a tsetse fly does not always take
effect at once.
267
2 68 Via Rhodesia
The boys all armed themselves with branches of trees
to keep the flies off them, but a fly has to bite very
deeply and repeat the operation on the same spot
before a native notices it has alighted on his back.
Tsetse flies are somewhat like the horse-flies we see in
England, the same long shape and brown colour, only
the wings fold over into a point at the tip, and they have
six legs and a needle in lieu of a tongue.
I don't wish to be blasphemous, but oh, I wish when
Monsieur le bon Dicii was planning Rhodesia more
imagination had been devoted to bird life and less
attention given to insects, for there are too many
annoying specimens, and the natives, who seem to
find a use for most of Nature's gifts, have so far found
no requirement which insects can help to fulfil.
It is really amusing to watch a native when he wants
anything. Supposing it should happen that the goat's
skin which so far has stood duty as portmanteau has
done its service and exists no more, there being no
Harrod's store near, he cuts a piece of bark off a tree
and makes a fine hold-all, the string being of fibre
twisted into rope.
Then, if limbo is scarce, need a native go naked ?
Certainly not. Again the bark of a tree serves, being
converted, by hammering, into cloth, which is sewn
together with grass, the latter doing duty as needle
and cotton in one. When finished, the garment looks
like one of suede leather of a delicate tan hue.
I was very glad when, the tsetse fly belt having been
passed, signs of animal and bird life again appeared.
One morning, when we had paused for a breakfast
interval, a little honey-bird flew to a tree quite near me
and began calling in a very excited manner. One of the
boys whistled in reply, and then the bird flew away
and the boy, quickly running, disappeared. He did not
Chambezi River 269
return for quite an hour, in fact, I was just thinking
of moving on without him, when, with flashing eyes
and a broad grin, he appeared by my side and offered
me a large honeycomb filled with honey ; with gestures
PREPARING TO CROSS CHAMBEZI RIVER, N.E. RHODESIA
and whistling he showed me how he had run and how
finally the little bird had led him to a tree up which
he had climbed, to find the honeycomb in a hole in the
trunk. I hope he left a little for the bird, for there is
a superstition that if a honey-bird leads you to a place
where the bees have deposited their honey and you do
not give her any, then some day she will lead you on
and on until you are lost and can never get back to your
kraal again.
I cannot remember being so glad to see water as
when we reached the Chambezi, for the rivers and
streams, although swiftly flowing and often a true oasis
in a great expanse of uninteresting land, were after all
such little rivers, and to one used to the rivers and lakes
2/0 Via Rhodesia
of England, Africa seemed not too well dowered so far
as water is concerned.
But the Chambezi ! Its size was a great surprise,
and evidently my boys knew something of it and
were certain of my admiration, for, as we drew near,
they tried to tell me many things by word and song,
and there was a general atmosphere of satisfaction
abroad.
The Chambezi is easy of approach from both sides,
there being no swamps near. Like a lake it looked, so
broad was it in comparison with the other samples of
rivers I had seen. There was a good supply of dugout
canoes to take my ulendo across, and my boatman
intimated by pointing up the stream and back again
and then at the canoe that he would take me boating if
I wished, and I decided that I would stay the day there,
and camp near, and explore the beauties of the river
the next morning instead of continuing my journey
immediately. Then I left the river, and when the camp
was being made I walked away to look at the country
round, taking two of my boys with me.
I came upon a most weird-looking plain ; all the grass
had been burnt, and here and there, peeping up from
the harsh, black carpet, were single blades of new young
emerald grass, while on either side and far, far away as the
eye could reach, ant-heaps, like narrow, perpendicular
steeples, rose up from the ground to the height of many
feet. I seemed to have come to a grotesque cemetery
filled with skeleton monuments. The ant-heaps were
grey in colour, and rising from the black, burnt earth,
the sombre appearance can be imagined. Here seemed
the ideal conception of a satirical series of tombs built
up on the burial-ground of wasted thoughts.
The Chambezi is an ideal spot for the sportsman, if
he craves a big and easy bag, for every conceivable
Chambezi River 271
animal comes to the river to drink. The bucks are so
tame, it seems cruel to shoot them.
After leaving the open plain I entered more thickly
wooded country, and here every minute one saw a buck
of some sort or other. I am not very keen on killing
things, but I was tired of tinned meat, and even "cuc-
koos " may pall, so I took aim at a pookoo standing on
rising ground about sixty yards away (I think, though I
confess to not being a very accurate judge). I fired,
but had aimed too low, for the dust flew up ; the obliging
creature, however, stood quite still, and the second shot
spelt death.
I was anxious to secure the skin, for by this time I
had learnt that if one has not remembered to bring
N
CARAVAN CKOSSIXG CF1 AMl'.KZI RIVKK, N.K. KH()I)P.SIA
arsenical soap, ashes spread over the pelt will preserve
a skin, and I told my boys, as best I could, not to skin
the animal there, but to bring it into camp, as I not
only wanted the skin but also wished to photograph
272
Via Rhodesia
the buck before it was skinned. But this time my
pantomimic instructions failed, and only a portion of
my wislies were understood. True, they did not skin
the buck on the spot where it fell, but carried it into
camp and skinned it
there before I had
fetched my camera
from the tent — also
the skin disappeared,
and only the skull
and horns of the ex-
terior fell to my por-
tion. That is how
I knew it was a
pookoo, because by
showing the horns
afterwards I was told
so by a white man — ■
no, not even in a
book of travel will I
claim a knowledge I
do not possess — and
in zoology I am not
a bit learned.
The next morning
I went boating on
the river. It was
Sunday, and I smiled
to myself as I con-
trasted my dugout
with a launch on the Thames, and thought how amusing
it would be to appear suddenly with my boys at Boulter's
Lock ! I should like to have had some good photographs
of the boating-party, but I had to trust to my head-man
to take the photo, and I fear the result is not too good.
CHANDA MAKUllA, CHIEFTAINESS OF CHANDA,
N.E. RHODESIA. MY TENT IN liACKGROUND
Chambezi River 273
At first my cameras were regarded with suspicion by
my boys, but they soon got used to them and would
often run and fetch me one if I paused while walking
or seemed interested in any special object. The natives
in the villages, however, were very difficult to take ;
they either ran away or would not stand still, and by the
time I had bribed acquiescence the light would change,
or another native would arrive and divert their attention
or spoil the group, or they got tired and calml}/ walked
away.
When I returned from the little river trip and alighted
from the dugout, I saw a man regarding me with special
interest. I had not noticed him the previous day. He
seemed greatly excited, and my boys eventually made
me understand that the new arrival had come from far
away, and I was the first white woman he had ever
seen. I was very sorry I had not a better specimen to
show him, but apparently my appearance pleased him,
for he presented me with his bow and an arrow. I had
nothing in my pocket but a bright new thimble, so I
gave him that, and doubtless he will wear it as an ear-
ring for the rest of his days.
The large village of Chanda is about nine and a half
miles from the Chambezi, and here a chieftainess, Chanda
Makuba, reigns. She inherited from her brother, who
was the chief but now is dead, and enjoying the royal
privilege, she is allowed as many husbands as she likes.
She brought two to call on me. So far as one can judge a
native's age, Chanda Makuba appeared tobe about twenty-
eight or thirty. She allowed me to take her photograph ;
the light, however, was fading, and so the result was not
very good. The chieftainess wore a great number of bead
chains and metal bracelets, and seemed very keen on a
big trade being done between my boys and the villagers,
who brought meal and sweet potatoes. It was very
274
Via Rhodesia
amusing to see the natives bargaining with each other.
Fowls, goats, and eggs were very plentiful, and I was
able thoroughly to restock my larder.
After all the trading was over, Chanda Makuba asked
NATIVES ON THEIR WAY TO MY CAMP TO TRADE, N.E. RHODESIA
for a prize, and, wonder of wonders, showed by an imita-
tion display of washing that what she craved most was
a piece of soap !
I seemed to feel I was indeed in the presence of
royalty, and proffered a piece of Sunlight soap, which
was graciously accepted.
Chanda village contains more interesting features than
many native villages, for the women are better looking
than usual. One girl in particular I admired ; she was
over six feet in height, but she would not stand upright
for me to photograph her, being very sensitive about
her (for a native woman) extraordinary height.
In this village I also found some rude paintings on
one of the huts, daubs in red and blue pigments, which
were difficult to photograph.
I evidently found favour in the eyes of the native
Chambezi River
275
queen, for when my ulendo passed through the village
the next morning, Chanda Makuba ran out from her hut
and bade me farewell with many smiles and much clap-
ping of hands.
About five miles from Chanda the Chambezi River is
touched again on the north bank, and six miles further
on the Rukulu River is seen.
1
RUKULU RIVER, A BEAUTIFUL SPOT ABOUT TEN MILES FROM
CHANDA, N.E. RHODESIA
CHAPTER XXX
A Burlesque
I BELIEVE it is Disraeli who is supposed to have
said, "Other people's books bore me; when I
want to read a novel I write one."
It seemed such a long time since I had read a paper
of any kind, and such was my mood that I craved a
peep at "Punch." Not possessing even a back number,
I determined that I would emulate Disraeli, and as I
wanted a funny story I would write one myself. It
may have been that the fever affected my brain, but
anyhow the following was the result : —
"WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED.
" N.E. Rhodesia, June, 1909.
"Dear Mr. Punch,
"In the hope that you will accept this story of
real fiction, and incidentally pay for it, I hasten to say
that I find your valuable and instructive journal widely
read throughout this Colony. No hut is to be found
without a copy lying on the simple grass mat, every
chief swears by or at it, and the children are brought
up to revere its authentic historical facts. Enough of
praise, I pass to my story, and wait (probably till after
death) for the applause.
" I was fatigued, I had walked about forty miles that
day, but w^iat really had tired me was the two books
276
A Burlesque 277
I had read after the morning trek during the luncheon
hour. I refer to two works by mere men, who claim
to know something of African travel, namely, ' Cuckoo
Shooting, or Why Did the Lion Lie ? ' by S s ; and
' How I Gleaned from the Brains of Others,' by Sir
H J .
" No, I am not jealous of their adventures, I envy
them their imagination. Enough of the roaring of others ;
I say I was tired, and retired to my tent (my tent made
of the bark of trees). My dog lay stretched out before
the door (N.B. — If you fail to have a dog's tail bitten
off in babyhood he can stretch much further in after
life ; please pass this discovery on to ' The Field ' or
' Sporting Life '), when all of a sudden (dramatic incidents
never occur after three months' warning) a Tanga-
tanga boy rushed to my tent and cried : ' Donna,
Donna ! ' I understood him perfectly. I had not studied
the seven dialects of the five different languages spoken
in Rhodesia for nothing ; my three days' study at
Broken Hill while waiting for my carriers had not been
wasted.
" I knew at once a lion was there, so I went out. I
did not take my revolver or the rifle lying near. As a
true woman I thought first of pacification. The smooth-
ing of pillows has ever been relegated to my sex, while
the slinging of bolsters has amused the other.
" It seems that some of the boys had built a ' scarum '
inside which some dozen were sleeping, when a lion
arrived and began to take a late supper off the nearest
boy. He was at his fifth course when I was called.
" Of course I knew the great thing to do was to cap-
ture the lion. What did life of white or black matter
by the side of securing a trophy ? I thought for a
moment, I never think long, one gets so overcrowded
with original ideas, and then I decided what to do.
2/8 Via Rhodesia
" If I should liave waited until the lion had eaten the
twelve boys, he naturally would have supped to reple-
tion and be longing for a rest. In childhood I had been
told that the way to catch anything was to put salt
on its tail. The lessons of my mother were not wasted.
I selected a spot at the entrance to the ' scarum.' Oh,
horrible, yes, horrible, were the groans of those poor
natives, and wickedly exultant the noise made by the
smacking of the lips of that lion. Having selected
the spot, I ordered a shallow hole to be made, just
deep enough to rest in, and had the hole lined with
cotton-wool and sprinkled with Cerebos salt. I knew
the lion would require rest, and lying there the salt
must touch his tail. I had studied the game traps of
the natives, and decided to profit by the knowledge thus
acquired.
" From the branch of a tree that spread out above
that resting-place I suspended by a blue ribbon a small
knife from my manicure set, and so careful were my
calculations that I knew that the moment the king of
beasts should lie down, the wind would spring up and
wave the branch, and the result would be that the
knife, descending, would pierce that cruel heart.
" All went well until the lion was just starting on the
twelfth native, and then the moon disappeared behind
a bank of clouds (there were no stars, there never are
in Africa, the Southern Cross is the name of a herb).
What was to be done ? No, no, I could not be robbed
of my glimpse of the final scene of that drama. I was in
despair. I would have torn out my hair, but I had
left it in my tent. And then Nature, although I was
conspiring to rob her of one of her most reliable heroes
of romance, came to my aid. Suddenly the veld became
brilliantly illuminated, and I beheld a truly beautiful
sight. On every bush and tree-top there perched a
A Burlesque 279
'Night-bird,' a bird famous for its phosphorous feathers.
The blackness of the sky served but to throw into greater
radiance the hght emanating from these flocks of birds.
Thousands of electric globes could not have given the
same illumination ; it was superb, and by this light I
saw the mighty monarch of the forest lick his lips for
the last time and advance towards his doom. It thrills
me still. I must have a fresh paragraph.
" It was with difliculty I could restrain my little black
puppy (he had unstretched by now) from bounding
forth, brave little beast ! To this day I do not know if
'■^Ivt!*.
KLIPSPRINGER
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
it was the cotton-wool or the lion he craved — suffice it
to say, my calculations had been rightly made. Balanced
to a nicety, so to speak, the lion lay down on the couch
prepared for him, the breeze whistled through the mid-
2 8o Via Rhodesia
night air, the bkie ribbon quivered, the knife descended,
tlie heart, sighing with repletion, was silenced for ever !
"Dear Mr. Punch, forgive me if I now conclude;
modesty forbids that I should dwell further upon this,
the proudest moment of my life.
" Yours truthfully,
" Charlotte Mansfield."
" P.S. — A woman's postscript has been said to con-
tain usually more truths of vital importance than her
letter. I am no judge. I only feel I must tell you what
happened the next day.
"The lion had been disembowelled and the bones of
the dead natives used like boot-trees, as it were, to
keep the skeleton in position and the skin properly
stretched. The news of my courage spread like a veld
fire, and when in the morning I started forth to continue
my journey, all the natives from surrounding villages
came to meet me. They turned somersaults as a mark
of respect.
" I forget what I wore, probably a creation in chiffon,
but this I distinctly remember, I wore no boots. In
my excitement the previous night I had forgotten to
obey the order issued by the retiring, modest representa-
tive of the Board of Trade, that boots must never be
left on the floor of the tent. I had left mine on the
ground sheet (made of cork, seasoned with tar four and
a half inches thick), with the result that during the night
the ants took possession of those boots, after eating
through the four and a half-inch ground sheet. Of
course everyone knows that on the veld you must have
a new ground sheet every night, and a boy to carry
each sheet, and as, of course, you secure a trophy every
day, the boy whose sheet is used carries the new trophy.
This by the way.
A Burlesaue
281
" To revert to those ants. The loss of the boots was
bad enough, but that was not the worst trial. Those
boots must have led the ants to my machilla, for they
secured that also, which was most unfortunate, as I had
WATER15UCK
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
determined to take my machilla and team of boys to
London, for use both when shopping in Bond Street and
for light theatre work. Of course, owing to the exigencies
of the climate and the regulations of the County Council,
the quarter-yard of limbo which now represents the
entire uniform of the machilla boys might have had
to be changed to half a yard of astrakhan apiece, but
the cost would have been trifling in comparison with
the sensation. However, my dream was doomed to
die, killed by ants.
" This being so, I found my white silk hose but scanty
282 Via Rhodesia
protection against the hard ground, and was forced to
rest at the next village, some fifteen miles distant.
" Ah, but then I thanked those ants, for in that village
I saw a sight that brought tears of emotion to my eyes,
and I hastily sent for my Union Jack to wipe them wath.
" What do you think those villagers were engaged in
doing ? (those of course who could be spared from coming
to greet me). Oh, it makes one feel proud of our Colonies
to think of it.
"Out of a huge baobab tree, 700 feet long (I am not
certain if it was feet or yards, I never could understand
longitude, and find latitude more interesting), they were
making a Dreadnought to present to their beloved King
Edward, with the compliments of the Rhodesian natives.
"'Oh, Cream of Tartar,' I exclaimed, 'you have my
sympathy ; but w^iy, oh, why, a baobab ? ' It is well
known that the fibre of this tree is so pulpy that a well-
aimed needle can pass through a trunk of 150 feet
diameter. ' Whv not, when you have harder wood, use
it ?'
" The chief, a fine old man of ninety summers and
seventeen winters, I mean wives, looked at me with
pity. He spoke perfect English, having lately cultivated
English instead of sweet potatoes, and got the vegetable
into his blood, as it were. ' Madam,' said he, ' this
is ' Oh ! but I must have a fresh paragraph, the
dignity of the chief demands it.
" ' Madam, this is a labour of love, and therefore we,
loving labour, have determined to set ourselves no easy
task. At dawn, some six suns back, five hundred of the
finest men of our blackest blood set forth to follow the
honey-bird. She will lead them to hives, bee-hives ;
they will return anon, laden with honeycombs, and
with these honeycombs, mark you, shall we line our
Dreadnought. The wax will make firm the wood, the
A Burlesque 283
cells serve to hold the ammunition for the shot-guns
which every well-directed man-of-war carries.'
" I had naught to say against the common sense of the
chief's argument ; I bowed my head in acknowledg-
ment of the superior reasoning of the masculine mind,
and with admiration for the patriotism of this far-away
village I made my adieu and passed on, rested and re-
freshed, thinking to myself, England, God Bless Her, is
safe so long as her Colonies can thus act.
" Dear Mr. Punch, although I know it is not usual to
sign a postscript, and being a novelist I naturally object
to seeing my name in print, yet I cannot refrain from
again signing myself
" Yours truthfully,
" Charlotte Mansfield.
"June Jth, 1909,
" ?>^7a miles north of rail-head,
" N.E. Rhodesia."
CHAPTER XXXI
A Court Case
SUNDAY is a holiday in Rhodesia, a real holiday
in N.E. Rhodesia, for there it is a sports day,
a no-shave day, and thus it shines forth (or should
I say bristles ?) from the rest of the week. I was ex-
pected to arrive on a Sunday, that is, according to the
native reports of my movements and the date of my
leaving M'pika, but no one had guessed how long I
should linger by the shores of the glorious Chambezi,
and so three white men shaved at Kasama on Sunday,
and I feel I can never sufficiently apologise for having
inadvertently caused them to do so.
The Kasama boma is situated on the top of a hill, so
steep that steps have been cut in the ground leading
up to it, the native huts being grouped at the foot.
As I approached, in addition to the clapping and shout-
ing of the men, to which I had now grown accustomed,
the women uttered a new and horrible greeting by
pinching their cheeks and shrieking through their teeth,
while more than the usual number of dogs started bark-
ing in chorus. Some of the children looked particularly
horrid, a portion of their faces having been whitened
with chalk or vivid white paint of some sort, while their
heads were daubed with a scarlet pigment. They ap-
peared to be the offspring of an ugly 5th of November
" riuy." It seems that they were so got up to avert
the evil eye. I don't know if it was my eyes they were
afraid of.
284
A Court Case
285
As I advanced up the hill I quite expected to see a
fortified castle at the top, and wished that the Baroness
Orczy could have been by my side, adequately to de-
scribe the scene.
I don't know if it was the Postmaster-General or the
Civil Commissioner or the Inspector of His Majesty's
Prisons who came to greet me this time, but anyhow a nice
white man was waiting at the top of the steps, and in-
formed me that Mr. Averay Jones, the Assistant Magis-
trate, was engaged with a case in Court, but hoped in
the meantime I would take possession of his house.
Many and varied are the cases heard in connection
with the administration of justice in Rhodesia. I heard,
for instance, of a native who went to the Native Com-
missioner and said a certain chief had murdered his wife
KASAMA HOMA, N.E. RHODESIA
and his brother, and both he (the complainant) and his
son could bear witness to the fact. This was a serious
matter, and at once the Native Commissioner, who was
at the same time Acting Magistrate, despatched some
2 86
Via Rhodesia
police-boys to arrest the chief. But he was nowhere
to be found. Six months passed away, and one day
who should walk into the Native Commissioner's ofhce
but the missing chief, who merely said he had been away
MR. AVERAY JONES, ACTING MAGISTRATE AT KASAMA, WITH HIS
HUNTING TROPHIES, OUTSIDE POST OFFICE
and had returned. He denied all knowledge of the
murder, and demanded that the witnesses should be
sent for, but when the messenger arrived to request the
father and the son to come and give evidence, they were
nowhere to be found, and to this day they have not
been heard of. The only thing to do was to discharge
the chief, but the Native Commissioner believes that
he, being tired of staying away, had returned, killed the
witnesses, and then called at the boma.
It is usually very difficult in Rhodesia to know when
one must sa}^ Magistrate, Acting Magistrate, Assistant
Magistrate, or Native Commissioner. I asked two
" Assistant " Magistrates who they were assisting, and
it appears that these men really do magistrate's work,
A Court Case 287
but having the lesser title receive a smaller salary
accordingly.
One plea I must make on behalf of these lonely
ofhcials. Police-boys are allowed extra rations if married;
could not the same consideration be extended with
advantage to their masters ?
Rhodesian hospitality is colossal, it really says and
means, "Take the house, though there is but one, and
all that therein is, and let us sleep out on the veld ! "
The Magistrate's house at Kasama placed at my
disposal was unique, on account of its having slate
floors, the slate coming from a local quarry. One room
also had a very pretty dado of bark, a quaint and
charming idea.
There were no blinds in the room I was to sleep in,
and in which my tent furniture had been placed, so I
pinned a mat over one window and left the other bare.
How could one be conventional with those hills in the
distance, and a declining moon cutting paths of silver
through banks of dark cloud, and a little distance from
the house a fire, round which my boys were seated ?
Such a picture should not be shut out.
At Serenje and M'pika a good store is badly needed,
but at Kasama there is a store, and if it has not a large
stock of goods there is certainl}^ a very large man in
charge, quite the tallest man I have ever seen, six feet
seven in height, or thereabouts.
The soil here is ver}^ sandy, and flowers are somewhat
difficult to cultivate, but the view around compensates
somewhat for the lack of vegetation at the boma.
A prison was in course of erection, and has probably
been finished long ere now. This prison is the proud
possessor of two cells for Europeans. I climbed over
the debris of bricks, and entered, so as to be the first
prisoner.
2SS Via Rhodesia
Near the boma I saw a chained gang of natives
working on the road. One man looked a particularly
villainous specimen of humanity. He was doing five
years for murder.
I saw several white men at Kasama (in the wilds
even five seem a crowd !). One man told me he had
spent three sad hours preparing for my visit by trying
to sew buttons on to a white shirt, and another apolo-
gised for wearing khaki fastened with gold safety-pins.
SAWING MAHOGANY
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
The poor fellow had come to the end of needle and
thread, and he had no buttons.
I heard that another white man had recently visited
the boma, a renowned elephant-hunter from the Congo,
but he had fled at my approach, not having spoken to
a white woman for several years and being consequently
shy. Next morning I saw near the Post Office a man I
had not seen the previous day, so I went up to him and
asked :
A Court Case 289
" Are you the man who doesn't want to know me ? "
" I haven't a collar," he said apologetically.
" And I am longing for a clean pocket-handkerchief,"
I replied, " so shake hands." He did, and came to
lunch. I stayed only one night at Kasama, and what a
cheery evening it was ! After dinner another banjo
was produced, so we sang songs, and I told fortunes and
the others related stories of adventures. Then I was
handed a lamp, the men said good night, and I was left
alone in the house — for the Magistrate, kind soul, had
literally given me the whole house, and had had his
stretcher-bed taken to the Post Office.
I should like to have written down all the stories I
heard, but in the wilds sleep seems more to be desired
than memoirs, and so I had to leave a great deal to
memory, and alas ! have forgotten much. One little
story, however, I do call to mind. It was about a
little rabbit and was entitled, " Kalulu, the sagacious
Rabbit."
" Once upon a time Rhodesian rabbits had long tails,
but they used to invent so many yarns to decoy the
other four-legged creatures to their doom, and in fact
spent so much of their time inventing practical jokes,
that one day Monsieur le hon Dieu had an indaba with
the chief offenders, and said :
" ' Now, I admit, you are very clever little animals,
but I really cannot have you going on all the time like
this ; for the future you will have no tails, and perhaps
this will aid you in curtailing your narratives.'
"And so ever since Kalulus have had only wee
stumps instead of tails. Yet still they are very cute
little creatures, and to call a native a Kalulu is not an
insult.
" Now, one day a Kalulu met an Elephant.
" ' How do you do ? ' asked the Kalulu.
290 Via Rhodesia
"'I always do well,' replied the Elephant, giving his
trunk a conceited little tilt upwards.
' I suppose you think you are very strong,' observed
the Kalulu.
" * Think ? I know ! ' replied the Elephant.
" ' Did you say " No ? " ' asked Kalulu teasingly.
" The Elephant did not deign to reply, but instead
twisted his trunk round a tree and broke it off and
tossed it to one side.
Not bad,' remarked Kalulu ; ' but trees are rotten
after the rains.'
" ' What ? '
" Mr. Elephant gave a rather angry snort.
" ' Emphatic, but not pretty. Besides, noise is not
argument. Now, Mr. Elephant, I will bet you half a
ton of wild spinach to a monkey nut, that if I chose
you could not drag me along, not even twenty yards,
nay ten.'
" ' Impudent young Kalulu, you deserve to be prodded
with ivory,' said Mr. Elephant.
" ' No, no, draw me along the path instead,' urged
Kalulu.
" ' As you wish,' replied Mr. Elephant, with conde-
scension.'
" ' My only condition is,' said Kalulu, ' that you shall
lie down on the path for five minutes, facing the east,
while I cut a piece of narrow bark, so that I can harness
myself to your tail.'
" ' Delighted,' observed Mr. Elephant pompously, and
down on the pathway he lay.
" Now Master Kalulu never by any chance did any
work himself when there were other folks to do it, so
he just skipped to where he knew^ a native had left
a heap of narrow strips ready to make into rope, and
collected the strongest rope he could find.
A Court Case 291
It had happened that earher in the day Master Kalulu
had had a conversation with A. Rhino, Esquire, on pre-
cisely the same hnes as the one with Mr. Elephant, and
had asked him to wait a Httle while, facinjj; west, while
AWEMBA GIRL, OVER SIX FKKl HKIH
She would not stand upright, for she thought I would laugh at her length
he looked for string ; so now that he had made both
appointments he proceeded to tie one end of the string
to the tail of Mr. Elephant and the other to the tail of
A. Rhino, Esq. You see all this happened in the densest
forest in Rhodesia, so that on account of the brushwood
these two gentlemen had not previously observed each
other, and as one faced east and the other west neither
knew what was really happening.
" Master Kalulu ran from one to the other, and stand-
ing on tiptoe whispered in turn to each, ' Count fourteen
and then rise and pull.'
" And then what a tug of war it was ! Surprise turned
to indignation, and both Mr. Elephant and A. Rhino,
Esq., pulled for all they were worth, thinking that
292 Via Rhodesia
indeed Master Kaliilu was endowed with superhuman
strength. And then, wdth a bang hke the report of a
pistol, the string broke, and the two samples of piece
de resistance were each thrown right into where the
jungle grew thicker on either side, so they parted with-
out even seeing each other, and Master Kalulu ran
quickly to each to receive congratulations on his great
strength."
The Kasama giant had two dogs, and they were named
Brandy and Soda. Brandy was celebrated for his dis-
like of natives, and also his disinclination to be on
friendly terms with anyone. Now the Kasama giant
was going away from Kasama for a few days, and I
having expressed a liking for all dogs, mongrels or
otherwise. Brandy was given to me.
I left in the afternoon, and Brandy, rechristened Jim,
came with me. I really could not allow a follower of
mine to be branded with so intoxicating a name, and
so, out of consideration for my reputation, and safety,
should I perchance meet Carrie Nation on the w^arpath,
I once and for all time consigned the obnoxious title to
oblivion.
Jim, poor beast, had never been on a lead before, and
didn't like it, nor did the native who led, for either the
dog stood still or moved eagerly towards the boy's
ankles, in such a manner that it seemed we should make
little progress. The sun was very hot, and I was in-
clined to walk, so up into the machilla I lifted Jim,
much to the astonishment of the boys, who thought he
would be certain to bite me. But he lay panting and
foaming in my arms, a heavy lump, but seemingly glad
to be rid of the boys.
" Ugly " was furiously jealous, and not wishing to
be fought over I directed one of the boys to lift the
A Court Case
29,
bristling, barking little black imp out of the machilla
and carry him. Then came a pleasant hour, for Jim
was covered with livestock, and I was kept busy seeing
that the flea point-to-point races over Jim's brown,
short-haired body didn't terminate in a goal being found
on me.
Needless to sa}^ the day terminated in a good tubbing
all round, I holding Jim's jaws, while one of the boys
scrubbed.
Natives have no idea how to take care of animals.
My boys had to be taught not to lift up " Ugly " by one
AWEMBA DANCE, CHIPAIU VILLAGE, N.E. RHODESIA
(By kind permission of Mr. E. Averay Jones)
leg when crossing a swamp. They had a quaint way of
pronouncing the name " Ugly," making it a word of three
syllables. I didn't sleep much that night, for both Jim
and " Ugly " slept inside my tent, and several times I
294 Via Rhodesia
had to dash cnit into the open after Jim, who seemed
bent on a tour of inspection.
I knew the dogs would be an attraction to, rather
than a protection from, wild beasts, but they were
company, and it is better to share a real danger than
be alone with imaginary horrors.
North of Kasama the timber gets bigger, while many
palms and ferns growing round rivers and streams add
picturesqueness to the scene. Pale mauve foxgloves
grow in wild profusion, while butterflies of every con-
ceivable colour play touch-about in the sunshine.
One morning I found a half-burned log on a cold
camp-fire. A mark on it attracted my attention, and,
picking it up, I found what happened to be an engraving
of a butterfly in sepia colour on the plain wood. I
stripped off more of the bark, and discovered most won-
derful and beautiful designs in the finest poker work I
have ever seen. Butterflies with wide-spreading wings
full of fine lines were represented. The lines were
perfect.
I showed it to my capitao (head-boy), but he laughed
as though it was nothing unusual, said " schelms," and
pointed to an ant-heap. But how the ants could have
eaten those wonderful and perfect patterns was a
mystery to me. I kept the log for two days, and then
one of the boys lost or burnt it, probably thinking me
mad for adding to his load that which in his eyes was a
valueless possession.
At night, when camped near a village, I often used to
listen to the signalling by drums from one village to
another, the echoes coming from many miles away
through the clear night air. Sometimes too the natives
dance and sing, but they will not give their war-dances,
or perform, before strangers unless an ox is roasted for
them and unlimited beer paid for.
A Court Case 295
The meal eaten by the natives in N.W. Rhodesia is
called Mpeira, and in N.E. Rhodesia, Msaaka. They
also grow Kasasa or Karondwe, a very good arrow-
root, which they, however, consider only good enough
■y.'% .
iH. .
NATIVE HKlDi.E
to eat during a famine. Their opinion of the strength of
their regular meal may be thus estimated. That it
possesses wonderful sustaining value, there is no doubt.
It is cooked in a pot, with water, and stirred with a
stick. The boys, sitting round, eat it when boiling hot,
sometimes helped from a lump at the end of a stick, at
other times putting their hands into the steaming mass,
but never getting their fingers burnt. Their skin must
be very thick, for a boy will often take a red-hot stick
out of the centre of one fire to light another, carrying it
there in his naked hand.
The natives are also very fond of sweet potatoes,
which they call Kortdola.
296 Via Rhodesia
Quite the widest bridge yet seen (north of the Kafue)
is the one over the Musombishi River, between Pesondwa
and Uningi. It is made of logs tied together with bark,
and measures 734 feet across. The river is not really
very wide, but the ground is very swampy and the
bridge forms a perfectly dry if uneven pathway across
the whole.
CHAPTER XXXII
Tanganyika
THERE was great excitement in the camp as we
neared Abercorn, the most northerly point of the
B.S.A. Company's domain, and only a few miles
from Lake Tanganyika, for some of my carriers came
from a kraal only a day's journey away, and they had
walked over a thousand miles, having gone all the way
down to fetch me up. Their wives and children came
to meet them, and about three nights before we reached
Abercorn there were at least thirty women and children
in the camp. It was bitterly cold, and none of them
had any blankets or more than a wisp of clothing, but
all seemed happy, healthy, and very merry.
About five miles from Abercorn there is a thatched
shooting-box known as '' The Pans," where one can
picnic or stay the night if taking a shooting trip out
from Abercorn. I had breakfast near, and my boys
made me a shelter of leaves to keep off the cold wind,
while a huge fire blazed at my feet. It may sound in-
credible that the sun is not always giving forth a torrid
heat in Africa, but it is nevertheless true, and I advise
all coming to Africa to bring their warm clothing with
them. Every night when the sun set I used to put
on a fur-lined ulster to dine in, and I always slept in
blankets with the same fur ulster over me.
At sunset, too, in the bomas and towns of Rhodesia
you may observe men anxiously looking at the sky.
297
298 Via Rhodesia
" Sundown ? " asks a man. " I tliink so," another
replies, and that means quinine for those who take it,
or an excuse for a whisky and soda or a vermouth for
many who do or don't — thus a sundowner is the recog-
nised title for an offer of Uquid refreshment — and writing
of drink reminds me of the following story I heard of
a Scotsman and a shoot.
" ' Yes, it happened in Abercorn long ago in the early
days, when men worked hard and drank hard and a
flood of whisky washed the land. I got in at the end
of the tide just in time to get my feet wet and hear
some funny stories.'
"It was a cheery little man speaking, and another
man chipped in with, ' Well, as we are short of drink at
present, let's have one of the stories — may take our
minds off the lack of it for a bit.'
" So the first speaker continued :
" ' There had been a big shoot on that day, everyone
within forty miles came in, and we blotted out quite a
lot of game ; but that Jimmy McAlister, usually our
crack shot, had no luck, and every time he missed, well,
he cursed pretty considerably and helped himself to the
wine of his country — long live Scotland ! Well, by the
time we returned to our huts and the shelters the boys
had put up, Jimmy was pretty full.
"'Now, Jimmy had been living in the place quite a
time and had a large hut and poultry, and when Jimmy
went home sad and sorry and full of whisky he was
determined to shoot something, so off he went out of
sight and got one of his boys to drive the poultry his
way. He felt he must get his hand in again on some-
thing. Thirty-two fowls, and he shot them all ! Then
Jimmy felt better, had some more whisky, and invited
us all to dinner.
"'Certainly, Jimmy's hut was unusually large, but it
/_
•o —
< >
^ c
CO <**?%. ■
Tanganyika 301
was a tight lit to get us all in. However, we crowded
close and waited for dinner. We waited quite a consider-
able time, and then Jimmy called the cook and asked
him why the blankety blank "skoff" wasn't ready.
" ' " Ikona skoff," (no food) the cook rephed.
" ' Then Jimmy got angry. There we were, all waiting,
and had been waiting for over an hour. " Where the
blankety blank are the thirty-two fowls I shot?" he
roared.
" ' The cook-boy went out and presently returned
with a handful of feathers. Jimmy had shot those
thirty-two fowls with explosive bullets ! ' "
Abercorn was both a surprise and a pleasant revela-
tion to me, for with regard to the boma buildings and
NATIVE GROUP
the grandness of the surrounding scenery it far excels
any other part of N.E. Rhodesia. There is no tsetse fl}^
at Abercorn, and the herds of cattle are very good.
Abercorn is the head-quarters station of the Tanganyika
302 Via Rhodesia
district, and tlu' buildings include the Magistrate's
residence — which is a charming house, surrounded by a
large garden, with a fine view of Lake Tanganyika in the
far distance — Government Offices, Post Office and Post-
master's house, Victoria Memorial Hall, doctor's house
and Government dispensary, two stores, and a gaol.
Yet with all these advantages only about eight white
people live in the boma, three of whom are women —
Mrs. Hugh Marshall, wife of the Magistrate, and truly
the daintiest little lady I met in Rhodesia — and two
others, the wife of the Post and Telegraph Master and
the wife of a young Native Commissioner, a man of
much literary talent. Unfortunately both he and his
wife were out on ulendo, and therefore I did not see
them, but I cannot speak too highly of the kindness
shown me by the other two ladies.
I stayed several days with Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Marshall,
and what a pleasure it was, after five weeks spent on a
hard camp bed, to seek slumber again with the comfort
and cleanliness of fine linen !
Mrs. Hugh Marshall is certainly an example to be
cited in evidence of how happy and up-to-date a woman
can be in the wilds and 540 miles from a railway station.
The house is made beautiful by her wood-carving, and
everywhere one finds evidences of a cultured and active
mind ; it was good to see all the dainty toilet arrange-
ments and the table appointments dear to the heart of
woman.
Abercorn was so named by Sir Harry Johnston, and
was opened as a station in 1893. The Magistrate, Mr.
Hugh Marshall, is called by the natives M'Tambalika,
which means, the hunter. He is certainly a wonderful
shot, shooting with left or right hand equally well.
I saw an example of his revolver shooting, which was
marvellous, with an old skin of a leopard as a target.
Tanganyika
,o^.
As soon as I arrived I was implored not to risk sick-
ness and ultimate death by passing over the boundary
into the district infested with the deadly palpalous fly,
a bite from which means developing sleeping sickness
AUTHOR IN THE SLEEPING-SICKNESS CAMP NEAR LAKE TANGANYIKA
(By kind permission of Mrs. Usher)
any time within three years, the risk being equal for
white and native alike. I had heard very little before
of sleeping sickness and its devastations, in fact people
only just seem to be waking up to the seriousness of this
deadly scourge, and H.M. King Albert of Belgium has
now set a fine example by giving £40,000 in aid of re-
search in connection with this, one of the greatest evils
which may befall mankind.
Many people are under the impression that only
natives are attacked. This is quite an erroneous idea,
304 Via Rhodesia
although statistics of white mortahty on either German
or Congo territory have not been pubhshed.
On the Rhodesian side of the Lake, thanks to the
money spent and great trouble taken by the B.S.A. Com-
pany, there had not been at the time I was there a
fresh case of sleeping sickness among either whites or
blacks for eight months — all the natives had been re-
moved from the shores of the lake, and the fishermen
had been compensated for the confiscation of their boats,
while natives found to be suffering from symptoms were
placed under medical supervision in a special camp, and
well cared for.
This camp I one day visited, for, unlike many Euro-
pean diseases, sleeping sickness is not infectious, and
only the deadly fly can give it. No one is allowed to
approach within several miles of the fly district, and
all paths leading thereto are guarded by native police-
boys.
That patients suffering from sleeping sickness sleep
all the time and die a peaceful, painless death is quite a
mistaken idea. One of the first symptoms is swollen
glands, and a man or woman may live for two years
and be apparently healthy before another development
takes place, which often is madness. I saw one man who
looked the picture of robust health. He was busy making
mats of strips of bark, and seemed quite happy and un-
concerned. He had been in the camp about a year. I
also saw a baby who had been born in the camp, both
of whose parents were victims of sleeping sickness. The
mother was nursing the child and looked very emaciated.
And while I was there a woman carrying an earthenware
native-made jar fell down in a fit, broke the jar and cut
her face, and all the other patients in the camp shrieked
with derisive laughter. To them it seemed a fine joke,
but the laughter made me feel sick. I gave them all
Tanganyika 305
some beads to play with or make decorations of, and
then, after taking some photographs, we left.
No one is allowed to take carriers from Rhodesia
across the border to German territory, and, if I had in-
sisted on going on, the only arrangements I could have
made would have been to have my goods and chattels
dumped down near the border, carriers from the other
territory coming to fetch them. But as my going on
seemed likely to help no one and risk the lives of many,
it was not worth while.
Had I been clever enough to investigate the fly area
from a scientific point of view, and capable of helping
medically, it would have been another matter, but to
risk crossing such a danger zone for sheer travel and
adventure would have been selfish and foolhardy. Be-
sides, I had accomplished the greater part of that which
I set out to do, viz., study Rhodesia, and for the glory
of the rest — well. Professor Beattie and his colleague
have now accomplished this, and I offer them my hearty
congratulations.
Soon, let us hope, the fatal disease will be wiped out
and a preventative found rather than a cure.
When Mary Hall travelled from Chinde to Cairo there
were several steamers on Lake Tanganyika, British, Ger-
man, and Belgian, as well as African Lakes Company
steamers ; all these had been removed before I got there,
with the exception of a German gunboat, and I was
informed that that month she was doing her last trip.
One day we picnicked seven miles from Abercorn, where
a splendid view of the lake was obtainable, and never
shall I forget the magnificence of that vast expanse of
silver water ; even from the distance — about fourteen
miles — the ripple of the waves was discernible, and w^hen
looked at through slightly smoked glasses, so that the
sunshine lost a little of its brightness, the picture
3o6 Via Rhodesia
revealed was beyond description. I see it now when I
close my eyes, I shall always see it — the hills on either
side clothed in emerald verdure, the faint line of the
Congo border in the far distance, an island dividing the
lake so that it appeared as two seas instead of one, the
sky an endless vista of blue, blue seeming to palpitate
with the rays of the glorious golden sun. A wonderful
stillness brooded over the whole, a waiting one knew not
what for, a silence as though a spell was cast over the
earth, which held locked in its outstretched arms of
shore the secrets of this beautiful lake.
There is only one outlet to the lake, and that opens
only once in about ten to fifteen years, when the water
flows towards the Congo, but so deep is this wonderful
inland sea that should it run out until it reached sea-
level (it is now about 2800 feet above) there would
still be sufficient water left in it to float any ocean steamer
in the world. One peculiarity of Lake Tanganyika is
that in it are found fish, both shell and otherwise, which
are found nowhere else in the world except in salt-
water seas, seeming to indicate that at one time, cen-
turies ago, it must have been connected with the ocean.
From Lake Tanganyika we returned after sunset, and
the dark, which always succeeds sunset so quickly,
brought with it the stars, but no moon, so our pathway
was illuminated by the boys running by the side of
machilla or bicycle carrying bunches of flaming grass ;
the grass burns quickly and had often to be renewed,
but the effect was picturesque in the extreme, and it
relieved one from the anxiety which otherwise would
have been caused by the rustling under dark branches,
or the sounds of prowling animals, which now and
again reached our ears through the intervals of the
boys' voices as they shouted or sang.
A small but quite pretty lake is the Chila, only a few
Tanganyika 307
minutes' walk from Abercorn boma. It is the favourite
drinking-place of lions, and twice, recently, Mrs. Marshall
has encountered these so-called monarchs ; but they
are in reality terrible cowards, and on both occasions
ran away without even a snarl. Of course a lion sings
a different song if wounded, or if accompanied by a
lioness with young cubs.
The years 1908 and 1909 will always be remembered
amongst women as the thin age, the period of the Directoire
and Empire gowns, and I must relate an amusing incident
connected therewith. Fashion papers reach even Lake
Tanganyika, and the limited feminine world up there is
kept acquainted with what the numerous women on the
other side of the equator are doing. Mrs. Marshall asked
if I had in my wardrobe such a costume as a Directoire
gown ; I owned to having a white satin one. " Oh,"
she said, " don't show it to me ; we will have a dinner-
party, and please wear it." The next day a man who
also was staying with the Marshalls (in fact, being nursed
by kind-hearted Mrs. Marshall, for he had had an attack
of tick fever and had come a great number of miles from
his station in order to be taken care of for a while) said
to me :
" Miss Mansfield, we like the frocks you are wearing,
but have you such a thing as a Directoire gown ? If so,
do put it on one night."
Well, we had the party. Mr. and Mrs. Usher (the Post-
master and his wife) and the man from the stores, whose
name I have forgotten, came to dine, and I wore the
gown. I had to walk round and round like a manikin
and have the gown admired. The dinner-table was
beautifully decorated with flowers, a bouquet of violets
and a sweet little poem written by my kind hostess
were placed on my plate, and we had quite a festive
gathering.
3o8
Via Rhodesia
I hope M'Tambalika will not be very angry with me
if I relate that, owing to the inducement offered by my
banjo accompaniment, he sang forty-nine verses of
Clementine, and the genial tick-fever official, who had
come from afar, was
very distressed when
I said that Rhodesia
had not treated me
^^ fairly — not a single
lion had I met at
close quarters, and I
felt that the money
I had expended on
the trip should be
returned.
"This shall be
seen to at once," he
cried, and calling his
servant he said a
few words to him in
the native language.
The man bowed and
departed.
" That man dare
not return without
a lion, his life is
forfeit if he does,"
observed the genial
official.
We discussed other subjects for a time and other
songs were sung, then— ugh ! just outside the window
the most awful roaring and growling of an angry lion
was heard. In the distance such sounds are bad enough
— but this was so near, too near to be pleasant^ — dogs
began barking, and soon afar off in the village tin cans
THE NEW CARRIERS
Tanganyika 309
and drums were beaten — for it seemed that a ferocious
lion was in our midst.
True, it was only the servant performing with a jug,
but he was a past master in the art of imitation, and
would have earned a good salary in any music-hall.
T
CHAPTER XXXIII
Siicccss/itl Cattle-breeding
HE natives at Abercorn are of the A'Mambwe,
and from this tribe my new ulenda was made
up, as I had decided not to go forward, but to
return along the Stevenson Road to the coast.
I sold the greater part of my baggage, and therefore
was able to travel with a far smaller number of boys ;
in fact, instead of forty-nine my ulendo now numbered
twenty-six. It was with a feeling of regret I said good-
bye to my old ulendo, for the boys really had been
bricks !
I had travelled only a few miles after bidding my
friends at Abercorn farewell, when a boy on a bicycle
caught me up. He had been sent by Mrs. Marshall with
eggs and strawberries and a kind letter. Really in
Rhodesia one makes friends in a few hours and hopes
the friendship will last a lifetime — there is so much
sincerity and hearty goodwill amongst settlers in this
English Colony.
The first night out I spent at a farm twenty-seven
miles south-east of Abercorn. This farm is the one I re-
ferred to in my first chapter. It was started seven years
ago by a man who possessed only £50. He had been in
Africa during the war, and therefore knew something
of the climatic conditions. He tried farming in Canada,
but soon gave that up. He is quite satisfied with the
results of his work in Rhodesia, and well he might be,
Successful Cattle-breeding
OM
for in those few years his cattle have increased from
the 100 he leased from the Government to 750 ; he has
built a nice house, been once to England and taken
(_ Al 1 l,K-HI,kl> IN N.E. RHODESIA, WITH NATIVE MUSICIAN
back a bride, and now has one of the most comfortable
farms I have ever stayed at or seen.
The Saisi River flows past the farm, so there is no
lack of water, and the cattle have never suffered from
disease of any kind. They are kept in kraals at night,
and they roam over the veld during the day, I got up
at five o'clock to see them as they came out of the kraals,
and a fine lot of beasts they were.
Certainly, if I were going in for cattle-farming, N.E.
Rhodesia would be my goal, and the vicinity of Abercorn
my selection. One has not a railway near, it is true,
but there is a good market for cattle on both German
3 1 4 Via Rhodesia
and Englisli territory, and I have heard quite recently
that some of these fine herds are now to be sold, and
that the money realised is to be invested. The restric-
tions placed on the removal of cattle are, I understand,
to be removed or considerably modified. Cattle-breeding
has, therefore, a fine future before it in N.E. Rhodesia.^
Nature makes good provision for her children. Thus,
native-bred cattle have humps, and sheep have fat tails
weighing, in some instances, more than a leg ! Both
the humps and the tails serve the same purpose as the
hump of a camel, they are the larders provided by nature
upon which the animals live when food is scarce.
The Stevenson Road is a wide and well-made road,
but grass grows up quickly between the stones. Efforts
are made to keep it clear, gangs of natives engaged in
removing herbage, etc., from the road being encountered
in many parts, yet the traffic is so small that the road
has the appearance of being a relic of a one-time great-
ness. As a matter of fact, the traffic seems to have left
this part of the country altogether. One notices it more
and more as one advances towards British Central Africa.
The greater part of the traffic which used to take this
route now goes through the centre of Rhodesia, taking
the route from Broken Hill to Abercorn, or Broken Hill
to Fort Jameson, though there is still a certain amount
of passenger traffic via Chinde, the Shire River, and
Lake Nyasa.
Passengers who take this route for N.E. Rhodesia dis-
embark at Domira Bay or Kota-Kota for Fort Jameson,
and at Koronga (whither I was bound) for Abercorn.
After leaving the Saisi River, one goes through
^ The B.S.A. Company are issuing, free of charge, a pamphlet: "A few
Notes on the Selection and Breeding of Cattle in Rhodesia," by Robert
Wallace, and I would advise intending settlers carefully to peruse the various
chapters on hardiness, crossing, breeding, diseases, etc.
Successful Cattle-breedine
J
15
Mpanda and Mambwe, and has line views of distant
mountains, passing at one point close to German terri-
tory.
Nothing of interest occurred until I reached Ikomba.
Here, I had been told, I should find an empty Govern-
ment House, and I was advised to use it, if clean.
There had been a Government farm, but all the cattle
had recently been transferred to Fort Jameson.
The little brick house was in good condition, and so I
had my bed, etc., put into a room in which there were
two windows, and dined on the little stoep outside. I
arrived early in the afternoon and enjoyed a stroll
through the village, which was about five minutes' walk
from the house, a grove of banana trees coming be-
tween.
The women iii this village wore huge pieces of wood in
FINE COWS IN N.E. RHODESIA
their ears, studded with brass nails. I bought two
particularly line ones for a shilling. Later in the after-
noon, when sitting on the stoep outside the little house,
a number of men and women came from the village
3 1 (^ Via Rhodesia
to stare at me, under the pretence of selling eggs, and
the woman from whom I had bought the ear-rings came
too ; she had a sad and sorry air, and the huge hanging
holes in her ears, where the wooden ear-rings had been,
looked very hideous. She touched her ears, and then
pointed to a large basket of potatoes she was carrying,
indicating that she wanted the ear-rings back in exchange
for the potatoes ; but I shook my head. She would not
go away, so I showed her a shilling and the ear-rings, and
gave her to understand that if she returned the shilling
the ear-rings would be given back to her ; but no, the
good lady wanted the shilling and the ear-rings, and as
I would not have the potatoes, she had to go away.
I had dinner about six o'clock, and then the boys
left me. As I was in a house they made no fires except
one of wood in my room, and then all disappeared in
the direction of the village. Near by the house were
pomegranate trees, with bright scarlet blossoms, and
in the swiftly fading light I could just see the beautiful
grove of banana trees. I was standing just outside the
house enjoying the beauty of the night, which seemed
to be coming like a gentle cloud to envelop the day,
when, coming from the side of the house, I heard a deep
breathing and a low grunt, almost a growl, and snatching
up "Ugly" I ran in and closed the doors. The wood
fire was burning brightly. I quickly lit two candles and
then glanced at the windows. Both were uncovered. I
was too frightened to look out and see what beast was
prowling about the house, but instead hung up at one
window as quickly as possible my Union Jack, and then,
with shaking knees and trembling fingers, stood still a
moment wondering with what I could cover the other.
Then my eyes fell on a large map of Rhodesia that had
been mounted on linen. Up went this with my banjo
and a couple of spears to hold it in place. Then I felt
Successful Cattle-breeding 3 1 7
better, for I did so dread seeing two yellow eyes and a
shaggy mane peering in at the window.
Little " Ugly " seemed nervous and would not lie
down, but walked round and round with ears pricked
BUILDING BARRICADES AGAINST LIONS, N.E. RHODESIA
up and coat seeming to bristle as a man's hair is sup-
posed to bristle on seeing a ghost.
The supply of wood was limited ; I saw it would not
last the night, but I knew all the boys were away. I
dared not open the door to go in search of any more, and
my stock of candles was very low, so I determined to
keep awake all night and put out the candles, burning
only one at a time after the firelight had failed.
All doubts as to the nature of my unwanted visitor
were soon at an end, for a roar quickly told me that a
lion was stalking round. Then in the distance I heard
drums and tin cans being beaten and every conceivable
noise one could imagine; the echoes of distant singing also
came across from the village, so I concluded that a beer-
drink was going on, and knew none of my boys would
return until the morning. The noise, however, had
3 18
\Ma Rhodesia
one good effect, for the next roar I heard was farther
away. I sat upright in a chair for I don't know how
long. Little " Ugly " went to sleep. Presently the
noise from the village ceased, and I was just thinking
that the lion had gone and peace would reign. I must
have been dozing when the cry of a wounded animal
startled me. I think a poor buck must have been caught
at that moment not very far away. I listened. The
cry was again repeated, and then silence came until a
wild turkey cock started shrieking. I got a book then
and lit a candle, for I felt that all the beasts from the
infernal regions were let loose, and I didn't want to go
mad before morning. I heard afterwards that the last
MAN SUPPOSED TO CHANGE HIMSELF INTO A LION AT WILL. WAS CHASED
FROM VILLAGE TO VILLAGE AND ARRIVED AT THE MISSION HOSPITAL
NEARLY DEAD
(By kind permission of Dr. Chisholme)
time the house had been used was about a year previously,
when three men had slept there, and as they were dining
in a room with plenty of lights and an open window, a
Successful Cattle-breeding- 31c)
lion came and took away one of their dogs from the
stoep.
At my next stopping-place, about eighteen miles
further on, there was a so-called Rest house, a hut
kept for passing travellers, but I object to stuffy huts
kept by natives, and so I refused to camp there, although
my boys in advance had already lighted a fire and
seemed to conclude that there I should certainly stay.
I, however, left them all chatting and arguing, and
walked off up a hill. They had to follow, and pitch my
tent where I directed, grumbling all the time, for they
had heard that there were many lions in the neighbour-
hood, and very busy they were for several hours making
barricades of trees, and the fires that night seemed like
a positive wall of flame dividing our camp from the rest
of the world.
CHAPTER XXXIV
Judge and Hangman
IT was a Sunday morning, and a few miles north of
Fife I was suddenly surprised by hearing a bell
ringing. I called out " Linda," and the boys
stopped. I listened, the bell continued, and then I
remembered I had been told there was a mission here-
abouts, with a wonderful two-story mansion fitted up
with all the latest improvements ; in fact, the wife of a
Magistrate had observed, when speaking of these up-
to-date luxuries and suggesting that I might possibly
see them : '' Why marry a Government official when
there are the missionaries in the country ? "
I signalled my boys to proceed in the direction whence
the bell-ringing arose, and after a delightful walk I came
to a well-made road and a pretty stream. Over this
was a light bridge by the side of which stood two or
three mission-house natives, who ran on to give the in-
formation that I was approaching. By this time the
bell had ceased ringing, and evidently morning service
was proceeding. I saw a little white boy, and then a
white woman appeared, hastening towards me from the
church. She was the nurse in charge of the hospital and
the boarding-school for native girls, and she informed
me that Dr. Chisholme was in church, but would I wait
for lunch and see him. She very kindly showed me the
hospital, comprised of three substantial buildings, all
of which were empty.
320
Judoe and Hangman
^2 I
Then I saw the home where the native girls left off
their beads and adopted copy-books and a pinafore sort
of dress, and as I looked at those children I could not
help contrasting them with the poor shivering white
ON THE BANKS OF RUKURU RIVER, li.C.A.
kiddies at home, thankful for a " Daily Graphic " dinner
or any old rags anyone might choose to give them. Here,
in a hot climate, blacks were given the unnecessary
covering so necessary to the poor whites at home.
Presently Dr. Chisholme returned from church, and
I found him a very kind and interesting man, not the
uneducated Bible-thumper so many missionaries are.
He entertained me most hospitably before I went on my
way, and told me many interesting details about the
customs of the natives.
Now why could not such a man as this be placed at
the head of a mission for poor whites, either at home or
abroad ? Why not leave the natives alone in their
happy state and send out to this school the unhappy
children of the slums, to be trained in agricultural
pursuits before they become criminals ? It is no good
32 2 Via Rhodesia
sending out adults of the lowest class, they would only
loaf, and associate on equal terms with the natives ; but
are not the white children's souls to be taken account
of ? Would not their bodies, transplanted to the light
and sunshine, make a parade of more genuine Christian
evidence than this assembly of veneered hypocritical
blacks ?
There is a well-known saying all over Africa, that
when a native woman puts on boots she leaves off her
virtue.
And when I saw those boarders in the hideous frocks
with such vain, complacent faces, well, all I can say is,
they did not compare favourably with the fine Matabele
women in their pleated skirts and body drapery, upright
in carriage and possessing fine defiant faces. Native
women have beautiful figures and walk well in their
natural state, but they slouch and bend their backs and
become almost deformed as soon as they wear European
clothes.
The two-story house was truly a regal palace com-
pared with the homes of white men farther north, and
the spruce missionary, with his well-cut clothes and
waxed moustache, seemed hardly to belong to Africa at
all. My memory travelled backward to the French
Fathers, with their whitewashed dwellings, white serge
robes, and long beards ; somehow they seemed more in
keeping with the picture.
I arrived at Fife in the afternoon.
The entrance to Fife is like an English park, and as I
went along the broad road I was surprised to see the
marks of cart wheels and the spoor of a horse's shoe.
It seemed so strange and unexpected to see again those
signs of civilisation and yet to know how far away I
was from it. The mystery was afterwards explained.
It transpired that some years ago the Administrator
'I O '>
0-0
Judge and Hangman
brought two ponies up country, and one still lives. He
draws a Cape cart, and his harness is of strips of rhino
hide.
Mr. and Mrs. West Sheene received me with the usual
kindness I had hitherto experienced. The news that I
was on the road had travelled, and a comfortable room
had been prepared for me. Mrs. West Sheene informed
me that all the servants were very interested, they
never before having seen a " white donna without a
white bwama."
After a wash and change of garments I went for a
drive with that wonderful pony, Mrs. West Sheene
taking the rhino reins.
Many were the interesting stories I heard here. Per-
X,
^^'^V
.-'^ *1&p.'>^
^/ ^*=i-^
'T4S.M
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
haps by degrees my memory will unfold, but I think
my store-room got so full of impressions that I can only
let out a few at a time now ; the rest remain a concrete
block, which onlv with time will dissolve into ink.
324 Via Rhodesia
It seems that every Magistrate up here has to be
also the pubhc hangman if a murder occurs. I wonder
how our judges would like to pass sentence first and
use the rope afterwards ?
Once Mr. West Sheene had to hang a man, and it was
arranged, in order that Mrs. West Sheene might not be
frightened, that when in the early morning all was pre-
pared a man should come and ask Mr. West Sheene
whether he was ready to go shooting. Mrs. West Sheene,
however, afterwards discovered the ruse.
After leaving Fife I had yet another lion adventure.
Oh, I know I ought to give it a chapter all to itself, with
startling headlines, but I am not a journalist — only a
very simple woman telling simple unvarnished truth —
except when labelled in plain figures otherwise.
It happened in the early morning. My carriers had
left the camp about an hour and gone forward with the
loads, and the machilla boys were taking down the tent.
The police-boy, who had been lent to me for my special
protection, was taking a last nap under cover of bossing
the machilla boys, and little " Ugly " and I were walking
along alone about a mile away. It was not a romantic
scene, no tropical growth, no mountains, no kopjes, no
roaring river or foaming cataract, in fact no stage
scenery that ought to have been there met the eye, just
the veld, high grass, and trees about twelve feet high.
And then, as though coming from nowhere, there sud-
denly appeared in the pathway some fifty or sixty yards
in front of me a tawny-looking animal about the size of
a small donkey, with untidy hair and — well, I can't
tell you any more about the appearance of the creature.
I only know I realised I was face to face with a lion.
I had only a revolver with me, and am certain I should
not have used my rifle had it been handy. All I thought
about at the moment was how quickly I could climb a
Judge and Hangman
0-3
tree, and as I looked round, the trees never looked so
stumpy as that morning ; and then another thought
crossed my mind. It may sound ridiculous, but is never-
theless true. I remembered little " Ugly," and I thought
NATIVES RUNNING TO SEE LION JUST KILLED
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
I must put him on my shoulder while I climbed, and I
felt vexed as I thought also that his claws would be
certain to scratch my neck !
Instead, however, of being disfigured in this way, I was
let off unscathed, for the lion apparently had been well
fed, and, not liking the look of me, just turned and went
away quickly through the grass and was soon lost to
view.
Not all lions are man-eaters ; only when too old to
catch game do lions turn their attention to man-eating,
and then they prefer natives to whites. ' But the un-
concern of some natives is amazing.
3
26 Via Rhodesia
I heard of one man who on looking out from his tent
and seeing the lires going out kicked a boy and said,
" Get up, schehn, and see to the fires ; there are hons
about." And the boy repUed laconically, before turning
over for another sleep, '* There are forty other boys,"
as though he saw no reason why a lion should choose
him first.
CHAPTER XXXV
The Witcli-Doctor
IT is impossible in this book to give a comprehen-
sive account of all the tribes inhabiting Rhodesia,
and their characteristics ; perhaps, however, a few
further details will interest those who are thinking of
making Rhodesia a future home. I have already acknow-
ledged my indebtedness to Mr. West Sheene and Dr.
AT LIWONDE RIVER — TAKING HIPPO GUI'
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
Chisholme for information on the subject, but I must
also add the name of Mr. T. C. Coxhead, of Fort Jame-
son, who was kind enough to place his notes at my
disposal.
328 Via Rhodesia
North of the x\wemba country, on the Tanganyika
plateau, there are several small tribes. The A'Mambwe
inhabit the part of the country between Abercorn and
the Chosi River ; they were greatly harried by the
Awemba before the days of the British South Africa
Company, and, in fact, have been saved by them from
extermination. Another tribe owing their present peace-
ful existence to the same source is the Alungu.
Between the Chosi and Karungu Rivers, part of the
country is occupied by the Ainamwanga. The greater
portion of this tribe live on British ground, but the
chief, strange to say, resides on German territory. They
are a quiet people, possessing good flocks of sheep and
goats. None of the natives in Rhodesia have large
herds of cattle, fifteen or twenty head being considered
quite a good number ; but the people are lazy, as a rule ;
" sufficient unto the day " is a universal motto.
The Awiwa live to the west of the Ainamwanga, and
are great iron-workers. At one time they supplied the
country round with hoes, spears, and axes. The Awiwa
tobacco, too, is considered superior to any other of
native growth. At one time this tribe paid tribute to
the Awemba. The Awiwa number about 10,000 on the
British side, and there is said to be about the same
number in German East Africa. This tribe is an off-
shoot of the Ainamwanga, who trace their history back
to the advent of a great and skilful man who came from
Wiza country some three hundred (?)' years ago. Before
his coming this tribe are believed to have dwelt in
forests and lived on game and wild fruits and roots,
possessing neither huts nor crops. But he brought
seeds with him and taught them many things, and so
they made him their chief, and he and his successors
reigned over them for many years. The knowledge of
what they were and what they have now become seems
The Witch- Doctor
329
strong with this tribe and has turned into a form of
ancestor worship.
These people, as weU as most tribes, construct their huts
and ah their buildings, whether grain stores, cattle
ll.\cl-. I MR OFFERINt. -A( KIIICES TO Dl- I'A l< I I-, I ) CHIEFS,
LOWER SHIRE RIVER
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
kraals, pigeon-houses, or what not, all on the round
pattern, which, after all, is much easier for them than
building in the square style, very few natives being able
to draw a straight line. In fact they cannot lay down
a trunk of a tree or a piece of cloth in a straight line.
But stick a spear in the ground, tie to the spear a piece
of string with a scrap of iron attached to it, and run
round marking the earth as you go, and you have the
perfect ground plan of a hut marked out. These huts
are about six feet in height and are built of wattle and
daub, the wattle being usually not reeds but strong
poles. Neither windows nor chimneys are made, so the
atmosphere when a huge fire is burning may be imagined.
330 Via Rhodesia
I attribute to the smoke from the fires the fact that so
many natives have bloodshot eyes. Natives certainly
are fire-worshippers ; they will sometimes sit so near
a camp-fire that they go to sleep, and falling in they get
badly burnt before they are aware of the nearness of
the flames.
Most young native children wear little besides a few
beads. Their parents usually have a little drapery of
limbo or an apron made from bark, but the grandfathers
still cling to the older fashion of wearing two little
antelope skins, one hanging from the waist in front and
one behind. The old women don similar attire, but the
two pieces in their case are often of cotton cloth instead
of skins. The women also rub oil into their skins and
put red and yellow powders on their hair.
These people are largely vegetarians, eating meat and
game but rarely. However, they vary their usual diet
of " maleyi " (red millet) by such delicacies as cater-
pillars, locusts, ants, etc.
Natives have a quaint way of standing up when
earthquakes happen, believing that death or plague is
stalking through the land. Lightning and thunder they
regard as signs that God Himself has come down to
earth ; and should the lightning set fire to a tree, all the
fires in the village are put out, and fire-places are freshly
plastered. Head-men take the burning tree to the chief,
who prays over it and then sends it round to all his
villages, and his messengers receive presents from the
people.
Certain places where shady trees grow are kept apart
by each family as meeting-places where they can gather
together to worship spirits. They believe that after
death spirits go to " Kuzimu," which is situated in the
heart of the earth ; thus they always speak of spirits as
rising up, never as coming down, and they believe there
The Witch- Doctor 333
is only one place for all spirits. And if a man dies away
from his kraal, his family quite believe that his spirit will
return to them and, when not in Kuzimu, haunt the
trees where the spirits of that particular family are wor-
shipped. Further, should the family move to another
village, the spirits of the dead will go with them, and
before moving, prayers are offered to the spirits, and
guidance by them is requested.
Sacrifices are often made to the spirits of chiefs by the
offering of bullocks and rams, and of fowls and goats to
the spirits of forefathers, and beer is poured on to the
place where the blood of the sacrifice is spilt. These
sacrifices are cooked at a special fire, lit by the priest,
and are eaten as a sacrament and not to appease hunger.
The head of the family, or the priest (the office of
priesthood descends from father to son), will sit near
the offerings and say prayers to the spirits as though
they were really present.
The idea that the spirits of the dead really return is an
accepted belief also with the Japanese. A military
attache who was present when a great Japanese general
gave thanks to his troops for their courage during the
late Russian- Japanese war, said to me, " I shall never
forget the wave of emotion we felt when General Yogi
turned from the troops present and, looking towards
a mountain near, on which was no visible sign of human
life, addressed the spirits of his dead soldiers supposed
to be gathered there, for the Japanese believe that if
you fight bravely in war, and fall, your spirit returns
to see the victory and to receive the thanks of its com-
mander."
It is the wish of officials in Rhodesia and British
Central Africa to stamp out, if possible, the native belief
in witchcraft, for it leads to many crimes. But super-
stition dies hard, even in a thoroughly civilised country,
334 Vi^ Rhodesia
and some highly educated people in Great Britain are
strangely superstitious ; therefore it is not to be won-
dered at that it will take some time before belief in
witch-doctors is wiped out, and, after all, there is a
great similarity between native superstition and so-
called Christian Science, both being founded on faith,
which has more influence over nerves than anything
else. Common sense and firm resolution would have
precisely the same results, but would not be so romantic.
One has only to get an idea firmly fixed in the mind,
and it quickly affects matter. Medical science has proved
this again and again. But in our world people who are
tired of bridge must have new diseases with new doctors,
and new religions with new preachers, to cure them, and
in like manner a little romance and dramatic possibilities
are introduced into the native's life by the sorceries of
the witch-doctor. And who can say that some of our
own laws are less cruel than the injustice said to be the
result of the witch-doctor's influence ?
The world is much the same all over, only things are
called by different names. So many want others to look
at life only through their own special microscope or
telescope, but so long as colour cling to colour, the black
to black, the yellow to yellow, and above all, white to
white, the world will not be a bad place to live in.
If a native is away on a journey and his return is long
over-due, then the stars are not consulted, as in India,
or a palmist visited, as in Bond Street, but an insect
is put into a heap of sand. If the insect finds its way
out, the man is still alive, and if it remains in, then the
relations of the absent man conclude that he is dead.
It is not only believed that some chiefs become lions
at death, but also that others become pythons, and,
in consequence, no one is allowed to kill a python, and
should one visit a village it is allowed to take sheep.
•y ^
The Witch- Doctor 337
dogs, or fowls, and after it has fed the chief tries to
entice it away by the offering of a white fowL
Ordeal by fire is unknown, but ordeal by hot water is
often practised to ascertain if a native is guilty of theft
or not. If his hand comes out of the pot unseal ded,
then he is innocent, if scalded and skinned, then he is
convicted. Now scientists say, that if one plunges one's
hand quickly into water that is actually boiling, it
does not hurt, so perhaps there is more sense in the
ordeal than is at first apparent, for naturally the guilty
man would hesitate and approach the water gingerly,
believing that his guilt would really be found out.
We hang up horse-shoes for luck, but the native pro-
cures from his witch-doctor special bits of wood to place
in his garden, so that anyone coming to steal may get a
disease. We wTar rings to cure rheumatism, but the
native has a little horn filled with ashes and bits of
charms, and w^ars it on the painful side.
But in addition to the weaving of spells and giving of
philtres, native doctors often have genuine skill. They
will set fractures, and stitch wounds with fibres from
the castor-oil plant, the leaves being used for dressing.
Every witch-doctor has his special small basket in which
are kept his charms for making his medicinal prepara-
tions efficacious. But why laugh at the witch-doctor's
basket, since such useless things as the huge red and
green glasses which fill every chemist's window in Eng-
land are recognised as trade-marks of the pharmaceutical
profession ? Not until our judges give up wearing a black
cap when giving sentence of death, or our barristers sell
their wigs to theatrical wardrobe dealers, should we
start belittling the customs of other people.
Most natives bury their dead some distance from their
homes, and I was surprised to find two graves quite near
the village of Chanda, as the graves of natives are not
T,T,S Via Rhodesia
usually conspicuous. There are tribes, however, who
bury their dead at a convenient distance from the hut
where the deceased died, so as to make a Uttle garden
of maize near the grave.
The waiUng over a corpse, and after the funeral, may
easily be compared to an Irish wake — with this differ-
ence, that the natives keep sober, and as soon as the
burial has taken place bathe in the nearest stream, the
women in one part, the men in another.
A very pretty custom is the placing of the corpse in
the grave in such a way that the eyes look towards the
place where the family of the deceased lives. Also, in-
stead of our sad service, the head-man prays to the spirits
of the deceased's forefathers, asking them to welcome
their child, and telling the spirit of the corpse that though
he has left the land of sunshine he will find peace in the
home of the spirits.
When all is finished and the grave filled in, then all the
relations of the deceased, from the old tottering grand-
mother to the tiny infant in arms, throw a handful of
earth on the grave.
A
CHAPTER XXXVI
Lake Nyasa
T Fort Hill, which is the boundary dividing
Rhodesia from British Central Africa, or Nyasa-
land, as it is now usually called, I had again,
on account of sleeping-sickness regulations, to change
my ulendo, not being allowed to take even a personal
boy over the boundary. This made travelling more un-
comfortable than on my journey north, for a tent, or
personal, boy soon gets to know all one's wishes without
directions having to be repeated again and again, which,
when one has little knowledge of the language, usually
means learning the useful lesson of doing without.
Fort Hill is in charge of a capitao (native) who is sup-
posed to know a little English, but that little may just
as well be spelt none. There is a small house there, but
I was advised beforehand on no account to sleep in it, as
much live stock had taken up residence therein, and so,
after holding a reception of all the local native digni-
taries on the steps, and receiving some fowls and a bowl
of milk as presents, I retired to my tent, which had been
pitched quite near, and there I fed and shivered and
tried to sleep, for it was a bitterly cold night. The
capitao and several other natives asked me if I had
any blankets to sell, but unfortunately I had not.
Here again, as in fact all over Rhodesia, I saw the
necessity for good stores being opened. The company
who at present hold the monopoly of stores in Rhodesia
339
340
Via Rhodesia
and Nyasaland grumble that they are losing their trade,
and are inclined, I fancy, to blame not only the country
but also the residents, who, they say, will not buy
locally. Rut how can the residents buy locally when
the stores are so badly stocked ? I was given several
instances of the men in charge of the so-called stores
having had often to buy what they require personally
from the residents, or borrow, until fresh goods arrived.
One man in N.E. Rhodesia said to me, " We should all
prefer to buy locally, instead of ordering what we want
from England in bulk and a year in advance, but under
existing circumstances it is impossible, in fact the natives
are better catered for in many stores than the whites."
ri - J:
SABLE ANTELOPE
(By kind permission of Mr. Stuart Wells)
'f^
The store arrangements are one of the first and chief
things which must be looked to, and it is to be hoped
that Britishers will take this matter in hand before
Lake Nyasa
341
Germans step in and seize the opportunity and the
profits. In N.W. and N.E. Rhodesia especially, good
stores are becoming more and more of a necessity on the
Broken Hill to Abercorn route.
During the whole
nine days' travel
from Abercorn to
Karonga I met only
one white man on
the road, and he was
Mr. Stuart Wells,
xA-Ssistant Magistrate
at Karonga, who was
out on a tour of in-
spection.
It was not far from
the Luangwe River
that I suddenly came
on a tent with a table
standing outside it,
on which rested a
large tin of Cerebos
salt and a tea-pot,
and then I knew
white blood must be
about somewhere,
and soon Mr. Stuart
Wells put in an ap-
pearance. I decided
to camp there and proceed to Karonga the next day.
Mr. Stuart Wells had had the good fortune the day
before we met to shoot a fine eland. The head was still
hanging up, and I took a photograph of it. We had
eland soup and eland steak for dinner. While we were
dining, a head-man and a police-boy arrived in a very
ELAND SHOT NEAR KARONGA, B C.A.
342 Via Rhodesia
excited state. They had come a two days' journey,
and I witnessed what appeared to be a dramatic recital,
and noted the evident satisfaction displayed by the
two men when they were dismissed. The conversation
between the men and the Magistrate was conducted in
the native language, and I was afterwards told the gist
of the matter.
It seems that a man had come from German territory
without a permit, and, transgressing sleeping-sickness
regulations, had joined in a beer-drink on British terri-
tory, and when asked for his permit had confessed he
hadn't one. The chief had then driven away the police-
boy who had demanded the permit, and given the offender
shelter.
The Magistrate's order was short but to the point,
for his instructions were, " Go and arrest the chief."
The next morning Mr. Stuart Wells bicycled away at an
early hour, having arranged to w^ait for me later in the
day at a very pretty part of the road some ten miles
farther on.
I was very much amused at a tiny " piccanin " (boy)
who seemed to be the chief man of Mr. Wells's ulendo.
He was always the first to start a job and the quickest
to finish, and often ran thirty miles in a day, I w^as told.
He had a sense of humour, too, and one day, w^hen a
police-boy went bathing, the piccanin, being left in
charge of the camp, dressed up in the askiri's clothes,
and was so found.
Near my camp was a long, peculiar bridge, made of
steel wire, and it w^as very amusing to see my boys
(who were used to bridges of wooden piles) try to cross
it quickly. One boy jumped into the air quite eighteen
inches and then fell flat on his face.
About five miles away I paused for a rest, and then
went quickly forward and joined Mr. Stuart Wells, who
Lake Nyasa
343
was peacefully picnicking under the shade of a huge
tree close to one of the most charming bits of scenery
I have seen in British Central Africa, for the banks on
either side of the river were here richly wooded.
I was asked if I
had paused at all at
a stream some dis-
tance back. " Yes,"
I replied, " about live
miles away." " So
did I," said Mr.
Stuart Wells, "and
as I was stooping to
drink I found I was
surrounded by fresh
lion spoor, so hav-
ing no gun with me
I quickly left."
As we neared Kar-
onga, I noticed that
a number of huts
were of quite differ-
ent appearance from
those farther north,
being square instead
of round, and formed
of light-coloured
reeds.
But the natives,
although their huts seemed to be of more intricate archi-
tecture, certainly displayed with regard to themselves
less vanity in the matter of clothing, for save a string
and a piece of cloth not much larger than a postage
stamp, they were entirely naked.
Formerly there were Government stations at Deep
MR. WELLS'S PICCANIN
(By kind permission of Mr. Wells)
344
Via Rhodesia
Bay and Fort Hill, but these have been abandoned,
and now the Government station of North Nyasa is at
Karonga. At one time this district was much troubled
by the Angoni tribe making raids and stealing both
slaves and cattle, but now peace reigns. Here, too, the
Arabs estabUshed a slave centre, but in 1889 they were
routed out, their stockade being captured and des-
troyed.
All the good garden land on the plains is now under
NATIVE HUT NEAR KARONGA, B.C. A.
native cultivation, but there is still some good and well-
watered garden land in the hills not yet taken up.
Certainly North Nyasaland is far more picturesque
than the greater part of Rhodesia, but the very points
which lend to its beauty detract from its utility from
an agricultural point of view, for the hills and valleys
seem to be too broken and precipitous to afford good
vantage ground for crops.
Game in Nyasaland is very plentiful, including (in the
southern portion) elephants, rhinoceroses, and buffaloes.
Before the middle of the last century very little was
Lake Nyasa 345
known about the region now called Nyasaland, the first
European supposed to have visited these parts being
Jasper Bocarro, a Portuguese, in the seventeenth cen-
tury.
While at Karonga I stayed for two nights at the house
connected with the African Lakes Company, and dined
one night at the house of Mr. Stuart W'ells fwho, in the
absence of Mr. Dove Easterbrook, the Magistrate, is
Acting Magistrate), and he very kindly invited all the
white residents to meet me.
It was a beautiful moonlight night, and I thoroughly
enjoyed not only the party but the machilla ride to and
from the house, accompanied by Mr. Bruce of the
African Lakes Company. It certainly was novel to
chat en route to a man who was also being carried in a
machilla.
Mr. Stuart Wells not only showed me his wonderful
collection of photographs, which he takes, develops, and
prints himself, but presented me with a very beautiful
set of game pictures, the whole of which I deeply
regret I cannot reproduce, as space does not allow,
but even the few specimens printed show how unique
these photographs are, and I feel I cannot thank Mr.
Stuart Wells sufficiently for his kindness in giving them
to me.
The next day Mr. Dove Easterbrook returned ; he
wrote to me inviting me to lunch, including in his letter
the information that on account of the roughness of the
lake the gunboat "Gwendoline" (in which I had per-
mission from H.E. Sir Alfred Sharpe to travel) could not
anchor in the usual place, and therefore Mr. Dove
Easterbrook was good enough to offer to take me out
in his boat to the place where she lay at anchor, some
three miles away.
To speak of a lake is to convey the impression of
34^ Via Rhodesia
a peaceful, smootli, still sheet of water, but an African
lake can have very bad manners, and Lake Nyasa was
more like a tempestuous sea all the time I was sailing
thereon. I really thought the boat would capsize when
we hrst left the shore, and did not think we could
possibly reach the '' Gwendoline." However, I said
nothing of my fears, but clung to the boat with one
hand and held little " Ugly " with the other. The
native sailors did not seem to mind standing on their
heads one minute and their feet the next, and I con-
cluded they must be used to it. Mr. Dove Easterbrook
asked them to sing, and they broke forth into a kind
of boating chant.
At length we reached the gunboat, and I must say
Captain Tate didn't look at all pleased to see me, though
we afterwards became excellent friends and no one
could have been more kind than he was. It seemed he
had never before taken a lady alone down Nyasa, and
feared I might be a weird and impossible woman with
dictatorial manners and selfish requirements, but I soon
showed him I could be as happy on a gunboat as on a
liner. I did not send for help every time I saw a beetle
in my cabin, or mind a native coming in and standing on
my bed every morning to close the port-hole (we used to
anchor every night), nor did the revolvers, cutlasses, and
handcuffs hanging near my cabin terrify me in the least,
and further I found no fault with the cats who daily
shared meals with us. It really was funny ; the dear
bluff captain would grumble at those cats every day,
and all the time he was grumbling at them he would
feed them — a kinder-hearted man never breathed. When
I was ill with a " go " of fever he had a bed put up on
his deck for me, and I used to lie up there all day,
sheltered from the spray and longing for sundown,
when we anchored, and the world seemed more like a
Lake Nyasa 349
monument of some substantiality instead of a rocking-
horse.
The name of this lake was recorded by Livingstone as
Lake Nyasa, this being its Yao appellation and meaning
" broad water." One never loses sight of the land, and
very beautiful are some of the harbours. Monkey Bay
is particularly picturesque, with its few native huts
dotted in the foreground and the hills covered with
thick foliage rising range after range at the back. Here
swarms of monkeys are to be seen swinging from tree
to tree.
At Kota-Kota there are natives who make quaint
little things of hippo ivory which may be purchased
for a few pence. They are usually tiny crude imitations
of animals, and are rather pretty, but otherwise one does
not find many objects of interest, and as going ashore
usually means returning to the boat accompanied by
ticks as companions, one soon gets tired of excursions
inland.
These ticks are horrible little insects ; they have a
nasty way of burrowing under the skin, and are difficult
to dislodge. The engineer remarked to me, " I went
ashore last night, and in consequence had to be over-
hauled by sailors to-day." As it was not possible for
me to be overhauled I had to do my best with a hand-
glass and a darning needle. I have recently (1910)
seen among the Cape Colony Government exhibits at
an Agricultural Exhibition, samples of ticks which,
for scientific purposes, have been preserved in bottles
without food or water for two years, and are still
alive !
Lake Nyasa is the third largest lake in Africa, and is
360 miles long. The water is fresh and drinkable.
There are practically no good harbours, for all the
anchorages are exposed to the north and south winds,
350 Via Rhodesia
which sweep the lake from end to end, and make tlie
water very rough.
I was at first much puzzled by the appearance of
what looked like clouds of smoke, which seemed to
cling to the shore in many parts, but the captain ex-
plained that what I took to be smoke w^as in reality a
swarm of flies of a kind which the natives often catch
in great quantities and make into cakes.
The " Gwendoline " did not go so far as Fort Johnston,
but stayed some miles away, and a smaller gunboat,
" The Dove," came out to meet us with a doctor on
board, and then I had the unique experience of being
examined for sleeping-sickness. My throat was pinched
in various parts, and being passed I was duly presented
with my certificate. It will be noticed that on it Eng-
land is given as my village, and Edward VII as my
chief.
I had given up my tent and other kit at Karonga,
having been informed that I could go from Fort John-
ston to Zomba by house-boat, but when I reached Fort
Johnston I found that the one and only house-boat
which holds one person and luggage, or two if on very
intimate terms, had been engaged, and I therefore must
wait some days, or take to a machilla again. I concluded
that one night at the African Lakes Boarding-house at
Fort Johnston would be quite enough for me, and ordered
a machilla team to be ready the next morning.
There were then no w^hite w^omen at Fort Johnston, or
I would have called on them. I really felt it would be
a great treat to see some of my own sex again, and in
the afternoon (I arrived soon after lunch) I strolled
round and saw^ a brickfield where natives were at work,
and visited the native huts and bought a few bracelets
from the native women, but Fort Johnston depressed
me, and I felt I should be glad to leave it.
Lake Nyasa
--> -" o
03
It was a relief when the next morning came and I
set off again with a machilla team. This time my
machilla had two poles and was carried by four boys ;
not that I had increased in weight, but a four-boy
machilla is the custom in this part of the country.
3g
'■- Y A -.\,u A N D PHOTECTOKATE.
4625
V. N T K Y PASS.
M OiikjMi^/ttecu^^.^^,;,^
^.-pt^l^-fCi^^?^^^.-
. ; tribe.
i"jO lia.s been mwlically uxawiMijil for trypaiiosomia&ia aiiri ifaaa hcvn {onnd-free-fattHt mietJjaaSHe is h-ereby
^ jHMMrattedu, ..ar^r^he y. .^?'^..^fC,,?:T-«»j TWrict.
^^hp swn-s he ..,r....i. (..i^iS;;^^;'^'"^. ^"^^^^^/Z /^: ./^c^fi:'!rff!^JiJJ^
U-kiL
Meilieal Oliicer or otlier '
Offioer in clia.rg'e of Entry Staiiou,
MY SLEEPING-SICKNESS CERTIFICATE
CHAPTER XXXVII
Zomba
IN addition to my machilla team a small piccanin
ran along with some cold luncheon for me in a
basket and a dead fowl slung over his back, the
latter destined to be cooked for my dinner when we
should reach the rest-house. The spot I selected for
lunch was beneath the shade of the quaintest tree I
have ever seen ; it was a sort of family tree with a series
of trunks all joined together.
My new boys seated themselves quite close to me,
and seemed to be enjoying a feast of sight, at any rate
they never left off staring.
When I reached Mvera and saw the rest-house I
wished I had not left my nice tent at Karonga, for this
house gave one the " creeps " after being in it even for
only a few minutes. The window of the best bedroom
was broken, and the two natives in charge of the house
were not of very fascinating appearance. However,
the fowl duly appeared, cooked, and to my surprise and
delight some fresh fish, so I forgave the natives their
ugly faces, and enjoyed my meal.
Some little distance from the house were two huts in
which the caretakers of the rest-house lived with their
wives, the native village being some little distance away.
Later in the evening I heard the sound of drums and
shouting, which seemed to indicate that some festival
was taking place, but I was too tired to walk in that
354
Zomba
o r '-
j5d
direction to see what was going on, and instead strolled
across a few paces which lay between the rest-house and
the river, and enjoyed the beautiful moonlight scene,
listening the while to the grunts of a neighbourly hippo,
who, accompanied by a chorus of croaking frogs, seemed
to be serenading either me or the moon.
When I returned, I found the wife of the manager of
my hotel busy pounding corn outside the hut. It was
close on ten o'clock, and I was surprised to see the
NATIVE PAINTING ON HUT
woman working so late, but it seemed some natives
had just come, and all the meal having been cooked,
the woman had to prepare a further supply for either
a late supper or an early breakfast, I could not quite
ascertain which, but she made a pretty picture in the
moonlight.
The next morning I discovered some rude paintings on
the hut, an attempt to reproduce a horse. As horses
are not very frequent visitors in the neighbourhood
nowadays, I take it the work must have been by one
of the old masters !
^^6 Yvd RHckIcski
Apparently one approaches Liwonde through a lake
of cabbages. I shall never recall without a smile
that strange pond, covered with a growth like tiny
cabbages, through which native ferry-men steered you
across in boats larger than up-country canoes, in fact,
seeming like barges in comparison with the dugouts to
which I had grown accustomed.
Liwonde boasts of one white man's residence, but
there was no white man, he having gone away on some
excursion. I looked longingly at the house, stole some
citrons from the garden, and then sorrowfully set off to
the rest-house of the African Lakes Company. H.E. the
Governor told me afterwards that I should have taken
possession of the white man's house and stayed there
the night, but used as I was to Colonial hospitality, I
really had not the nerve to commandeer a house and
all that therein was.
I should have reserved my grumbling at Mvera until I
arrived at Liwonde. At the former place at any rate
I obtained some fresh food, but here I could not even
get an egg, and was forced to look through the contents
of the corner-cupboard store wliich is in every rest-house.
You take what you like from the cupboard, and then
write in a book provided for the purpose what you have
had.
I took a biscuit, and a glance at a tin of condensed
milk, admiring its brown colour (without exaggeration
the milk was the colour of mahogany), and then in-
dulged in a whiff of the scent of a tin of salmon, and
finally seized a small packet of cigarettes, hoping this
last item would take from my memory the recollections
of those other horrors.
A glance through the visitors'-book and the remarks
contained therein was an education in itself, although
during the last two years only a few had called at this
Zomba 359
House of Rest. Still I should advise the Company con-
cerned to provide a new visitors'-book at all their rest-
houses, for the critiques contained therein are not by
any means advertisements.
A native capitao, knowing English, has charge of
the transport. I did not see him, he having gone to a beer-
drink, at least so I was informed by a police-boy. How-
ever, the next morning he sent. me fresh boys and the
following letter : —
" From the Head Caiptao, Resident, To the Mrs. Esqre
" Liwonde, Upper Shire District. A. L. Store,
" Liwonde.
" Sir,
" I have the honour that I am sending to you
the i6 carriers for your Mchila. Jim and I honour you
that when you will reach at Zomba, singe the ulendo
rate and return it with them.
" I have the honour to be
" Sir,
" Y. O. S."
It was indeed a faint and weary woman who arrived
at Zomba, and very grateful indeed was I for the kind
invitation Sir Alfred and Lady Sharpe gave me to rest
a few days at Government House before proceeding to
Blantyre. Lady Sharpe was a true Samaritan, for she
literally clothed me, the boys not having arrived with
my baggage, and, after the uncomfortable experiences
since leaving the gunboat, Government House really
seemed a haven of rest. I stayed there six days, and
I am quite certain I should have been very ill had it not
been for the great kindness I met with.
For Zomba I have nothing but praise ; it is really
one of the most beautiful places I have seen. The view
360 Via Rhodesia
from my bedroom window was so engrossing, I never
tired of looking at it ; one wanted so to see the distant
mountains under every aspect and at every changing
time of day or night.
I felt I had indeed returned to civilisation, for Sir
Alfred Sharpe not only has a motor-car but is quite
an expert driver. Many white men at Zomba have
motor-bicycles, and not only was the road between
Zomba and Blantyre being macadamised when I was
there, but also a fine road up Zomba mountain was in
course of construction.
The road will enable the women and children to live
on the height during the hot weather. About a hundred
natives are employed on this road, the total cost per
head for food and labour being 5s. 6d. a month.
There are fortunately no rivers to cross, only gullies,
and the road is about ten feet wide. The natives em-
ployed on the mountain have shelters of branches of
trees to sleep in at night, and a merry, cheery lot they
are.
The bracing atmosphere on the top of Zomba mountain
may be imagined when it is realised that the highest
point of this plateau is 6647 feet above sea-level. The
view to be obtained from here is beyond description.
The whole country round is covered with forest, which
is kept green and fertile by the many streams.
A successful trout hatchery has been established on
Zomba mountain, and I saw both brown and rainbow
trout sporting in the clear water and looking in a very
healthy condition. We were greatly excited to find
that some new baby fish had appeared. The pools
where the trout live are shaded by much overhanging
foliage, and are therefore difficult to photograph.
Zomba can boast of having electric light, and an
amusing story is told of the dynamo at Government
z ^ ^
•g. Kl K
£ -J -
3 — —
^ >
• s
Zomba
36,
House. A native was taught how to look after it, the
dynamo being placed in his charge. Now it happened
that the native committed a slight crime and was
sentenced to two weeks' imprisonment. What was to
be done ? It was impossible to do without the electric
light, and equally impossible to teach another native
immediately the other man's work. The difficulty was
solved by the native coming out of prison every evening
and sitting by the side of the dynamo in charge of a police-
boy so long as the electric light was required, returning
to prison immediately the light was switched off.
I went over the prison, which is also a lunatic asylum,
the mad patients being tied to trees in the daytime in
order to give them fresh air. The cells are so made
that the entire front is open to both light and air. The
TROUT SNAPPING FLIES. ZOMBA MOUNTAIN, B.C.A.
criminals are not allowed to be idle. They are taught
such useful things as carpentering, tailoring, etc.
There is a very good hospital at Zomba, which I was
glad to see w^as quite empty, also a library — in fact
Zomba is well equipped with buildings.
3^H
Via Rhodesia
I also went o\'er the Legislative Chamber, which is
quite a fine building and looks very important, but I
could not help being amused at what seemed to me a
rather comic-opera incident that occurred while I was
there.
COTTON-PLUCKING SHED AT MR. LIVINGSTONE BRUCE'S FARM, B.C.A.
The Attorney-General arrived from Blantyre, and a
Legislative Council was held, only three being present,
and the next day an Executive Council was held to pass
the laws made the previous day, and — the same gentle-
men were present, but this time as Executive. It
seemed a delightfully simple way of arranging matters,
instead of our squabbling method, with the dissensions
intensified by the reporters of the press.
The Mlanje mountain is especially beautiful. Rising
abruptly from level ground, it attains the maximum
height of 9846 feet. One of the paths of the northern
end is used chiefly for the purpose of transporting timber
from the cypress forest, which covers a large part of the
mountain. So bracing is the air on this mountain that
European invalids often go there specially for a rest
Zomba
36
and change. There are many tribes in Nyasaland, but
perhaps the more numerous are the Yao. They are
very superstitious, and I was told on the gunboat that
if a Yao sailor got his hand cut once he became melan-
cholic, thinking his wife was unfaithful, but if he got
two cuts then he became angry, and on reaching land
divorced two wives !
Between Zomba and Blantyre is a very prosperous
cotton farm, the property of Mr. Livingstone Bruce, who
is a grandson of the great explorer and is justly proud
not only of his name but also of the farm, the success
of which is entirely due to his untiring efforts. Some
of his fields yield as much as 180 lbs. each, a field being
AT MR. LIVINC.STONE BRUCE'S SAW MILLS, B.C. A.
about the size of an acre. Over 1000 acres are planted
with cotton.
Cotton seed is exempted from import duty. Coffee
and tobacco are also grown largely in Nyasaland.
3
68 Via Rhodesia
Blantyre, the commercial centre of Nyasaland, is
forty-two miles from Zomba, and there is a rest-house
midway, about twenty-five miles from Blantyre, at
Namadzi. Ox waggons and mule carts are seen on this
road, but there are very few horses in Nyasaland and
as a rule carriers are employed, who usually get about
IS. a head for fifty miles, and take two days for such
a journey, not carrying more than 56 lbs.
In order to save me the tediousness of a further
machilla journey. Sir Alfred Sharpe kindly took me by
motor part of the way to Blantyre, my luggage and a
rickshaw having been sent the night before to wait for
me, and so I did the journey comfortably in one day
instead of having to spend another night at a rest-house.
Of the condition therefore of the one at Namadzi I
cannot report, but with regard to the others, a tent,
please, in preference.
When approaching Blantyre I felt, indeed, that my
travels in the wilds must really be at an end, for I met
a white man who didn't take off his hat. It seemed quite
strange to pass without speaking, and, in fact, I found
Blantyre to be quite an up-to-date town. True, one
paid visits in rickshaws or machillas, but there the
difference between Africa and an English country town
ended.
The boarding-house of the African Lakes Company
was really a comfortable house to stay at, and life was
made a condition of wonder by a landlady who sang
twenty-three hours out of the twenty-four and never
seemed to get tired or lose her cheerful smile.
I was most kindly entertained by the Judge and
his pretty wife, and also spent a delightful Sunday at
the Residency. And what pleased me very much, I
found a kind woman who was willing to adopt little
" Ugly." I knew it would be impossible to take him
Zomba
0/
to England owing to quarantine regulations, and the
little mongrel had been such a chum I would have
shot him rather than have risked his not being cared
for.
LIGHTER WITH NATIVES COMING TO DRAG US OFF THE SANDBANK
There is a railway from Blantyre to Port Herald, a
distance of forty miles, and at Port Herald one gets into
a sort of gondola covered with a Lilliputian shed, called
by courtesy a house-boat, and is paddled through the
mud to a steamer, which takes you (if it doesn't get
stuck on a sandbank) down the Shire and Zambesi Rivers
to Chinde.
I enjoyed the trip on the house-boat very much, for
it was a pitch-black night. As I sat in the bottom of
the boat under the shed a rat came and ate the pugaree
off my helmet.
At the Portuguese boundary a tall, thin, dark official,
looking like the foreign villain of a melodrama, came
on board the gondola — I mean house-boat — and very
politely said good night, and the boys, as they paddled,
made weird noises, which I suppose was their idea of
J/
12
Via Rhodesia
singing, and so the night passed until we got at last
alongside the " Empress."
Of the journey down the Shire and Zambesi I can
write little, for I was ill most of the time, so tired that
I just wanted to sleep for ever and ever. I remember
only that it was a comfortable boat and that the captain
was fair and kind, and that for companions I had a
Government nurse — and a missionary.
At Chinde, I remember, there seemed nothing but sand.
I remember nothing else save a harmonium and hymns
at the boarding-house, which disturbed me when I wanted
to sleep, and a cheery English Consul, who invited me to
the Consulate and took me out in his boat to the tug.
And I am afraid I was not a bit pleasant to anybody,
for I was oh ! so tired, and nothing seemed so desirable
as sleep.
AFTER DRAGGING US OFF, NATIVES RETURN
--i
CHINDE HARHOUR WITH RIVER-IJOATS
CHAPTER XXXVIII
East Coast
BACK again to England ! It seems an endless
distance the tug takes you out, past the " Land-
mark " to the liner waiting outside the bar.
Packed into a basket, you are safely " heaved " aboard,
where, if you are fortunate, you land without too many
souvenirs in the way of bruises.
The hooter, oh, the awful hooter ! But why does it
sound ? Nothing is to be seen except water all round.
The anchor is weighed, and before you have really
settled down Mozambique is reached. Naturally, ashore,
to see the fort, under the guidance of the amiable skipper,
Captain Pohlenz. This fort, which now serves as a
prison, was built in 15 lo, by slave labour, with stone
imported from Europe. With its curious entrance, its
hundreds of pigeons, and vegetable gardens behind the
battlements, it could be anything except a prison.
373
74
Via Rhodesia
The Governor's palace is a line building, but every-
thing is so quiet, the streets are so silent, with coral
reefs sticking out here and there, the squares so empty,
with their white and pink houses, giving the impression
of glorious days long past. Since the seat of the Govern-
ment has been transferred, Mozambique has become an
unimportant place, although trade from the mainland
concentrates on this little coral island.
Two days after Mozambique we approach a picturesque
little lighthouse, just outside Zanzibar. The water takes
a pinkish colouring
through the red coral
bottom, and is nearly
as clear as at Madeira,
and here also natives
dive with great skill
after the pennies
thrown into the water.
Zanzibar is a world
of itself ; it is Pompeii
come to life, only more
picturesque. Moham-
medans and Indians,
natives of the interior
and of the island, form
a variegated crowd, a
heteroclitical display
of nationality and
colour.
Who knows Zanzi-
bar ? I read a lot
about it, saw many
pictures, painted and photographed, but I did not see it.
Those two days I was there seemed an hour, or less
even : so much new, so much totally different, so much
"landmark" off chinde
East Coast 375
more beautiful than anything else, it is impossible to
describe Zanzibar. You must come and see it ! Why go
to the Riviera year by year, where after all you only see
again the same people you saw in London ? Why not
"zii^- i<H T T 1^ T
A I.niNi, l.ii.llTLR Al MOZAMIJIOUE
take a trip over these coasts to Zanzibar and back ?
These German steamers are comfortable enough, the
food is excellent, practically every day fresh, and what
you see is a thousand times more fascinating than the
various hats and frocks of latest fashion, or the people
who wear them at Monte Carlo.
When landing you are assisted by hundreds of black
hands out of the little boat, and the only way to get
rid of the crowd is to engage one of them as a guide.
His name will probably be " Winston Churchill," or
" Lloyd George," or some similar name, reminding you
again of English politics with all their worry and trouble,
with all their insincerity and hollow phrases. The best
you can do is to let him carry your kodak.
How I tried to " snap " one of the veiled Mohammedan
women ! It seemed impossible, they a!ll run away and
376
Via Rhodesia
are afraid of the camera, but witli some intriguing, by
hiding the camera to the last minute, I managed it,
and you can see some results of my little dodge.
Why the women wear black and not white cloth I
cannot understand, it seems so odd.
The curio-shops, crammed with ornaments of gold
and silver, ivory goods, precious stones, ebony carvings
and sticks, silk and
cotton wear, are very
inviting, but not so
interesting as the
real native shop
where the owner sits
outside. Here you
can find really good
curios worth having,
from bedsteads to
trunks, from anklets
to ear - rings, from
shoes to head-gear,
everything piled to-
gether, seemingly
rubbish without
value, but still it
offers an amazing
temptation to spend
hours looking for
bargains.
A lovely drive
through the clove
plantation is well
worth the time. Small white houses peep forth here
and there with their mysterious inhabitants, through
beautiful palm trees and abundant tropical vegetation.
Ruins, witnesses of once grand old times, remind you
p:ntrance to fort, Mozambique
East Coast
dl I
of the history of ancient Zanzibar, with its slave trade
and man-eating tribes.
But back to the town again, wdth its hustling crowds,
who anxiously try to avoid being run over by the steam
tram that comes
whistling and puffing ' . -. ^ . . - .w\
out of the narrow
street, to cross the
bridge and then dis-
appear along the
river-side.
Probably through
their narrowness the
streets appear so pic-
turesque ; here and
there a " mashra-
bije," a grilled win-
dow of a harem, with
all its puzzles and
mysteries behind it,
artisans in their open
shops at work, turn-
ing silver and gold
into all kinds of
ornaments, Indian
traders of all tribes,
children and goats —
all these and more
enter into the com- zanzihar woman nihL\>. irum kodak
position of a picture
you will find nowhere else, a picture which you cannot
even imagine.
On the way to the landing-station near the new
palace there is a quaint old stone ship, high and dry, a
couple of hundred feet long, which in the olden days
3/8 Via Rhodesia
was used as a bath for the ladies of the Sultan's harem.
You can imagine the yarns and stories, and therefore
I need not give them.
The anchor winches are again at work, a last look,
as if on a lost paradise, and very soon we are again on
the high seas, bound for Dar-Es-Salaam, the modern
" Harbour of Peace."
The " Kronprinz," one of the hne liners of the D.O.A.
Line, anchors outside the lighthouse, and the captain
intends entering at daybreak. You must get up and
see the narrow channel through which, with great skill,
our floating home is guided into one of the finest natural
harbours existing. Rounding the corner where the water
seems hardly deep and broad enough for one ship to
get through, one of the most charming surprises awaits
the early riser, a fine modern city, with beautiful build-
ings rising amongst palms and other lovely trees.
In 1862 a Sultan of Zanzibar, Said-Majid by name,
decided to build a town at this place, and commenced
erecting a palace which, however, was never completed.
What Cape Town has been to South Africa, Dar-Es-
Salaam will be to German East Africa. With the rail-
way rapidly advancing to the interior, there is no doubt
that this German base will be a very important com-
mercial centre. The town itself is possessed of well-laid-
out wide streets, lined with trees, and everywhere you
are impressed by the amtliche (official business-like)
appearance of things. It is not a Zanzibar with all
its beauty, but a new creation which has undoubted
charms.
The " Bier Garten " of Mr. Schultze is deserving of
imitation. Sitting under the cool, shady trees even I,
not accustomed to beer, enjoyed a large glass of it.
Why do we English not adopt this style of refreshment ;
why must it always be whisky and soda ?
East Coast 379
A good lunch on the verandah of an excellent up-to-
date hotel at the far end of the town makes you forget
that time has wings.
The monument to Wissmann attracted my attention.
It is a tribute to a brave, far-sighted man, who with
hrm hand did a great deal towards establishing German
authority in these parts.
Next morning early we leave and make headway
for Tanga, an old world amongst new places shooting up
y
4r^
NATIVE DIVERS, ZANZIBAR
(By kind permission of Mr. P. Brandt)
out of the ground. Tanga reminds you in a way of
Mozambique, only that it has palms and ferns, and
abounds in a wealth of tropical growth. The market is
quite an attractive sight. It is laid out in the old Arab
style of a circle within a circle, and was the first of its
kind I saw.
It is near Tanga that, lately, the farmers have taken a
great fancy to rubber, and declare that for this product,
as well as for mahogany, there is a big future in store for
them.
8o
Via Rhodesia
From here the railway runs to Umhesa, and it is being
carried on farther as quickly as the Reichstag votes
funds, but they are just as stingy in this respect as our
lords and masters, and think that civilisation comes
first and railways follow, whereas the opposite is the
constant truth, as
anybody can see who
wants to see.
Half a day later
we enter Mombassa,
or rather its harbour
Kilindini, where,
amongst cocoanut
palms and the lux-
uries of tropical
foliage, wharfs and
warehouses are now
being built. From
here a man-propelled
tramway takes you
in twenty minutes
over a lovely road,
lined with giant
trees, to Mombassa.
From here begins
the main road to the
interior of Uganda,
and from here start
all expeditions to
Khartoum and Cairo ; I have even seen one such trip
(that of Mr. and Mrs. Hellman of Johannesburg) des-
cribed as a Cape to Cairo tour. Winston Churchill
and Roosevelt took this route, via Nairobi. It is such
a pity to see in all stores, even chemists' shops, only
Indians, mostly Parsees, and I regret to think that
A BEAUTIFUL DOOR IN ZANZIBAR
East Coast
381
Winston Churchill was right when he named Mombassa
"an annex to the Indian Empire."
After a few days we round Ras-Hafun, the most
eastern cape of Africa, where with a little imagination
you can see a giant lion watching the sun.
The sea, which had not been behaving too well, on
ROAD TO BU-U-BUL, ZANZIBAR
account of the monsoon, suddenly took the appearance
of a huge duck pond after we had turned into the Gulf
of Aden, and had not tiny little dhows, which we quickly
passed, shown us that we were moving, one might have
thought the boat was asleep.
It was here that one day at lunch I heard the follow-
ing amusing story.
A man had many fowls, some of them very valuable
382 Via Rhodesia
ones, and to his great disgust he found that somebody
was busily and ingeniously engaged in stealing them.
After a while he became suspicious of one of his native
servants, and decided to test them. One evening he
^.
■iin'i- / "~li
NATIVE iiCHOOL IN ZANZIBAR
called them together, and after they were all assembled
he showed them a large pot which stood upside down
on the table, and told them that he had put a fowl under
it. He then informed them that he would put out the
light, and they were to pass one by one and put their
hands flat on the pot, and as soon as the thief should do
this the fowl would crow.
He turned the light out, and the procession began,
and to the joy of the guilty one the fowl did not crow.
The owner of the fowls turned the light on again and
then looked at the hands of each servant, and as he
had blackened the pot, he found all to have blacking
on their hands except the guilty one, who had been
too frightened to touch the pot, fearing the fowl would
crow.
Aden ! Yes, there in the distance those rocks, huge
East Coast
3«
rocks, barren rocks, brown and nearly black in places,
with not a sign of life, not a sign of habitation, not a sign
of floral growth, only a soUtary signal station on the top ;
yes, that is Aden ! After rounding and entering the
harbour, a more animated scene appears. A large
"P. & O.-er " and several other steamers were in the
roadstead, and a number of small boats communicating
with the shore.
It was a Mohammedan holiday, and everyone was in
a suitable mood. Native cafes were full of customers
enjoying coffee with doubtful sweets of huge dimensions,
and some kind of pastry that did not look too inviting.
Farther up the street was a merry-go-round, patronised
not only by the shouting youth, but also by grown-up
men, who seemed to enjoy it more than the children.
How happy are these people, even with their vices (?)
NATIVE I\IERRY-GO-ROUND, ADEN
(may I call them vices ?). I never saw any gambling
that approached what I saw that day. Young and old,
everyone at it, and the games that w^ere played w^re far
superior to " Trente et Quarante," for you lose your
384 Via Rhodesia
money much more quickly and much more surely, and,
after all, that is what the " bank " must aim at.
I tried to take a snapshot, but the crowd made it
quite impossible. I did not see the Tanks, but I think I
spent my time much better in having a glimpse behind
the curtain at native life.
I shall never forget that row of little gambling tables,
and the expressions on the faces of " bank " and " loser."
I could have watched them for hours, and I only re-
gretted to hear the hooter, again that same awful hooter,
reminding us to return to the boat, where we arrived in
the nick of time.
Very soon we passed Bab-el-Mandeb, and the small
island of Perim, which, being a first-class cable station,
is rather important.
The Red Sea ! Why are people so frightened ? The
heat is in no way unbearable, and the monotony of the
voyage is broken several times by the passing of some
tiny islands, mere rocks sticking out of the sea, with
lonely lighthouses thereon. The most celebrated are the
Tw^o Brothers and the Daedalus.
And then, after imagining that we saw Mount Sinai,
in the distance is Suez.
Here I found a w^oman carrying on a profession which
I do not envy her. After we dropped anchor, the Port
Doctor's launch, with a little yellow flag, arrived along-
side, and to my greatest astonishment a young woman
w^alked up the " fallreep " and performed the duties of
medical officer of health. She has been here for several
years, and is always most amiable, so I was assured, but
unfortunately I did not notice much of her amiability,
because, when I asked her permission to take her photo-
graph, to show in England further proof of the justice
of our desire for equal rights, she abruptly turned round
and walked away. Before I recovered she was on the
East Coast
387
gangway, leaving the boat, but I just managed to get
a " shot " at her.
Now I understand why some people talk about losing
your feminine ways when you become emancipated.
Anyhow, it requires a good deal of pluck to fill such a
post as Port Doctor in Suez, and I must admit that I
admire this woman
who, in a trying
climate, has carried
out these duties for
so long a time.
Something had
gone wrong in the
canal, and we had
to wait a long time
before we were al-
lowed to enter. In
the meantime, fur-
ther steamers ar-
rived, and at last,
when we started,
there was a stately
number of boats
lined up, including
an Italian man-of-
war. Carrying the
mail, we entered
first. To describe
the impression created by this narrow strip of water
running through an endless desert would require more
space than my courteous publisher will allow me, and
therefore I can only say " Come and see it yourself ! "
The mystery of passing at night, with moonlight and
the searchlights of the other steamers behind us, is
beyond comparison ; it is weird and singular, it is
PORT DOCTOR AT SUEZ
o
88
Via Rhodesia
interesting and fascinating, with its ever-changing sliadow
pictures on the white banks of sand.
About half-way the canal widens, when we enter the
Bitter Lakes, with Ismaila on the distant shore, and a
>^:>-.
-ii^^i^^^
MOHAMMEDAN WOMAN BUYING FRUIT, ZANZIBAR
few hours later the canal again widens into Lake Menza-
leh, where swarms of ibis, the holy bird, attract con-
siderable attention.
Huge dredgers are widening and deepening the canal,
and a number of dhows begin to animate the scene.
On the distant horizon we can see the outline of buildings
and masts, Port Said, the most international port in
existence. Every language is spoken here, every coin
is accepted, but still one feels one is close to Europe.
The town is as cosmopolitan as can be, but I think
the Lidians outnumber the others. The curio shops are
crammed with all kinds of highly desirable things at
most undesirable prices — Egyptian cigarettes, which, as
a rule, if bought from the "hawkers" at seemingly low
prices are of still lower quality; Japanese goods in all
their coloured and attractive flimsiness; Arabian charms.
East Coast 391
little green beetles, " askarabije," offered at £10 apiece,
which you ultimately get for a shilling and then have
paid tenpence too much for. You feel so proud, after
bargaining for the best part of an hour, that you have
at last succeeded in obtaining some lace or needlework
at what you think your own price, the merchant declar-
ing, on oath, " I lose, I lose, but if you promise to tell
no one, I will let you have it, but I lose ! "
Does anyone really believe that a trader will sell you
something whereby he loses ? But you do not want
to be a philosopher, you are happy at the thought of a
bargain.
I saw one traveller, who thought he knew a lot, assist-
ing some fellow-travellers to try to " do down the
beastly Kuli." They were bargaining about some little
lace handkerchiefs, when one of the Indians took down
a beautiful shaw^l for which he wanted £S. Our guiding
man, having no intention to purchase, wanted to show
his superior cleverness, and offered £1. The merchant
said, " My brother, why offend me ? Take everything,
all is yours, but do not offend me ; I will give it for
seven pounds." Our friend answered again, " One
pound."
After the others had at last finished their purchases,
real genuine bargains, and were leaving the place with
regret that so many fine things should remain there
and they possess so few, and were getting into a little
cart, out comes the offended man again with the shawl :
" Two pounds, because you were so kind."
"One pound," replied our man, climbing into the cart
and directing the driver to drive on.
" All right, it's yours for one pound."
Our friend pulled rather a sad face, but had to take
it, and did not miss an opportunity in the further drive
to show " how to get them down."
39 2 Via Rhodesia
Wlien they returned to the boat, just in time not to
be left behind, our clever friend discovered that the
shawl he actually got was about half the size of the one
he saw first, and not worth more than about ten shillings.
It is sometimes wrong to want to be too clever.
I enjoyed an excellent lunch in a new restaurant at
the upper end of the quay, where, in the open, under an
enormous canopy, the statue of Lesseps, the constructor
of the canal, can be seen.
Half of the pleasure of living will go if ever the time
come when we shall know for certain what happens after
death, and to be certain what to-morrow will hold would
probably take away half the inducement to live through
to-day. And yet, few of us can say that we have not
at some time of our lives tried to peep into the unknown
future, always telling our friends that of course we don't
believe in palmistry or astrology ; but it is \'ery amusing
to hear.
D^DALUS LI(;H
It was here in Port Said that I met a wonderful palmist,
an Indian. I was walking with two friends, when he
accosted us and asked leave to tell mv fortune. At first
East Coast 393
I demurred, but the man's face looked so intelligent, and
he had such beautiful artistic hands, I had to consent,
and so we sat down at a table outside a cafe, ordering
some ice-cream. And then followed a few minutes full of
SIGNAL STATION IN SUF:Z CANAL, NEAR BITTER LAKES
wonder, for the Indian was a marvel — by palmistry he
gave details of the past and foretold the future, parts
of which seemed to me most improbable and out of the
question ; however, all of what he said with regard to
the latter came true within six months ! And yet he
could not possibly have known me, for the town was
filled with the passengers from many liners. Perhaps the
most marvellous thing about the " fortune " was that
this Indian told me practically the same as "Cheiro,"
the first celebrated London palmist, and the " Queen of
the Gipsies " both told me over ten years ago !
Yes, Port Said is a wonderful place, fascinating by
day, though dangerous, I am told, by night. Some of
the most amusing street loungers are the conjurers, with
their beaming smiles and seemingly cruel fingers as
they pretend to cut off the head of a chicken, producing
394 Via Rhodesia
" one little chicken, two little chickens, three little
chickens " instead.
But the smiles which come so readily at Port Said
vanish wlien one nears the Straits of Messina. Terrible
beyond imagination is the devastation the recent earth-
quake made at Messina. The greatest suffering occurred
at Reggio and Pazzo, where the ruins still standing show
the skeletons of former houses, and vividly display the
havoc that Nature can do when she rends the earth and
lays low the work of man.
In comparison with the beautiful stretch of water and
the romantic situation of the old towns, how hideous
are the dwellings which have been hurriedly erected for
the poor homeless people to take shelter in ! They look
like ugly barracks, as though a common man in check
trousers had suddenly dared to sit dowai on a Rose
du Barry satin couch of ancient date ! Better the
wreckage and silence than those ugly landmarks.
Terrible, it is said, was the ruthless plundering that
proceeded before military assistance came to aid in keep-
ing order. Women w'ere found minus their fingers, they
having been hurriedly cut off by the brigands in order
to secure the rings. Crime followed the disaster as
though man wished to add a darker shadow to the
sorrow for which Nature was accountable.
After passing the " Charybdis," of which one sees
very little, we make a sharp turn and head for Naples.
Although the boat stays here only one day, it is
possible in that time not only to go ashore, but also to
catch a train which will take you out to Pompeii and
back in time to return to the steamer again, if you are
proceeding to Marseilles. Lunch can be obtained at
the station at Pompeii.
The first thought that enters one's head when travers-
ing the narrow streets of this one-time city is, what tiny
East Coast
395
people must have been the inhabitants, for not only
are the streets narrower than those of Zanzibar, but
the rooms in the richest houses are so small that to
speak of feasts and what not being held therein is to
summon up a vision of a Lilliputian people. It seems
impossible to believe that chariots with three horses
abreast ever dashed through the narrow streets, or that
even a moderate-sized man or woman lived in any of
the houses. The only places where it appears at all
possible that more than two persons could have breathed
at the same time are the stadium and the bath.
Apothecaries' shops were apparently only the size
of pill - boxes, and
the only substantial
remaining evidences
that Pompeians
really existed with
the same healthy
appetites as our-
selves are the ovens
of the public bake-
ries.
Everyone, after
visiting Pompeii,
must wish to possess
at least one room
decorated in black
and scarlet, for the
walls still existing in
the house of the
famous two brothers Vettii display how truly artistic
such a scheme of colours may be.
Pompeii is too fascinating ; one would wish to stay a
long, long time and wander alone without a guide through
its many silent streets, a wordless poem in stone.
SELLIKG COFFEE IN THE STREET, PORT SAID
396
Via Rhodesia
One's imagination fills in the space which lies between
the then and now, and one sees not only the stepping-
stones over which pedestrians used to cross the streets
when water flooded through, but also the little lady
gathering her robes
about her and pois-
ing her sandalled
feet, while cavaliers
in gorgeous drapery
hover near. The
sky above must
have been as blue
then as now, and
the perfumes from
the gardens as
sweet.
To travel in one
year from a new
country such as
Rhodesia to an old
and buried world
like Pompeii is to
see, as it were, the
beginning and the
end of many things,
and to learn the
lesson that too
much luxury spells not civilisation, but decay.
Strange, indeed, are the ways of human beings ! A
new town is to be built at Messina on the ruins of the
old one, and though round Pompeii one sees vast tracts
of land covered with the lava that fell only a year or
two ago, yet people come as near as they can to build
fresh houses and make new gardens. Beautifully fertile
is the land around, and a smiling people seem happy on
TRAMWAY, PORT SAID
East Coast
397
the verdant earth, though Vesuvius towers above with
menacing mien, and smoke from its height seems to rise
up as though Nature were offering a perpetual monument
of mockery to man.
MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN IN ZANZIBAR
T
CHAPTER XXXIX
Beivayc of \ 'our Friends
HE " New York Press " of September 8th, 1909,
gave publicity to the following statement : —
''WOMAN ENJOYS AFRICAN HUNT.
" Charlotte Mansfield, a young English novelist, has
returned to London from a hunting-trip over the same
African wilds now being traversed by Theodore Roosevelt.
She travelled 400 miles alone, with 100 native carriers,
and shot four lions and two elephants, in addition to
specimens of every other kind of big game in British
East Africa. She reports the natives welcomed her to
their villages, signalling with drums from one kraal to
another, that a white woman was coming. At every
village she was met by the black chief, who in token of
peace and goodwill threw bows, arrows, and spears on
the ground at her feet. Miss Mansfield found a woman
the chief of one tribe, and by her was embraced for
the gift of a bar of soap. The young Englishwoman did
not see a white man for four weeks. When returning
to the coast she met President Roosevelt in Nairobi, and
he grew enthusiastic over her accounts of her hunting
exploits."
Who said " liar " ?
Others in England did it nearly as well.
398
Beware of Your Friends 399
The " Daily Mail " of the i6th August, 1909, had a
paragraph as follows : —
"FIRST WOMAN TO CROSS AFRICA.
" Miss Charlotte Mansfield, the novelist, who has
achieved the distinction of being the first white woman
to travel through the continent of Africa from the Cape
to Cairo, arrived in London on Saturday afternoon."
The " Evening News " of October 5th, 1909, said : —
" Only quite recently Miss Mansfield returned to
London from a journey through Africa from the Cape
to Cairo, and she claims that she is the first woman to
make this complete journey overland."
And then there was this wonderful bit of geographical
imagination in another paper : " From Abercorn, in
N.E. Rhodesia, she traversed Central Africa by rail,
and after a three days' journey got to Zomba. This
was the last stage before Cairo was reached, which city
she was not allowed to enter owing to infectious disease
prevailing there ! " That railway through Central
Africa the Colony is still hoping for, and Cairo is some-
thing like 3500 miles from Zomba — and then the funny
excuse for not getting in !
If you are not personally concerned you cannot know
how annoying this hash is. It is quite a relief to see
a letter like the following, which appeared in the " Daily
Telegraph" of January 27th, 1909, that is, sixteen days
after I left England : — ■
" To the Editor.
"Sir, — In justice to Miss Charlotte Mansfield, who is
now en route, I should like to state that she never claimed
to be 'the first woman to attempt the overland journey.'
400 Via Rliodcsia
" I interviewed her just before she started, and she
particularly impressed upon me the fact that she was
not the hrst woman to attempt the journey, but the
first to go along this particular route under the same
conditions — which is quite another thing.
" Miss Mansfield was extremely modest about her own
journey, and is, I should say, the last woman in the
world to wish to rob another of her laurels."
Or such a paragraph as this, which appcc.red in the
" Pelican" of the 13th January, 1909 : —
" Miss Mansfield believes she will be the first woman
to go along this particular route under these conditions."
And in August, 1909, in the "Globe," '* Daily Graphic,"
" Morning Post," " Morning Leader," " Nottingham
Express," "Birmingham Post," "Glasgow New^s," "Man-
chester Despatch," and so on, and so on, one can read: —
" At Lake Tanganyika she had to abandon her original
intention on account of sleeping sickness, and in conse-
quence went via Nyasaland to the coast."
In the August issue of " Travel and Exploration "
there is a paragraph headed, " Abandonment of Miss
Mansfield's Trans-African Journey," in which appears
the following statement : —
" . . . . The prevalence of sleeping sickness, however,
in the country that lay ahead of her constrained her to
abandon her intention. Had she determined to go on
she would probably have won through, but to do so
would have been to endanger the lives of her carriers
and to incur the responsibility of spreading the most
fatal of all African diseases. In accepting failure she
has chosen the better part. She will return by way of
Beware of Your Friends 401
Lake Nyasa and the Shire River, reaching the coast at
Chinde at the mouth of the Zambesi."
And in the " Review of Reviews " for September,
igog, occurred this passage : —
"Yes," said Miss Mansfield, "what I really set out to do
was to cross Africa from the Cape to Cairo in one journey.
So far as I can learn no one has yet done that, though
several have done it in two or three journeys. As it was,
I only reached as far north as Abercorn, south of Lake
Tanganyika ; there sleeping-sickness regulations upset
all my plans. I don't think the extent and ravages of it
are at all realised here."
I myself sent the following letter to a number of
papers : —
" In order to prevent any erroneous impression being
formed as to my having crossed Africa from Cape to
Cairo by land, I should esteem it a favour if you would
publish this letter. I am anxious to have it known that
I was prevented from proceeding north of Abercorn
(Lake Tanganyika) owing to the ravages of sleeping sick-
ness having stopped all traffic by natives on the road,
as well as all steamer transport on the lake. After being
informed by the officials that my progress northward
was impossible under these circumstances, the lives of
too many people being at stake, I was reluctantly com-
pelled to proceed with my caravan via Nyasaland to
Chinde. From here I came to Marseilles by the D.O.A.
liner ' Kronprinz ' by the Suez Canal route."
Most papers concerned had the courtesy to publish
this letter and have not again referred to the imaginary
travels. One paper, however, appears to have ignored
the letter completely, and, as I found out later, its first
2 D
402 Via Rhodesia
nonsense was republished in other papers under the same
control, through which I have suffered a good deal of
inconvenience.
I must refer here also to another matter. Throughout
Rhodesia I had given my London address as " The
Lyceum Club, London."
When I returned to London in the middle of August,
I found a letter awaiting me dated February 3rd, 1909,
notifying me that I had been expelled from the Club on
account of my novel, " Love and a Woman."
The following is from " Truth," September ist, 1909 : —
"... The facts are briefly as follows : Miss Char-
lotte Mansfield, the novelist, whose name has been re-
cently before the public in connection with an adven-
turous African journey, before she left England pubhshed
a novel dealing incidentally with the Lyceum Club and
its members, in a spirit, I should perhaps add, of ap-
proval that was almost adulation. Miss Mansfield, as
it happened, left England for Africa within a few days
of the appearance of the book, leaving the Lyceum Club,
of which she was a prominent member, as her London
address. On her return to London she was amazed to
receive a letter from the Secretary of the Club, informing
her in sufficiently brusque terms, that her novel had been
brought before the notice of the Executive Committee,
and that, acting in accordance with the powers con-
ferred upon it by Rule 11, her membership was cancelled
and her name removed from the register of members.
Furthermore, she also found that letters addressed to
her at the Club during her absence had been refused,
which, as many of them were business communications,
caused her very considerable inconvenience. . . . What
is certain is, that the brusqueness of the Committee's
methods leave very much to be desired from the point of
Beware of Your Friends 403
view of the ordinary member, who is tliereby placed at
the mercy not only of an autocracy but of one acting
according to the best traditions of despotism. She may
leave London one day and upon returning a month later
may discover that she has been expelled the Club, be
given the barest of reasons or no reason at all, and be
condemned to suffer a slur upon her name without either
explanation or the chance of appeal. In any ordinary
man's club the procedure in such a case would be for
the offending member to be called upon for an explanation
of his conduct. If the Committee or sectional committee
considered the explanation unsatisfactory, he would then
be called upon to resign, and failing that be expelled. I
am ready to admit that in a woman's club of so com-
prehensive a membership as the Lyceum, there might be
occasions when it would be necessary to act promptly
and to avoid discussion and the possibility of open
scandal, though it should not, I think, be beyond
feminine ingenuity to find a more satisfactory solution
than by emulating the methods of the late Sultan. That
difficulty, of course, in no way applies to the present
case, wherein the victim was a well-known writer and
an honoured member of the Club. The obvious and only
decent course would have been to wait until her return
to London — for her absence, and in a place where letters
could not reach her, was a matter of common knowledge
— to have then asked her for an explanation of the offence,
whatever it might be, and if that were thought unsatis-
factory, to have asked her to resign her membership.
" In failing to take this course I cannot but think
that the Executive Committee has not only done grave
injustice to Miss Mansfield, but may also be doing serious
injury to the future of the Club itself. No one — certainly
no woman — would care to leave her character and repu-
tation at the mercy of a committee of other women,
404 Via l^hodcsia
however eminent, witliout tlie oj^portnnity of appeal or
explanation."
My amazement was followed by amusement at the
impudence of the Club officials soliciting me in a letter
dated July 3rd, 1909, and also awaiting my arrival, to
buy members' shares of the Club. It is incredible, but
I can produce the original letters.
On August 17th, 1909, my name still appeared in the
" Lyceum Magazine," the recognised official organ of the
Club, as a member of the Committee of the Oriental
Circle.
I think, in fairness to the majority of the Committee,
I should state that they, and also a very large number of
other members of the Club, heard of my expulsion only
after my return to England, and were for over six
months quite unaware of the drastic decision arrived at
by the few Committee members who were present at
the meeting when the resolution in question was passed.
I have considerably more than a hundred letters from
prominent members of the Club, in which they express
their indignation at what some of them call high-
handed procedure.
I attribute it also to the gross incivility of the Club
management, in refusing to accept and redirect my
letters until I took up this matter very seriously, that
numerous letters, photos, and other communications
from South Africa never reached me, and I therefore
was unable to reply.
I take this opportunit}^ of thanking friends and
strangers who may have written to me and, never re-
ceiving an answer, must have thought me very rude.
CHAPTER XL
Back to Sim shine
I RETURNED to Africa much sooner than I had
anticipated returning, and owing to certain reasons,
which are not of pubhc interest, came out this
time on the D.O.A. Uner " Admiral," by the West
Coast. I knew, from experience on the East Coast,
how comfortable the boats of this line are, and was
glad of the opportunity of seeing a fresh route via Las
Palmas and German S.W. Africa.
After leaving Southampton, the first port of call is
Las Palmas, which is very much like Madeira. Perhaps
it is not quite so pretty, but it affords finer views and
contains more of interest, as, for instance, the cave
dwellings. One has sufficient time to take a drive into
the mountains to "La Brigita," where, amidst lovely
flowers, an enjoyable breakfast is served. Returning,
one notices better how the road has been ascending by
serpentine windings to higher levels, and after a half-
hour's drive one again arrives in the town. A fine
Roman Catholic church is well worth visiting, and also
the adjoining square, where are to be seen a large
number of quaint bronze dogs.
A number of novices were on board, and when nearing
Cape Verde they believed that the liner would stop to
allow of their going shooting " rhino " on the coast. The
steam-launch was fired up, a good picnic lunch packed
into it, the first officer took the wheel, and the intend-
ing hunters were informed that as soon as he blew the
405
4o6
Via Rhodesia
whistle the winches would hoist the launch up. The
sailors at the winches were trying them, and making an
infernal noise.
"All aboard?" "Yes!" was the answer. The
whistle blew, and what then happened can be seen
in the photo which the ship's barber, Mr. Brandt, was
happy in securing.
FIRE-DRILL ON BOARD " KRONPRINZ "
Swakopmund, the principal port in German S.W.
Africa, looked so miserable with all its sand, that I quite
understood one fellow-passenger remarking that he would
not even like to be buried there.
A day later we entered Luderitzbucht, where new
diamond fields have been found, and a very interesting
study of human life was here afforded us. Adventurers
of all kinds and of many countries seem to have found
here a new El Dorado, and came by hundreds to the
boat for fresh beer.
Back to Sunshine 409
Again Robbcn Island, again Cape Town, guarded by
Table Mountain, and good Captain Doherr took us
safely into harbour.
My thoughts went back to the time when I saw-
it first with all the new and unknown before me. This
time, also, I did not eat an apple.
Again in one of the large British Colonies, and to one's
mind come the intricate questions which people in Eng-
land discuss without knowing what they are talking about.
What does Great Britain ask of her Colonies ? Cut
away the political aspect, unmask the commercial pro-
position, come face to face with reality. What does
Great Britain ask ? Allegiance ! Be true to me !
And what do her Colonies crave for ? What is it
that makes a sacrifice seem a gift, what is it that explains
all, asks for all, and yet gives all ? There is only one
answer — Love.
We white people are a great family, and must cling
together, for there are enemies abroad. The black and
yellow races are not of us ; why, then, should they be
for us ?
We whites must give of our best to each other, hope
on our lips, love in our hearts, and the knowledge that
" not too much trust, not too much faith," but work
must be our armour, leading to our ultimate supremacy,
remembering that where the white succeeds civilisation
is at its best.
My task is over, I must say good-bye. Not good-bye
to the sunshine, for Africa is now my home, but good-
bye to the camp-fires, pictures in black and scarlet ;
good-bye to strange shadows with weird voices of the
night ; good-bye to the singing of the wind through the
hours as it passed, making the tall grass and Kaffir
corn quiver with thrills of its song ; good-bye to the
mystic lightning ; good-bye to the elusive doves ; good-
4IO
Via Rhodesia
bye to my " boys," gallant giants, ignorant, yes, as we
count knowledge, but how rich in the contentment
nature gives and the man of means rarely knows !
good-bye to my one and only journey, which started
with faith, travelled through danger, and ended in love.
And good-bye to my book, in whose pages I have
lived one year over again, and through whose voice I
wish with all my heart to help those emigrants who are
longing for life in a new world. If to them I give per-
chance a little hope and encouragement, then my work
will not have been in vain, for courage can conquer every
obstacle, even self.
GOOD-BYE
AUTHOR IN A NOVEL FRAME
A ig-ton casting for one of the large rock-breakers for the Voorspoed Diamond Mine,
Orange Free State
APPENDIX A^
IMPRESSIONS OF RHODESIA
special for the '■^Khodesiaii Joiinial"
I HAVE been asked to give a few of my impressions
of Rhodesia. Experience has taught me that,
though I may perchance waver in an interval, I
always return to my first conclusions, therefore I will
give you my first impressions, feeling certain they will
be lasting ones.
To begin with, Rhodesia is a surprise, in fact, the
whole of South Africa is quite different to anything I
had been led to expect. I fear, too, many of the folks
at home hear only of the disadvantages, and thus
imagine that malaria fever is contracted on leaving
Southampton Water, lions await one at Cape Town,
while as for food one has to live on tinned inferiorities
eaten with a steel fork, instead of which you have not
only comforts but luxuries.
Some Rhodesians complain of the quiet and say the
towns are dull. If you grumblers could only realise
how golden is the silence ! A few days ago I went over
a crushing-mill at a mine at Penhalonga. Believe me,
the sound was music compared to three motor omnibuses
all trying to pass along a London street at the same time.
Then the absence of disagreeable odours strikes me as
being one of your towns' chief charms. The air is so
clear, so exhilarating, so free from the microbe-laden
^ See page 1 15.
411
412 Via Rhodesia
matter which stings one's nostrils, bringing in its trail
the " hay fever " which is now really more prevalent in
the towns in England than it was of yore in country
places.
I have come while the rains are on, yes, but the rain,
though heavy while it lasts, does not chill one to the
bone, the sun shines between the showers. And what can
I say in sufficient praise of the warmth and brightness
of this glorious sun ? It is all your fuel and half your
food. " Too much sun sometimes," I hear it said ;
yet surely five months' sunshine without a single cloud
is preferable to a five hours' fog.
The wild flowers and grasses are to me a constant
delight. I w^onder that we do not hear more of them
in England, and I hope soon a great Rhodesian artist
will arise able not only to depict the grandeur of the
scenery but also the wealth of colours and bloom lying
on every side within one's grasp.
Everywhere I find civilisation more advanced than I
expected. It now only needs individual effort to bring
to a speedy issue the glorious results of the Great
Founder's dreams. It is to be hoped that those now
participating in the profits will not lose sight of the
original ideals, but, each laying aside party principles
and petty interests, will strive to ennoble and beautify
the wonderful country they occupy.
Salisbury and Bulawayo having each their special
attractions so different in type, have no cause for jealousy
and need never be rivals. In Salisbury, I hope soon
will be laid the foundation stone of a really beautiful
cathedral, to the building of which all Rhodesians of
every denomination should contribute, well knowing
that cathedrals are a nation's greatest monuments, and
politically as much as from a religious point of view
show the landmarks of progress. Destroy the cathedrals
Impressions of Rhodesia 413
of Europe and you annihilate one of the greatest, as well
as artistic, assets.
If Salisbury is to be the cathedral city, why should
not busy Bulawayo be the seat of literature and art ?
The beginnings of to-day may mean the universities of
the future.
Already you have a library, and it is good news that
an adequate museum is to be built. Would it not be
possible to utilise the same as a lecture hall, where lectures
of practical use may ultimately with advantage be given ?
I should like to suggest that when the promised Young
Men's Christian Association institution is opened, one
night a week shall be devoted to literary debate, women
being admitted, not only as guests, but allowed to take
part in the debates. There is no greater bond of friend-
ship between all classes than that which has an intel-
lectual basis.
One trait which I find very delightful in the colonial
character is the sincerity of courtesy amounting to
genuine friendship. The polite froth of ultra-civilisation
has not yet been developed, and let us hope never will.
Also there is a breadth in thought and freedom in action,
a courage of one's own convictions, which I think only
comes from having room to breathe in. One does not
tread on the heels of each other's thoughts, and there-
fore there are fewer faddists and no cranks. Where all
are combining to build a city, there is less inclination to
quarrel about each individual chimney-pot.
With regard to a health standpoint, I really do not
think Rhodesia has much to complain of. I have not
examined any statistics, but I doubt if fever is as great
a scourge here as influenza is in England. Death may
come quicker in some cases, but surely that is prefer-
able to the lingering troubles of heart and lung which are
left behind by influenza !
4T4 ^'^^ Rhodesia
I have seen nothing of poverty since I left London,
and it appears to me to be non-existent in South Africa.
Every native as well as every white has food, raiment,
shelter and sunshine, also the happiness which comes
from a well-nourished body. It seems so long since I
saw haggard, draggle-tailed women, shivering men and
crying children, and yet only two months ago my heart
ached at the daily sight.
What has impressed me most of all ? The Matoppos,
the silence, and the simple grave. I never saw Cecil John
Rhodes living, but everywhere I feel the influence of his
spirit, which still lives, though his body is dead. And
why does it live ? Because on every side is evidence
that he lived for others and not for self. Let us hope
that the lives of future generations of Rhodesians will
be of sufficient nobility to prove the merit of his legacy
of unselfishness.
Most men arc merely men and no part God,
A few have thoughts which live beyond the sod,
And so we say of Rhodes "He leas a man,"
Knowing that something more was Jiis inspan.
BULAWAYO,
i^th March, iQoq.
A
APPENDIX B'
LECTURE ON WORD PICTURES
The Report of the " Rhodesia /i Joi/ntai"
WELL-x\TTENDED gathering assembled at the
Grand Hotel Hall on Saturday evening to listen
to Miss Charlotte Mansfield's lecture on this
subject. Mrs. R. A. Fletcher presided, and was sup-
ported by Mrs. Cummings. The proceeds were for the
funds of the Loyal Women's Guild of Bulawayo.
Mrs. Fletcher, in introducing Miss Mansfield, said
this was the first time in the history of Bulawayo that
a lady lecturer had appeared before them. She hoped
it would not be the last.
Miss Mansfield, who was accorded a very hearty
reception, said :
" Shall I tell you why I chose ' Word Pictures ' ? Be-
cause someone, I grieve to say a resident, told me that
Bulawayo was a dull place. There is no such thing as a
dull place. Like Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Gamp's bosom friend,
it does not exist. A place may be beautiful or otherwise,
healthy or the reverse, but since wit and humour dwells
in and comes from ourselves, and not from paving-stones
or veld, a place cannot be dull, and to call it so is to
accuse the inhabitants of being indolent or ignorant, or
both, which the people of Bulawayo certainly are not.
" When anyone tells me he or she is bored I always
feel inclined to reply : ' Who are you boring ? '
' See page 115.
415
41 6 Via Rhodesia
"Now what I think you really need in Bulawayo is a
new game, a game which amuses and at the same time
is an education in itself ; and the study of Word Pictures
may be both.
" The making of puns is the finding of the relationship
of words ; word pictures are formed by their artistic
and emotional arrangement ; pictures of life may vary
in costume or differ in language, a different century will
mean different spelling, but the sentiments, the passions,
have ever been the same.
" I have heard people remark that they do not care
for poetry ; they are unconsciously lying — they do ; but
they do not recognise it as such. In every human being
lies the germ of a poet, as every bushman's painting
proves that love of, or necessity for, art exists among
all classes ; every human being at some moment in his
or her life is a poet, perhaps not in words, but in either
deeds or thoughts. Why, Rhodesia itself is named after
a poet. Cecil Rhodes was a poet in thought and deed,
although I do not think there is any record of his having
written poetry, but his life showed it, the selection of
his burial-place proved it.
" So far from imagination being a bar to progress or
practical results, study history, read the pages of every-
day life, and you will find that no man or woman ever
accomplished anything of value, or made a mark in the
world, who lacked imagination. Imagination is twin
sister to faith, and with hope as a mother, may alter
the history of nations.
" How is this game of Word Pictures to be played ?
Begin by teaching children to play with words as they
would with marbles, for if, as a child, one learns to
make a pattern of words, one is weaving for old age a
carpet of comfort. What matter if hearing fails or eyes
grow dim, one can take down from the shelf of memory's
Lecture on Word Pictures 417
store-room a picture and walk again through the gallery
of one's youth.
" Many people if asked to express an opinion on the
relative value of poetry and prose, would say that prose
must be of more value than poetry, as it holds more
truth, but I contend that it does not ; poetry to live
must be founded on truth, either as chronicling events
or describing an emotion.
" You have no snow-topped mountains in Rhodesia,
but you have an equal mystery in the wonders of the
Matoppos. How long, I wonder, will it be before you
realise the wealth of material waiting so near at hand ?
The pigments are there in the mountains, in the plains,
in the dome of the ever-changing sky above ; which of
you will take this mass of inspiration and colour and
make pictures that those in other lands may see ? In
your library you have mind pictures from all quarters of
the globe ; so far you have given little in description to
these other lands — it is not a just exchange.
" After all, we remember most vividly the simple
things of life, if those simple things hold a tiny string
attached to one's heart. The work of Bernard Shaw
will die ; it excites one's brain but never stirs one's
emotions to their depth. We do not care if his heroes or
heroines weep or laugh, live or die, they must amuse
us for the time being, that is all we desire. The pictures
which will live are those which may have made us feel
the magnetism of the warmth of the writer's blood
mingling with their own.
" Do you ever pick up a stray button without thinking
of Charles Dickens, and seeing the pictures of dear old
Peggotty whose heart was too big for her bodice ? or
eat a herring without remembering Lady Nairn's beauti-
ful song ' Caller Herrin' ' ?
" If Swinburne had never written more than that
4 1 eS Via Rhodesia
one line, ' The Gradual Sea,' he would have proved
himself a poet, for in three words he gives us a seascape
and marks the rhythmical measure of its grace and
speed. The gradual sea — one seems to see it coming
so gently yet so certain.
" It may seem a paradox to say that Mendelssohn's
Songs Without Words are word pictures; they are, in
that the music of the composer makes possible the poetry'
in ourselves. Who has ever listened to one of these so-
called wordless songs without unconsciously accom-
panying the music with the story of one's own thoughts ?
To you it may mean one memory, to me another. We
love this music and to it we can sing our secret songs,
the poems of our inner selves, the sacred stories the
world knows nothing of. Mendelssohn understood
humanity, he knew that there are times when one's lips
refuse to speak, when one's ears shrink from the recital
of another's life history ; when the soul seeks either
solitude, or the music to which we may whisper in
thoughts the yearning or the disappointments of life.
" The excuse that life is short is often given as an
excuse for not studying literature. Instead of being an
excuse for not doing, it should rather be the impetus for
greater endeavour. A woman gives most thought to the
gown she wears for the shortest length of time, a court
dress in which to make one curtsy, a wedding-dress
worn for an hour. We none of us embroider our shrouds,
although we must needs wear them for many seasons.
" If life is short then each moment should be used.
We grumble at Nature who makes a passion-flower to
live only twenty-four hours ; we cannot understand
why so much should fade in so short a time, and yet we
ourselves allow our thoughts to die almost at their birth
without striving to keep or cultivate them.
" From the days that Thomas Pringle, who was born
Lecture on Word Pictures 419
in 1788 and died in 1834, ^-nd may be called the father
of South African poetry, until the present day, you
have had your artists of song, but the output has been
small — very small in comparison to other lands, and
yet from Table Bay to Tanganyika what a land you
have ! teeming with material for thought, filled with
the beauty necessary for inspiration.
" We have studied many different kinds of word
pictures to-night. Some novelists have even greater
power of making us feel the actual presence of atmo-
sphere than any painter who wields pallet and brush.
If on being asked if you had crossed the desert you
replied ' Yes,' you would be telling no lie if in reality
you had never left Bulawayo, but while here had read
Robert Hichens' ' Garden of Allah.'
" If, then, these writers can bring so vividly pictures to
you, why should you not make pictures for each other
and for those who have no opportunity of seeing your
beautiful land ? Some say that the English language is
poor compared to Italian and French ; it is rich in words,
but rarely do we use them sufficiently in our daily life —
our conversation is poor, we use the same words day
after day, without some of the most beautiful words,
which fall into disuse or are forgotten.
" I have a proposition to make : if you will form a
literary debating society for the discussing and forming
of Word Pictures in poetry and prose, I shall have much
pleasure in offering a medal to be competed for, and
will ask the President of the Poets' Club, London, to act
as judge of the most original Word Picture.^ There will
be two conditions, one, that the picture shall be written
by a resident in Rhodesia, the other, that the subject
shall be Rhodesian in character — that is, containing local
colour or describing events connected with Rhodesia."
^ The two contributions adjudged to be the best are given overleaf.
APl^iNDIX C
THE SELUKWE HILLS
OTHE lire of life breaks o'er the hills
At the Spring's bright dawn ;
For the sun has touched the branches brown
And the trees wave their crimson pennons down^
To greet the glad march of morn
With the living fire of the hills.
O the fire of death creeps o'er the hills
In the winter's night ;
When the flames advance with relentless ire,
Behind them destruction and blackness dire.
The earth has no strength to fight
'Gainst the fire of death on the hills.
O the fire of storm bursts o'er the hills
When the thunders roar
And the steel-blue arrows of lightning dart
As if they would reach e'en the mountain's heart ;
And torrents of rain downpour
While the storm-fire plays on the hills.
O unmovable, steadfast the hills
Whate'er may betide —
Though the storm-fiend rage with awful force,
Though black death follow the veld-fire's course,
Yet, as the bridegroom the bride,
Comes the fire of life to the hills.
Druid.
' The new leaves of the mountain acacia are bright red.
420
APPENDIX I)
NATURE IN RHODESIA
NATURE was in a grim mood when she came to
Rhodesia. She was tired of being orderly and
neat, tired of being prim and precise. She had
been busy making a world, and here she threw down
her spare materials and her palette and paints. She
had given others of her best. She had left behind a
bewildering choice of grass-hid nooks, silent creeks and
water-bound islets. She had provided wide, placid
streams that wound away between buttercupped mea-
dows, bordered by withe and ash ; mirror-lakes ringed
in by hills that seemed. Narcissus-like, to calmly con-
template their own beauty faithfully traced upon the
waters below ; trees that sheltered the short, sweet
grass and filled the sky with the leafy beauties of oak,
larch, cedar, and elm. And yet her people wandered
and sent her on to prepare other lands.
So, she arrived here, hot and panting and not a little
sulky. They would wander ? Then, quoth she, they
shall become as hot and as thirsty as their servant ; and
she ordered things to her whim. She had a large country
to cover and swept hurriedly over it. She gave us the
broad art of the scene-painter, laying on as a background
the great monotone of the veld to throw out more
sharply the wild, rugged beauties of form that she piled
up for us, oases of colour in a desert of drab. She gave
us rivers, but not lazy, smug bodies of water content to
421
42 2 Via Rhodesia
flow sluggishly on between prescribed limits as though
in accord with their well-ordered surroundings. Instead,
dashing, irresponsible watercourses that owned no
banks nor confines, that slept in guarded pools and
awakened to madly tear up their own bed, without
thought for the discomfort awaiting when they should
sleep again. She hurried on. There was no time to
turn and sweep up after her. She left her chips lying
around and upon the hills, irritating crumbs in the beds
of her rivers, lumber on the flats — debris everywhere.
And over the whole, with a callous swing of her arm,
she grudgingly scattered a few seeds.
Then, woman-like, she sat down and wept. Her tears
formed the Zambesi and her seat the Falls. And the
ever curious wanderers left their well-ordered lands to
look upon the splendid scene of her sorrow.
Hydra.
Gwelo, Rhodesia.
INDEX
A
Abercorn, N.E. Rhodesia, 167, 297
Abercorn, Southern Rhodesia, 167
Aden, 383
Agriculture, 15 i ft".
— Mealie cultivation, 155. See
also Farming
Awemba. See Native Tribes
B
Barnardo's Homes, opportunity for,
238
Beattie, Dr., 120, 141
Bee-farming, 92
Belgium, H.M. the King of, 119,
303
Blantyre, 368, 369
Bodle, Colonel, 113
Boers, 39, 178
Brick-making, 237
British South Africa Company, 58,
15'. 152, 153. 210
Broken Hill, 141, 160, 164, 166,
169, 171, 172, 176-8
Bruce, Mr. Livingstone, 367
Bulawayo, 50 ff., 115, 210,415
C
Camping, 185, 199 ff., 214, 228,
242, 294
Cape Town, 23, 25, 26, 29-34, 409
Chanda, 273-5
• — • Makuba, 273-5
Chinde, 372
Chisholme, Dr., 320
Chitambo, 236 ff.
Cholmondeley, Mr., 227, 229
Churches, 52, 97, 148
Citrus trees, 58
Climate, 93, 239, 298
Codrington, Mr., 147
Coffee-growing, 367
Colenso, Bishop, 10 1
Colenso, Miss, 102
Colour question, the, 24
Convicts, 85, 262
Cory, Professor, 103
Cotton-growing, 169 ff., 211, 367
Coxhead, T. C, Mr., 327
Crocodiles, 122
Cuckoos (Native Fowls), 208
D
Diamond mines, 46
Doves, 165
— as water-finders, 165
Dress, 1 14, 307
E
Easterbrook, ISIr. Dove, 345
425
426
Via Rhodesia
Education in South Africa, 52,
9+. 97 ff-, 172, 237, 320, 321
Elephants, 122
Export —
Cheese, 155
Cotton, 170
Meat, frozen, 155
Tobacco, 211
Farming —
Bee, 92
Dairy, 53, 155
Fruit, 58, 211
Mixed, 211
Poultry, 53, 90, 239
See also Agriculture, Cuckoos
Farming prospects in Rhodesia, 4,
53
Fauna of South Africa, 63, 122,
165, 316
Fife, 322
Firearms, 29
Flora of South Africa, 55, 62, 63,
75> 124, 135, 197, 226, 260-2,
292
Fort Hill, 339
Fowls, 208, 239
French Mission Station, 37
Fruit-farming, 58, 211
Game, 157, 161, 180, 209, 271,
344
German liners, 375> 378) 405
German South-West Africa, 406
Goats, 208
Gold, 85, 167
Grass, long, 219
— lost in, 67
Groote Schuur, 34 ff., 69
H
Hannon, Mr., 154, 156
Hassall, 199
Hippopotami, 122, 148
Hole, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall, 77,
ii3> 177
Honey-bird, 268
Hospitals, 145, 363
Hotels, 81, 82, 145
Houses, Rest, 319, 339, 354, 356,
368
I
Ikomba, 315
Immigrants, hints for, 29, 30, 93,
151, 212, 297. See also Settlers
Imports of South Africa, 54
Insects, 213, 268
Beetles, 148, 165
Butterflies, 294
Jiggers, 214
Mosquitoes, 255
Palpalous fly, 303-5
Ticks, 349
Tsetse fly, 267
J
Jameson, Dr., 34
Johnston, Fort, 350
Jones, Averay, 285
Justice, Administration of, 285 ;
Prisons, 262, 287, 363
Ind
ex
427
K
Kalomo, 162
Kandahar Island, 121
Karonga, 341 ff.
Karoo, 39
Kasama, 284, ff.
Kawanda, 239, 240
Khami River, 60, 65
Khami Ruins, 60 ff.
Kimberley, 45, 46
King, H.M. the, of England, 144
Kopjes, 50, 65, 221
Kota-Kota, 349
Las Palmas, 405
Leopards, 241
Lions, 82, 147, 226, 231, 263 ff.,
307> 3i7> 324, 325. 326, 343
Livingstone, 141 ff
Livingstone, Dr., 132
Liwonde, 356
Lyceum Club, 402 ff.
M
Macheke, 78
Machilla, 172 ff., 222, 240, 267
— Team, 178, 179, 193, 240, 255,
297, 353, 354
Madeira, i 7-20
Mails, delivery of, 184
— missing, 144
Malarial Fever, 255
Mansfield, Charlotte, origin of her
journey, 8 ; her outfit, 9 ; her
shooting practice, 10; leaves
England, 1 4 ; arrives at Cape
Town, 22 ; visits Groote Schuur,
34 ; Kimberley, 44 : travels on a
railway engine, 49 ; arrives Bula-
wayo, 50 ; visits Khami ruins,
60 ; Rhodes's grave, 69 ; arrives
Salisbury, 75; lectures, 115; at
Victoria Falls, 119 ff . ; her first
encounter with natives at Living-
stone, 141 ; crosses Kafue River
as letter, 161 ; arrives Broken
Hill, 164; her Machilla team,
172; travels north by Machilla,
173; engages interpreter, 176;
in camp, 184 ; carried through
swamps, 203, 242 ; barters with
natives, 208, 316; reception of,
bynatives, 216, 227, 240, 242,273,
339 ; arrives at Serenje, 227 ; has
malarial fever, 255, 259 ; arrives
Kasama, 284; arrives Abercorn,
301; abandons projected journey
to Cairo, 305 ; arrives Ikomba,
315; arrives Fife, 322; arrives
Karonga, 343 ; arrives Zomba,
359; returns to England, 373;
expelled from Lyceum Club,
402 ff. ; and Journalists, 398 ;
returns to South Africa, 405
Marandellas, 81
Marshall, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh, 302
McKnight, Doctor, 168, 173, 175
Medicines, etc., 204 ff., 255
Melland, Mr., 256
Messina, 394
Milton, H. E., Sir William, 78
— Lady, 78
Mines, 85
— coal, 171, 207
428
Via Rhodesia
Mines, diamond, 46
— gold, 85, 167
— lead and zinc, 168
Mining, 153, 158 ff.
Missions in South Africa, 52, 94,
97 ff-, 238, 254, 256 {(., 321
Moffat, Mr., 236, 237
Mombassa, 380
Mos([uitoes, 255
Mountains — Matoppos, 37, 69
— Mlanje, 364
— Zomba, 360
Mozambique, 373
M'pika, 263, 267, 287
M'pumba, 254
Muizenberg, 33
Mulungushi, 178
Mvera, 354, 336
N
Native canoes, 222
— carriers, 214, 220, 221, 239, 339,
354, 359, 368
— carriers, letter, 184
— huts, 343
— labour, 153, 169
— manners, customs, and supersti-
tions, 57, 178, iSo, 192, 194,
206, 214, 215-16, 222, 241,
243 ff> 294, 315. 328 ff.
— morals, 89, 93-4, 172, 237-8
— music, 149, 239
— news carrying, 234-5
— paintings, 355
— trading, 208, 273
— tribes — -Ainamwanga, 250, 328
A'Mambwe, 310, 328
Angoni, 176, 251, 344
Native tribes -Awumba, 172, 194,
24', 2 43> 244 ff-
Awiwa, 328
Awuvu, 250
Bakongo, 250
Barotse, 243
Mashona, 243
Mashukulumbwe, 243
Matabele, 243
M'lala, 215, 243, 244
M'Senga, 243
— troops, 148
— villages, 2 1 5 ff.
— weapons, 2 2 1
Natives, beauty, sense of, 178, 192
— dress of, 172, 177, 343
— education of, 52, 94, 97 ff., 172,
237, 320, 321
— food of, 295, 330
--- how to treat, 68
— language of, 176
— in mines, 46
— resource of, 268
— trading with, 169
North, Miss, loi
Nyasa Lake, 346 ff.
Nyasaland, 339
Palpalous Hy, 303
Photography, 272-3
Pompeii, 394
Port Said, 388 ff.
Poultry-farming, 53, 90, 239
Prisons, 262, 287, 363
Q
Queen, H.M. the, of England, 144
Incl
ex
429
R
Railways of South Africa, 30, 48, 49,
78, 141, 153, 156, 161, 166, 167,
176, 371
iny season, 59, 412
.evenue, collection of, 184-5
- Game Licences, 1 5 7
— Gun Duty, 157
— Hut Tax, 171, 185
j>^hodes, Cecil, 26, 32, 33, 34, 46,
55, 69 ff., 166, 414, 416
Rhodesia, lightning, 182
— loneliness in, 193, 195
North-Eastern, 178
— North-Western, 178
— social life in, 142, 165, 185,
228, 230, 289, 307
sunsets, 178, 179, 181, 197
Roberts, Lord, 121
Rivers, Chambezi, 269 ff., 284
— Kafue, 1 41, 158, 160 ff.
— Luangwe, 341
— Lukasashi, 221, 222
— Lumbatwa, 254
- Lusenfwa, 204
— M'lembo, 2 1 5
— M'lomwa, 220
- Musombishi, 296
- Pamparway, 220
— Rukulu, 275
Roman Catholics in South Africa,
52, 254, 256 ff.
Salisbury, 75 ff., 113, 114, 210, 412
Schools in South Africa, 52, 97
'^erenje, 216, 227 ff., 2S7
Settlers, hints for, 212
— opportunities for, 51, 76, 81, 86,
90, 91, 92, 145, 151 ff., 211, 313,
339-4J, 344
Sharpe, H.E. Sir Alfred, 345, 359,
360, 368
Sheene, Mr. and Mrs. West, 323
Sleeping-sickness, 167, 303 (C, 339,
342
Social Life, 142, 165, 185, 228,
23o> 289, 307
— Camp-fire Stories, 185
Sports, 77-8, 148, 284
Stevenson Road, 314
Stores, i45-7> 339-4i
Suez, 384
Swamps, 203, 214, 215, 241, 255
Table Mountain, 23, 26
Tambalika, 173
Tamplin, Colonel, 44
Tanganyika, 302 ff.
Tate, Captain, 346
Taxes, 153
Theal, Dr. McCall, 103, 105 ff.
Tobacco-growing, 206, 210 ff, 367
Tourists, hints for, 29, 30, 40 ff.,
214, 297
Trees, dearth of, 55. See also
under Flora
Tsetse fly, 267
Tyson, Captain, 44, 45
U
Umtali, 78, 82, 90, 94, 95
430
Via Rhodesia
V
Veld, 197
Victoria, 60
— Falls, I ig ff., 148
^v
Wallace, H.H. ]\Ir., 120, 141, 143,
144, 152, 160, 161
Waller, Rev. H., loi
Walton, Mr., 34, 37
Waterall, Mr., 262, 263
Weights and Measures, 156
Welch, Miss, 31
Wells, Mr. Stuart, 341-3, 345
Witchcraft, 206, 252, 333
Women, need of, 87 ff.
— opportunities for, 92, 94, '9
— safety of, 93
— in the Wilds, 195
Women's, Loyal, Guild, 94, 1 1
Zanzibar, 374 ff.
Zebras, 198
Zimbabwe ruins, 59
Zomba, 359 ff.
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