NORTHWESTERN
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
Purchased from
The Ford Foundation grant
for the
Program of African Studies
THE DIARY
OF
GROBY WARRINGTON ROGERS.
The Diary
OF
Groby Warrington Rogers,
ESQ.,
RECORDING HIS SEVERE PEDESTRIANISM, INTERESTING
TRAVELS, AND PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES
IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1884-7;
AND
HIS VIVID DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GREAT VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
IN NEW ZEALAND,
As witnessed by him, at first, while camping 1,500 feet above the sea-level,
and, next, from a Spur tower nig higher up still, in May, 1886 ;
TOGETHER WITH INTRODUCTORY NOTES
BY HIS MOTHER,
respecting his former travels in africa and russia
in 1881-83.
TO BE OBTAINED AT
THE ANCIENT HOUSE LIBRARY, Ipswich;
or of
Mrs. J. C. WARRINGTON ROGERS, Gt. Blakenham Rectory.
1890.
INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
The writer of the following little work is quite unaware that
his diary is likely to be put into print, therefore the reader
must kindly excuse all errors and imperfections, and re¬
member that it was intended solely for his mother's amuse¬
ment and not for the public eye. Several friends have
asked me (his mother) to get the diary published, therefore,
at their request, I venture to do so.
G. W. Rogers is at the present time working at a reet
called the Stanley Extension, hoping, like many others, to
obtain gold. It is now being tested.
I can only add that the travels now brought forward
were written truthfully and naturally. Also the description
of the awful eruption he witnessed in New Zealand. The
chief and his family were well known to him, and most
friendly. The former alone was preserved to tell the tale ;
all were killed, also his tribe, besides many natives and
several English tourists.
( 6 )
In 1881-82 G. W. Rogers twice visited and travelled
in Africa. In 1881 he wandered in the interior by himself,
and his anxieties and loneliness can be imagined. Once
he had to sleep under the woodwork of a bridge for fear of
the wild elephants, which were in the habit of going to the
water to drink in the cool of the evening; and another
source of danger may be noted in the fact that he was
awakened suddenly by a noise, and on opening his eyes
he beheld some ugly, queer beasts peering at him and ex¬
amining his face ; and guessing they were baboons * by their
* The baboon is the name given by Cuvier, and is compounded of two
Greek words meaning dog and head; they have a marked resemblance to
the head and face of a dog, hence the Greeks and Romans called them dog-
headed monkeys. Their size is very large and their strength enormous, and
they are dangerous in confinement or in a wild state. One of the chief pecu¬
liarities is in the form of the canine teeth, which are remarkably strong, and
in the grinders, the last having an additional point In their native moun¬
tains their ordinary food is the berry and the bulbous root, but in the vicinity
of human habitations they make incursions into the cultivated fields and
gardens, and destroy more grain and fruit than they carry away. They are
"exceedingly clever fellows," usually making their incursions during the
night, and place sentinels on the surrounding heights and trees to give
timely warning of approaching danger, but in the wilder and more solitary
districts they make their forays in open day, and dispute with the husband¬
man the fruits of his labour. Pearce says : " I have myself seen an assembly
( 7 )
size and their having no tails, and feeling the danger was
great, for the beasts were big and strong, and considering
how he could escape, he remembered he had a ship-biscuit
in his pocket, and at once threw it as far as he could, and
laughed heartily at seeing one baboon run up a tree, and at
the others trying as if to pull him down by the tail, though
by his hind legs, and the traveller thought it best to make
himself scarce immediately.
At another time, whilst going through very wild parts,
he came suddenly on a party of Africans, armed with
assegais, headed by the chief, and dressed in full war
costume ; and feeling it was certain death to run or turn
back, and un-English, with a beating heart he advanced
towards their chief, and held out his hand with a smiling
countenance ; and the chief took one of his men aside, and
of baboons drive the keepers from the fields of grain, in spite of their slings
and stones, till several people went from the village to their assistance ;
even then they only retired slowly, seeing that the men had no guns.''
They were tamed in Egypt, and taught useful accomplishments —one of
them officiating as a torch-bearer. The baboon was worshipped by the
Egyptians as the type of the God of Letters, an emblem of the moon,
which was one of the characters of Thoth, and especially sacred to that
god. ("Cassell's Popular Natural History," vol. i., pp. 54—57.)
( 8 )
soon returned asking him for tabac, and fortunately having
some in his pocket, he presented it to the chief, and they
shook hands and departed.
Another time his life was preserved by a poor African
girl who had been in the service of an English family at
the Cape, but owing to the Mazula war she had to return
to her people and to her old camp life ; and from his want
of food and exhaustion he fell to the ground, and this
African girl, finding him insensible, ran to the tent and
brought him some native wine, and when he recovered
gave him food, and begged him to avoid being seen by the
tribe, took off a bangle from her arm and gave it to him,
and asked him to remember the poor African girl, and he
has worn it ever since.
After his first return home from South Africa, he again
visited it in 1882—83, and travelled through several towns,
working in various ways, and lastly in East London and at
Blaney Junction on the railway, as stoker over a dangerous
pass ; and one day he found near his hut a baby monkey,
took him home and brought him up, and often carried him in
his pocket while on duty at the engine, but, when he
left, Jacko would put his fists in his eyes and cry
( 9 )
like a child, but becoming very mischievous, he had to
be given away.
Soon after this there arose a cry for the Gold Fields, and
G. W. Rogers joined a company of six young men, and
started from Queenstown, as described in his diary, in 1884.
E. A. R.
GROBY WARRINGTON ROGERS.
MY DIARY
During a Trip from Queenstown to the Gold Fields, June
9th, 1884, to April, 1885, comprising 4,400 miles.
Our company consisted of six, namely, Archie Scott,
Whallie Campbell, Louis Evans, Dick Coady, Jim McCarty,
and myself, making two Scotchmen, one Welshman, an
Irishman, and two Englishmen.
We left Queenstown, British Caffraria, on the 9th of
June, 1884, for East London, commonly called Panmure,
160 miles, and arrived by rail on the 10th. Left here in
H.M.S. Melrose, and arrived at Natal, the town of Durban,
on the 18th, and left here for Pietermaritzburg, and arrived
on the 20th. This to be our final starting point by waggon.
We also bought our fits-out: a tent to hold six, one ditto for
stores, one suit of brown corduroy, one slouch-hat, one
large knife, one money belt, one ammunition belt, one
tomahawk, one revolver, one knife, six shovels, three picks,
six drills, two hammers, three prospecting picks, three
( 12 )
shovels, one case of dynamite, caps, fuse ; and medicines—■
4 lbs. of rock camphor, one pint of liniment, 3 lbs. of
salts, six yards of bandages ; stores, 3 lbs. of soda, and acid
for baking, 300 lbs. of flour, 300 lbs. of Indian corn meal,
16 lbs. of coffee, 12 lbs. of tea, 100 lbs. of sugar, 50 lbs.
of salt, one camp oven, six billies, one frying pan, six tin
cups, six knives and forks and spoons, and other items.
We got a waggon and sixteen bullocks, and in company
of two others, all young fellows in good health, on the 25th
of June set out for first outspan, which, as it was late when
we started, was a short one, eight miles, and we got here
about six in the evening, nearly dark; made fires, then coffee
and bread, spread blankets and fell asleep, soon forgetting
sheets, feather-beds, &c. Arose with the sun, made fire
and porridge. This rough fare for the next five hours, the
waggons creaking under their burden, and the bullocks
taking it easy, and when too hot by day we wait for the
moon, and travel by night, and so it goes on ; and it is need¬
less to relate every day's adventures, but we reached Lady
Smith's on the 1st of July, a small town on the border.
Here we observed coal to a great extent, seams visible from
thirteen feet to eight feet in thickness, and of a very good
quality. In a few days we were at the foot of the noted
( 13 )
Drakenberg Mountains, a range which took us three days
to cross, and when arrived in safety the other side, a few
more days took us across the Vaal River, and so into the
Transvaal Republic.
As we proceeded, the country improved—well watered,
and grass in abundance. The 13th of July, snow began to
fall, and it was very cold, as we were high above the sea-
level ; we could find but little fuel for fires, and at night we
had to clear away the snow and huddle together for warmth,
and sleep as well under the circumstances as we could.
Now commenced the hunting ground—herds of wild buck,
large and small ; droves of quaggas or zebras, hares, wild
fowl, bustards, geese, turkeys, ducks, teal, and other species
peculiar to this fair sunny land ; jackals at night, wild tiger-
cats and baboons in thousands, but not dangerous.
A few days from here we arrived at the Valley of Rocks,
our name in Devonshire. Truly this was a grand scene,
enormous rocks piled one on the other for hundreds of
feet. Tigers more plentiful, and porcupines and snakes ; one
large one was killed measuring sixteen feet and about four
inches in diameter ; puff-adders and tree-snakes, and
thousands of small and most beautiful birds of bright
plumage ; at the report of our rifles thousands arose like a
( M )
swarm of butterflies. Here also was a small river edged
with the wild date-tree, and on the end of these fern-like
branches, hanging over the water for safety, hung hundreds
of pretty-shaped nests, also nests of the tailor-bird, sewn
together with strong fibres, and under foot you trod upon
the choicest hot-house flowers, and scented grass, which
when burnt scented the whole air.
On following the river lower down was a lovely water¬
fall with a basin at the bottom 150 feet, where ferns and
geraniums grew, arum lilies as large as a plate, and from
three feet to four feet in height, and other beautiful
specimens.
As we could not waste any more time in this earthly
paradise, we trekked on, and passed en route the body of
a Hottentot torn in pieces by vultures, which arose in
crowds with a low dismal croak at our approach. We buried
what remained of him, and this was no pleasing task, as it was
half decomposed, and pieces of flesh and skin were scattered
around ; but we could not see a human body thus devoured
by these scavengers of the desert and pass it by.
The next place of note was the hot and boiling springs,
where we required no fires for cooking, but boiled and
made coffee, which was not so good as when made of spring
( IS )
water. Volumes of steam arose, and at night it had a
peculiar effect from any of the high points. As these
springs are in a basin, they looked like boiling furnaces, and
the steam hung around like a very heavy fog. We rested our
oxen here for two days, and then wound our way out of this
close resemblance of the hot place, for the stones and earth
were warm, and we left behind the sulphurous smells in a
few hours, and we left it feeling very sleepy from bathing
in these waters of Satan.
We now arrived at a small village consisting of an hotel
and three houses, all made of mud and stones, and the bar
of this hotel was the bottom of an old waggon, and not the
best of liquor sold—Cape Smoke, or Billy Stink, and
Congo, or Strike-me-Dead ; we got some dozens of eggs,
for which we paid three shillings per dozen ; we obtained
a fowl, and cooked it by rolling it up in a clay crust, feathers
and all inside, and put it into the ashes, and most delicious
it proved. I never enjoyed a fowl so much—-in fact, we had
a good blow-out and a night's dissipation, and we drank
success to our future luck in the gold fields, and finished
with " Auld Lang Syne."
Left here, now only 200 miles from our long-wished-
for gold regions, and nothing happened of any real
( 16 )
interest until we reached the Devil's Canteen, a high and
table-like part of this side of the valley. Here also was a
small village of tents, and some large prospecting works
done ; but this was not our end.
Onward we trekked, or rather upwards, and on arrival at
the extreme edge, a lovely and grand sight opened upon us :
below some thousands of feet lay an oblong valley or basin
with a river flowing and running in a zigzag course through
the centre. This was the notable De Caap Valley, sur¬
rounded by mountains of great height, and of a broken
and rugged appearance. The ravines were filled with large
timber and small streams of beautiful water, looking like the
golden sands, as the missionary hymn depicts. Here we
beheld our new home, and the few white specks indicating
the home of our now fellow-fortune-seekers. Here and
there could be seen large holes or caverns, and loose earth,
showing the toil of our fellow-countrymen ; truly it was a
noble but solemn sight, and with a shout of "Trek forward "
we descended into the valley beneath, and across the plain
and the river, and at the last came round it ; and now the
village of tents came into sight, but few took much notice,
only asking for letters ; and as we had several, how dis¬
appointed some looked when " No " was the answer, and
( r7 )
they had heard the name mentioned. We made for a small
hill about 200 feet above this village, and we started at last
for our new home, taking some few days to make ourselves
ship-shape ; and we surrounded our whole camp with a
stone kraal or wall to keep out animals and natives, who
have a great liking for small articles of clothing, and would
help themselves if you gave them a chance. And having at
last put our camp to rights, and cut up firewood, and built a
small shed for tools, &c., we set out for the heights above to
get all information, and see our fellow-diggers at work. Now,
a digger is a man of few words, of a wary nature, keeping all
he knows to himself, and finding out all he can, but most
hospitable. We travelled up, up for three hours to Half-way
Camp, and first saw the precious metal extracted from the
quartz, or cradled from the loose gravel of the beds of small
creeks. On pausing to have a look round at this wild and
inhospitable place, almost in the clouds, as we looked above
us, one would think, Is this to be our home or our grave ?
our fortune or poverty to die here away from all those who
are dearest to us on this earth, without a word of love or
comfort, nothing but the howling jackals who fight over the
dead when they unearth it, to leave the bones to bleach in
the hot sun as a landmark to those who come after ? But
B
( i8 )
away with such gloomy thoughts, as this is not the time or
place for adventurers to have them, as we must keep up a
bold heart to accomplish the end.
We had not been in this place long before a voice
greeted our ears.
" Hulloa, mates ! where bound for ? or where from ?
Come in and have some kei (or food), such as it is."
Our friend was a short, thick-set man, about forty, and
very dark and dirty, but still pleasant.
" Thank you," I replied, thinking to get a little infor¬
mation ; but we found him to be a sharp-witted Irish boy,
and not so easily pumped ; and he, I think, was rather
taken in by our wary way of answering his various questions.
" Large company, plenty of capital, eh ? Good supply
of goods and tools ; where are you going to set in ? And
how ? "
" But no, it's no use, mate ; we are as sharp as you.
Come down in a week, and I'll let you know."
While this was being discussed, he had on the fire a
half-bucket of water, and a bag of meal and salt, and an
old whip-handle for stirring, waiting for it to boil, which it
did very soon, and he now stirred vigorously, and shook
about the meal ; and it is now thicker and thicker, and
( 19 )
when so thick that the stick would stand upright, he ex¬
claimed, " Ready, boys ! " and hauling round several pieces
of board, and a few rusty knives, we laid to and had a good
feed, and felt quite at home with our jolly friend, who sang
several good old Irish songs to our delight, as we had no
good minstrels among us. After this sumptuous meal, and
looking like so many ducks, going through the same ordeal
of drinking dirty water to wash it down, we again proceeded
to ascend, which took us the best of four hours, when we
came up to the first and most promising reef-works of the
whole lot—the Pioneer. Here we saw too feet of it ex¬
posed, and the gold freely, the depth attained as far as two
feet, and about eight inches thick, and large piles of this
precious material stacked up. This company had the ad¬
vantage of all going there, having bought a lease of nineteen
years before anyone knew that such gold-bearing stone was
there. So after we had seen all we cared to see, we
descended to our own camp. Next day we divided our
party into twos, Dick and myself starting off for the
junction of the Crocodile and Vaal Rivers, some sixty
miles away, our outfit for this being one blanket each,
prospecting dish, pick and shovel, 12 lbs. of meal, 6
ditto flour, J lb. coffee, 1 lb. of sugar. On lying down
( 20 )
the first night, we got under some huge rocks, and on
awaking next morning, to our horror a large mamba,* some
16 feet long, coiled up in our blankets; but by getting
up slowly we soon despatched our friend, and a very fine
species it was. Another great nuisance was the baboons
and jackals at night, which came down from the heights
above us and carried our things away ; but we lay awake,
our revolvers ready, and despatched many of our trouble¬
some neighbours.
In four days we reached our new camping ground, and
* Respecting the mamba, see accounts of the python in "Cassell's
Popular Natural History," vol. iv,, pp. 50-52. In the Zoological Gardens
there are three species, the West African, the Python sebœ ; the Royal
Python, the Python regius ; and the Reticulated Python. Dr. Smith
describes a Python Natalensis, which he met with in South Africa,
resembling a former inhabitant of the districts now within the Cape Colony,
but not found within a hundred miles of the boundary of the Colony, and
few specimens have been found nearer than the port of Natal. Occasionally
it attains a very large size, its circumference equal to that of a stout man ;
and a skin seen by Dr. Smith measured twenty-five feet, though a portion
of the tail was wanting ; it feeds on quadrupeds, and for days after
swallowing its food it lives in a torpid state, and may then be easily
destroyed : but the South Africans rarely try to rid themselves of them,
viewing them with the utmost horror, believing they exercise an influence
over their destinies, and that sooner or later they would have to pay for
maltreating them. See an account of the "Tree Snakes," vol. iv., p. 50.
( 21 )
made a small hut of bamboos, and settled for a fortnight,
and started prospecting next day, marking for the range on
the right, and kept on the look-out for reefs and all indica¬
tions of gold. We found several, and took home some
specimens to burn and crush and wash, and found some
very lively prospects. And now we tried the river-bed
and gravel for alluvial, and got some fair colours, and a lot
of red stones, which proved to be the African rubies, not of
any great value ; and we went for a few days to explore for
water, far away from the river, but to no effect, though we
got plenty of shooting, as game of all sorts abounded, and
crocodiles and the hippopotamus were very numerous, and
the most lovely birds. Higher up I shot at a large crocodile,
but only to enrage it, and so we beat a hasty retreat from so
vicious a friend ; and we now broke up our camp, and made
for home, taking with us the specimens we had found,
hoping one day to give our prospects a trial.
On reaching home we found our mates all there, more
or less disgusted on not finding gold on the surface, but we
went out now in a body, which resulted at last in our
making a start, and picking up the trail of another reef, and
set to in earnest, and in a few minutes we could show a
good lot of quartz with gold showing freely ; but our next
( 22 )
difficulty was still water, and we found we should have to
bring it by a furrow of wood four miles, which meant
^400, and we could not afford it, besides the battery and
iron-works we wanted. We at last arranged that two should
return the way we had come and get what we required
from a firm in Dublin, which would have supplied us on
spec, but on the day before we heard that the Dutch
Government wanted ^200 amount for each claim, and ten
per cent, on all finds. This of course was absurd. At first
nobody took much notice, but we found it was true, and a
large meeting was called to resist it, but nothing came of it.
A deputy was posted off to Pretoria to see if the Govern¬
ment would come to reasonable terms, and all was suspended
till his return, which was almost fatal to our small capital,
companies like ours having waited now some weeks, which
were passed in hunting and smoking, but at last the bearer
returned, and what excitement prevailed, one asking the
other, "Well ! How is it?" And at last the fatal answer
came, " No go ! " And now discontent and quarrels ensued,
and three of us determined to leave and try our luck else¬
where, and if not then successful, to proceed to the Diamond
Fields about 900 miles from the next fields, which are about
500 from here, called the Tatty Fields. People asked us
( 23 )
if we were quite mad to undertake such a fearful journey,
and declared that we should never do it; but being dis¬
contented at the turn things had taken, we were not to be
shaken, and finally we packed our swags, and at two p.m. on
the following week said good-bye and away ; and I will now
give just a brief account of our loads and departure. Each
person, that is, the three of us young fellows, carried a
load consisting of i blanket, 2 shirts, 2 pairs of socks, a few
items, 1 revolver, 75 rounds of ammunition—and I carried
my rifle extra—1 lb. of coffee, 15 lbs. of meal, 1 billy—
weighing in all from 45 lbs. to 50 lbs. I certainly had the
heaviest load, as the rifle and extra ammunition weighed
a good deal, but I knew it was necessary, which we
found out afterwards, as we certainly should have starved
had we been without it, and most likely killed into the bar¬
gain, as the natives have a great fear of firearms.
At last the hour arrived to bid adieu to our mates and
our happy old home, with the prospect of going on a rather
risky journey, and never shall I forget the scene there
before the tent. We stood there with our loads on our
backs, strapped round our shoulders, no coats on, but tied
over the swags, and as we shook the hands of each one,
tears flowed freely, thinking, Should we ever meet again in
( 24 )
this world ? Perhaps when we were really off we felt that
we were undertaking a risky journey through a country we
none of us knew, but now too late to draw back, so down
the path we went, and into the plain beneath, and for some
hours we did not speak, as our hearts were too heavy, and
not until we reached the river, which we had to ford, did
we speak, and on looking back we could see the camp, and
our comrades still waving their last farewell.
"We intended to go back the way we had come, being a
road or track the whole way. We made now for a small
point, and reached our first stage, and made a fire and had
some coffee and dampers, and spread our blankets and
were soon fast asleep, being tired and a little uneasy.
We must have slept five hours when a loud peal of
thunder awoke us, and we found it raining in torrents and the
water running beneath us, making everything wet, and our
swag which we used for pillows. Truly this seemed to be a
good start, for we lay till daylight soaking wet, and then to
make a fire was impossible, for a few hours at least ; but as
the sun rose so the heat increased, and we spread out our
things to dry, and collected some damp sticks, and at last
made a fire and some porridge, which did us a great deal of
good, and our spirits rose also, and we were determined to
( 25 )
make the best of it, and we were not much the worse for
our wetting, and we made tracks again. As we travelled
onward the country became more wild and broken, and the
loads on our backs seemed heavier, as we were not used to
such travelling.
We went on in this way several days, until we arrived at
the foot of the mountain we had seen ahead for days, which
we had to cross : quite bare of trees and vegetation, only a
waste of sand and burnt grass, but onward we ploughed ;
footsore and weary we arrived at the top, and our water
supply nearly gone and no sign of being able to get more,
with a vast plain of sand before us, and a few clumps of
trees here and there, and mountains again ahead. At last
we espied a native village not far off, and we made for it,
and came to the enclosure, when we were surrounded by a
drove of dogs looking very savage, and consisting of more
noise than danger ; but we were used to such attacks, and so
entered the enclosure, where we were again surrounded by
a large apportionment of girls, men, and children, who did
not seem quite at ease in our company, but as I was able to
speak to them in the Caffre language, I soon told them who
we were, and where we were going, and the chief then told
some of the girls to spread out some mats, and the best these
( 26 )
poor heathen could give was put before us, and a hut was
shown us to sleep in, with plenty of mats ; and the girls
seemed to like to arrange all this for us, and were not very shy,
although they were naked, but had especially good figures.
We set out next day, after thanking our kind friends for
their hospitality, and after a day's hard tramping, and
nothing extraordinary having taken place, we reached our
first stage—the Tatty Fields—where we found a Welshman
and family with a waggon and team, preparing to make
tracks for his farm, which he had left, and leaving behind a
lot of tools and work done for nothing, as he did not
understand the working, and water was fearfully scarce.
We stayed a few days, and had a good look round, and
found plenty of reefs, and every indication of gold, but now
we turned once more for the road or track to face the
terrible, long, and dreary way before us of 900 miles.
The first town we could reach was Middleburg, by chart
390 miles, and so it proved both in length and breadth, for
never shall I forget that journey—no tracks, mountainous, and
water so scarce that on one occasion we were three days
without any, and we had to chew certain leaves, and lick
grass early in the morning, and had it not been for this we
should never have got home to tell the tale, and our bones
( 27 )
would be bleaching in the sun. Hunger we satisfied with
the aid of the rifle, but still we had to be sparing with am¬
munition. Our meal was nearly out, so we had to keep
it for emergencies, and so eat flesh alone, which we did
not like at first, but got used to it.
We fell in with a band of hunting natives, who after a
lot of persuasion took us to their kraal, or village, and here
we made a halt of three days, during which I made
desperate love to the chief's daughter, who was really very
pretty, and nice in her ways, and she seemed to take such
a fancy for the white Caffre, as she called me, and in fact
in so few days we were quite in love, and the old fellow
seemed to like it, as he told me he would give her to me
for my rifle, and that I could use it when I required it for
food. Well, if it had not been for my mates, I certainly
should have taken his offer, and could have donned the
blanket and lived happily with them, a free and healthy
life, but I could not let my mates go on alone, and I bade
farewell to my love and her father, who was really quite
cut up at having to say good-bye ; and my mates chaffed
me about my sweet darkie, and I found out afterwards that
if I had taken the offer I might have been very rich in
cattle and land, for he had plenty of both, and a pretty
( 28 )
daughter into the bargain ; but again we are on the road,
and it was five weeks ere we sighted Middleburg, without
any very exciting things.
Middleburg is a pure Dutch settlement or township
lying in the plain, and it was night when we reached this
place, and never shall I forget the tortures I suffered from
one of my boots, on my left foot, which was raw in patches ;
and when we arrived at a green spot we put down our
swags, and I nearly cried with the pain from my foot,
and it was agreed that I should mind the swag while my
mates went in search of lodgings and food, and they must
have gone nearly an hour looking for the required shelter,
and at last found a boarding-house kept by a Scotchman,
and they asked him for three beds, to which he replied two
shillings and sixpence a head, which we could not afford,
and told him so, and asking for bread and meat he gave us
three loaves, for which he charged three shillings, which we
took, and asked him if he would boil our billy, and give us
some coffee and sugar, as we could not get any till morn¬
ing, at which he seemed angry, and told us to go round
and ask the missus, as he had nothing to do with it ; but we
did not trouble his missus ; we left, and managed to buy
some elsewhere by almost praying for it. Now what are
( 29 )
we to do ? It is quite dark, and we could not see any old
buildings, but only a wall, which we made for, and felt
about for dry manure, and made a fire, and we had just got
a good blaze on, when up came several Dutchmen, kicked
out the fire, and told us to clear, and we went, cursing them
inwardly for brutes and cowards, as each was armed ; but
we took it in good part, as we had the town against us if
we showed fight. We limped about half a mile from this
inhospitable place, and then fell down ; we were dead
beaten and exhausted for want of food, and no food any¬
where near us. We ate the dry bread and drank the water,
and lay down and soon fell asleep—the one great blessing
to us all, as we were for a few hours dead, as it'were, to
all trouble.
Next morning up and back into the township for a fresh
supply of stores, and then off once more on our weary road ;
but we felt greatly refreshed, and our road was better as
we advanced. We were now en route for the Orange Free
State capital, with our stores and t97 miles before us.
We found water scarce, and had to apply to the holes in
the road for it, which was like drinking thin cocoa. The
stores proved very dear and bad, so we contented ourselves
with meal ; and on arriving at the second store we stayed
( 3° )
there for some hours, and went on during the night ; but
having taken to making small trips by myself in several of
these halts, I now followed up a small tour by myself, to
think over the fate that awaited us to cross the sandy soil
of the plain we had yet to do, and wondering if we should
ever do it. When in this reverie, I heard a voice singing;
it was a girl's, I felt sure, and most lovely, and as I neared
her I could catch the words in Dutch, and on looking down
into the creek some feet below me, I saw a little girl of
eleven or twelve years old, washing clothes and beating
them with a stick on a large flat rock, and keeping time
with her voice. I sat down some time, and the tears started
to my eyes ; it seemed so lovely and soothing that I could
not help it, in this wild spot to hear such natural talent, and
I thought what would she have been if she had been in
some civilised part. At last I left as I had come, without
disturbing her. Sweet child ! her singing haunted me for
months afterwards.
We were now rapidly approaching Pretoria, and arrived
at sundown. It is a beautiful town, with its white houses,
and trees and small bushes growing everywhere ; and to
one of those spots we went to make our camp for four or
five days, determined to have a good rest. First we bought
( 3i )
eggs, meat, bread, coffee, and sugar, and water we had in
abundance, every street having a little stream running, and
watercress grew everywhere, and the people seemed a bit
more civilised. We did not indulge in a boarding-house,
but contented ourselves by looking at the luxuries from
which we were debarred, feeling that ours were in store
when we arrived in the Diamond Fields. Our rest, better
food, and good water, certainly had the desired effect, for at
the end of four days we were once more on our road, and
fit to resume our journey on the fifth day for Potchefstroom,
98 miles from here.
We had not proceeded far when we overtook a waggon
containing two Dutchmen, and they inquired laughingly
which way we were going, and whither bound, and if we
would like a lift on the road. We thanked them, and at once
accepted this kind offer, and then they put us on the short
cut, and wished us good-bye, still laughing. After walking
fast for four hours, we came to a farm. I went in and asked
how far Hudson Store was, and the Dutchman I addressed
looked astonished, and asked why we left the main road,
and I then told about our riding in the waggon, and he
coolly said, " They have been making a game of you," and
we found we had been taken nearly thirty miles out of our
( 32 )
road. I could hardly speak with rage, but inquired which
was our best road to get back to the main road, and he
directed us across the country, and said it would take us
about three days to get to the store. What were we to do ?
We purchased very few stores, thinking we should get back in
two days. After feeding two hungry Dutch beasts, our little
stock had become very low—must we give up? No!
Onward for life or death. It was after all only a fleabite
to past experiences, only we were getting more done up as
we proceeded after two days' hard travelling on half-rations.
We reached the main road, and found we had forty
miles more to do, and onward we went, and when about
fifteen miles from the store, we sat down to eat the last of
our tucker, and arrived at the store, where we managed to get
some bread and a glass of milk, and so we had our fill,
such as it was, and on again to Potchefstroom, sometimes
walking slowly, and then fast, but getting worse and worse.
Night came on, still we kept up, and at last saw a few lights.
What a length that road seemed ! One's boots were like
pounds in weight. I shall never forget this night ; tired,
hungry, and footsore, we entered this dark city. Not a soul
was abroad, only a few dogs gave warning of our approach,
the shops all shut, and no food to be got, no ; we had to lie
( 33 )
down contented and thankful that we had been allowed to
get thus far.
Daylight appeared. I slept not—empty stomach, and
too tired to sleep. How I longed for the day ! and at last it
came. Now for a feed, and we got one dozen eggs and a
small piece of bacon for seven shillings, and we obtained a
fowl and baked it as before, enclosing it in clay, and it
went down high. We stopped here only two days, and
again replenished our stores for the next stage of 94
miles, which we completed without arty mishaps, only
getting slower and slower, and arrived at Klerksdorp, a
small village, and stayed a day and a night, and left again
for the next stage of nine miles to a small village named
Bloemhoff, and left in good spirits, thinking how near the
end was ; but our troubles ended not here^ for after having
left about two hours, the country was flat and sandy, hot
for our feet, and no water ; we ploughed along for several
days, and could get no more. At last we could no longer
speak to one another. Our lips were swollen and our throats
dry with chewing tobacco, which made us worse, and we
were almost done up when we heard the sound of a whip
cracking, and saw to our joy a waggon. I believe I ran,
but can hardly remember, and showed my empty billy, and
c
( 34 )
pointing to my mouth he gave me a little water, and
showed me some trees about five yards ahead, and we all
dipped our handkerchiefs or rags in the water, and sucked
them, and at last we saw a stream running across the road.
What joy ! How we thanked God for this mercy, and with
what difficulty we restrained ourselves from drinking a long
draught, but knew the consequences, and so drank very
little at a time. We sojourned here three days, and left
again for Christiana, 40 miles still. We found water was
very scarce, and the sand deep, but as yet no wind, for
which we were thankful, and we arrived at Christiana more
dead than alive.
This small township is on the banks of the Vaal River,
wide but not deep. The village itself is very pretty ; clean
white houses, and a good many British, engaged chiefly in
stores and trades. We replenished our swags again here,
and waded the river, and at last set out for our next 40
miles for the Diamond Fields; and we really felt light at
heart. Although the sand was deep, the wind, our most
dreaded enemy, was light ; but it seemed as if bad luck
attended us since our first start. The sun had hardly gone
to shed his rays of warmth on the land we loved, when a
slight breeze sprang up, and increased until it became dark ;
( 35 )
and we made our favourite drinks, and spread out our
blankets to rest until dawn, and fell asleep, when about one
in the morning we were awakened by a terrific peal of thunder,
and the lightning ran along the ground like a stream of
running lava from some volcanic region ; the wind came
with the storm, the sand rose in dense clouds, and the
wind continued until it roared as almost to darken the air,
and the sand blinding us, and filling our ears and nostrils,
almost choking us ; and, to add fire to fire, it was pitch dark,
except when the lightning lighted up the scene. But we
dared not look around us, as the sand was driven in volumes
before the storm, and our blankets with it, as we supposed,
for we could not feel them ; and after the storm, lasting
about two hours, the wind suddenly ceased, all was lulled
into silence, and the stars shone out, and one could hardly
believe such a transformation could have taken place in so
few hours. We felt around for our blankets and swags,
but could not discover them ; we waited patiently for day¬
light, and at last they were discovered amid the glorious
lights and shadows which generally denote a tropical sun¬
rise, and we then set out, and found after a short search
that we too had shifted from where we slept, and our
blankets, swags, and billies were covered to a depth of
( 36 )
some inches in the sand. How much we wished for water
to wash our sand-smothered bodies ; but no—wait was the
word. Note well, no one who can draw his fill of water
from a tap always at hand can form any idea of the luxury
of water—either muddy, brackish, or tepid, which in South
Africa is all that you can get in this desert part. Feeling
we must do as others before us have done, onward we trod
our weary path to the city of wealth, which now loomed in
sight, the long-sought-for haven. Grand? Yes, to us who
had been on the long look-out for it. But this panoramic
view was nothing that would interest any but those who
sought it as an aid to gain our wished-for end. One feature
was that we could see it ten hours before we got to it,
although it looked not ten miles ahead ; but with the deep
sand, and ourselves so tired, having had so little sleep the
night before, the way seemed doubly long.
We arrived on the outskirts at dark, and got shelter in a
stable with plenty of clean straw, soap, water, and food.
Never can I forget the delightful sleep and wash. How happy
we felt ! as if we owned half the fields. The next morning
we found was Sunday, but we proceeded on the scene of
action, and arrived at a butcher's shop, and here we met
with that civil hospitality for which the inhabitants of the
( 37 )
fields are noted. He put us in an old shop made of
canvas, and gave us as much meat as we could eat, and told
us to go to his brother, a grocer, over the way, and he would
give us all we required, find he also gave us firewood and a
frying-pan, and then asked us where we had come from to
look in such a pitiful condition ; and when we gave him a
brief outline of our tramp, he could hardly believe us. Our
outward appearance certainly did look somewhat out of
condition. Our hair had grown over our shoulders, our
clothes torn, our brown boots almost become sandals, and
our faces covered with hair. Our friend now took us to a
barber, and paid for us to be done up, and also provided for
us some second-hand clothes, boots, hats, &c., and put us in
the way of getting work, which we started at as soon as
attainable, unfit as we were as yet for work : but we
managed to keep going, and gradually got right. Now for a
brief account of the general aspect of the Diamond Fields
then working.
A mine is simply an enormous flower-pot, say a quarter
of a mile in diameter, and 365 feet in depth, besides shafts
sunk 150 feet. The flower-pot is fixed with hard blue and
yellow clay, and the sides are of rock, loose, and as the clay
is taken out great precaution has to be taken in order to
( 38 )
prevent the falling in of this loose rock, which has happened,
and many lives lost, and all the work suspended until it has
been removed, which in some cases takes twelve months to
get straight. At the bottom of these enormous holes trams
are laid, with small iron tubs on wheels holding about four
hundredweight, which when filled are pushed on to a plat¬
form and tipped into another round tub which runs on an
aerial tramway on two lines of wire rope, and another wire
rope made fast to the tub and on to a large roller in the
engine-room on the top of the mine, driven by very
powerful engines at a great speed, which draw the tub up to
the top, and here is a box with a slanting bottom and a trap
door, and into this the tub is turned over by a small con¬
trivance, sending its contents into the receiver while this
one is on its way down on the other line, so a continual
running up and down goes on. At this top or receiver is
another small railway, and trucks drawn by horses and
driven by natives are taken down to the floors or level fields
of some miles in extent ; then they are tipped out here and
spread about, and watered and broken up by gangs of
natives, with a white man overseeing them ; and this done,
the clay is again put into trucks and sent up on another
line to the washing machines, and then to the sieves of
( 39 )
several degrees, from rough to fine ; gravel is got from this
clay, and the precious stones. The sorting tables are near
the washing machines ; each sieve is turned upside down on
the table, and then the gravel is spread about and the
diamonds are picked out and put into the bottom of old
glass wine-bottles and marked off, and when one old wash
has been gone through the stones are taken to the office.
A work-up takes place every five or six hours, and the refuse
is carried up by the endless wicket elevator as a dredger,
and forms in time enormous hills, and gets quite hard again.
The wages for whites, overseeing and working, generally vary
from ^5 to ^8 a week, and the natives, who do the hard
work, from three to six shillings a day. This is a brief
account of how the diamonds are got in Africa. The fields,
situated on a vast plain, and exposed to a very hot sun, are
not a healthy resort for white men, as fevers, ague, and
dysentery are very common, and the work is very risky and
out of the way, 700 miles from any town of note; but re¬
cently the railway has been made, which is a great advantage
to the fields.
[There is a diagram in his diary by which he illustrates
the foregoing description.]
( 40 )
[Supplementary to the author's travels in South Africa
will now be given a few notes from his diary of the great
and terrible eruption which covered the celebrated AVhite
and Pink Terraces in New Zealand, witnessed by him in the
year 1886, of which a pictorial description was placed
before the public in the Illustrated London News and
other papers in August, 1886.]
It was in the month of May, 1886, that we rolled up in
our bunks in our log shanty some 1,500 feet above the sea-
level on the heights of Paeroa, overlooking the lake districts,
or chiefly where the late eruptions took place. To the
seaward could be seen, and that plainly, the white or
sulphur island with its white vapourish smoke, issuing and
sometimes almost hissing out like steam from an enormous
engine blowing off. Inland, â mountainous country with
smoke ascending from some of its highest points, and a large
valley running between. There and around lay the great lakes
of Rotorua, Terawera, and Zampa : this last is boiling and
spitting like a large caldron of porridge, hence its name,
Devil's Lake. The whole country is in a continued ferment
everywhere, and there are small holes boiling, and jets of
steam hissing, and the very ground springy, full of gas, and
( 4i )
yet with small holes and streams of perfectly cold water
intermixed.
In the soft blue but burning mud, eggs and potatoes are
easily cooked. I am not going to try and give a correct and
vivid description of the country, as I am not well enough
acquainted with it, and so leave it to those who peruse this
diary to read other travellers' works which give beautiful
descriptions and geographical plans of the whole country ;
but to my story.
One night, in the month of May, 1886, we were
awakened by a great noise like enormous pieces of artillery
constantly being fired. We lay and listened, and counted
ninety shots, as they seemed, and then came a crackling as
of smaller pieces in quick succession. Our first idea was
that the Russian man-of-war was ashore, which had of late,
by the papers, been cruising on our coast, but then the
firing became too loud and quick, and lasted for many
hours. We lay wondering—had the natives broken out?
should we arm ourselves ? But no natives would seek
whites so far in bush with only small tracks through it,
although the Maori can find his way throughout. Still we
lay on ; the reports getting louder and quicker, until one
crashing noise and a slight trembling, and the echo had
( 42 )
scarce died away among the mountains when we found
ourselves on the floor, tin cups, dishes, plates, and the
shanty trembling above our heads. Whether from fright
or shock we were grovelling on the floor, I know not, but
truly we thought our last hour was come.
When we regained our feet and found matches and
candle, and our nerves a little restored, and our trousers on,
we made for the door, which we found would not open, as the
shanty had fallen a little on one side, and so shoulders to
work was a matter of a few seconds, when I turned round
to look for my pipe and tobacco, which I happily found. I
saw my mate was deadly pale ; if I were so, I did not feel it
at the time—the reaction had not come yet—but my poor
fellow-companion, an Irishman, and superstitious, was* pray¬
ing in a muttering voice to the Holy Mother to pardon him.
Outside we got, the earth rocking and trembling from the vio¬
lent shocks ; the greatest and most fearful thing to us in the
night was that enormous trees were falling and cracking,
while a gale was blowing, and a hot stifling wind, and a
sickly sort of feeling came over us ; and, to add to our scared
senses, if not swallowed up, we expected to be crushed by
falling trees and branches. Where to go, what to do,
we knew not. An old man lived about a quarter of a mile
( 43 )
from us, so we thought upon the bush cry " Kooee ! kooee ! "
But what was the use ? Who could hear above this awful
din ? No, we must go to him ; perhaps he is hurt and alone.
I lighted my pipe in the shanty, and put on my coat ; my
poor companion was too frightened even to look to these
few comforts, so I took his coat down and told him we had
better die comfortable and like Britishers, if that were to be
our sad fate ; and so we started off, and I shall never forget
it—creeping and crawling, we got to his shanty, and as soon
as he saw us he said, " My God ! There is something wrong
in the Rotorua direction ; but we are safe here, I think, for a
belt of rock runs along this range, and there is no extinct crater
on our range, and all we must do is to look out for trees."
I felt what he said was right, for he had been here for years,
and knew every crack, spur, and gully, and the nature of
the earth, and I now felt more myself; and he turned to us
and said, " What say, boys ? let us go up to the top of the
spur above us " (his shanty was on the seaward side of the
range, and the spur or point towering above it), " and we
shall be able to see what's up, and be more safe from trees,
as it is clear up there." We agreed, and up we started ; but
before I go on I will give you a brief outline of the forest
we were in.
( 44 )
The New Zealand bush or forest is thick with under¬
growth, grass, ferns, and trees of gigantic size. The kauri
pine, the king tree of the bush, rising some 260 feet, and
spreading its enormous branches far and wide, and meeting
close together with its neighbour, and its smooth, straight
and grey trunk of a diameter from 9 to 12 feet, running up
to the main forks of the same thickness, perhaps a little
tapered. The wood is valuable; and this is not all. It
bears fruit or gum, very valuable in its properties for best
varnish, French polish, and in cloth and blankets acting as
a size, and also giving employment, yea, and fortunes, to
hundreds ; but the most remarkable feature is the time it
takes to attain this size—thousands of years—and so it
continues from its first growth to cast its fruit, which gets
buried many feet, and other trees grow up on top of it.
Landslips sometimes take tree and all, and cover it up, and
trees rot away and leave only the stump, looking like some
ancient battered monument alone in its gloom and city of
giant trees, the gum preserving it from quick decay or de¬
struction. These stumps are dug round and underneath,
beneath the monster roots, for the gum. It is even found
inside the stump ; once hollow, the gum has dropped down
from the main fork, where the best and biggest pieces come
( 45 )
from. As much as sixty tons has been taken from some
of these trees—on the ground, in the head and under the
roots, and inside the trunk—in fact, every part of this tree
bears the gum fruit. But to return to our story.
We gained the top of the spur before mentioned in
safety, but not without some narrow squeaks, for the wind
was roaring again, shocks and rumbling shaking many
of the trees, and bursting their roots with a bang ; and
then the crash as it came to the ground, sweeping its
way as it fell !
But as we got to the top a wonderful but awful sight
presented itself, and our first thought was, How about the
unfortunates below?—those living alongside and around these
lakes of fire, and mountains being almost levelled, which
were but yesterday quiet and peaceable, only a little stream,
and smoke rising gently here and there ; perhaps a geyser
was blowing its muddy water upwards. But now the whole
place was changed—pitch dark, the thunder roaring, and the
lightning darting about in all directions ; waters being
hurled one against the other, and hissing and bursting up
with a terrible noise ; stones and mud thrown into the air,
and striking one against the other, splitting into a thousand
pieces. Truly it seemed as if the infernal regions were
( 46 )
fighting half against half ; now a large ball of fire bursts up¬
wards, and darts across and back again, as if setting fire to
all the mountain tops around, and again plunging into the
lakes, and setting them on fire as if they were a Christmas
snapdragon.
Nearer the earth thousands of little balls of fire were
dancing about as if it were raining fire from heaven, or that
they were devils dancing for joy at destruction. During all
this Rotorua had disappeared, and condensed into steam,
causing other great explosions at all the weak parts or crusts
of the earth, and this lake, which but a few hours ago lay
calm and placid in its blue depths, was now a crater throw¬
ing up volumes of steam, mud, and fire. We were transfixed
in view of this awful but magnificent spectacle, and wonder¬
ing what would come next, and whether the very ground
beneath us would soon be blown up, and send us where it
had sent many only a few hours past.
Daylight came at last, but the air was thick and heavy,
so the sun could not shine out, and fire, ashes, and smoke,
with a stifling smell of sulphur, made it most unpleasant.
The country around was covered with blue mud, and looked
most desolate, not a sign of vegetation ; the trees were even
beaten about, and covered with mud and stones ; the Pink
( 47 )
and White Terraces were gone, some thought for ever, but
after examination it was found they were still there, but
covered over with twelve or fourteen feet of mud.
Occasional shocks and fresh outbursts occurred for some
days, and parties of brave men went to the scene of
desolation to see if any of those who had lived there could
be saved.* Some had escaped, but twenty-six perished,
among whom were some English tourists. One native alone
was spared to tell of this fearful eruption, and also to say
that he was last and chief of a tribe who before had
numbered some twenty men and women. Others had very
narrow escapes, and arrived in Auckland either half-starved
or mutilated. And so ends this brief outline of one of the
most dreadful outbreaks of nature known to man.
* The Maori village of Wairoa was buried in ashes, and more than one
hundred persons, besides several English, were suffocated or scalded to
death, and the beautiful Pink and White Terraces of Lake Rotomahana,
famous all over the world, ceased to exist, and the Hot Springs district,
almost unique for its wonderful display of aqueous volcanic phenomena, is
extensively defaced, and transformed to a region of boiling mud and hideous
desolation. (See the Illustrated London News, August 7, 1886, No. 2468,
Vol. 89, and other papers. )
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Cassell and Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage,
London, E.C.