sec #11,112 Moffat, Robert, 1795-1883. Missionary labours and scenes in Southerr /Vfrica ... 1 -Co VI T Oi, r ><^. '^^-'^ ■^ L. #' Y^4 "^ ^^c ^^^ MISSIONARY LABOURS AND SCENES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: BY ROBERT MOFFAT, TWENTY-THREE YEARS AN AGENT OF THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY IN THAT CONTINENT. NINETEENTH THOUSAND. Preaching at Moslieu's Villaye — (See page 156). LONDON: JOHN SNOW, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1816. TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS FJIANCIS-ALBERT-AUGUSTUS-CIIARLES-EMANUEL, DUKE OF S.'iXE, PRINCE OF COBOURG AND GOTIIA, ETC. The deep interest which your Royal Highness has taken in the Niger Expedition is not the only reason which prompted the Writer to aspire to the honoui* of your distinguished patronage. The House of Saxony is pre-eminently identified with the great Reformer ; and the protection which it yielded to Luther against the power of Rome will, through all ages, redoimd to its honour. The force of these considerations is still farther aug- mented by the alliance of your Royal Highness with the British throne ; for, from the commence- ment of the London Missionary Society, the Kings of England have been the uniform patrons of its literature. The Narrative of its First great Mis- sionary Voyage, performed in the years 1796, 1797, and 1798, was dedicated to George III., by whose order the Voyages of Discovery were first under- taken wliich brought into view the numerous Islands of the Pacific Ocean. The Voyages and Travels round the World, made by a Deputation from the same Society, between the years 1821 and 1829, were inscribed to William IV. The same sovereign also graciously accepted the dedication of the Missionary Enterprises in the South Seas, by my late lamented brother, the Rev. John Williams. On these grounds I solicited the permission which your Royal Highness has so condescendingly granted, of dedicating this volume to the Illus- trious Consort of the British Queen. Your Royal Highness is well aware that all methods of effecting the civilization of Africa, apart from the Gospel of Christ, have hitherto proved abortive ; but it is presumed that the pre. sent Narrative will demonstrate that, in every instance where the Gospel has been introduced, it has effected a complete revolution in the character and habits of its people. Philosophy must even- tually confess her impotence ; the pride of Science be himibled ; and the fact be universally acknow- ledged, that the Gospel of Christ is the only instru- ment which can civilize and save all kindreds and nations of the earth. This has been verified by the labours of Missionaries in South Africa, and we have only to publish it through the length and breadth of that great Continent, in order to elevate and cheer its degraded and sorrowing inhabitants, and introduce them to the fellowship of civilized nations. To those who sincerely desire to prove benefactors to that afilicted land, nothing remains but to apply the means already at our disposal. In this high enterprise of religion and humanity all may share, and it is surely worthy the combined efforts of all classes of all countries. Nor is there, I humbly conceive, any other undertaking among men so deserving the patronage of Princes and the smile of Kings. In this great work, Merchants, Politicians, Philosophers, Philanthropists, and Statesmen, — all may find an appropriate place and perform a laudable service. To this stupendous enterprise your Royal High- ness enjoys the means of I'endering signal benefit. A lively interest on the part of your Royal Highness, in the different Christian Missions which have been, or which may yet be, established in Africa, would be attended with consequences of incalcu- lable value. Of the influence which may be exerted on a whole nation by a single Prince, enlightened by Philosophy and animated by Piety, Don Henry, Duke of Viseo, the fifth son of John I., as your Royal Highness will remember, has left an illustrious example. This distinguished personage was the first royal European friend to Africa. He to whom the School of Modern Navigation owes its origin, and to whom Portugal is indebted for all the glory of her discoveries, was impelled, in all his projects, through a long life, by the spirit of Missions. His achievements in relation to Africa have immortalized his name ; but a work immea- surably greater still remains to be accomplished on its behalf. The honour of this work, I would fondly hope, is reserved for my beloved country ; and that the historians of future times will record that Prince Henry of Portugal found a successor and superior in Prince Albert of England. May that gracious Providence, to whose pro- tecting power the Writer owes so much, preserve your Royal Highness, and your Royal Consort, our Illustrious Queen, through many years, to promote the glory of God and the welfare of mankind ! I have the honour to remain, Your Royal Highness's Most himible, most obliged, and Most grateful Servant, ROBERT MOFFAT. a 2 P KE F A C E. The writer offers the following pages to the churches of his country as an humble contribution to their stock of knowledge relative to heathen lands. It contains a faithful record of events which have occurred within the range of his ex- perience and observation, and supplies much that may serve to illustrate the peculiar attributes of African society. It may, he ventures to hope, tend materially to promote the study of the phi- losophy of missions. It will furnish both the Sage and the Divine with facts for which perhaps they were not prepared, and exhibit phases of humanity which they have not hitherto observed. It will further show that, amid circumstantial differences, there is a radical identity in the operations of human depravity, in Asia, in Polynesia, and in Africa ; and that while the Gospel is the only, it is also the uniform, remedy for the distress of a world convulsed by sin, and writhing with anguish. It will present striking examples of the complete subjugation of some of the fiercest spirits that ever trod the burning sands of Africa, or shed the blood of her sable offspring. The Writer has indulged but slightly in philo- sophical disquisition, as he deemed it his province principally to supply facts. He leaves it with men of leisure and reflecting habits to analyze, compare, and deduce from those facts such doctrines as they supply. Indeed, little in this way can be added to the luminous works of Drs. Campbell and Harris, and Messrs. Hamilton, Noel, and others, by whom the subject of Missions has been so learnedly and eloquently illustrated. He hopes no apology will be deemed necessary for any imperfections which may appear in the preparation of his Narrative. The collocation of terms, and the polish of periods, have made but a small part of his studies. Such pursuits, he conceives, were not the objects for which he was sent to Africa, and they would have but ill comported with the circumstances in which he spent a large portion of his arduous life on that benighted continent. He feels confident that let- tered men will look into the pages of an African Evangelist for things far more substantial and im- portant than the graces of composition — an accom- plisliment which the Author much admires, but to which he makes no pretension. He makes his present appearance before the British public less in the capacity of an Author than of a Witness, who most earnestly desires to establish and to enforce the claims of perishing, and helpless, and all but friendless millions, for whom he has hitherto lived and laboured — whom he ardently loves, and with whom — all black, barbarous, and benighted as they are — he hopes to live, labour, and die I Inured to active habits, and unaccustomed to sedentary pursuits as the Writer has been, he has found the preparation of the present volume, in addition to the translation of the Scriptures and of other books, and the almost unremitting labours of the pulpit and the platform, an arduous under- taking. This task has been attended with a mul- tiplicity of mental exercises of a very diversified character. Some of these exercises have been solemn and painful, others sweet and soothing. He has been led to retrace the windings of a long and chequered pilgrimage, and to live over again much of his by-gone life. The review has, in many parts, been deeply humbling, but in all highly profitable. It has been refreshing to re- count the mercies of the God whom he serves, which have been abundantly vouchsafed to him and his household in distant climes, and amid savage men. He has also ofttimes rejoiced in spirit, when he called to mind the displays of divine grace which have attended his very im- perfect efforts to save the lost, and to benefit those who had no benefactor. Of time, however, he has often been reminded, that, as much is gone, little remains; while even that little trembles in the PREFACE. balance of an awful uncertainty. Of those who began at the same period with himself the career of missionary toil, the greater number have sunk into the grave ; and not a few of those who followed long after, have also been gathered to their fathers. He is especially reminded of one, much honoured and endeared, whose tragical death, of all others, has most aiFected him. John Williams and he were accepted by the Directors at the same time, and designated to the work of God, at Surrey Chapel, on the same occasion. The fields of their service were both arduous, although of a widely different character. After much trial and many dangers, both have been permitted to return to their native land, and to publish narratives of their respective labours. Thus far they run parallel ; but here they part company. " The Martyr of Erromanga " has finished his course, and rests from his labours ; while his early friend still lives amidst the conflict. The Writer now feels that his work in England is done, and that the spirit of the stranger and the pilgrim is stealing powerfully over him. He longs once more to brave the mighty ocean; and eagerly anticipates the hour when he shall again reach the shores of his adopted rfalworth, London ; May 24, 1842. country, and appear in the midst of the children of the Wilderness. Amidst the dangers of the Deep, and the trials of the Desert, the Author will reflect with satisfaction upon the testimony he has left behind him to the condition and claims of the far-distant tribes of South Africa. He is not without hope that it will, in some measure, serve to give him an interest in the sympathies and prayers of the Christian public when he will be " far hence among the Gentiles." He leaves it to the churches of Britain as a me- mento of poor, degraded Africa. He hopes that all who peruse it, reflecting upon that unhappy and much injured region, will feel the urgency of its claims, and fervently supplicate the Throne of Grace on its behalf! He bequeaths his book as a legacy of grateful affection to the multitudes of all classes, from whom he has received tokens of personal kindness, which, while life lasts, he will ever remember ; and as an expression of a deep solicitude to promote the dif- fusion of the Gospel in that Continent to which his labours have been more especially directed. E. M. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAOE General view of the state of Africa — Attempts to explore — Supposed origin of the Hottentots — How population extended — Origin of tlie Busliraen tribes — Their extent — Becliuana Bushmen — Their suflTering and degradation — Variety of dialect accounted for — Tlie Tamahas — Me- lancholy view of Busliman country — Tlie Kafir origin and cliaracter — Countries of tlie liasutos and Bechuanas — Naraaquas and Damaras — Description of the Karroo — A dry and barren country . . . , . 1 CHAPTER II. First Mission to South Africa — Mr. Schmidt's success — Mission resumed — Mission to tlie Kafirs — Dr. Vander- kerap leaves Cape Town — Enters Kafir-land— Suspi- cions of the Kafirs — Ignorance of the natives — The Doctor's colleague leaves him — The Doctor's devoted- ness and humility — Gaika solicits him to make rain — His self-denial and perils — A Hottentot woman — Enmity of some colonists — Awful retribution — Kafir mission abandoned ....... 5 CHAPTER III. Dr. Vanderkemp's mission commenced among the Hot- tentots — Tlie Governor's kindness — Tlie station attacked Trying circumstances — Escape to Fort Frederick — Be- thelsdorp— Successes of Dr. V.'s efforts — His death and cliaracter — Character continued — A remarliable inci- dent — Kat River mission — Kafir mission resumed — Af- fecting scene — Williams's death — Brownlee finally re- sumes the mission — Effects of the Gospel ... 9 CHAPTER IV. Bushmen apply for teachers — Mr. Kiclierer goes to Zak River — I^ifficulties and sacrifices — Liberality of tlie farmers — Mission abandoned — The condition of tlie Bushmen — Lichtenstein's opinion — The Bushmen's resources and habits — Provoking characteristics — Inhu- man practice — Mr. Kicherer's description — Cnielty to offspring — Bushmen possess amiable qualities — Mis- sions resumed at Toornberg, &c. — Missionaries ordered into the Colony — Mr. Faure's affecting statement — Re- view of missions to tlie Bushmen — Flan recommended — The Bushmen and the goats — Stratagem in hunting. 13 CHAPTER V. Geographical position of Namaqua-land — When first visited by missionaries — Topography — Cliaracter and language of the inhabitants — Inliuence of foreign inter- coiurse — Privations of the first missionaries — Tlieir feel- ings — They cross the boundaries of the Colony — Corne- lius Kok — Commencement of labours — First interview witli Africaner — His ancestry — Oppressions — Revenge —The catastrophe — Africaner's escape to the Orange River — War with the Berends — A testimony — Africaner attacks a banilitti — His mode of warfare— His cattle stolen — He storms the assailants — Nicholas Berend , 18 CHAPTER VI.' Missionaries settle at Warm Bath — The people of their charge — Africaner joins tlie mission — Death of A. Al- breclit — Pleasing prospects blasted — Murder of Hans Drayer — Painful dilemma — Trying alternative — A curious exhumation — Warm Bath destroyed— Hints to new missionaries— Death of Mrs. Albrecht — Light at even-tide , 22 CHAPTER VII. PAGE The Rev. J. Campbell vtTites to Africaner — Mr. Ebner sent to the mission — Journey to Namaqua-land — Views of young travellers — No choice — Driving loose cattle — Awkward circumstances — The lost sheep — Swollen river — Leave Bysondermeid — A desert scene— Oxen run away — Mr. Bartlett arrives — Arrive at Pella — Cross the Orange River — A vigorous contest . . . .25 CHAPTER VIII. Tlie Author arrives at Africaner's kraal — Expeditious building — Comforts of a native house — Retlections — ■ Perplexing circumstances — Titus Africaner — Mr. Ebner leaves — Disposition of the people — Prospects brighten — ■ Africaner's thirst for knowledge — Titus becomes friendly — Quarrelling wives — Africaner and civiliza- tion — His benevolence — His pacific etforts — The Au- tlior's illness — David and Jacobus Africaner — A thun- der-storm — Dying scene ...... 27 CHAPTER IX. Projected journey — Making bellows — Commencement of journey — Geological observations — Travelling fare — Poisonous honey — Ignorance of the natives — Mr. Schmelen's journal — Other testimonies — Mistakes of travellers — Supposed tradition of Deluge — A sorcerer . 31 CHAPTER X. Return homeward — Tlie lion and giraffe — A night scene — Terror of oxen at a lion — Inhuman custom — Search for water — A mother left to perish— Human depravity- Want of natural affection — Sagacity of the lion — The lion's leap — Horrible position — Mode of frightening lions — Sufferings in tlie desert — Scenes at the water — Missionaries of former times — Itinerating fare — A scuffle with the lion — Night associates — Baclielor's Hall — The Author's wardrobe , . . . . .34 CHAPTER XI. Journey to Griqua country — The Coranna chief — Unplea- sant ride— Sleeping in the sand — Scenes on tlie Orange River — Tlie crow and tortoise — Tlie Author drinks poi- soned water — Native poisons — Kindness of Buslimen — Arrive at Kwees — A desert serenade — Leaving the river • — Some of tlie party wander — Pursued by a lion — Ex- treme hunger and thirst — An encounter with baboons —Desperate circumstances — Description of the mirage — Polluted water — Arrive at Griqua Town — Visit to Lattakoo — Providential escape — Return to the desert — Thunder storm — A wet night's lodging— Providential supply — Encounter with a hippopotamus — Arrive at the station ........ 40 CHAPTER XII. Journey to Cape Town — The power of the Gospel — Afri- caner's criticalposition — A ludicrous scene — Incredulity of a farmer — The surprise— Africaner's visit to the Go- vernor — Sensation produced — The Author appointed to the Bechuanas — Africaner conveys his goods to Latta- koo — His death— His early experience — Dreams and visions — Africaner's dream — The Author's anxiety about the mission — Why relinquished — Wesleyans re- sume the mission — Mr. Backhouse's testimony — Difli- culties inevitable — Prospective view . . . .46 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. PAGE Mission to the Griqiias — Its orisjin and character — Devo- tedness of the missionaries — Mr. Anderson's description — Tlieir former cliaracter — Progress in civilization — A tlireatened attack averted — Impolitic measure — Critii'al position — Mr. Anderson leaves — The Author joins Mr. Helm — Waterboer elected chief — His thirst for informa- tion — Origin of Bergenaars — Attacks on Griqua Town • — Generous conduct — Missionary influence — Hetribu- tive providence — Favourable change — Successes — Wa- terboer's government— Missionaries Government agents — How far a missionary can interfere in civil affairs — Life saved — Sir A. Stockenstrom's testimony — Treaties a wise policy — Cliiefs defended — State and prospects . 51 CHAPTER XIV. Retrospective view — Tlie prospective— First visitors to the Bechuanas — The chief Molehabangiie — Messrs. Ed- wards and Kok — A dangerous expedient- — Awful con- sequences — Honourable conduct in a heathen — Danger from Bushmen — The Bergover families — Murder of a father and daughter — A dreadful situation — A heart- rending scene — A party visit Lithako — A massacre — Dr. Lichtenstein's visit — Cowan and Denovan — Dr. Biirchell's travels — Diiriculties in the language — Mr. Campbell's cheering prospects — Missionaries sent to Lithako — Interview with the king — Missionaries re- jected — Gloomy reflections — Causes of failure — Mr. Evans relinquishes the mission . . . . .50 CHAPTER XV. Mr. Reed succeeds in obtaining consent — Great wisdom required — Suspicions of the natives— Difliculty of ob- taining confidence— A commando defeated— Encou- raging tokens — An untoward circumstance — Mr. Camp- bell's departure — The loaf stolen — The Author returns to the mission — Position of the missionary among the Bechuanas — Diff'erence of missionary fields — Peculiar difficulties — Total absence of idolatry — Early profes- sions no criterion — A rain-maker's reasoning — Bechu- ana government — Pitshos, or native parliament — Na- tional customs — Barriers to the Gospel — Labours of the women — Beclmana character — Lichtenstein and Thompson's testimonies . . . . . ,62 CHAPTER XVI. Difficulties on entering' on a mission — Atheism of tlie Kafirs — Remarks of Pringle and Kay — Testimony of a sorcerer— The praying mantis — The Morimo of the Be- chuana — Absurd notions of Morimo and Barimo — No- tions of the origin of man, &c. — A woman sees Morimo — Rain-maker's sagacity — Opinions of Divines — Deplo- rable ignorance — Incredulity of a chief — Testimony of a convert ......... 67 CHAPTER XVII. Works of creation insufficient— Knowledge of God not innate— Invisible things of God — What the Scriptures teach — Opinions of ancient philosophers — President Edv^ards's argument — Reason insufficient — Roby's con- clusion on the subject — Man's responsibility — Native ceremonies — Customs originating with doctors and rain- makers — An unpleasant ceremony — Native poets or eulogists — Natpal theology — Systems of idolatry — Their various grades — How Africa was colonized — Phy- sical variety in man ....... 71 CHAPTER XVIII. Indiff"erence to iiLstniction — The women monopolize the water — Patience tried — Situation of a missionary's wife • — Character of our congregations — Cunning thieves — The bewitched pot — Consolations — Acquiring the lan- guage — Character of interpreters — Errors inevitable — Serious blunders — Divine support — Itinerating — Native views of the missionary character — A generous oifer — The Moravians in Greenland — Paul's preaching at Athens — An example to missionaries — A Hottentot woman — Her affliction and penitence . . .75 CHAPTER XIX. PAGE Influence of rain-makers— The dead exposed— Ceremony of burial— Severe drought— Embassy for a rain-maker —His propitious reception— His popularity — His de- meanour—His craftiness — Rain churned out of a milk sack — ^'I'ree struck by lightning — A baboon in requisi- tion — The lion's heart — A grand discovery — Exluima- tion of a body — The rain-maker begins to despair — He seeks counsel— A grave charge— Tlie rain-maker con- demned — He leaves the country , . . .80 CHAPTER XX. Prospects become darker — A trying crisis— Purposes' over- ruled— Seasons changed— Scarcity of rain accounted for — Indications of former luxuriance — Diminution of fountains— The north winds — Instinct of animals — Atmosplieric phenomena — Description of thunder- storms — Thunder without clouds— Beclmana notions of thunder — The chapel clock ..... 85 CHAPTER XXI. Reports of the Mantatees— The author's wish to visit the interior — Opposition to the journey — The hunted khama — Wild dog's chase — Mantatees "discovered — • Return homeward — Proceed to Griqua Town — A Be- chuana parliament held — Manner of the speakers — A counsellor silenced — Taisho's speech — The king's concluding address ....... 89 CHAPTERXXII. The Griquas arrive — The commando proceeds— Appalling sights — Narrow escape — Battle commences — Savage fighting — Tlie enemy flee — The women and children — Description of the Mantatees — Renewed attempts to rescue the women — A night's anxiety — Fresh alarms ^The women and dead horse — Goods stolen — Cruelty of the Bechuanas — Review of the subject — Concluding reflections — Missionary among the Mantatees . . 93 CHAPTER XXIII. Removal of the station proposed — Objections to the plan — The Author visits Cape Town— Surprise of the Be- clmana chiefs — Missionaries arrive — Return to the sta- tion — Journey to the Bauangketsi — Wander in the desert— The country and game — Natural wells — A Sab- bath in the wilderness — Ignorance of the natives — Manner of catching game— Incidents at a pool— Great sulferings from thirst — A scene at the water — Arrive at the ]?arolongs — Children offered for sale — Proceed to the Bauangketsi — Cattle) seized — The party met by a son of Makaba — The rain-maker's end — Reception at Kuakue 97 CHAPTER XXIV. The natives and the compass, &c. — Makaba's visit to the wagons — Description of the town — Character of Ma- kaba — Bold hyenas — Conversation with Makaba — An attempt at instruction — Makaba's astonishment at the doctrine of a resurrection — Great excitement — Tsusane's rebellion— His visit to the Kuruman — A stratagem — Tsusane's affecting end — Unfounded alarms— Prepara- tions for defence — Precipitate departure — Tlie Author's last interview — Return to the Barolongs — Threatened attack on Pitsana— A man escapes — His tale — A fright- ful savage— Dangerous position — Wagons attacked — A battle — A heathenish scene — Christian conduct — An explosion — Divine interposition — Affairs at the station — A midnight alarm — Concluding remarks. , . 103 CHAPTER XXV. State of the puljlic mind — A civil war — Infatuation — Con- ference witli Mothilii — Attack of the marauders — Leave the station — Universal commotion — Death of Peclu, the young prince — Tlie Kuatsi disease — Cruel supersti- tion — Revenge sought — Renewed attacks — Mr. Hughes's illness — Discouraging prospects — Ungenerous conduct— A chief eaten by a lion— Fresh alarms — Lo- custs—Description of them — How prepared for use — "Voung locusts most destructive — Calf-stealers — Remark- able case . . . Ill CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVI. PAOE Visit to the Barolongs— An interview with lions — Narrow escape — Fresh visitors — A lion's meal — Arrive at Choaing — Company and assistance — Manner of life — Rliinoceroses — A night hunt — Kinds of game — Swift runners— Depravity of the natives — A cruel practice — The smith's shop — Wire-drawing — A royal visitor — Return to the station 118 CHAPTER XXVII. Cliange of prospects — Startling intelligence — Distracting circumstances — Sojourn at Griqua Town — Return to the station — Rev. (Richard Miles's visit — Population scat- tered — Pleasing indications — Another commando — Audacity of the enemy — Their purposes defeated — Treatment of the prisoners — Another horde of banditti — An anxious Sabbath — A flag of truce — A parley w ith the enemy — Mr. and Mrs. Archbell arrive — Tlie power of conscience — Pacific results — A massacre — Divine re- tribution ... 123 CHAPTER XXVIII. Delightful change — Aaron Josephs baptlced — Clieering fruits — Baptism of six convei-ts — Expectations realized — Rejoicing with trembling— The Gospel civilizes — Native costume— Sewing school commenced — Dawn of civilization — Novel fashions— Candle-making adopted — Feelings and experience of the natives — The dying convert 129 CHAPTER XXIX. Moselekatse's ambassadors — Tlieir astonisliment — Danger attending their return — The .\utlior accompanies them ^Their reception by Mahura — A lion attacks the oxen — Arrive at the Bahurutsi — Country and game — Tlie inhabited tree — Singular expedient — The lions and the oven — An urgent appeal — Indications of former pros- perity — Traces of great industrj' — The ravages of w ar — An interesting recital — Heavy rains — Meet a hunting party — Savage pomp — Moselekatse afraid — Warriors described— A grand ball 133 CHAPTER XXX. PAOE The Author's stay prolonged — An expression of gratitude — A Saturday eve — A criminal tried — Savage heroism^ Suicide — Parasites — Moselekatse's history — His charac- ter — A bereaved father — His efl'orts to redeem his son — Paternal affection — A mother's love — Moselekatse's in- quiries — Passion for war— A monstrous action — Rough cooks — The horrors of war — Tlie Author returns home 140 CHAPTER XXXI. The progress of civilization — Tlie foundation of the chapel laid — Description of the station — Learning to print — Introduction of tlie printing press — Seasonable supply — Berend's commando — The catastrophe — Mis- .sion to the Bahurutsi — A daughter's compassion — The Scripture Lessons — The dying grandmother — Another instance— Polygamy — The Word blessed — Dilliculties — Dr. A. Smith's kindness — The Author accompanies the expedition — Arrive at Moselekatse's— Curious cere- mony—Superstition — The lost horse— Escape from a lion — Return to tlie Kuruman , . . . .146 CHAPTER XXXII. A journey for timber — Tlie mission to Mosega resumed — Moselekatse and the farmers — Prospects among the Bakone tribes— Native agency — An itinerating tour — A visit to Moslieu — His first visit to the station — A se- cond visit — Desire for instruction — Arrive at the village — Eagerness to hear the Gospel — A curious preacher — Anxiety to learn to read — Teaching the alphabet by moonlight — "Auld lang syne" — Departure — Pleasing fruits — The power of pacific principles — A merchant settles on the station— The chapel opened — Mothibi's conversion — Concluding remarks .... CHAPTER XXXIII. The Basuto mission — Tlie speech of Mosheshe — Extended operations — Omnipotence of the Gospel — Hope for .\frica — The Niger expedition — The duty of the Church of Christ— Anticipated results — Potency of the Scrip- tures — Agreeable surprise — Christian hospitality , .IS LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. PAOE Frontispiece, Mission Premises. Vignette Title-page. Map 5 Bushmen . . . . . .... 17 Stnatagem in hunting Ostriches . . . . .17 Tlie building of the Author's Hut .... 28 The Abandoned Mother 36 Horrible Position 37 Portrait of Christian Africaner 46 Bechuana Parliament. 91 A Midnight Scene Ill The Kuruman Fountain 115 Bechuana Milk-Sack .... The Head of a Spear .... Bechuana Men in their Native Costume Bechuana Women .... Bechuana Wooden Spoons . . The Inhabited Tree .... A Matabele and a Bechuana Warrior . Bechuana War-Axe, Knife, and Needle Bird's-eye View of tlie Kuruman Station Motito, French Missionary Station . The African Suppliant . . . PAOE , 123 , 128 , 131 , 131 , 133 , 136 , 139 . 140 . 147 , 149 . 162 ii^iSf^'^'SJl'^asS^fSJUf.. MISSIONARY LABOURS. CHAPTER I. General view of the state of Africa— Attempts to explore — Siippused orifjin of the Hottentots — How pojiuliitiou ex- tended— Orii;iu of tlie Kiishmen Ti-ibes — Their extent — Hi'cluiana Bushmen — Their snfVerin^ and degradaliou — Variety of dialect accounted for— The Tamahas — Melan- choly view of Busliraan country — The Kafir origin and character — Cc)uatvies of the Basutos and Bechuanas — Na- ma(|uas and Damaras— Description of the Karroo — A dry aud barren country. The continent of Africa, though probably the most ancient field of geographical enterprise, still is, and tliere is reason to believe that it will long continue to 'be, the least explored portion of our earth. Though once the nursery of science and literature, the emporium of commerce, and the seat of an empire which contended with Rome for the sove- reignty of the world, — the cradle of the ancient church, and the asylum of the infant Saviour, yet Africa still presents a comparative blank on the map, as well as in the history of the world. Though, according to Herodotus, it was circumnavigated by the Phoenicians long before the Christian era, and its coast was the first object of maritime discovery after the compass had inspired seamen with con- fidence to leave shores and landmarks, and stand forth on the boundless deep; yet to this day its interior regions continue a mystery to the white anan, a land of darkness and of terror to the most fearless and enterprising traveller. Although in no country has there been such a sacrifice of men to the enterprise of discovery— of men the most intelligent and undaunted, of men impelled not by gross cupidity, but by refined philanthropy — yet, notwithstanding such sufl'ering and waste of human life, we are only acquainted with the fringes of that immense continent, and a few lineaments at no great distance from its shores. Africa had once her churches, her colleges, her repositories of science and learning, her Cyprians and bishops of apostolic renown, and her noble army of martyrs ; but now the funeral pall hangs over her wide-spread domains, while her millions, exposed to tenfold horrors, descend like a vast funereal mass to the regions of woe. Christendom has been enriched by her gold, her drugs, her ivory, and bodies and souls of men ; and what has been her recompense? A few crucifixes planted around her shores, guarded by the military fort and the roar of cannon. Had it not been for British power and British sympathy, under the favour of Heaven, Africa, to this day, with scarcely one ex- ception, might have had the tri-coloured flag waving on her bosom, bearing the ensigns of the mystery of Babylon, the crescent of the false prophet, and the emblems of pagan darkness, from the shores of the Mediterranean to the colony of the Cape of Good Hope. " The countries extending throughout by far the greater portion of the vast siirface just men- tioned are, as regards soil and capabilities, among the finest in the world ; but the population of the whole, with the exception of Egypt in ancient times, and the population of the shores of the Medi- terranean when under the Carthaginian, the Roman, and the brighter days of Arab sway, have been, through every age, and are still, sunk into tlie lowest depths of ignorance, superstition, disorgani- zation, and debasement ; the glimmer of civilization, which for a time appeared in Nubia and Abyssinia, compared with the whole, scarcely forming an exception."* Before entering into a detail of missionary opera- tions, it may be proper to glance briefly at the position, extent, and character of some of the fielus which have been occupied. llie bold and mountainous promontory of the Cape was first discovered by Bartholomew Diaz, the Portuguese navigator, and was taken possession of by the Dutch in 16.52. At tliat period the whole of what is now designated the Colony was inhabited by Hottentots proper, whose history and origin, from their physical appearance, language, and cus- toms, continue involved in profound mystery. They resemble none of the Kafir, Bechuana and Damara nations, which bound the different tribes of that re- markable people, extending from Angra, Pequena Bay, on the west, to the Great Fisii River on the east. Tlie whole race is distinct from all others with which we are acquainted. Taking the Hot- tentots, Corannas, Namaquas. and ]3ushmen, as a whole, they are not swarthy or black, but rather of a sallow colour, and in some cases so light, that a tinge of red in the cheek is perceptible, especially among the Bushmen. They are generally smaller in stature than their neighlwurs of the interior ; their visage and form very distinct, and in general the top of the head broad and flat ; their faces taper- ing to the chin, with high cheek bones, flat noses, and large lips. Since the writer has had oppor- * M'Queen's Geographical Survey of Africa. B ORIGIN OF THE HOTTENTOTS AND BUSHMEN TRIBES. tunities of seeing men, women, and children from China, he feels strongly inclined to think with Barrow, that they approach nearest, in their colour and in the construction of their features, to that people than to any other nation. Since his arrival in England, this supposition has been strengthened by seeing two blind Chinese children, whom, had he not been previously informed, he would have taken for Hottentots ; and if they had had their eyesight, the resemblance would have been much more striking. It is well known that the Hotten- tots inhabit the southern point of Africa, and spread northward ; Avhile the Bushmen, the most northerly, exist among the inhabited regions, where they con- tinue perfectly distinct, and, which is very remark- able, do not become darker in their complexion, as is the case with all the other tribes that inhabit, or have inhabited, the torrid zone. If they had been gipsies from Egypt, as some have thought, it is another singular circimistance that they should not, during the successive ages which they must have re- quired slowly to advance through nearly 500(J miles of territory, have adopted one word of the language of the myriads with whom they came in contact, or one of their customs of any description, not even that of sowing seed in the eai-th. It may not be considered chimerical to suppose that when the sons of Ham entered Africa, by Egypt, and the Arabians by the Red Sea, that the Hottentot pro- genitors took the lead, and gradually advanced in proportion as they were urged forward by an in- creasing population in their rear, until they reached the ends of the earth. It may also be easily con- ceived by those acquainted with the emigration of tribes, that during their progress to the south par- ties remained behind, in the more sequestered and isolated spots, where they had located while the nation moved onward, and research may yet prove that that remarkable people originally came from Egypt.* At all events, it is evident that they have arisen from a race distinct from that of their neigh- bours, and extended inland, inhabiting the most fertile spots, till their course was arrested on the east by the bold and warlike Kafirs, and on the north by the Bechuana and Damara. It is pro- bable that they stretched out into Great Namaqua- land, along the western division of the colony, till prevented by a desert country, beyond which lay the Damaras ; and then again they proceeded from Little Namaqualand. eastward, along the cooling banks of the Gariep or Orange River, richly fringed with overhanging willows, towering acacias, and kharree trees and shrubs, umbrageous at all seasons of the year. Thus, by the localities of the country they became separated into three great divisions, Hottentots, Corannas, and lesser and greater Nama- quas. From time immemorial these have been the boundaries of their habitations, while the desert wastes and barren moimtain ravines which inter- * A few evenings ago I was in the company of a Syrian who lately came from Eg\pl. On giving him a siiecimen .ind a ilesciiption of the Hottentot language, he remaiked that he had seen siaves in the market at Cairo, brought a great distance from the interior, who spoke a similar lan- guage, and were not near so dark coloured as slaves in general. This corrolv.ratesthe statements ofancient authors, whose description of a people inhabiting the interior regions of northern Africa, answers to that of the Hottentots and Husliraen. vened became the refuge and domains of the Bush- men, who are emphatically the children of the desert. All these possess nearly the same physical charac- teristics, the same manners and customs. I have had in my presence genuine Hottentots, Corannas, and Namaquas, who had met from their respective and distant tribes for the first time, and they con- versed with scarcely any difl[iculty. All use the same weapons, the quiver, bow, and poisoned arrows, of which the tribes beyond are ignorant, except such as border on them, like the Batlapis, who say they adopted that new mode of warfare in order to compete with them and the Bushmen, from both of whom they obtained these weapons, which they have not yet learned to mantifacture. The Bushmen are the most remarkable portion of the Hottentot nation. Various opinions have been offered on the origin and state of the Hotten- tots, among which is that of Gibbon, that " they were the connecting link between the rational and irrational creation." If he had been acquainted with the Bushmen, who are unquestionably inferior to the Hottentots, he would have felt more con- fidence in this strange and long exploded theory. Some say they are the progenitors of the nation ; others, that they are an entirely distinct race ; and others, again, that they are Hottentots, who have been directly or indirectly plundered of their cattle by the Dutch farmers. I'hat the Bushmen are the people from whom the Hottentot tribes have de- scended is irreconcilable with existing facts ; that they are a distinct race is still further from pro- bability ; and that they are plundered Hottentots is, in my humble opinion, a preposterous notion, re- sulting from limited information on the subject. If this were to be admitted, then we must also admit that the Hottentots, in being deprived of their cattle, and becoming Bushmen, were deprived of their language also ; for it is well known, from the earliest records that can be obtained on the subject of their language — which has, in addition to the klick of the Hottentot, a croaking in the throat — that they never vmderstood each other without interpreters. Another fact is, that the Bushmen are to be found scattered, though thinly, among all the Bechuana tribes of the interior with which we are acquainted, even as far as the Mampoor Lake, about eight hun- dred miles north of Lattakoo. The Marosa, or Baroa Bushmen, are found of the same description as those just beyond the boundaries of the colony ; and from the oldest traditioits we can find among the Corannas and Namaquas, who are the unmixed Hottentots, as also from the Bechuanas, it may be demonstrated that they existed a wandering people without homes, or cattle , or even nationality of character. That they descended from Hottentots requires little argument to prove. Probably there are connected with all the tribes of Africa numbers of a nomadic character, whose origin will throw light on the history of the Bushmen. A parallel is furnished by the following facts of the case, which have hundreds of times come under my own observation during a residence of more than twenty years among the Bechuana tribes. Connected with each of the towns among that people, there are great numbers of what are called "Balala," poor BECHUANA BUSHMEN.— VARIETY OF DIALECT, ones, who stand in the same relation to the Bechu- anas as the Bushmen formerly stood in to the Hot- tentots, and whose origin doubtless was of the same nature. These Balala were once inhabitants of the towns, and have been permitted or appointed to live in country places for the purpose of procuring skins of wild animals, wild honey, and roots, for their respective chiefs. The number of these country residents was increased by the innate love of liberty, and the scarcity of food in towns, or within the boundaries to which they were confined by water and pasture. These again formed themselves into small communities, though of the most temporary character, their calling requiring migration, having no cattle of any description. Accustomed from infancy to the sweets of comparative liberty, which they vastly preferred to a kind of vassalage in the towns, or kraals, they would make any sacrifice to please their often distant superiors, rather than be confined to the irksomeness of a town life. Such is their aversion, that I have known chiefs take armed men, and travel a hundred miles into desert places, in order to bring back Balala, whom they wished to assist them in watching and harvesting the gardens of their wives ; and in such seasons they will frequently wander about, and fix their domiciles in the most desert and unfrequented spots to escape this easy, but to them galling duty, which is only required in a year of plenty. Though in general they are able to slate to what chief or tribe they belong, yet, from want of inter- course, and from desolating wars, which are only waged where there is a prospect of plunder, great numbers of them become, in their isolated position, independent. They are never permitted to keep cattle, and are exposed to the caprice, cupidity, and tyranny of the town lords, whenever they happen to come in their way. They live a hungry life, being dependent on the chase, wild roots, berries, locusts, and, indeed, anything eatable that comes within their reach ; and when they have a more than usual supply they will bury it in the earth from theii- superiors, who are in the habit of taking what they please. Resistance on their part would be instantly avenged with the deadly javelin. When hunting parties go out to kill game, the Balala, men and women, are employed to carry grievous burdens of flesh to the rendezvous of the hunters ; in return for which they receive the offals of the meat, and are made drudges so long as the party remains. They are never permitted to wear the furs of foxes and other animals they obtain. The flesh they may eat ; but the skins are conveyed to the towns, for which they obtain a small piece of tobacco, or an old spear or knife. Indeed, all the valuable skins of the larger animals, which they sometimes procure by hunting and pitfalls, as well as the better portions of the meat, they have to yield to their nominal masters, except when they succeed in secreting the whole for their own use. From the famishing life to which they are exposed, their external appearance and stature are precisely to the Bechuanas what the Bushmen are to the Hot- tentots. Those, however, who live in places which afford a better supply of food, are generally of equal stature with those who live in towns. The natives I have observed throughout southern Africa are, like plants on a sterile soil and bleak aspect, stunted in growth, while in a more genial situation the same species are trees instead of slirubs. The next prol)leni is the variety of languages spoken by the Bushmen, even when nothing but a range of hills, or a river intervenes between the tribes, and none of these dialects is understood by the Hottentots. This nuiy be solved with still greater ease, by again referring to the Balala. The dialects of the Seclmana, as spoken by these people, especially in districts remote from the towns, are so dift'erent from that spoken by the nation gene- rally, that interpreters are frequently requii-ed. In order to account for this, it is necessary to become acquainted with their habits. In the towns, the purity and harmony of the language are kept up by their pitchos or public meetings, at which the finest language is spoken, by their festivals and cere- monies, as well as by their songs and their constant intercourse ; for, like the Athenians of old, they are ever telling or hearing some " new thing," and the first question a person who has come from a neigh- bouring village is asked will be, " Lo ye'lang gona ?" What do you eat there ? or " 'Mpule'la makuke." Tell me the news. There is no end to conversation, excepting when sleep overcomes or pinching hunger prevails. With the isolated villages of the desert, it is far otherwise. They have no such meetings, no festivals, no cattle, nor any kind of manufac- tures, to keep their energies alive ; riches they have none, their sole care being to keep body and soul together ; to accomplish this, is with them their " chief end ;" they are compelled to traverse the wilds often to a great distance from their native village. On such occasions, fathers and mothers, and all who can bear a burden, often set out for weeks at a time, and leave their children to the care of two or more infirm old people. The infant progeny, some of whom are beginning to lisp, while others can just master a whole sentence, and those still farther advanced, rom ping and playing together, the children of nature, through the livelong day, become habituated to a language of their own. The more voluble condescend to the less precocious, and thus from this infant Babel proceeds a dialect com- posed of a host of mongrel words and phrases joined together without rule, and in the course of a gene- ration the entire character of the language is changed. Their servile state, their scanty clothing, their exposure to the inclemency of the weather, and their extreme poverty, have, as may be easily conceived, a deteriorating influence on their cha- racter and condition. They are generally less in stature, and though not deficient in intellect, the life they lead gi^•es a melancholy cast to their features, and from constant intercourse with beasts of prey and serpents in their path, as well as exposure to harsh treatment, they appear shy, and have a wild and frequently quick suspicious look. Nor can this be wondered at, when it is remembered that they associate with savage beasts, from the lion that roams abroad by night and day, to the deadly serpent which infests tlaeir path, keeping them always on the alert during their perambulations. All this and much more which might be said of the Balala, may also with the strictest propriety be affirmed of the Bushmen. Any one familiarly acquainted with the interior, can have no doubt as to the origin and the correctness of the description given of the " Bechu- b2 KUIN OF THE BUSHMAN COUNTRY.— THE KAFIRS. ana Bushmen,'" as Mr. Campbell calls them, and of whom he says, '■ they are a people greatly despised by all the surroundiug tribes." Tlieir nnmbers have also been increased by fugitives from other towns and villages, which have been reduced by devas- tating wars from peace and plenty, to the most abject poverty, and the inhabitants forced to flee to the desert for sustenance, hardly disputed with the beasts of prey. From this class of people, the Ta- mali IS, or Red people, as the etymology of the word imports, who are by the Griquas called Red Kafirs, arose. They formed a considerable body in the days of Molehabangue, the father of Mothibi, the present chief of the Batlapis, who, in his com- mandoes for the capture of cattle, was wont to take them with him. Taught this mode of warfare, and being of an intrepid character, they sallied forth and took cattle for themselves, which Moleha- bangue's generous disposition allowed them to keep, and they became an independent tribe, continuing the faithful allies of the Batlapis. That such were the Bushmen formerly, there can be no doubt ; and it is equally certain their num- bers were increased by parties of Hottentots, robbed, and comjielled to abandon for ever the laud of their ancestors ; and who naturally sought to satisfy their wants by a predatory warfare, and thus taught the IBushmen to become the pirates of the desert. Hence arose that kind of policy, once sanctioned by the Cape colonial government, of extermination, on wliich it is impossible to reflect without horror. It appears from the earliest records on the subject, and especially from the journals of those engaged in the work, that the Bushmen were once very numerous. I have traversed those regions in which, according to the testimony of the farmers, thousands once dwelt, drinking at their own fountains, and killing their own game ; but now, alas, scarcely a family is to be seen ! It is impossible to look over these now un- inhabited plains and mountain-glens without feeling the deepest melancholy, while the winds moaning in the vale seem to echo back the sound, " Where are they?" In this more enlightened age, the farmers cannot refer to the melanclioly history of that unfortunate race without feelings of regret, while it is but justice to add, that many of the farmers made strenuous efforts, and collected thou- sands of cattle and sheep, which they presented to the neighbouring Bushmen, hoping to induce them to settle, and live by breeding cattle ; but these efforts always failed. It was too late ; past sufter- ings, and past offences on both side.s, had produced a spirit of hatred so universal, that it was of no avail to pacify one party, while thousands were thirsting for revenge and plunder. Their numbers are now comparatively few, even among the tribes far be- yond the present limits of the colony, from the same mutual strife. It will be evident from the preceding statements, that the Bushmen were originally poor Hottentots, and will in all probability, like their progenitors, in course of time, cease to be a distinct people, by be- coming gradually mixed with the tribes among whom they are scattered. Some additional remarks on this people will be found under the head. Mis- sions to the Bushmen. The Kaflrs, the next Afi-ican tribe to which I shall briefly refer, live beyond the Fish River, on the eastern boundary of the colony. At an earlier period they possessed much of that part of Albany now inhabited by English farmers and Hottentots, though it is presumed, on very good grounds, that the Hottentot country fomierly extended a consi- derable distance into that of the Kafirs. The Kafirs form one tribe of the great Bechuana family, and probably emigrated from the direction of Delagoa Bay, till they came in contact with the Hottentots along the coast. Their origin must be traced to the same source as that of the numerous tribes of the Bechuanas, from the aflSnitv of languages spoken throughout the eastern part of the continent of Af- rica. Their national character is bold and warlike, and their maintaining their independence to the present daj\ after all their conflicts with the colony, and especially in the late war, when no less a sum than 241,884/. was expended in the destructive, but fi-uitless conflict, in order to drive them from the mountain-passes, and the impenetrable jimgles, a country over which their ancestors had swaj'ed the sceptre for ages, is a decisive evidence of their martial spirit. Their country is bounded by the ocean on the south, and a range of mountains on the north, and beyond them lie the Amapondo and Zoolu tribes. North of Kafir-land, between the Winterberg mountains and the higher branches of the YelloM' River, lies the country inhabited by the Basutos, a tribe of Bechuanas. Since the days of Chaka, the tyrant of the Zoolus, who oppressed them from the east, while the Bergenaars on the west were exer- cising dreadful barbarities, and reduced most of the tribes to extreme poverty ; they have risen again in a fertile country, to comparative affluence. The commencement of missions among them by tlie brethren of the Evangelical Missionary Society at Paris, and subsequently by the Wesleyans, is the cause of this improvement in their circum- stances. Beyond the Basutos. to the north of tlie Orange River, lie the other Bechuana tribes, whose mmi- bers and extent we have not yet been able to learn. There is some reason for supposing that they for- merly extended much farther to the southward than tlieir present limits, the 28° south latitude, for the places as far as the Orange River have Bechu- ana names ; and even the Lokualo* of the Bechuana is to be found on stones near the present boundaries of the colony; but this may have been done by herdsmen taken or escaped from those tribes. Few, except Balala, lie farther west than the 23° east longitude. Between 23" and 19', lies what Mr. Cainpliell calls the southern Zahara, which, from what I have seen on the cast, south, and western boundaries of it, is a fearful expanse of sand, though undulating, and in many places covered with acacias and other ti-ees of gigantic size. The eastern parts are inhabited by the Balala of the Bechuana ; the southern, near the Orange River, by Bushmen ; and the western, by Namaqua Bushmen, but none of * Lokualo, from whicli we (Iciive the word wriiin!» or priutin;,', is formed generally by herd-boys, wlio with a sfoiie make various tiijiires ou stones witli a Hat siirlace, without auy reference t.i shape Marks are made by slrikin;; the stoue ou another till curved lines, circdes, ovals, and /.i;;7.ag liiiures are imiiies>e